Eric
Blink. The room all around was a blur as Eric Naughton, in a cold sweat, sits up from his bed.
Blink again. The room comes into clearer focus. On the west wall, the moonlight passes through the filter of the drapes.
Checking the clock, Eric reaches for his glasses. 3:15 AM. ‘Shit!’ He lies back down, closing his eyes, trying to get back to sleep.
‘Click’
He opens his eyes.
‘Click’
He turns his head in the direction of the door.
‘Click’
The latch clicks unlocked and the door opens; a light, as faint as the images in the room before him, seems to just pass between the cracks of the door. ‘Are you alright Mr. Naughton?’
The familiar voice brought him back to reality.
‘Oh…oh yeah, I’ll be okay, thanks.’
The door closes and Eric closes his eyes again.
****
The crow of the rooster and the bright sun filtering through felt nice as it blanketed gently over the now waking Eric. As his eyes slowly open, he remembers not taking off his glasses after his ordeal the previous night.
The breeze was flowing gently through an open window. The door was already open. His hosts must have already awoken. Eric checks his clock. 9:00 AM.
Slipping out of bed, Eric hears water running. It was coming in the direction of the bathroom.
Leaving his room in a daze, Eric heads towards the stairs. As he does, he notices that the bathroom door is open. The sound of water still running resonates through the hall as he heads in that direction. Reaching the stairs, he notices no one is in there. He decides to go turn off the water.
He changes direction and makes for the bathroom. Upon entering, he reaches for the faucet of the marble white sink. The water trickles down to a few drops.
‘Excuse me sir, may I ask what you’re doing here?’ He turns his head, and sees a middle aged woman sitting in the tub, scrubbing something, which appears now hidden from his view.
‘Uh, I’m sorry, did you need that?’ Sweat starting to form on his forehead; he realized he might have done something to get himself kicked out of the house.
‘Just turn the faucet back on, and get out!’
After turning the faucet back on, Eric speeds out of the bathroom and heads downstairs.
****
Breakfast was quiet. As it was already quite late, no one, well, almost no one was home. All that remained in the manor were Eric, the woman in the bathroom, the chef’s assistant, who’s name was Andrea, and of course, the dog.
The dog was an odd one. It was constantly dirty, and never really paid much heed for the baths it was forced to take every two days, at four o’clock in the evening, when the head of the house got back and the serving hands were in.
Eric remembers one occasion where the dog nearly drowned in a struggle against the serving hands. The water was quite deep, and it would never get out without the help of one of the serving hands. It wasn’t a very big dog, just a few weeks after its birth.
‘Sir, are you done with your plate?’ It was Andrea. She had come to clean up the dining room after his breakfast.
‘Yes thanks, and I’ll be out for the day, so tell the chef to not worry about preparing my meals for the rest of the day.’
‘Of course sir, when will you be back?’
Eric said nothing. He simply shrugged and got up. As he headed to leave, there was a knock at the door. Eric opened it. A man in a dirty trench coat appeared in front of him, with a look of shock in his eyes.
‘Please, I need to speak with Eric Naughton, do you know if he’s in?’ The sound of his voice was raspy, and his face reminded him of the farmer who used to live on the next farm down from his family farm.
‘If you know him, then you’re my only hope, I need to speak with him. It’s about his mother.’
The Farmer's Wife
Several years back in the Prairies, there was a drought. Caught in the middle of all this was a young farmer and his family. There were six children: three boys, three girls; and his wife. He had, until that moment, been living happily.
It seemed at the time unfair to any of them to have to go through this. As rough as it was on the prairie farms, a drought was the worst case scenario.
‘We’re truly sorry about you having to make this choice.’ It had come the day for them to finally make the decision to leave their home.
Carrying with them what little they had, a few clothes, a loaf of bread, matchsticks, and very little else, in a quilt of sorts that the mother had made in their better days.
The conductor guided them on the train and told them the train was to leave in a few minutes. Families all around had gathered at the station to wish fair-well to them. Many women went to the mother at the window, and sent her off with promising words.
‘We’ll miss you.’
‘You’re going to be fine; the city can only bring good!’
‘Good luck.’
‘You’re husband was the most valuable here, he’ll definitely work to that name again.’
‘We hope your children will grow up well.’
The children. She looked back, and saw them waving to their friends all from different windows of the train; all except the youngest.
The small boy sat at the back of the train car, his hands and head in his curled up knees. Walking over, she asks, ‘My child, what’s wrong?’
‘Mama, I just want to stay at home. I miss Jimmy and Lana and Cameron!’
The young boy started to cry as soon as he said this.
Jimmy, Lana and Cameron were his friends from since they were born. Almost practically quadruplets, they did everything together, and had that preschooler’s magic, which bound them as friends, regardless of circumstance.
The train started to leave. The woman went back to wave her final goodbyes to her friends, as did the children at the other windows.
The youngest child sat in the back of the car, as he continued to cry about his loss.
****
The ride toward the big city seemed to go on forever. The woman is knitting by a window, as her husband is in the corner booth, playing with the children; the youngest one has joined them. The laughter that fills the car is a warm feeling, one of softness. The ride may not be the most comfortable, or even feel safe, but there is a security, one in which the family is together through this, a sense that there will come some kind of good.
Outside the window, the woman catches a glimpse of cattle herds and horses at every passing farm. The farmer who’s watching the cattle is lying lazily on his back, atop a hill, as he gazes into the warm afternoon.
‘Oh how I wish we could go back to that life!’ she would find herself thinking. She ponders the life in the big city.
****
It had been a week on the train, and they were almost there. The woman had gotten very little sleep, and even less rest; the children were constantly about, excited to be leaving home; the youngest was lightening up a bit as well.
As a mother, she knew that it would not be easy to keep up with her children after a while; she just didn’t quite expect it to be so soon.
The children were all their pre-pubescent years, the youngest being almost nine. The children were laughing and running around all day, and giggling all night, hiding their restlessness and excitement as they progressed towards the city.
Meals were provided for them, which was a grace to be had of, for a train ride such as this, even though the food was not the finest.
Everyday, it would be the same routine for them. They would get up, the woman would start knitting, the children and father would start playing games and singing songs, and they would be given lunch and dinner, then go to sleep when it got dark.
****
‘Clunk’
The wooden table in the middle of the car shook.
‘Clunk’
Another shake.
‘Clunk clunk’
The seats of the car shake. The wheels below the car start to slowly squeak as the train begins to arrive at the station.
‘Attention passengers, the train has arrived at the final stop.’ A brief pause draws the attention of the father and the mother, while the children continue to play. ‘Please take all your belongings and leave the train. Any belongings left behind will be taken to the main office of the station. Have a nice day.’
The children collect their bags and run out to the station area. Their parents are close behind. As they enter the station area, they see families being reunited with each other, and people embracing, crying, and laughing.
Leaving the station through large metal gates, the family heads off in search of a new life.
Amelia and Stacey
The two girls are twins. They look exactly alike. Chestnut brown, shoulder length hair. Smiles that shine, like little children opening Christmas presents. Hazel brown eyes.
Their story begins on a beautiful Christmas morning on the farm. The warm sun shines through the windows, and beats their little faces. Their mother is right there next to them, lying down.
The little girls awaken to find their mother smiling at them after the previous night’s labours, and they laugh with delight to see their first loving sight: their mother.
****
Growing up, the two sisters got along really well. Being the third and fourth ones in the family, they were hardly in the way of their parents. They were too young to help out around the farm, but they did look after their younger brothers when they arrived. Then as they turned ten, they had to leave their home on the farm. All they had to go on at the time was what their parents told them.
‘Mommy and daddy can’t afford to stay here very long, and we won’t have any money if we try to.’
Of course, the little girls knew it was best, so they left along with the rest of the family.
****
Growing up in the big city wasn’t too hard for the girls. As teenagers, they learned about experienced many new and exciting things that probably wouldn’t have happened down at the farm.
Friendships. Heartaches. Love. Temptation. Freedom.
Most important of all was freedom. The girls were freed from any possible chance of having to do pain-inducing labours in the big city. As a result, the girls grew up fragile, delicate, and most important to them, beautiful.
They still looked after their little brothers, but they too were growing up and needed less care. That left just them, to do their own things. The older siblings would be busy with their relationships, which they had already experienced before, with a great sense of daring. The younger ones were always busy playing video games and toys and all those things which young boys could occupy themselves with.
They were truly free.
In fact, they were so free, that all throughout high school, there would be little concern from the parents when they were brought home by the police. The two girls had all the liberty in the world.
****
The girls and their family lived a decent life in the city. They had an apartment, and even though the girls and their older sister shared one room, the girls didn’t mind. It was going to change soon.
The oldest sister, at the time nineteen, was about to leave for college. Her aim was to be an engineer for the railway company. The younger girls were excited to see their sister leave for her dream, but also sad that she was leaving. But in any case, the girls now had a room to themselves. It was a room with two beds, a desk in the corner, and yellow walls which didn’t seem all too attractive to the girls.
The parents were always working, the father as a grocer, and the mother at the knitting club, working with customers. This kept the family well fed, and the girls happy.
****
The girls first became interested in boys after their brother and sister left for work and college. The girls were in their sophomore year of high school, and were still as sweet as ever. Chestnut brown hair, hazel brown eyes, smiles like little children on Christmas morning, was what made them as beautiful as the day they were born.
Every boy in school wanted them. It wasn’t easy being with an identical twin, because any boy would get the two mixed up.
Amelia began her experience before Stacey did. She met a junior, a football player and honour roll student. They had what many would consider a puppy love. There were love notes on lockers, and flowers and chocolates. Their first kiss had been after the varsity championship, and their school won the match.
Stacey first fell in love with Eduardo Salvena, a Hispanic senior, who immigrated two years before. They really connect very well, and it almost seems a dream come true.
The girls are never jealous of each other, and they help, and listen to each other through whatever situation they are going through. They really are very close with each other.
****
It is Monday morning. The girls are now twenty. They are out in the world, and living with their high school lovers, and each has a happy life. They see each other on occasion, such as Christmas gatherings.
As expected, family gatherings are always a big time for them. They get a chance to see their father, mother, sister and brothers. This Christmas, it was different. The father was not longer alive to celebrate with them; he had died that summer of a heart attack.
‘He had been having so many of them; the doctor suggested a bypass operation, but your father always refused, he would complain that it would waste too much time or that there wasn’t enough money saved for it. It ended with the one that was least expected.’
The family quietly ate. Amelia pointed out after finishing her bite of a dinner roll that their youngest brother was also missing. Mother responded, ‘He’s been quite upset lately, he said that he wasn’t going to make things worse for himself by coming.’ Naturally, this surprised them.
Later that evening, Stacey’s husband and was outside, puffing at his cigar. Stacey had just come out after catching up with her sister about life, and she was about to embrace him, but suddenly stopped.
‘Eduardo, who’s that?’
Chills went down both of their spines.
‘Who?’ He turns around and sees an old man in rags.
‘Stacey, don’t you remember? It’s me, Doc Halverson! I lived a farm away from your family!”
‘Doc? What are you doing here? Come on in!’
Inside, Stacey gets a better view of the old man. As the family comes together in the living room, he explains his showing up, and appearing the way he was. After the story, he smiled that big familiar smile that the girls were so fond of. He was a man who reminded them of a carefree life, and what it was like to be back on the farm, what it was like to be happy.
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