In My Mother's Time (3 page)

our attention her intent on
sneaking nearer to the shack on the
creek.

Mother pointed to the bush nearest
to where we stood. We
nodded approvingly and silently followed one another into the bush where we
sat obediently. Mother disappeared
into the tree line. We waited anxiously
for a signal that she had made it
safely inside. After what felt like an
eternity we heard a blood curdling
scream followed by a loud gun
shot.

The baby, Theodore now four
years old, began to whimper. My older
sister Amelia
also
began
to
cry,
though
it
was silent her tears were streaming
down her
face
in
a
way
I’d
never
seen
before. Alarmed
my
hands began to tingle
my
face hot, sweeting
my
heart began
to gallop. I leaped from
my
hiding
place and
like
a
terrified
dear
I
ran
toward
the

shack with no regard for the amount
of noise I made or whom may have
been lurking
within.

The door swung open and as a
figure emerged
from
the
darkness
I
skidded
to a halt nearly falling forward into
a barrel roll. I caught myself as
inertia took hold of my body and twisted
to turn and high tail it out of there like
a coward when my mother’s
angelic giggle stopped me in
my
place.

“Mom?” I squeaked confused
and mortified.

“Yes, Joseph” She sighed
giggling, “It’s me
son.”

“Wha-“I
stammered,
“what
was
that!?” I
said
in
a
heightened
state
of
hysterics.

She sat down whipping her face with
a scarf she used to cover her hair
while on long walks in the wood to
protect her scalp from ticks. Mother slung
a dead snack at my feet causing me
to jump
back
as
she
began
to
cackle
at
my
sudden
surprise.

“Mom!” I
squeaked.

“What?” she smiled, “it’s just a
bitty snake” she
finished.

“That is not a bitty snake!” I
laughed.

“We’ll cook it up and eat it.”
She smiled coolly calling out to Ted
and Amelia to come forth from the
bush.

The two of them ran up the creek
bed to where we sat. Tears welled in
red
eyes, they slammed into mom
nearly knocking her over. Amelia looked
into her eyes squeezing her tight.
Amelia wore  her emotions  on her face 
more

than she spoke of them.
Theodore being
more
verbal
was
the
first
to
break
the silence.

“Mommy I thought you died!”
He whimpered causing Amelia to
also begin crying once
more.

“Oh no, Joseph show them the
snake” Mother said
calmly.

“This clumsy snake slithered
from under a cabinet and frightened me
is all.” She smiled leaning forward
right into Amelia’s face, “ We’re going
to slice
him
open
and
gobble
him
up”
She finished with her tongue sliding in
and out like a serpent, eyes wide she
began to
giggle.

Amelia disgusted began to
squirm, “Ewwww!” she
groaned.

“Yuck!” Theodore
laughed.

Slapping her hands against her
knees she stood
tall.

“We
will
watch
this
place
for
a
few days
just
to
see
if
anyone
comes
by,
but by the layers of dust on the floor
let alone the cupboards I’d say no one
has been here in a decade.” She
surmised
aloud.

Chapter
four

We
went
back
to
our
mud
and
tall
grass hut mama had built similarly to
the ones we’d seen ages ago at
Jamestown settlement. We didn’t mind it but
I could tell mom didn’t approve.
She always said no matter what I do it
just feels dirty in
here.

She also complained about
being open and defenseless. I wonder if
this thought had anything to do with
her time
in
the
Army.
Mother
often
went
to peak at the little shack taking us
along. She spotted a path nearby one
day.

“This is too man made to be
a coincidence of nature.” Mom
said looking around, “We will follow
this path but in the woods parallel just
in case,” She
finished.

Without a peep we silently stood in
a row following her into the brush
once more, as we’d done so often
before. These day trips kept us healthy
and wore us out. It was a family affair
that would keep us bonded and
strong. Later after her passing I would
take long walks in the woods to feel
nearer to her. Once a doe with two
babies walked right out in front of me and  
I

knew instantly that she was
there reminding me that she was
always there.

At
the
end
of
the
path
was
an
open
field but it was strangely
rectangular. Straight across from us was
another row of thick trees. I began to step
out into the field when mother
nearly knocked me over thrusting her arm
out like a baton slapping me in the
chest. She shook her head, No. she looked
at me
sternly.

Mother turned south shooing us
back the way  we had come before 
turning

180 degrees to the west making
us parallel to the open rectangular
field but far enough to its south that
we remained invisible. She trudged on
in that
direction
carefully
maintaining
her speed while watching closely for
signs of
life.

Eventually she made it to the lip of
the rectangle.
It
was
at
least
a
football
field long we turned north and
continued looking.

We again reached the lip of
the rectangle which now was an L
shape from this point of view we saw a
large hill that mother said was
definitely man
made
and
did
not
seem
right
it didn’t have much grass which means
it was made fairly
recently.

She motioned for us to follow as
she turned east continuing along
subtly walking on soft step and in
complete silence.

She got about a yard when we
all smelled the pungent odious smell
of defecation and rotting flesh.
We looked
at
each
other
horrified.
I
felt
the bottom of
my
stomach and had
the sudden urge to purge myself of
urine.

Mom motioned with both hands for
us to sit and stay. As we began to
crouch down and sit huddled together
mother kissed us on the forehead reassuring
us with her
smile.

Once again she tip toed into
the distance
slowly
fading
away.
She
came upon
four
men
in
a
huddle
making
pigs of themselves upon one another
when they spotted her. Mother said the
smell was enough to make a woman
furious, let alone four grown deranged
and decidedly exposed men lunging at
her with such
ferocity.

We heard three loud bangs and
this time we stayed exactly where we
were left
with
a
heightened
sense
of
hearing. We heard a man squealing and
scream. Even on her death bed she
never
breathed a word of what
happened after
she
shot
three
of
the
men.
She

always said it was between her
and God, and he
understood.

She buried the men in a large hole
and covered them in whatever was
rotting in the air. For a month she would go
to that spot collecting the filth she
found and
moving
it
far,
far
away.
She
buried it all, made her peace with it and let
it go.

Chapter
5

Finally
she
would
bring
her
children
to that rectangular field. Mother
smiled took our hands and with
one exaggerated step we would as a
unit step from the chilly shadowy
forest into the bright airy open field
she giggled steering us across the field
and into the woods. Before long
we reached
a
disparaged
wall,
or
what
was
left of
it.

Mother maneuvered us around it
and to our shock there was a huge
colonial mansion. There was complete
silence as we stood starring at the
dilapidated exorbitant
structure.
We
looked
at
each other than at her. Mother raised an
eye brow grinned and nodded at
the building. I shook
my
head.

“What?” Mom said a little
down hearted and
surprised.

“mom, it’s a dump” I said it’s not
even a house its walls and a roof.” I
finished with a dissatisfied
scoff.

“Don’t
be
so
hoity
touity
Joseph”
Mom said, “look at it like a templet”
she smiled.

“It’s bones with no meat and
potatoes, mom.” I
scoffed.

“It is exactly that Joseph” she
grinned, “bones and we will make the meat
and