I know I haven't posted in a few weeks, and I am sorry about that. I finally completed my daily schedule so I should have time to post regularly.
As for A Secret Ally.....
This is a short story I recently completed. It is a little far-fetched, but hopefully you all enjoy it:)
A Secret Ally
“Mommy!! He threw the ball at me!”
“You
threw it at me first!”
“No
I did not!”
“Did
to!”
“Mom,
he’s telling lies!!”
Bethany
sighed and pulled out her headphones. Her little brothers were always fighting.
For some reason they just couldn’t seem to get along. She plugged her
headphones into her IPod and hit the play button. She only had two more
subjects to do before she could take a break. Her brothers’ yelling faded as Casting
Crowns began to play. She finished those two subjects in an hour and set them
on her mom’s desk. After letting her mom know where she was headed, Bethany
headed outside. Wishing she had a friend to run with, she leaped across the
field. Homeschooling could get really lonely sometimes, especially when your
only friends lived an hour and a half away.
Stopping on the
bank of the creek, she looked around. This was by far her favorite spot to go
on her breaks. She sat down on a nearby rock and looked around. A butterfly
caught her eye and she watched it flutter across the creek. With its blue and
orange stripes, it was very beautiful. Bethany watched as it flew across the
creek and hovered right over her head. It was a very strange butterfly, or
maybe it was just its rare colors that made it stand out. Sitting perfectly
still, she watched as it flew back and forth in front of her face. It hovered
closer and closer, until, finally, it settled on her shoulder. As many times as
she had been out here, that had never happened before. Bethany smiled and
carefully moved her head to look down at it. As she sat admiring it, she heard
a strange voice.
“Hi, I’m
Katherine.” Bethany jumped to her feet and cautiously looked around. No one was
there. She sat back down but kept watching the path. If there was a chance
someone lived out here, especially a girl her age, she had to know. Just when
she was about to give up, she heard the voice again.
“Well, aren’t
you going to tell me your name?” Again, Bethany jumped up and spun around. It
sounded like it was nearby, but no one was there. Tempted to run home, she
turned toward the path.
“Don’t go home;
I just want to be your friend. Don’t be afraid.” Bethany stopped and glanced
around. Someone had to be out there because voices didn’t come out of nowhere.
It was then that she noticed the butterfly was still sitting on her shoulder. That
was weird because butterflies don’t just sit on your shoulder when you are
jumping around. Bethany stared at it. Could it be?
“What’s your
name?” Bethany jumped and looked down at the butterfly. Butterflies don’t talk,
that was not normal. But who else would be talking?
“B-B-ethany.”
Hesitantly introducing herself, Bethany looked around and then looked back at
the butterfly. To her surprise, Katherine flew up and, making a figure eight,
landed gently on her nose.
“Nice to meet
you, Bethany.” Katherine glided up again and hovered in front of her. “Hold up
your hand.”
Bethany
cautiously held up her hand and she watched in amazement as Katherine settle in
the palm of her hand.
“There, much
better. Flying is hard work, you know.” Bethany giggled and brought her hand up
close to her face.
“I wouldn’t
know, I’ve never tried it.”
“Oh that’s right!
You humans have these things called legs. It must be boring to have to walk all
the time. You can get to places so much faster when you fly.”
“I’m sure.”
Bethany sat down and leaned against a tree.
“You live around
here, right?” Katherine folded her wings and appeared to sit down, that is if
butterflies can sit.
“Yep, just
across the field. I come here every day when I am on my morning break. What
about you?”
“I live on the
other side of the creek in a little house way up in the trees.”
“You live in a
tree house? That must be so awesome!!”
“Of sorts. All
butterflies live in what you call tree houses.”
“I didn’t know
that. I thought they lived in the flowers.”
“We work with
the flowers every day and I do enjoy them, but I would not enjoy living in
them. Besides, I wouldn’t want to go home to a flower when I work with them all
day. Those flowers can get really feisty sometimes.”
“You make the flowers grow, right?”
“Yes, but not
just the flowers. We pollinate everything.”
“Wow. That must
be a hard job.”
“At first it is,
but when you do it every day for 15 years, it becomes second nature.”
“How many
brothers and sisters do you have?”
“Well, too many
to count, really….”
And this is how
their conversations went for months. Katherine told her about the strange life
of a butterfly and Bethany showed her the equally interesting life of humans.
They talked about nothing and everything. As spring came to an end and Bethany
finished the last of her schoolwork for the year, they became inseparable.
Everywhere Bethany went, Katherine was always nearby. On one particular day, as
summer was ending and fall was creeping in, Bethany and Katherine were walking
along the Creek. They were exhausted from running back and forth across the
field.
“I’m going to
have to leave soon.” Katherine stopped and landed gently on Bethany’s
outstretched hand.
“Why?” Bethany
froze and stared at her.
“Well, because
butterflies don’t come out of their houses very often in the fall.”
“So I won’t be
able to talk to you anymore?”
“Not during the
fall and winter, you won’t. At least not every day, I will try and visit you as
much as I can, though.”
“How come you
don’t work during the fall and winter? Is it too cold for you?”
“Yes and the
flowers have to rest. They go to sleep for a while and then in the spring, we
bring them back. Besides, we have to rest sometime.”
“Ok, but when
will you come and visit?” Bethany wiped a tear away and ran a finger gently
across Katherine’s wings.
“I will try and
come as often as I can. I can’t tell you how often that will be.” Katherine
fluttered up to Bethany’s shoulder. “Don’t cry, my friend. I’ll still be here,
and if you ever need me, just call and I’ll come.”
“But I want you
every day!” Bethany held back a sob and lifted Katherine off her shoulder.
“I must go, but
just remember, making friends means being a friend.” Katherine opened her wings
and fluttered up. Bethany watched as she gliding higher and higher until she
disappeared into the trees.
Katherine
watched as Bethany slowly walked back across the field. It was going to be hard
on her at first, but Bethany had so much more in store for her now. Katherine
sighed and flew, up and up, until finally, she reached her home way up in the
trees. She had done her job, now it was time to let life run its course.
As soon as Bethany
reached, the house, she ran to her bedroom and shut the door. Katherine was
gone and would never be back. She was such a good friend, always there at the
exact time they were supposed to meet and never judging her. Her day dreams
were interrupted by a knock on the door. Bethany wiped her eyes and stood up.
“Come in!”
“Are you
finished with your work for the day?” Her mother swung the door open and put
her hands on her hips.
“No, I just got
back from my break.” Glancing at the time, she realized she had spent way too
much time outside. She was thirty minutes late getting back to work.
“Are you okay,
sweetie, you look like you’ve been crying.” Her mom pulled her into a hug and
kissed her cheek. The tears came even though Bethany tried to hold them back.
“Sweetie, what happened? Is your brother picking on you again?”
Shaking her
head, she said, “I lost my best friend today, Mommy.”
“What do you
mean your best friend? You mean Cassie?”
“No, mommy, she
isn’t my best friend.”
“She isn’t? Who
is then?”
“Katherine!
Katherine was my best friend.”
“Katherine??
Who’s Katherine?”
“Mommy, she’s the
girl I meet every day down by the creek! She had to leave today and won’t be
back until spring.”
“She
did?” Bethany’s mom stood up and looked worriedly down at her little girl. No
one lived anywhere for miles and miles. The closest people lived 5 miles away
and they didn’t have a little girl.
“Yes,
and I miss her. I want her to come back!!” Bethany’s tears were gone now and
her temper had set in.
“Bethany,
calm down. I’ll go to the neighbors and see if their little girl can stay for a
little bit longer.” She stepped toward the door, knowing full well the
neighbors didn’t have a little girl.
“No,
mommy! She won’t be there! Katherine doesn’t live at the neighbors.”
“Where
does she live then?”
“She
lives up in a tree, in a little tree house, with lots and lots of flowers and
butterflies fluttering around.”
“Ok, I’ll ask around, then.” Puzzled,
but playing along, she took another step toward the door.
“No,
mommy. People don’t know her. She has to rest for the winter and then in the
summer she will come back out. Don’t disturb her sleep; she’s worked hard this
summer. Katherine needs it.”
“So
you don’t want me to make her come back?”
“No,
just let her sleep.”
“Ok,
then. Come and finish up your work for the day. Try to finish early because dad
will be home early and he has a special announcement to make.” As Bethany
headed downstairs, her mom lingered at the door. Did that just really happen? A
little girl named Katherine? Living around here? She paused to think about it.
Bethany was only seven; it could be an imaginary friend. Was Bethany really
that lonely that she would conjure up an imaginary friend?
Bethany headed downstairs
and got back to work. As soon as she finished, she rushed outside. Daddy would
be home soon, but she had a few minutes to talk to… oh yeah... Katherine was
gone. Bethany sighed and plopped down on the porch. Now what would she do on
her breaks? She stood up and headed inside. She could do some extra reading
while she was waiting for Dad. Momentarily putting Katherine in the back of her
mind, she immersed herself in her book. A few minutes later, she heard her
dad’s car pull in the driveway and ran downstairs. Everyone was already gathered
in the living room, so she quickly sat down and waited for her dad. The walk
from his car to the door seemed to take forever and Bethany just couldn’t wait
any longer. Jumping up, she ran to the door and flung it open.
“Daddy!! You’re
home!!” When her dad reached the door, she threw her arms around his big belly
and squeezed.
“Whoa there
girl! It’s good to see you too.” Chuckling, he lifted her up off her feet and
carried her through the house. Her laughter rang through the house as he
tickled her all the way to the living room. When he reached the living room, he
plopped her on the couch and took off his hat. Without saying a word to anyone
else, he kissed his wife and headed into the kitchen.
“Daddy, aren’t
you going to tell us?” Bethany ran from the living room with her brothers close
behind.
“Yep.” He opened
the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of tea. Then, he walked to the cabinet and
reached for a glass. The process of pouring himself a glass of tea seemed to go
on forever. Finally, he was done and they headed back to the living room. When
they were all seated, he began.
“We’re moving.”
He sat back and took a sip of his tea.
“What???? We’re
moving??” Bethany scooted forward on her chair, as if she was ready to start
driving now.
“Yep-“
“Yes, sweetie.”
Her mother cut in. “I know this is a big blow for you, but we’re moving where
you can have lots of friends.”
“We’ll have real friends? That we can see
every day?” Bethany jumped up and ran to her mother.
“Yep!”
“Will I have one
that I can talk to on my breaks?”
“If she is
homeschooled like you are, then yes.” Her mother stood up and pulled Bethany
into a hug. After a few seconds, she pulled away and jumped up and down.
“Yay, yay,
yay!!! We’re going to have real friends that we can talk to every day!” She
turned to her brothers. “Did you hear that? We’ll actually have real
friends!!!”
Her little
brothers joined in the rejoicing. “Yay, yay, yay!!”
Weeks passed and
soon the day came when they were to move. As her parents loaded the last of the
boxes, she slipped away and headed down to the creek. In just a few minutes,
she would be leaving behind the only home she had ever known and the only best
friend she had ever had. Would she have a favorite place like this creek, or
would she have to stay inside all the time? If only she could talk to Katherine
one more time. Just to say goodbye and thank her for being such a good friend.
“Katherine? Are
you busy right now? Cuz I really need you.” Bethany carefully watched the air
around her, hoping Katherine was flying nearby and could hear her. “Katherine?”
For several minutes she stood there, perfectly still, waiting, hoping Katherine
would come. 30 minutes passed and still, nothing. Looking at the sunset, she
turned toward the path. Before she could take a step, a movement caught her
eye. Spinning around, she saw a faint flutter in the distance. Holding her
breath, she waited. She watched as the figure grew closer and closer, appearing
to come out of the horizon. Gasping, she ran toward it. It was Katherine!! She
did come!!
“I knew you’d
come, I just knew it!!” Carefully holding Katherine in her hand, she lifted her
hand up to eyelevel. “I have to move, Katherine, but I’ll never forget you,
never!”
“I won’t forget
you either, Bethany. Just remember, making friends means being a friend.”
“I won’t forget,
Katherine.” Bethany smiled at Katherine and lifted her high into the air.
“Bye, Katherine.
I hope I make as good a friend as you at my new home.”
“Bye, Bethany.
Remember, making friends means being a friend.” Gliding up, she hovered just
above Bethany’s head. Making a figure eight, she fluttered away until she was
out of sight.
Bethany ran back
across the field and gave her mom a big hug. She would make friends, lots of
them. All she had to do was be a friend. They all hopped in the car and began
the adventure of a lifetime. One that would challenge them and encourage them,
one that would forever change all of them for the better, but most of all, change
the world they lived in.
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