Shelby: Translucent Savior

by Lisa Glenn

  For himself, José had not a clue what to do with a weepy, hugging female, so tentatively he hugged me back, hoping that was the right response.

  "Umm, you're welcome," he managed.

  I set him back down and kissed him soundly on the cheek.

  "That's for taking care of me."

  José blushed three more shades of red, unable to meet my admiring gaze. "Anytime," he mumbled.

  In a way, he hoped her bag would be stolen again so he could retrieve it.

  I pulled some fresh clothes out of my backpack and rooted around; relieved beyond words the box Mamie had given me was still there and not surprised in the least to see all the money gone. I quickly changed while José waited for me on the other side of the bushes.

  I left my old clothes lying in a pile, and we left the park at fast as our legs could carry us. Oreo had made it through the whole episode unscathed. I held him against my chest, rubbing my hand back and forth across his feathers.

  We were quite a pair, with bruises and swollen faces. My muscles were stronger from when I first began carrying Oreo. I could carry him longer than before. José carried him some, but mostly I did. Oreo seemed content sitting in my arms and being carried around like a little prince or something. He was a curious little fellow who now watched every move I made as if keeping an eye on me. I grinned to myself, thinking I now had two bodyguards of the least likely variety.

  Even when I set Oreo down he followed close. He sometimes still pecked at my dirty feet, (when I took my shoes off, that is...José had made sure to find me a pair when he went clothes diving at the Goodwill drop-box) but mostly when he was hungry. I guess it was his way of communicating. His feathers were soft, and I often rubbed my hands over them, both of us finding enjoyment in this.

  “I wish I could take a bath,” I told José a while later as we walked. I could still smell the urine on myself and by now was making me feel ill to my stomach. If José smelled me--which he had to--he did a darn good job of acting like it didn't bother him in the least.

  He grinned crookedly, “I heard two old men talking when we were in the store about a lake up the road where they go fishing. I don’t know how far it is, but we’ll need to find a place to sleep tonight, anyway, so let’s see if we can find it.”

  “That would be awesome!” I smiled. Just thinking of jumping in a nice, cool lake was enough to make me hurry my steps along. When we found it, (it wasn't hard...as soon as the ground got mushy I knew we were close) I saw it was more of a pond than an actual lake. It was murky and muddy, but I didn’t care...at least it was wet and had to be cleaner than me.

  I didn’t have any clean clothes to change into, so I asked José if he could stay back while I washed some. After discarding all my clothes and leaving them to hang on a nearby brush, I planted Oreo on the ground to be my watcher and jumped in, my body immediately gulping in the cool water. I grabbed some dirt from the bottom and scrubbed my skin as fish jumped to the left of me. Maybe José could catch us some to eat later. It was a little difficult to get my arms over my head. Each time I moved, sharp pains lanced through my side.

  José never said anything, but I knew my face must be an ugly sight. A large discolored mark was left on my stomach. After I had finished scrubbing with dirt to get the dirt off, I went and grabbed my clothes and put them on. I was wet but didn’t care. At least I smelled better. I whistled to José that it was his turn.

  I wandered around in the fading light looking for a good spot to sleep for the night. We needed to be hidden in case someone happened by.

  It was warm tonight and for that I was thankful because I had nothing to cover myself up with when I went to sleep. While José was finishing up his own cleaning, I collected twigs and leaves for my pallet. José found me a few minutes later and was carrying an armload of branches he had foraged for.

  He dropped them, saying seriously, “I think we could safely build a small fire. I found a long stick I could make into a pole to fish with, as well.” To prove this, he showed me by almost poking my eye out.

  "Good deal, José," I said grinning; thinking a patch over one poked-out eye would match my bruises just about perfectly. I giggled, hiding it behind my hand.

  He dropped his pack on the ground and dug inside. He pulled out some string and proceeded to string his makeshift fishing pole. Once he put the hook on, off he went back to the pond.

  José caught three Bass. They were small but good. José sat down on the hard ground, expertly cleaning the fish with his small pocket-knife.

  I watched him, admiring him more and more. "Where in the world did you learn to do that?"

  He looked over at me and grinned. "My family never had money...for food or anything, really. So, my daddy taught me to do this by the time I was three."

  I nodded as he went about his work. I sat down across from him in front of a small fire he had gotten going and touched my cheek delicately, hissing at the pain that seemed to bloom outward wherever I touched it.

  “I’ve seen worse,” José said, talking about my eye. I grinned at him as he scooched a little closer to me. He reached over to put his arm around me.

  “Don’t touch me!” I shrieked. "I hate to be touched!" Faster than a cat that had let its tail in the fire, he pulled back and stared at me.

  “I’m sorry," I said defensively. "I just don’t like to be touched, is all."

  “Why?” he asked, a bit mystified considering how she had hugged him earlier.

  “Why what?” I shot back.

  “Why don’t you like to be touched?”

  “I just...don’t. Drop it, okay?” I stood up. I wasn’t sure why his question irritated me, but I was suddenly angry enough just to haul off and punch him right then.

  "Sure, no problem," José said stiffly, going back to the fish and skewering them now on branches.

  After we ate and put out the fire, we both fell into our make-shift beds, Oreo tucked by my side.

  "I'm sorry, José."

  I heard him sigh as he rolled over. "It's okay. I guess you'll tell me when you’re ready. I won't ask again, alright?"

  "Thank you," I said, crying a little and hiding it so he wouldn't hear me.

  Within minutes, I heard his soft snores and rolled over from the glow of the fire. I wished and prayed with everything I had that I wouldn't dream tonight.

  But I already knew I would anyway.

  Chapter Eight

  Daniel

  I woke up just as the sun crept over the horizon. Oreo was asleep, snuggled against my outstretched arm as I took a personal inventory of myself, stretching a little and took a sharp breath, moaning. I was sore and stiff as a board; my eye swelled completely shut.

  I sat up and looked around with my one good eye and saw José curled into a ball with his thumb in his mouth making him look more completely like a baby. I stood up and went to splash water on my face at the pond, and when the cold water hit my face up my nose, I fell back on my bottom, sputtering. I caught my breath and held it, then let it out slowly. I stood up on wobbly legs and plopped down in front of an old pine tree, trying to let some of the hurts and kinks work themselves out... I wished I had remembered to pack some aspirin or something. Oh well.

  It wasn’t fair! This kind of thing only happened to other kids, not me. My chest suddenly felt heavy and my heart so overwhelmed I cried. I had lived with a woman who kidnapped me, took me from my real parents then raised me as her own with a pedophile pervert. She then had the nerve to get sick and die on me when I was at my most vulnerable. How could someone do that? Thinking back, it wasn't just Jack who didn't want me to have any friends... it was Mamie as well.

  I understood somewhat why now. Someone might have found out about me and called the police. What hurt the most was the fact she knew Jack was hurting me and didn’t do anything about it! Now, here I am stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flapper jack and a chicken, all because of her. I hate her! I have no money, no clothes, I’m hungry, and moreover, my stomach began to
cramp, perfect timing for that little visitor... not! I balled my hands into fists and pounded the ground next to me. Tears rolled down my face and landed onto my hand, glistening. I watched as the tiny drop rolled off. The worst part was I missed her in a way. The one person who I thought I could trust and love. She was a hardened criminal, and now all I could think of was my warm bed back home. I sobbed loudly, covering my face with both my hands, sure I was going to wake the dead with my bawling, but I just couldn’t stop. My side hurt, and the more I cried, the worse the pain, and here I was calling José a baby!

  He stood behind a tree, silently watching her. It broke his heart to see her cry, but he had no idea how to comfort her. His first thought was to go to her and put a reassuring arm around her, but after last night's fiasco of the boy doing that, he thought better of it. The tree supported his lanky frame as he leaned his hip against it. He crossed his arms over each other and listened to her wretched sobs until he just couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled away from the tree and came to a halt in front of her.

  “Please stop crying. Everything’s going to be okay!”

  Startled, I held back a scream and suddenly stopped crying. I looked up and around for José... he sure could sneak up on a person, no doubt there, but the voice didn't belong to José.

  "Who is that?" I said jumping up now and turned in a circle, my eyes searching the dense, wooded area.

  “Oops, sorry about that,” he chuckled.

  Right before eyes, the boy appeared. One second, he wasn’t there then the next, he was standing right in front of me.

  My eyes grew wide as I pushed my back tighter up against a tree.

  “Who are you?" I asked the boy now, suspicious. "And how did you manage just to appear out of nowhere?” I leaned sideways and peered behind him to see if he was alone.

  “Easy,” the boy replied.

  “If it were so easy then I could do it.”

  “It’s easy for me, Shelby.” He bowed his head “My name's Daniel, at your service!”

  I blinked back my surprise. "How did you know my name?” I looked closely at him; he was tall with a thin frame. The contrast of golden hair and sparkling blue eyes caught my breath despite my fright, and a fluttering began in my belly, making me blush a little despite my earlier scare.

  “Oh, well... I heard it when you and José were arguing,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Daniel looked down curiously and laughed when Oreo tried to peck at his bare toes. He bent down and picked up my chicken, remarking, “Why, she’s just lovely. A Polish game hen, in case you didn't know. They do make the best of friends, don’t they?”

  I watched as Oreo took to Daniel. I held back a smile. If he was nice to animals, I figured he couldn’t be all bad. He did talk a bit funny, though. I mean, what boy used the word, lovely? I tilted my head and squinted down at his feet. I laughed out loud then quickly covered my mouth with my hand. What if he was like the others?

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, smiling a little.

  “Your sandals. I thought only girls wore sandals.”

  “I like sandals; they add comfort to my feet.” Daniel sat Oreo back down, and I watched as my newly dubbed prize hen wobbled slowly over to a pile of old leaves, pecking for breakfast.

  “You said a game hen?” At his nod, I continued, “So 'he' is really a 'she'?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  I relaxed my shoulders. “Do you live around here?” He shook his head without going into any further explanation.

  I wiped my hands over my face. I knew for sure I was a mess. Snot running down my face from the cold water; my hair a wild and tangled mess, my stolen clothes, which were ratty to begin with now suffused with caked on dirt and rips. I grabbed the bottom of my t-shirt and wiped off my nose. I wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground and disappear.

  If Daniel noticed my embarrassment, he didn't show it. “By the way, don’t say anything to José about my little appearing trick Shelby...only you and Oreo need to know.” He dropped a conspirator’s wink to her, a sparkle in his eye.

  “Why?” I frowned, immediately suspicious again. What was he hiding?

  “Because I may need to do it again sometime, that's why,” he shrugged.

  “Were you following us? Where did you come from?” I eased myself up and glared at him, not one to be intimidated; or at least show I was intimidated. Truth be told, by this time I jumped just about every time I stepped on a crackling twig. A thought suddenly occurred to me. As crazy as it was, I felt it needed asking.

  “What happened to you, I mean are you a ghost or something?” I felt stupid asking, thinking on the heels of that, if Oreo could see him, then he must be real.

  He laughed a full belly roll, “No Shelby; I’m not a ghost. It was just a trick.”

  “If you’re not a ghost, then what are you? How did you do that?”

  “I can’t tell you,” he winked.

  I felt my face light up. If it were some sort of trick, then I would love to learn it. God knows it would come in handy not just for me, but for José as well.

  “I can help you guys.” Daniel said now a bit more serious.

  “Help us?”

  “Yep. I thought I would help you find your mom. That is where your destination, right?”

  I cocked my eyebrow. How did he know that? We made eye contact and as I saw the kaleidoscope of swirling colors of blue I felt I could simply melt in those eyes.

  “How do you know all this stuff?” I asked?

  “You mentioned it when you and José were arguing,” He repeated patiently, motioning towards the small camp José and I setup last night. “I overheard it.”

  I didn’t trust this kid at all yet, thinking he must have been following us the whole time. He did seem nice, though... even if he was more than a little bit odd.

  “You want to come with us, I assume?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  He nodded.

  “Well, I need to talk to José first.” I said, wondering how in the world my fierce little protector would cotton to such a prospect. I instinctively knew José’s first reaction will be jealousy. I sighed...

  “Have some faith, Shelby. You’re going to be fine. Don’t you feel better already?” the strange boy asked.

  What an odd thing to say! However, I did feel better just in knowing someone was willing to help me. José wasn’t much help against the enemy on a one-to-one basis, but his cleverness made up for that. I realized I wasn’t upset anymore. I didn’t think he would hurt us, something in his eyes told me that. I dusted the dirt and leaves off my clothes. I looked over to where Oreo was sitting. He began to squawk loud. I jumped.

  “Oreo, what in the world are you bellowing about?” I demanded. Maybe chickens have a sixth sense about evil. I glared at Daniel. I was ready to tell him to get lost.

  “Don't worry, Shelby... she's just laying an egg,” Daniel said smiling.

  Chapter Nine

  Friends

  José glared up at me. “We don’t even know him, Shelby. What if he tries something?”

  “Like what, José? I don’t have anything he can steal, and you don’t either. I’m sure he can’t fit in your clothes.” I added smartly. “I didn’t know you, either,” I said with hands on hips. “He’s taller than me, for one and might come in handy in a scrap...also he---" I bit my tongue on the last, knowing I almost shared Daniel's little disappearing-reappearing act.

  "Besides, what if he doesn’t have a mother or a father or nowhere else to go? You know...like us!” I was trying to be patient and rational but talking to a teenage boy about a potential competitor for a girl's attention was likened to knocking down a building by kicking it repeatedly.

  “He’s probably just lonely. To tell the truth, I think he was hiding out here when he saw us,” I finished.

  José was clearly un-convinced. “What if he’s a killer on the loose and the police are looking for him or something?”

  “He doesn’t look like a killer
to me and he’s your age, José. You think a teen murderer would be hiding out in woods and talking to people like us? Besides," I finished, wondering a little to myself just why the heck I was defending someone I had barely met so passionately, "He’s really skinny.” And cute. I felt my cheeks burn. I decided to wisely keep that one to myself. José was watching me closely. Okay, so he is cute, but that wasn’t the only reason I wanted him to go with us.

  “And?” José said now, knowing there was something I was holding back.

  “He’s probably hungry!”

  José muttered and scowled at his feet.

  “We’re going to need all the help we can get. We're lost and don't have any money. I don’t know what to do.”

  José turned away from me and grabbed his bag. I watched, waiting for him so say something. I wanted him to agree that we could use the help, and we couldn’t do this on our own. Truth be told, I somehow felt safer around Daniel. He seemed harmless enough and after getting jumped by those hoodlums...well, the more the merrier, I say.

  I felt more than a little mean thinking we would be less likely to get jumped again with someone like Daniel around, but there it was. I wanted José to agree, but if he didn’t, I was still going to let Daniel tag along. José could just be mad at me and deal with it; I didn’t care. We needed the help, and every day I was falling in deeper over my head. I watched as José stomped away; then he turned back around.

  “Fine, then! Come on, and bring your new boyfriend along, too.” His short legs marched away. I sighed and shook my head a little, then hollered for Daniel to hurry up and follow. José had taken about twenty steps when he turned back around and snarled. “He can carry Oreo!”

  Oreo? I had almost forgotten my buddy! When I looked back at Daniel, he had already retrieved Oreo. He held out his hand. I tentatively walked over and looked. In his hand was a small, white egg. I gently plucked it out of his hand; fascinated that my chicken had made this. He smiled, and I swear his teeth sparkled. This boy had the whitest teeth I had ever seen. We walked on, eventually catching up with José.