The Golden Talisman

by J. Stefan Jackson

  “I looked back toward the house, but it stood in solemn silence, confirming for me that no one inside was aware of my predicament yet. I then looked over at Banjo’s food and water bowls and saw that he’d vacated the immediate area. Upon second glance, I glimpsed a portion of Banjo’s head peering out toward me from his hiding place just behind the oak’s trunk. Even from this distance, I could see the fear in his expression, for his ears were down lower than usual and his head was drawn back upon his neck.

  “The lizard hissed loudly and reared back as if ready to leap and attack my feet and legs. I don’t know why I didn’t just yell or scream for my grandfather to come to my rescue. Maybe I was too surprised or frightened. But in any case, just as the lizard flexed its muscles to jump, it suddenly froze. It turned its head toward the woods, as if once again listening to some inaudible command. Within the next few seconds it released its grip on the rope of the swing and jumped down to the ground. It turned its attention completely away from me and then raced over to the sphere.

  “I released my breath in a slow shuddering sound of fear. At the same time, however, I felt really angry with the little bastard for scaring the hell out of me. Foolishly and hastily, I slid down the rope and jumped off the swing. I picked up the metal bait container and set out after the lizard.

  “It was slipping further away from me. It reached the sphere and with very little effort jumped on top of the barren globe. It turned and waited for me to arrive, and then let out one last malevolent hiss, its forked tongue sliding in and out of its needle-toothed mouth.

  “Perhaps I ventured closer than I should’ve dared. But at the time I couldn’t resist doing so since I was far angrier than scared. When I realized the lizard was about to leave the backyard, I looked for something to hit it with. I truly wanted to send a message that said it was definitely no longer welcome in our yard. I thought about hurling the metal bait container, but then thought better of it since the container belonged to my grandfather. I looked around frantically, but I wasn’t able to find anything suitable for the task. All I was left with was the melted sucker.

  “The lizard turned to face the wall and its exit to freedom on the other side. It glanced back at me tauntingly, as if daring me to try and hit it. This enraged me all the more.I threw the sucker, hitting the little dragon squarely on the back of its head. The piece of candy made a solid ‘thunk’ sound before careening onward beyond the backyard, landing somewhere in the field across the way. The startled monster yelped in surprise and hissed even louder at me. It then leapt from the sphere and out into the overgrown grass and weeds on the other side of the wall.

  “I guess I felt a mixture of sadness and relief. But, I didn’t have long to contemplate either feeling, for another one quickly overtook my senses. I was being watched. Not by anyone in the house, as I was certain that if Grandpa’d witnessed the confrontation between myself and the lizard, he would’ve known I needed some serious assistance and hurried outside to help me. Rather, I felt certain that whoever was watching me was doing so from just a short distance away from where I stood.

  “I was completely sure of this, yet I wasn’t at all sure on what direction the unknown voyeur was observing me from. Pretty weird, huh? It was like being intensely studied from every possible angle. The hairs on the back of my neck began to stand and tingle while a chill ran along my spine. I whirled around, but still saw no one. I was completely alone in the backyard except for Banjo hiding nearby.

  “I finally decided I’d had enough of this shit, and as the oppressive heat was getting to me again, I bravely started walking back toward the house. It was then that I saw something out of the corner of my eye glistening in the sunlight as it lay in the dirt in front of the sphere. I turned to look at it and at first glance it appeared to be a piece of broken glass. But as I moved closer to it, I was surprised to find it was nothing of the sort. Instead, it looked like it was made of gold.

  “I walked over and picked it up. The small oblong object was heavy for its size, and my experience in helping Grandpa polish an old coin collection from time to time helped me ascertain the object was indeed made of gold. I turned it over and over in my hands studying it, barely aware of the dark storm cloud coming toward me from the west. The front portion of the cloud was just then peeking over the majestic treetops at the edge of the woods, and I looked up only briefly in response to the soft rumble of thunder that filled the air in front of me. Satisfied it was just a light midsummer storm on the way, I immediately turned my attention back to the strange object in my hands.

  “I was truly amazed at all of the little symbols and unusual designs that covered each side of the object. I stood where I was, totally mesmerized and unable to remove my eyes from it while I continued to turn it over in my hands. All at once, I felt very weird and dizzy... The next thing I remember was Grandpa calling out to me.

  “‘Jack! Jack!!’ his voice shook me out my trance. ‘What in the hell are you doing out here in the rain??’

  “It was raining, all right, and by the looks of things, it’d been raining for quite some time. I was completely soaked with rainwater dripping from my head down onto the golden object. I was surprised to find that I still held it tightly. In fact, so tightly that my knuckles were ghostly white.

  “Nervously, I cleared my throat while I fidgeted with the strange item, as I wasn’t at all sure what to do with it. I looked over my shoulder and smiled sheepishly at my grandfather and absently shoved it into the depths of one of my shorts’ pockets. ‘Oh...nothing really, Grandpa,’ I told him. ‘I’m just trying to find out where that lizard took off to. I guess I look pretty silly just standing here, huh?’

  “I’m sure I did from the look he gave me. I looked away from him, letting my eyes survey the glistening sphere and the muddy ground that surrounded it, until at last my gaze rested upon my drenched sneakers. I lifted one of my feet and was immediately surprised at how deep it’d sunk into the mud. The shoe made a low puckering sound as I raised it out of the muck. How long had I been there like this? It didn’t seem like even a few minutes had passed since I picked up the object, and yet from the looks of my surroundings, I’d been standing there for more than an hour or two.

  “‘Well...are you going to just stand there all day hoping to sprout some roots, or do you think you’d mind if we went back inside the house, son?’ Grandpa’s voice betrayed his irritation, and who could blame him? He stood a few feet away from me, impatiently moving from foot to foot as though he were ready to sprint back to the farmhouse at any moment. The only protection from the rain he’d brought with him was that morning’s newspaper, folded over and already soaked and dripping as he held it just above his head.

  “‘No...not at all, Grandpa,’ I said. ‘I’m ready to go in now.’

  “He motioned for me to follow him as he turned and ran to the shelter of the oak. My legs felt like rubber as I chased after him. I wondered again as to how long I’d been standing in the rain. I could only venture a guess since the sun was completely blocked by the dark clouds above. Besides, my wristwatch was now missing. I felt completely disoriented and confused.”

  “That had to be very intense for you, Jack,” Peter said, his eyes nearly back to their original clarity. They sparkled in a way that let Jack know he was definitely interested, absorbing every detail of his story so far. “Can you remember the intricate details on the golden object you were holding in your hands?”

  “I wish I could, but I don’t think so,” he replied. “But, I’ll bet I’d recognize them in a heartbeat if I ever saw them again.”

  “At a later time, I’d like to show you some early American artifacts we have in our Archives Center,” Peter advised. “I’d be most interested to see how similar they are to each other.”

  “I’d definitely be willing to do that,” Jack told him.

  “Good. Let’s keep this wonderful story of yours rolling,” encouraged Peter.

  “All right. I arrived at the base of the oak a m
oment after my grandfather did, and I walked over to where he stood. He eyed me sternly as I approached, the soaked newspaper held to his side with one hand while he petted Banjo with the other. ‘Why were you just standing there, Jack?’ he asked. ‘What was so damned interesting that you’d completely ignore me calling you? Surely you must’ve heard me, didn’t you?’

  “Several different images crowded my mind. Everything from hunting the lizard throughout the backyard to simply standing in the rain as I held onto the mysterious golden object. All I could do in response was smile weakly and shrug my shoulders. ‘I’m sorry, Grandpa,’ I said. ‘I don’t know what came over me. One minute I’m chasing that lizard and the next minute I’m standing in the rain.’

  “He raised his eyebrows as he continued to study me, although more compassionately than beforehand. He looked beyond me, back toward the area we both just ran from, and then shook his head. He smiled and chuckled to himself. ‘Come on, son,’ he said. ‘Shall we make another mad dash for the porch? I’ll race you!’ He gave me a playful wink and then grasped me by the shoulder, guiding me over to the edge of the oak’s heavy foliage. Water cascaded from the leaves above, forming several puddles just in front of us. On the count of three, we raced to the porch as the heavy rain pelted us mercilessly.

  “Once we arrived soaked on the back porch, the rain storm immediately decreased its assault. Before my grandfather and I entered the back door to our farmhouse, the rain had nearly stopped, with only a light drizzle still lingering in the air outside.

  “Grandpa had me remove my grimy shoes and leave them on the porch just outside the screened door. He did likewise before opening the door for us to go inside. I was glad to be indoors again as the strong aroma from dinner cooking on the kitchen stove quickened my senses and alerted me to my stomach’s emptiness.

  “The heat inside the kitchen was still stifling, even though a pair of floor fans stayed busy sending a cross breeze gathered from the main floor on through the kitchen itself. After checking on the status of that evening’s meal simmering on the stove, Grandpa advised me to go on upstairs and change into dry clothes. He then headed for his own bedroom on the main level to do the same, with me following not far behind him.

  “I headed upstairs, and as usual, the second, fourth, and seventh stairs squeaked loudly, despite my best effort to walk softly up the old mahogany staircase. Once I reached the second floor, I nearly ran to my bedroom at the southern end of the house. Even during the day, it was pretty creepy up there, especially along the hallway to my room.

  “When I got to my bedroom, I walked over to my dresser and emptied my pockets of a few coins and the golden object. I set all of these items next to my parents’ photographs and then took off my wet clothes. After leaving them in a small pile near the foot of my bed, I glanced out my bedroom window, which I mentioned earlier faced out into the backyard. The rain had completely ceased and the summer sun was in full force again. I started to turn back toward the door, but I noticed the time on my alarm clock read 5:31 pm. I couldn’t believe it! I’d actually been standing by the sphere for almost three hours.

  “No matter how hard I tried to search my memory, I couldn’t account for the missing time or events. I finally had to let the matter rest, for Jeremy would be home at any minute and I was in danger of missing the start of dinner. I ran to the bathroom, and once I finished taking a shower, I put on a pair of clean jeans and a T-shirt. I grabbed the golden object off my dresser and shoved it into my pants’ pocket, and was now prepared to head downstairs for dinner.

  “I could already hear my grandfather talking to someone downstairs in the kitchen. A loud burst of laughter let me know that Jeremy was home. I started down the stairs, when suddenly I remembered my wristwatch was missing. I ran back up to my room and tried to locate it, checking all of the usual places, for I forgot that I’d last seen it when I was on the swing in the backyard. As soon as I sensed my brother and grandfather growing restless downstairs, I decided to search for it later.

  “‘Jack! What the hell’s taking you so long up there?’ Grandpa shouted from the bottom of the stairs. ‘Supper’s waiting and we’re fixing to start eating without you!’

  “I yelled back that I was on my way, and then hurried over to the top of the staircase. I was just in time to see my grandfather walking back to the kitchen. I clamored down the stairs, jumping past the bottom two before landing with a thud in the foyer. I headed straight for the kitchen as the creaking floorboards announced my rapid approach toward the dinner table. The full bodied aroma of spaghetti and meatballs filled the main floor, which kindled my raging hunger so much that I nearly forgot about the heavy object threatening to tear the fabric of my jeans’ pocket. I steadied it with one hand to keep it from doing damage to my pants and walked into the kitchen and on over to the table already set for our evening meal.

  “Jeremy leaned up against the kitchen counter, smoking his last cigarette before dinner. Tall, dark, and extremely good looking—at least that’s what the ladies have always said—he’d be seventeen in September and already had a job lined up working full time for the local saw mill in town. Grandpa reluctantly agreed to allow him to drop out of school following the previous school year at Demopolis High School, since he’d nearly flunked out due to apathy anyway. ‘What a waste!’, Grandpa’d say, especially since Jeremy had shown such promise scholastically just a few years before. But, ever since he blew out his right knee playing football the previous fall, he’d pretty much given up on his education.

  “Even as he leaned against the counter, the powerful build that had made him an all-state halfback was on display and hard to ignore. I often felt weak and puny in comparison to my older brother. Nonetheless, like many folks, I couldn’t help but stare in admiration at his physique and rugged handsomeness.

  “He, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable being so adored and idolized by me, and would meet my absent stare with a cold, icy glare. He allowed his piercing green eyes to cut through me like a pair of lasers as they peered out from behind his curly black shoulder-length hair. ‘What the hell are you looking at, you little pecker head?’ he asked me.

  “As was often the case, I was unaware of my obvious adulation. ‘Oh...u-uh nothing really, Jeremy.’ I stammered. ‘I-I was just wondering what you’d been up to today.’

  “‘Is that so? For a moment I thought you were wanting to kiss me or something like that,’ he sneered. ‘I thought I was going to have to come over there and kick your ass, little brother.’

  “‘Jeremy! Damn it, son, that’ll be enough of that kind of talk!’ Grandpa scolded him. He moved closer to the table, never taking his eyes off him as he made sure the two of us remained physically separated from each other. ‘You’ll not be ruining supper tonight, ‘you hear? And, don’t you dare think I won’t enforce my words on you, son. I’ll do it right here and now if I have to!’

  “Jeremy looked over at Grandpa, whose icy glare was far colder than his own. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘I was only joking, man’, and then took one last drag from his cigarette before mashing the remainder of it into a small ashtray sitting next to the sink. All the while, he never took his eyes away from Grandpa’s unwavering gaze, until he finally glanced back over to me while I gave my best effort to pretend my feelings weren’t hurt.

  “Grandpa knew otherwise. ‘Jeremy,’ he said, ‘you owe your brother an apology, and as soon as you do that, we can all sit down and start eating. ‘You reckon you can handle that?’

  “A slight, smug grin suddenly appeared upon my brother’s face and he slowly nodded his head. I believe this was partly in amusement and partly in admiration for our grandfather’s talent in manipulation. He considered resisting the obvious coercion, but his growling stomach strongly suggested he do otherwise. He gave in to his hunger. ‘Sure, Grandpa,’ he said softly, but still insolently, and then smiled directly at me. ‘I’m sorry, Jackie, if I offended you in some way. Just don’t patronize me so much
, man. Okay?’

  “‘Patronize?’ I thought to myself. That was such a big word for him to be using, though I actually liked him a hell of a lot better when he let his intelligence rather than his vulgarity shine through. ‘Apology accepted,’ I replied.

  “With that taken care of, all three of us converged on the kitchen table, which was already set with steaming hot spaghetti and meatballs, buttered bread and fresh salad from Grandpa’s garden. After a quick grace from him, we all dug in. At first, there was very little conversation among us, other than the usual ‘please pass the whatever’ and the obligatory ‘thank you’. But after our initial hunger subsided, the scope of the conversation broadened considerably.

  “‘So, what’ve you been up to today, Jackie?’ Jeremy asked. ‘Grandpa told me you were trying to catch some strange looking lizard out in the backyard. What about it, little brother?’

  “Ah...the moment I’d been anxiously hoping for had arrived! It was a very rare thing for me to capture center stage with my loquacious big brother around. I cleared my throat as I straightened myself in my chair, and checked one last time to make sure both my brother and grandfather were truly interested in what I had to say. Then, I began telling them about my backyard adventure that afternoon.

  “Grandpa listened politely, occasionally rubbing his chin as if pondering how much of my narration was the actual truth and how much was an exaggeration of the facts involved. Jeremy, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his complete disbelief in my story.

  “It was pretty obvious to both myself and Grandpa that Jeremy thought most of what was coming out of my mouth was a load of fabricated bullshit. He finally looked away from me, turning his attention instead to the new décor in our recently remodeled kitchen. He seemed genuinely interested in the new cabinets, ceramic tile, and appliances, as well as the ancient crown moldings Grandpa had just finished restoring to their original beauty. All the while, the pompous smirk on his face broadened until he let out a sarcastic chuckle. Finally, he could contain himself no longer and completely gave in to a roaring fit of laughter.