Official Blog of Kristy Gherlone | Heartfelt stories

- Piano Hoarding Christians
  
  Posted at 6:56 pm by writergherlone, on December 10, 2018
  
  **This story is a reprint. First electronic rights belong to Defenestration Literary Magazine and was originally published on January 24, 2018
  
  Piano Hoarding Christians
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  The people across the street will not teach me piano. They told me ‘no’, even after I had put on a clean shirt, combed my hair, and walked all the way over there. I thought it would be like asking for a cup of sugar, like neighbors sometimes do. “Will you teach me piano?” I asked nicely.
  
  The woman who answered the door smiled and then frowned. “Oh, do you hear us playing? I hope we’re not too loud.” She glanced over at my house as if she were trying to gauge the distance of sound waves.
  
  “No, it’s not too loud,” I said. “So will you?”
  
  “Have you ever played before?”
  
  “No,” I said.
  
  “Do you own a piano?”
  
  “No.”
  
  “Hmm,” she said, batting at my cigarette smoke, “I don’t think so.”
  
  “Shit,” I said.
  
  “Well, thanks for stopping by. Bye,” she sang. She started to close the door, but I shoved my foot in just in time. “Wait! How about one of your kids? Maybe one of them can teach me.”
  
  “Hmm,” she said again, fiddling with the cross around her neck. “I don’t think so, but if you ever need sugar, we have plenty of that.” She kicked my foot out of the way and closed the door.
  
  I flicked my cigarette butt into their driveway, walked back across the street, and sat on my front steps.
  
  “Well?” my husband asked.
  
  “Hold on,” I said. I picked up my gun, aimed, and finally shot the bastard squirrel that had been chewing up the walls in our house. I put the gun down. “They won’t do it,” I told him.
  
  “I think they’re religious,” he said, as if that was an explanation. “Do you know they have seven children?” he added.
  
  “I know. I’ve seen the little brats. I think they all play the piano. It’s not very Christian to hoard all the piano music knowledge.”
  
  “I don’t think they hoard all the piano music knowledge. Besides, you have your own music,” he said; and he was right. I did have my music. I had The Medic Droid. I liked to listen to “Fer Sure,” when I mowed the lawn in my bathrobe. And I had Metallica. I liked to listen to them when I drank beer and took selfies on the front porch in my underwear.
  
  I scowled at their house. Someone closed the curtains.
  
  Not one of them came over to tell me they’d changed their mind, and now I hear them all hours of the day, tapping out their soothing, melodic rhythms, like they’re trying to taunt me. Like they’re rubbing it in.
  
  I seethe.
  
  When I’m never a concert pianist, I will blame them.
  
  ***No Part of this story may be copied or reproduced without consent from the author.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #prose, christians, fakenonfiction, hillbilly, humor, music, piano, shortstory, teaching
- Ice Cream or Moxie
  
  Posted at 1:39 pm by writergherlone, on November 8, 2018
  
  *This story originally appeared in Short Fiction Break and went on to The Metaworker.
  
  **No part of this story may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.
  
  Ice Cream or Moxie
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  In the heat of the summer, back when Willow’s mother slipped in and out of lunacy, sometimes she’d wake up at night to find her sitting on the edge of her bed. She’d whisper, “I’m in the mood for something sweet. Let’s walk to Mulberry’s. It’s a good night for ice cream.”
  
  Willow would search her eyes. If they seemed contented, she would slide out of bed and allow herself to be pulled out into the dark.
  
  Mulberry’s was a hike, but electric energy buzzed through her mother as they walked along. It felt like carnival rides and fireworks. Like parades and Christmas. The feeling was catching. It felt like she could walk until dawn without getting tired.
  
  All at once, Willow wanted to skip and run! She wanted to laugh out loud and dance around, but didn’t. Instead, she stayed silent, letting the humid air wrap around her shoulders, while her mother gushed on and on about the things they were going do that summer.
  
  They would go to the ocean and eat lobsters! They would climb the mountain and rent a cabin at the lake! They would have picnics at the park and go to the town pool every day! Willow wanted to get excited about those things, but couldn’t.
  
  Her mother would stop to point out stars. She’d show her the Milky Way and the Big Dipper. Then she would begin to tell Willow about the sky in Arizona, where she’d grown up. “You should have seen all those stars. There were millions of them out there in the desert. I swear you could see all the way to heaven, if you wanted to.”
  
  Willow’s stomach would tighten.
  
  “Sometimes, I wish I’d never left. I wish…” her mother would say, her feet slowing.
  
  Luna Moths danced around the street lamps overhead, attracted by the light and warmth. Sometimes, Willow felt like a Luna Moth, lured into the brightness only to get burned.
  
  “I wish…”
  
  Willow could hear motorcycles and cars zipping up and down Main Street. “We’re almost there. Thanks for bringing me! It is a good night for ice cream,” she would say, trying to lighten the mood again, if it wasn’t too late.
  
  “…I wish I’d never met your father…What? What did you say, Willow?”
  
  “We’re almost to the store.”
  
  “What? Oh. Well, I’m not getting ice cream. I think I’ll have a Moxie instead.”
  
  Willow’s mother drank Moxie when her mood was changing. She said it reminded her of how bitter life could be.
  
  A few doors down from Mulberry’s, there was a bar. There were always a few people milling around out front smoking cigarettes. Willow would try to pull her mother into the store before anything bad could happen.
  
  “I bet your father’s in there. I bet he’s with a woman,” she’d hiss, her eyes growing dark.
  
  “I can’t decide if I want a Strawberry Shortcake or a Crunch. What do you think?” Willow would ask, starting up the steps.
  
  “Oh, I don’t care what you get! As a matter of fact, if you want ice cream so badly, you should go ask your father! Why do I have to pay for everything while he’s out having a grand old time?”
  
  “I don’t know,” Willow would say.
  
  “Just forget it. I’m not in the mood now. Let’s go,” her mother would say, whipping around and storming towards home.
  
  Willow walked alone on the return, her mother having retreated inside of her own mind. She’d call out, spitting questions, and slinging insults at people who weren’t there. There were no promises of good things to come. Her energy was gone. It was catching. Willow would get so tired, it felt as if she could sleep for a week.
  
  When they’d get back home, Willow would fall into bed. After a time, her mother would peek her head in through the door. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe tomorrow we’ll try again.”
  
  “Okay,” Willow would yawn. “That would be fun.”
  
  “Willow?”
  
  “Yeah?”
  
  “Sometimes we do get ice cream, don’t we?”
  
  “Sometimes we do and sometimes we get Moxie.”
  
  “Oh, I don’t like Moxie. It’s so bitter.” Willow’s mother would say. “Ice cream is so much sweeter.”
  
  Posted in #prose | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, divorce, familyfriendly, fiction, icecream, maine, mentalillness, moxie, parenting, shortstory, summer
- Wayward Child
  
  Posted at 8:54 pm by writergherlone, on September 21, 2018
  
  *For my latest magazine publications see: “English Tea and Crawdads,” in The Hickory Stump and “When Gracie was Four,” in Down and Dirty Presents, The Legendary.
  
  Wayward Child
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  Mama had a wayward child, but that child wasn’t me. Timmy-Tom was pickle juice, cider, and pockets full of slugs. He was armpit farts, soda burps, and ‘I don’t know how to whisper.’ He was dog poop on sneakers and a grimy mud puddle diver. He was crossing his eyes, sticking his tongue out, and coughing without covering his mouth.
  
  Mama had an obedient child, and that child was surely me. I was chocolate cake, and Kool-Aid, and pockets full of buttons. I was piano music, alphabet reciter, and singing in the shower. I was sequins on sneakers and reading a book under a tree. I was combed hair, smiles, and saying ‘please and thank-you.’
  
  Mama said, “You kids come on in now. It’s time for your bath.”
  
  Timmy-Tom said, “I ain’t takin’ a bath.”
  
  I said, “It’s, ‘I’m not taking a bath.’”
  
  Mama said, “Don’t you kids sass me. Both of you get in here now.”
  
  Timmy-Tom got into the bath after me. The water turned dingy-brown.
  
  Mama came in and saw the water. She said, “You kids are filthy! I told you to stay out of the mud.”
  
  I said, “I wasn’t in the mud. Timmy-Tom was.”
  
  Mama said, “It’s not nice to tattle.”
  
  Timmy-Tom grinned and stuck his tongue out at me.
  
  Mama dried us off and said, “Off to bed. You’ve got school in the morning.”
  
  Timmy-Tom said, “I hate school. I ain’t goin’.”
  
  I said, “It’s, I hate school and I’m not going.”
  
  Mama said, “I don’t know what the matter is with you two today, but you’re both acting naughty. No television. I want you to go right to sleep.” She gave us each a kiss and turned out the light.
  
  Timmy-Tom waited until mama went downstairs. He got out of bed, turned the television on, and jumped back into bed.
  
  I got out of bed to turn the television off, but mama came storming up the stairs and said, “I told you no television. I guess Timmy-Tom was the only one who listened. He can have an extra pancake at breakfast tomorrow.”
  
  Timmy-Tom said, “Yippee,” and coughed in my face.
  
  The next morning mama said, “You kids go across the street and borrow an egg from the Fitzsimmons’. Don’t forget to watch for cars.”
  
  When we got to the end of the driveway I said, “Check for cars, Timmy-Tom, before you cross the road.”
  
  Timmy-Tom ran across without looking so I ran after him and a car almost hit me! The sound of screeching brakes sent mama flying to the door. She shouted, “I told you not to cross the road without checking! You could have been killed! No desert for you after dinner tonight.”
  
  Timmy-Tom laughed.
  
  At the breakfast table, Timmy-Tom said, “I’m sure glad I have this extra pancake. It’s really yummy. I bet you wish you had an extra pancake.” He smiled, put his hand under his armpit, and made a farting noise.
  
  I grabbed Timmy-Tom’s plate and smashed it over his head.
  
  Mama said, “Samuel Richard! It is NEVER okay to hit another person. Not ever. That was very wrong. I’m afraid you must be punished.”
  
  So now I’m in the corner.
  
  Mama has a wayward child and I guess that child must be me.
  
  End
  
  *No part of this story may be copied or reproduced without consent of the author.
  
  **Photo is the author on her 1st Birthday.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, familyfriendly, fiction, flashfiction, humor, kids, parenting, shortstory, siblingrivalry, siblings
- THE WILD
  
  Posted at 11:30 am by writergherlone, on August 14, 2018
  
  Photo Credit: Sasha Fleming
  
  THE WILD
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  Into a wild forest ragged and sharp,
  
  A tormented mind with thoughts so unsweet.
  
  Making her way to ascend the escarp,
  
  To hasten a day a future won’t meet.
  
  The air sweetened by raspberries and pine,
  
  Past crystal waters raging swiftly rushed,
  
  A small child traveled, unseen, not a sign,
  
  On that mountain, followed quietly hushed.
  
  Aloft, head laid stones, greened softly of moss,
  
  Ending a life of unbearable loss.
  
  And sun, beginning to set on the wild,
  
  Only then did she happen to see her poor child.
  
  The waning view of fir waves and lake,
  
  Morning will find neither one to awake.
  
  *No part of this poem may be copied or reproduced without permission from the author
  
  **Photo is the property of Sasha Fleming and may not be used without permission
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged childloss, grief, loss, mountains, nature, parenting, poetry, sonnet, suffering, wilderness
- The Long Dirt Road
  
  Posted at 1:42 am by writergherlone, on June 2, 2018
  
  *Some of the stories shared on this page will probably never be seen in the literary magazines. However, I feel that they have some value and I’m glad to share them with you. “The Long Dirt Road” is the beginning of a series that appeared on my Facebook last year. These stories are about growing up in the Maine woods in a cabin at the lake without electricity or running water in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Writing them brought me back to that time and I was able to re-capture some of the thrills and the challenges faced. I hope you find some thrills in reading them. (the photo presented is an actual photo of me during that time)
  
  The Long Dirt Road
  
  Part One: A Story of Summer
  
  By Kristy Gherlone
  
  There’s a road that inhabits a fair amount of space in my mind. I call it forward whenever I need a smile. I close my eyes and suddenly it’s there. Long and narrow, wash boarded and potholed. When I was a child, it was as familiar to me as it was a mystery. While the road itself didn’t change, the scenery often did. I never knew what we might see as my dad and I drove along.
  
  Sometimes there were moose. They’d come crashing out of the woods, shaking their heads and twitching their ears, crazy from the black flies and heat. They’d stomp all gangly legged in front of us before turning to trot back in again. I felt bad for them. They were tormented by bugs in the summer, and up to their bellies in snow during the winter. I used to try and convince my dad to build houses for them to escape to.
  
  If we were lucky, there might be a black bear nibbling raspberries in the dusty bushes that lined the sides, but they were either shy or snobby. They didn’t care for company, and would bound off as soon as they heard us coming. To see one was a real treat.
  
  I’d scan obsessively for bull frogs all along that road. They’d sit in the puddles, snapping up flies. I could spot their glassy eyes protruding on the murky surface a mile away, but they would always dive under as we neared, sending ripples in their wake. They couldn’t hide from me. I’d go back later to collect them. Knee deep in mud catching frogs was my life!
  
  I remember rolling down the window on the gold Custom Deluxe truck.
  
  I used to poke my head out and breathe in the powerful, tangy scent of pines. To this day, that smell makes me happy in a way that can’t be duplicated. The stream that ran along most parts of the road rushed restlessly in the spring and trickled lazily in the fall. Its smell was both boggy and clean as we drove over it on the old splintered bridge. I used to dream about the fish I’d catch in there the next time I had the chance and then I’d hang out as far as I could and try to spit far enough to hit the water.
  
  I’d reach out when we came to the clusters of sapling trees and let the leaves tickle my palm. Every now and then I’d find a big one and tear it off.
  
  Dad would say, “You know what that is, don’t ya? It’s woodsman’s toilet paper!”
  
  I’d watch for the brown wooden sign that said ‘You are now entering Indian Purchase land.’ I used to envision a whole tribe of Native Americans coming out of the woods. Their bows and arrows would be poised and ready to stop us from going further.
  
  And then I’d see the tree that stood at the entrance to our turn-off. It meant we were almost to our destination. It was a gorgeous tree, towering well above the rest. Its leaves blazed orange before turning fiery red late in the season. I could hardly stay in my seat with all of the butterflies jumping around in my belly.
  
  In June that road seemed a thousand miles long! We could never get to the end fast enough, but only because it led to Summer’s treasure box. Camp!
  
  Three whole months of fishing, swimming, bike riding and frog catching fun. There would be games of monopoly, and log hopping around the cove. I’d blaze trails through the forest! I’d sit on the big gray rock, high above the lake, and watch for shooting stars at night. The possibilities were as boundless as my energy.
  
  In late August that road seemed barely a mile. It went too quick! I was sure the very trip would ruin my life. Traveling south, it led back to town. School and dance lessons. Homework and bedtimes. Yuck!
  
  In reality, the road was no more than eight or ten miles, but I’ve traveled it so often it might now add up to a million.
  
  Of course, these days, I mostly travel it in my mind, but it’s definitely a road that’s worth the journey.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged cabins, childhood, maine, nature, shortstory
- Aloft
  
  Posted at 11:38 am by writergherlone, on April 3, 2018
  
  Aloft
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  The eagle watches the doe step cautiously into the fringes of the Klondike.
  
  He has been stalking her for days, waiting for a moment like this. The vastness of the terrain will give him an edge.
  
  He studies her with hunger and curiosity. These willowy beings dance about on earthbound legs that are as delicate as spring shoots. He knows from experience, however, that they only appear that way. She will slice through him in seconds with those sharp hooves if she can. It is a risk he is willing to take. Starvation is all around him. It has been some time since he’s had fresh meat.
  
  The withering grassland comes to life with scattering creatures as the doe begins her passage.
  
  Chickadee’s chatter, seet seet,dee dee dee, before taking flight to hide among the brush.
  
  His attention is averted by a flash of white. A snowshoe hare darts in and out of a maze of burrows. He is tempted but bound by a greater purpose than himself.
  
  His focus sharpens as the doe stops to sniff around. The north winds would reveal much, but the air is as still as the frozen surface of the river.
  
  She is winter-weak and pregnant. Her coat is sparse and ragged. With the safety of the forest still in her midst, she proceeds, nibbling at bits of evergreen along the way.
  
  His talons retract, and he breaks away from the balsam to follow. His shadow spirits where the light touches the remaining snow.
  
  She senses his presence. Her nostrils flare, sending out wisps of smoke as she wheezes in the chilly, spring air. The white of her tail signals an alarm.
  
  He lands silently onto a Candlewood branch nearby. The bough dips under his weight before bouncing back in to place.
  
  She stomps a warning, her muscles twitching, as she decides whether to stay or to flee. The veins pulse in her neck.
  
  His stomach tightens as he breathes in the scent of adrenaline rich blood, but he must wait.
  
  Eventually, she relaxes again and wobbles over to a patch of grass. She paws at the earth and lies down. The bulging hulk of her middle heaves with contractions.
  
  The eagle regards the terrain. A lone coyote hides among the cedars. Careful, yet daring, he emerges. Without a pack, he will go into battle alone. He lowers his head and begins to advance. His lolling tongue drips with saliva as he zig-zags over the plain.
  
  The doe’s eyes widen as she realizes the danger. She bleats and tries to rise, but water gushes from her hindquarters. Her knees buckle, and she falls back to the ground.
  
  The coyote prances all around her, narrowing the gap with every rotation. He lashes out with snarled lips and bared teeth, taking nips wherever he finds purchase.
  
  She kicks, sending him backwards. Dust and debris fly into the air. Dazed but unbroken, he lies askew. He shakes his head, trying to regain composure before beginning again.
  
  The eagle descends. The tips of his wings brush the snow where he lands. He waits patiently in the shadows.
  
  She turns her attention to the birth. Gangly feet dangle precariously from her rump. She tugs at them with her teeth.
  
  The coyote rises.
  
  Light mist begins to fall. Beads of moisture collect on budded branches and spill over. Mixing with blood, they carve red rivers into the turf as they wash away. The air begins to move, sending wafts of flavor all around them.
  
  The coyote can wait no longer. The pads of his feet hit the ground, thumping in rhythm with beating hearts. He growls and lunges, striking her throat. His teeth clamp down and hold. The doe flips her body, trying shake him, but it does nothing more than hasten her demise. He tears through her neck. Her eyes fix on the horizon, looking toward something the eagle cannot see.
  
  The coyote raises his head and announces victory. He rips through her flesh, tossing out tufts of fur to get to the meat. Captured by the wind, they swirl through the air and alight into the sky.
  
  New life emerges into a motherless world. It squirms inside of a sack, trying to break free.
  
  Awkward upon landing, the eagle hops over to the bundle, casting a wary eye towards the coyote. He may rule the skies, but on earth he is merely a beggar.
  
  The coyote stops his feast. They stare at one another. A silent agreement passes between them.
  
  The eagle uses both beak and feet to open the pouch. Water oozes out, spilling the tiny fawn onto the grass. It blinks up at him and mewls, its gaze full of needful wanting. He cocks his head, reminded of his own young. Each newborn beast is so similar until they are polluted by age and circumstance.
  
  He leans in to take a whiff. It smells delicious.
  
  He snatches it and pushes off, using the currents to keep him aloft. The strength of his wings are tested under the weight of his wiggling bundle. He digs in, trying to maintain hold. The creature is silenced.
  
  His journey is long. On the distant horizon, where the mountain meets the sky and dark green hills erupt from the earth, waterfalls pause suspended, and the lakes are still mirrors of glass, he finds home. He has been gone a long time.
  
  He calls out, wheee hee. Wheee hee hee.
  
  His mate does not reply. He hears only the wind and the sound of his own voice echoing through the empty places in the valley.
  
  Wheee hee. He calls again.
  
  There is no movement as he nears. He lands to find the nest empty. Downy feathers whirl around in the breeze.
  
  He lays down the fawn and begins to feast. Tomorrow he must begin anew.
  
  **NO part of this story may be copied or reproduced with written consent from the author.
  
  .
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #newstory, amwriting, birds, coyotes, eagles, familyfriendly, fiction, hunting, nature, shortstory, wilderness, wildlifehabits, writing
- Nest Egg
  
  Posted at 1:52 pm by writergherlone, on March 25, 2018
  
  Nest Egg
  
  By Kristy Gherlone
  
  Every year when the earth decided it was time to flip over and get some color on the other side, the south wind got to missing the north so bad, she’d start crying and fill up the creeks and rivers with her sorrows.
  
  Then the north would get to missing the south, so they’d race towards one another and meet in the middle for a kiss so dizzying it would run the sea boats aground.
  
  The trees would get sappy about the whole ordeal and weep tears so sweet, the ground would open right up and swallow them whole. Eventually, it would turn green with sickness, and busting out of its bloomers, spew colors so bright they would melt what was left of the snow.
  
  The fish would get blue and start blubbering about being homesick. They’d swim up the fertile rivers to their old homesteads, running an uphill battle to raise a brood of kids to keep the loneliness at bay.
  
  Undoubtedly, all the commotion would ruffle a few feathers. The birds would decide it was time to get away from the whole soppy mess, high tail it out of there, and head to New England where things were a bit more conservative.
  
  Maribel was one of those, and one year she was just dusting with more anticipation than normal to leave.
  
  Over the winter she’d become quite vain, having overheard some tweets about how nicely she decorated her nests. She always did care a little too much about what others thought, but it got her to wondering about what treasures she’d find in the north. If the south had such beautiful things, the north was sure to have even better.
  
  She’d already acquired quite a few items and, reluctant to leave them behind, bartered with the trade winds to carry them up for her.
  
  And so it was that, after settling in for the long summer ahead, while the other members of her flock were gathering seeds and soft nesting materials, Maribel was out shopping. She had a keen eye and managed to amass quite a clutch of goods.
  
  She found strings of shiny silver, tufts of powder blue rope, beads, smooth rocks, and colorful wrappers. Tucking them gently into her beak, she carried them home and laid them out to admire before arranging them attractively around her home. Her nest wasn’t comfortable, nor was it warm, but it was pretty. Surely everyone would be jealous. She sat waiting for them to notice, but they were too busy raising their young to care.
  
  Unfortunately, the only ones that did pay her any mind were the black hooded thieves who’d come stealing in all hours of the day. They had eyes for shiny things too, and were either too lazy or cheap to get their own stuff, and so preferred to peck and choose from Maribel’s collection. She kept guard, working herself into a frazzle, as she’d heard they could be quite murderous.
  
  Unwilling to go out on a limb and leave her wealth for even a second, Maribel grew thin and tired. She started to doubt she’d have enough energy to make the trip back south.
  
  When Mother Nature began to blush, right before she undressed for the season, Maribel, as small minded as she was, realized that she had a problem. Glittery things were great to look at, but they couldn’t feed you. And while she took a lot of pleasure in counting and re-counting her hoard, it didn’t do a lot towards keeping her warm.
  
  She gave her precious valuables one last wistful look before taking flight in search for food. It was scarce by that time, but she managed to scrape enough together. She nibbled until she was able to find the strength to catch the last warm breeze streaming to the south. She vowed never to let vanity get in the way again.
  
  She caught up to some others, who were already in deep conversation and didn’t notice her arrival. “Have you seen Maribel lately? She’s lost so much weight! I wish I could have a figure like that. I’m so jealous.”
  
  Posted in #prose, nature, shortstory, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #newstory, #prose, nature
- No Parking
  
  Posted at 1:56 pm by writergherlone, on February 28, 2018
  
  No Parking
  
  By Kristy Gherlone
  
  It was early September in 1973 when Stevie stood in bare feet on the edge of her grandmother’s yard and watched the bus pull up and park.
  
  The ground was chilly that time of year in Maine, but her feet had grown so tough and calloused over the summer, she hardly even noticed.
  
  She went out to the street and circled the length of the bus. It might have been bright red at one time, but a layer of rust clung to the exterior. It made the whole thing look as if it had been painted with blood and set out in the sun to dry. She shook her head and sighed. The entrance doors screeched as they flapped open. Her mother poked her head out and grinned. “Hey, kiddo. Whaddya think?”
  
  “Are we really going to live in that thing?” Stevie asked.
  
  Before her mother could answer, the rear exit opened with a clanking boom and slammed against the side of the bus. It caught Stevie off guard, making her jump. The heel of her foot landed on a sharp stone. She cried out and hopped around, rubbing at it, as her father began to hurl vinyl and steel into the road.
  
  “It’s going to be an adventure. You’ll see,” her mother hollered over the noise as she bounded down the steps.
  
  “Why can’t we just stay with Grandma?”
  
  “What?” her mother mouthed, pointing to her ear.
  
  Stevie waited for a pause in the noise before asking again. “Why can’t we stay with Grandma?”
  
  “She doesn’t have room. You know that. It’s bad enough that we’ve taken up her yard all summer with our tent. Besides, your father can make a lot more money on the road.” Finally noticing Stevie’s discomfort, she asked, “Where are your shoes?”
  
  “I still don’t have any. Remember?”
  
  “Oh. Well, we’ll get you some. Listen, I’ve gotta give your father a hand. We should be finished gutting it today. Going to be just like a regular house when we’re done.” She slapped the side for emphasis. Gold flecks shimmied the ground.
  
  Stevie bent over and scooped up a handful. She took a plastic bag out of her pocket and sprinkled some inside. She tucked the bag back into her pocket.
  
  “Will there be a bathroom?” she asked, as more parts of the bus clattered into the road.
  
  Her mother raised her eyebrows in question. “What, Stevie? I can’t hear you.”
  
  Stevie shook her head. “Never mind.” She wandered over to her grandmother’s lawn and sat.
  
  She ripped out a handful of grass and flung it over her head. As she watched the stray pieces flutter and fall, she noticed something white. She snatched it from the air and examined it. A feather! She put it in her pocket.
  
  She scowled at the bus. She couldn’t help wishing she was back home. But home, as she’d grown to think of it, never belonged to them. They’d only been renting the pretty little farm house on Merry Meeting Bay. Not even the furniture was theirs, but it was the longest they’d stayed anywhere.
  
  Green rows of farmland swept wide on both sides, and the bay was right out front. There was even a treehouse in the back yard. It looked impossibly high when she’d first seen it. It was way out of reach for someone her age. She’d stood at the base and peered up at the tiny house in the branches. It seemed as though she’d never be big enough to climb up and see inside, but eventually, she was.
  
  She and her mother used to take long, lazy walks down to the shore in the afternoons. A crooked cedar tree jutted out over the water, and Stevie used to climb up on it like a horse and sit there watching the ducks and geese take off and land. The air smelled of flowers, and of hay and boggy water. Sitting there with her mother in the scented air warmed her tummy. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever feel that way again.
  
  Her father had been a carpenter. He made good money, but he hated the work. He wanted to be a singer in a band. Every weekend he’d hold practice at the house. Friday night, cars would pile into the driveway and spill out scruffy men carrying guitars and beer. They’d listen to loud music and try to copy the sounds they heard with their own instruments. Stevie’s nose stung from the acrid smoke wafting out of their skinny cigarettes. The smell made her dizzy and giddy. On Saturday mornings, she’d have to pick her way around half a dozen sleeping men to get to the kitchen. When her father was a carpenter they could afford to pay rent, but not anymore.
  
  Stevie had come home from school in the spring to find the kitchen full of boxes.
  
  “What’s going on?” she’d asked her mother.
  
  “Your father’s quit his job. He’s going to play music full time. We can’t stay here anymore. We’ve been evicted. We have to be out by the end of today.”
  
  “What?” Stevie cried.
  
  “Take what you can carry. We’ll have to leave the rest behind.”
  
  “Where are we going to go?” She couldn’t breathe.
  
  “We’ll think of something. You know your father hates staying in one place too long, anyway. This is a good thing.” Her mother stopped packing and smiled with reassurance. “A really good thing. I promise.” She planted a kiss on Stevie’s forehead. “Go on, now. Git!” She swatted her with a spatula.
  
  Stevie picked up a few empty boxes and climbed the narrow stairway to her room. She looked around, trying to decide what to take with her.
  
  Her father peeked in. “Just the essentials. I need room for my equipment.”
  
  “Well, what should I bring?”
  
  “None of that junk, that’s for sure.” He pointed towards Barbie’s town house and a collection of stuffed animals. “Just pack some clothes and whatever else you absolutely need.”
  
  “Dad! I can’t leave all my stuff behind!” She snatched a Teddy bear from the floor and hugged it to her chest.
  
  “You’re just going to have to. Besides, you can’t go anywhere in life if you’ve got too much junk weighing you down. Keep things light, then you can hit the road whenever you want. Don’t ever ground yourself with material stuff.”
  
  “But, Dad …”
  
  “Nothing is permanent. Remember that.”
  
  Stevie’s eyes filled with tears.
  
  He turned away. “Leave it all here.” His shoulders were tight as he paused at the doorway. For a second, Stevie thought he might change his mind. “I mean it,” he said, and started down the stairs.
  
  Stevie loved her father, but in that moment, she hated him, too. She hated him for quitting his job. She hated him for making them move. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t even sing all that well, and everyone knew it. People lied to him to make him feel better, and now it was going to ruin everything! She may have only been eight, but she knew that much.
  
  She closed her eyes and prayed that roots would grow out of her feet. She envisioned them busting out of her skin, breaking through the floor, and snaking through the thick earth beneath the house.
  
  Her mother hollered up the stairs. “Get a move on!”
  
  She checked her feet and scowled when she didn’t see anything. She stuffed a few of her favorite things in the boxes and hid them under her clothes.
  
  Later that afternoon, it felt as if she was leaving pieces of herself behind as they pulled away from the house for the last time. It made her feel sick and weak and hopeless as she watched the house get smaller and smaller in the rear window. Her stomach flipped when she thought about some strange kid playing with her toys.
  
  They had to stay in a tent in her grandparents’ yard ever since. Stevie’s mom said it was just until they figured things out, but it had already been months.
  
  ***
  
  Stevie’s mom got off the bus. She shook padding and dust out of her hair as she climbed down the steps.
  
  Stevie stood and put her hands on her hips. “How am I supposed to go to school?” she asked.
  
  “You’re not. I’m going to teach you. Isn’t that neat?”
  
  “But you’re not a teacher.”
  
  “So? That doesn’t mean anything. I wouldn’t worry about it. The stuff you’re going to learn can’t be taught in school.”
  
  “You know, I could always …”
  
  “You’re not staying here.” Her mother’s voice was firm.
  
  “Fine.” Stevie ran to the tent and dove in.
  
  Stevie’s father finished fixing the bus the day before the sky spit the first snowflake. She was allowed in for the first time. All of the original seats were gone, except for the driver’s. Towards the front, there was a small table and chairs, a battered love seat, and a pot-bellied stove. Out back, there was a walled-in room for her parents and a bunk for Stevie in the middle. In place of a bathroom was a plastic toilet that had to be emptied. A shower curtain enclosed the area, giving it a small measure of privacy.
  
  “This is it?” she asked in surprise.
  
  Her father whirled around. His eyes were full of disappointment. “What more do you need?”
  
  Stevie got off the bus and ran over to her grandmother. “Don’t make me go. I don’t want to leave,” she whispered. She jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs around the woman.
  
  Stevie’s grandmother unwound her and set her down. “You take care now,” she said, dismissing her with a kiss on the head. “Be wary of strangers,” she added, swatting her on the butt. Her eyes twinkled as she reached up to capture her son’s face. “I’m just so proud of you,” she beamed, squeezing his cheeks. “I’m proud of all of my kids, but you …” she pulled his face down to meet hers. “You are my star.” She kissed him on the nose. “Follow your dreams, Frankie. You’re going to be a big hit.”
  
  Stevie’s father grinned.
  
  “Corrine? You take care of my boy. Hear?”
  
  Stevie’s mother cleared her throat. “Of course, Mother.”
  
  She waved from the driveway as they pulled away from the curb.
  
  The first night on the bus was cold and strange. They’d driven several hours before her father pulled down onto a dirt road and parked. The heat from the stove didn’t reach all the way to Stevie’s bed. Unfamiliar noises like wolves howling and a woman’s screams sneaked in through the windows. Stevie wrapped herself in a blanket, plodded down to the front, and fell asleep in front of the stove.
  
  The next morning when she woke up, her neck was stiff and sore. She untangled herself from the blanket and peeked out the window. There was a police car parked next to their bus. She tip-toed to the back of the bus and woke her father.
  
  “Break down?” the officer asked.
  
  “Nope. No sir. We’re just fine.” He scratched his chest and yawned.
  
  “This here is a private road. I’m going to have to ask you folks to leave. You can’t park out here like this.”
  
  “Sorry. We’ll be on our way real soon.” He began to close the door.
  
  “That kid in school?” the officer asked, nodding towards Stevie.
  
  “That’s none of your damn business.”
  
  “Well, actually it is.” He smiled at Stevie. “How old are you, honey?” he asked.
  
  Stevie’s father pulled the door shut. He jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
  
  The officer pounded on the side of the bus. “It’s against the law! She needs to be in school.”
  
  He put the gears in reverse and pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Stevie’s heart pounded as the tires kicked up rocks and dust. They flew out of the road backwards and sped away as soon as they reached the pavement.
  
  As time went on, Stevie’s father got a better feel for where they could and couldn’t park in each of the towns they visited, but it wasn’t always foolproof.
  
  They’d been on the road for a couple of months when they pulled into the driveway of an abandoned farm house. They’d stayed there a couple of times and no one had ever bothered them before.
  
  Stevie liked to explore the half-fallen down barn on the property. She was doing just that when she noticed a man come out of the woods across the field and start walking towards her. She wasn’t scared until she saw that he had a shotgun slung over his shoulder. She froze.
  
  “You got any parents around?” he asked. He lowered his arm, letting the strap fall. He caught the gun in his hands.
  
  Stevie nodded, wide-eyed, and motioned towards the bus.
  
  “Get ‘em,” he ordered.
  
  Stevie’s feet flew. She bounded up the stairs out of breath. “Dad! There’s a man out there with a gun!” she cried. “He wants to talk to you.” She ran and hid behind her mother.
  
  Stevie’s father shoved his feet into his shoes. “Stay here,” he said.
  
  Stevie watched from the window as her dad got off the bus. “Can I help you?” she heard him ask. His voice was high-pitched and nervous.
  
  “Yeah, you can help me. You can get the hell off my property. Goddamn squatters think you can just park anywhere you want. You have exactly five minutes, too, before I start shooting.”
  
  “Sorry. We didn’t know anyone lived here,” Stevie’s father explained, holding up his hands in apology.
  
  “Don’t matter if anyone does or doesn’t. It ain’t yours, is it? You’re probably the same damn folks that have been tearing up my road. It’ll take me all spring to right it again.” He held up the gun. “Now git and don’t ever come back. You hear me?”
  
  “I’m sorry we invaded your space, man, but you got no call to point a gun at me,” Stevie’s father said.
  
  “Don’t you tell me what I got the call to do on my own damn property. I could shoot you right now just for trespassing. I suggest you get back on that rattletrap of yours and get the hell out of my sight.”
  
  Stevie’s father didn’t argue any further. He jumped back in and started the bus. “Hold on,” he said grumpily.
  
  He gunned the engine and wrenched the gears into drive. Clots of mud flew up and splattered the windshield. Stevie dared a glance back as they pulled away. The man chased after them screaming words that were swallowed by the sound of the spinning tires.
  
  When they got out to the pavement, he whipped the bus around and didn’t stop driving until they came to a shopping plaza. He drove to the end and parked.
  
  “I’ve gotta look for work,” he said, shoving his feet into his scuffed cowboy boots. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
  
  “Bring back some food, okay?” Stevie’s mom called after him.
  
  “Won’t be much,” he said. “Gotta get gas today, remember?”
  
  Stevie looked out the window. Something captured by the wind skittered across the empty lot. She waited for her father to leave before getting out. She chased it around until it crashed into a guardrail and flapped against the cold metal. It almost took flight again, but she caught it just in time and held it up. It was a baseball card. She didn’t know much about baseball, but she shoved it into her back pocket anyway and got back onto the bus.
  
  “What did you find out there, Stevie?” her mother asked as she poked at the fire.
  
  “Nothing, really,” she said. She pulled it out of her pocket and gave it to her.
  
  “Huh. The Giants … Willie Mays …” She turned it over in her hand. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about sports.” She passed it back to Stevie.
  
  “Me either,” Stevie said. She went over to her bunk and rummaged around underneath. She pulled out the shoe box and opened the top.
  
  “Stevie?” Her mother called.
  
  “Yeah?”
  
  “Are you happy?” Her voice was high and strange.
  
  “I guess,” Stevie answered. She put the card inside and closed the lid. “Are you?” She held her breath.
  
  “I guess,” her mother answered, not looking up.
  
  “I miss school,” Stevie admitted.
  
  “Yeah,” her mother said sadly. “I miss …” She didn’t finish the sentence. “I’ll try to get you some books soon, okay?”
  
  “Okay.”
  
  “I’m going for a walk,” she said suddenly. Her eyes were moist.
  
  “It’s cold out,” Stevie cautioned.
  
  “Yeah.” She grabbed a sweater off from the chair and draped it over her shoulders. “I’ll be back,” she said.
  
  Stevie went to the windows. Her mother’s shoulders shook as she hurried away. Stevie was sure it didn’t have anything to do with the temperature.
  
  ***
  
  Stevie’s father didn’t have a lot of work lined up that winter. Sometimes he’d spend all day trying to find a bar that would let him sing for the night. He didn’t make a lot of money that way, but it would get them by for another day.
  
  Sometimes when he did secure a gig, Stevie’s mom would go in and watch and leave her out in the bus alone. She’d stare up at the apartments that were lined against the street. Lamplight glowed through the windows, casting shadows that ghosted on the brick sidewalks as the people inside moved around.
  
  She imagined herself inside. She could feel the soft carpet under her feet and the smell of dinner wafting from the kitchen. She could feel the heat from the furnace wrapping around her shoulders, enveloping her in a warm embrace.
  
  One night in late February, Stevie’s father parked in front of a bar in Brunswick.
  
  “We won’t be long. Short set tonight,” Stevie’s mom said. “Don’t open the door for strangers!”
  
  “I won’t.”
  
  “Oh, and put another log on in about an hour, will you?”
  
  “Okay.”
  
  She started down the steps, but hesitated. “Stevie?”
  
  “Yeah?”
  
  “I love you, you know.”
  
  “I know,” Stevie said. She poked at the fire.
  
  “It won’t be like this forever.”
  
  “Okay,” Stevie said, shrugging her shoulders.
  
  “It won’t.”
  
  “Okay,” Stevie said again, looking up.
  
  Her mother smiled. “Okay,” she said with confidence and walked off the bus.
  
  They hadn’t been gone long when someone came pounding on the door.
  
  Stevie looked out. It was a police officer.
  
  “This bus needs to be moved,” he shouted, spotting Stevie.
  
  Stevie went and opened the door. “I’ll have to get my mom,” she said.
  
  “You do that. Tell her there’s no parking here.”
  
  Stevie got dressed and went in to find her mother. She batted the cigarette smoke away from her nose as she tried to make her way to the stage. Colorful lights zig-zagged from the ceiling, illuminating the darkened room for a few seconds at a time. It made her feel dizzy and like she was walking funny. She tripped and almost fell.
  
  A woman sitting at one of the tables caught her arm and righted her. “Hey there, toots! Aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” she said. “Come sit next to me.” She patted the chair next to her and smiled through hot pink lips. Her fingernails looked like talons as she tapped on the seat, and her hair looked like the sun on fire. “Come on. I won’t hurt ya. I’m Patti.” She held out her hand. “But you can call me Mimi. Everyone does.” Her hearty laugh turned into a violent cough. “What’s a nice kid like you doing in a place like this?” she rasped after catching her breath.
  
  Before Stevie could answer, a man stumbled and bumped into the table, spilling Mimi’s drink.
  
  “You clod!” she yelled, jumping up. Watch where you’re going!” She grabbed a napkin and began sopping up the mess. “You owe me a drink!” She glared, but the man was already staggering away. She sat back down. “Well, never mind. Let me get you a drink, sugar.” She patted the seat again. “Hey, Earl?” she yelled. “Get this little lady a Shirley Temple, would ya? And get me a drink, too. Put it on my tab.”
  
  Hesitantly, Stevie sat. She craned her neck around, trying to spot her mother, but didn’t see her anywhere. Sitting on the table in front of her was the smallest glass she’d ever seen. It had a picture of a lobster on it. She waited until Mimi wasn’t looking before stuffing it into the waistband of her pants. She pulled her shirt down to cover it.
  
  “She can’t stay here, Mimi. Even you ought to know that,” the bartender said as he sauntered over.
  
  Stevie stood back up. “I’m just looking for my mom. Have you seen her?”
  
  “Who’s your mom, honey?” the woman asked.
  
  Stevie didn’t know how to describe her. “Well, my father is the one on the guitar.”
  
  Mimi’s mouth fell open. “Oh, sweetie! That’s your dad? He’s a looker! A real heart breaker.” She put her hand over her heart and swooned.
  
  “Out,” the bartender said to Stevie.
  
  “For God’s sake, let her stay. You want to see your daddy sing, don’t you baby?” she crooned, batting her eyes at the bartender.
  
  “She can’t be in here, Mimi. Christ.” He grabbed Stevie’s arm. “Out,” he said, shoving her towards the door.
  
  “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll find your momma and send her out.” Mimi winked. She slurped the last drop in her drink, stood up, and headed towards the stage.
  
  The bartender pushed Stevie outside and shut the door. Stevie started for the bus, but there was a man standing near the back. He wasn’t facing her, but Stevie could see a golden arch of liquid coming from the front of his pants. It cascaded over the tire and splattered onto the road.
  
  Stevie’s parents stumbled out together right then. “Don’t come back!” the bartender yelled. “More trouble than you’re worth with that hunk of junk parked out front and your damn kid. Goddamn gypsies,” he grumbled.
  
  The next day Stevie’s father said, “I think we’ll head down to Florida. I’ve had it with this state. Besides, there’s a lot more clubs down there.”
  
  “How will we afford the gas?” Stevie’s mom asked.
  
  “I’ve been thinking about that. I say we head up north first and visit my sis. She’ll lend us some money and then we can be on our way. We should say goodbye to her anyway. Once we get down to Florida, I might not want to come back.”
  
  “Am I a gypsy?” Stevie asked suddenly, thinking about what the bartender had said.
  
  “Heavens, no.” Stevie’s mom laughed. “Well, maybe … by default, anyway,” she teased, ruffling Stevie’s hair. “Your father’s just full of wanderlust. He can’t help it.”
  
  A week later they were on their way. Stevie had never been that far north before. It was late afternoon when they neared their destination. Stevie saw the town where her aunt lived up ahead in the distance. It looked as if it had erupted from the earth and spilled out all over a sea of wilderness.
  
  “What’s that smell?” she cried as they got closer.
  
  “This is a mill town,” her mother said, pointing out the window and towards the sky. “See those stacks over there? That’s part of it. Looks like they’re making clouds, doesn’t it?”
  
  Stevie nodded. She watched as towering columns shot out fluffy white puffs and tossed them into the air. She laughed and held her nose. “It’s neat, but it smells like boiled eggs.”
  
  “It does stink,” her mother agreed, holding her own nose, “but I suppose people get used to it after a while. Oh! Look over there!” she squealed, as they came to the top of a hill.
  
  Stevie stood. Over the rise, she saw a mountain. It was jagged and tall, swallowing half the sky. It was a magical place.
  
  They descended and paused at a traffic light.
  
  “Almost there,” Stevie’s father said. “Sit down.”
  
  Stevie sat back down, but kept looking out. There was a lot to see. She liked the way all of the houses seemed to be lined up in neat rows and how all of the people she saw were smiling. She liked that place. It looked like a good place to grow roots in.
  
  “We’re here,” her father said. He pulled over and stopped the bus in front of a tall, green, shingled house.
  
  He opened the doors and Stevie ran out. There was a dime sticking out of a snow bank on the sidewalk. She snatched it up and put it in her pocket. Right beside it, there was a Pepsi cap. She put that in her pocket, too.
  “Hey, Sis.” Stevie’s father caught his sister in a welcoming embrace.
  
  Just before the sun rose a few days later, Stevie’s father shook her shoulders, waking her up. “We need to get going,” he whispered.
  
  “What?” Stevie asked, rubbing the sleep sand from her eyes.
  
  “We have to go. I have a gig in Jacksonville on Friday.”
  
  Her stomach filled with dread. She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay. She wanted to go to school and make friends. She wanted to sleep in a warm room and go to the bathroom in a place that would flush. She wanted to climb that mountain and look out over a town she could call her own.
  
  “Hurry up,” her father said. He turned and tip-toed down the stairs.
  
  She jumped up. Her heart pounded as she got down onto the floor and snatched the shoe box from underneath the bed. With a fluttery stomach, she went to find her father.
  
  He was in the kitchen, rummaging through his sister’s purse. He looked around nervously before shoving a wad of bills into his pocket.
  
  Stevie’s mom stood at the back door, looking out. She had a cup of coffee in her hand.
  
  “We need to go!” he hissed, heading towards the door. He pushed Stevie’s mother out, but she didn’t move past the steps.
  
  “I can’t leave!” Stevie blurted.
  
  “What?” her father asked, surprised. He stopped moving and gaped.
  
  “I can’t leave,” she repeated. Her voice was shaky but defiant. She sat down in one of her aunt’s kitchen chairs and opened the box.
  
  “I don’t have time for this. We have to go now!” His eyes were daggers as he held the door.
  
  “You’ll have to go without me.”
  
  “What in the world is your problem?” he asked. He stormed back in and grabbed Stevie’s arm, trying to pull her along.
  
  “I can’t leave because I have too much stuff!” she said. She emptied the shoe box onto the table. All of the things she had been collecting fell out. “You’re the one who said you couldn’t go anywhere if you had too much stuff. I think I have too much stuff.”
  
  “Corrine?” he said, appealing to his wife.
  
  Stevie’s mother came back into the house. Her face was strange. She took her pocket book off from her shoulder and spilled the contents onto the counter. “I think I do, too,” she said.
  
  End
  
  *This popular story, written by Kristy Gherlone, was originally published by Bedlam Magazine’s Loud Zoo on April 30, 2017. From there, it went on to appear in Fiction on the Web in December 2017
  
  **No part of this story may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged 1970, childhood, family, familyrelations, fiction, gypsy, learning, maine, mountains, moving, nomad, published, school, shortstory, travel, traveling, writing
- Sassafras: The Olympic Hopeful
  
  Posted at 11:42 am by writergherlone, on February 19, 2018
  
  Sassafras: The Olympic Hopeful
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  “Mom? Can ducks be in the Olympics?”
  
  “I don’t see why not. I think anyone can be in the Olympics as long as they are willing to work hard and practice their sport every day.”
  
  “I can work hard,” Sassafras said. “I’d like to be in the Olympics and win a gold medal!”
  
  “Well, then you can. I think that is a wonderful goal,” Sassafras’s mother said. “Find a sport that interests you and see how you do.”
  
  Sassafras tried snowboarding.
  
  She practiced for a few hours and after a while, she learned some tricks.
  
  “Hey! Look at me! I can go sideways!” She cried in delight. Snowboarding was fun!
  
  “Look how fast I can go!” Sassafras laughed. She really liked snowboarding, but wanted to try some other sports, too.
  
  “How about snowshoeing?” Her mother suggested.
  
  “How do I keep these things on my feet?”
  
  Sassafras decided that snowshoeing was not the sport for her. She didn’t like it as much as snowboarding because she couldn’t go as fast.
  
  “Well, I’m glad you gave it a chance, anyway,” her mother said. “Is there something else you would like to try?”
  
  “How about iceskating? It would be fun to be a champion figure skater!”
  
  “Okay, but I’ll have to make you an ice skating rink first so you can practice,” her mother said.
  
  Sassafras’s mother shoveled the snow from the ice and bought her some skates.
  
  “These skates hurt my feet,” Sassafras said.
  
  Even after practicing, and trying as hard as she could, she kept falling down. “Can I try something else, like bobsledding?”
  
  “Hmm,” Sassafras’s mother contemplated. Bobsleds were very expensive. She didn’t want to buy one if Sassafras wasn’t sure she’d like it. “How about you try a regular sled first and see how it goes.”
  
  Sassafras’s tried the sled.
  
  “It’s fun, but I think I’ve decided that I’d like to concentrate on snowboarding. I like it the best.”
  
  “I’m glad you finally chose a sport that suits you,” Sassafras’s mother said. “I’m proud of you for trying so many different things. That takes a lot of bravery.”
  
  “Thank you. I am very brave,” Sassafras said. “How long do you think it will take to earn a gold medal?”
  
  “I think you’ve earned one today,” her mother laughed.
  
  “Hooray! I’m a gold medalist!”
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments
- The Whupping Tree
  
  Posted at 6:01 pm by writergherlone, on February 5, 2018
  
  **This story was originally published by The Mystic Blue Review in September 2017
  
  **NO part of this story may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.
  
  The Whupping Tree
  
  by Kristy Gherlone
  
  Henry Hunton wasn’t quite right. His father told him as much all the time. He was so wrong, in fact, his mother took one look at him, fresh out of the womb, and ran away.
  
  “Your mother whizzed out of that hospital so fast, my hair got swept away with her. Left you all covered in innards before anyone had a chance to clean you up,” his father told him. “When they did, you looked just like a squirrel with a bad case of the mange. Ugliest damn thing I ever did see! Whoo-wee, you was ugly!”
  
  Henry thought about that. He couldn’t wrap his mind around a lot of things, but his mother was gone, and his father was bald. The old mirror hanging above his father’s shaving kit told him everything else he needed to know.
  
  “How come you wanted me if I was so ugly?” he asked.
  
  “Well,” his father said, scratching at his stubble, “I guessed you were kin, so I figured I’d probably better take you on. Plus, I s’posed you’d be all right enough to work the fields someday.”
  
  Henry didn’t know if he should be glad or not. They lived on a rundown farm, and his father had him hauling potatoes as soon as he’d learned to walk. It was a tough job and Henry struggled. He tried as hard as he could, but sometimes, even with all that trying, he got it wrong. His brain would tell him to do one thing, but his body would do something else. Or his mind would want to say something, but his tongue would get all mixed and he’d stutter.
  
  “You water the south crop?” his father would ask.
  
  “Y-y-y-yes sir,” Henry would answer.
  
  “You ain’t right, boy,” he’d say, smacking him in the head. “I swear you’re nummer’n a pounded thumb. Git on out there to the whupping tree and cut me a switch. I swear I’m gonna beat you until you learn to talk right.”
  
  Henry would hang his head and go out into the yard where the old willow tree stood. It had been there since before his great-great grandfather had been born. It was called the whupping tree because everyone in the family had been spanked with the branches at one time or another.
  
  It was a beautiful tree and Henry hated to cut it almost as much as he hated getting a whupping. “I’m sorry,” he’d whisper, snapping off a shoot. “I wouldn’t hurt you for anything, but Daddy says I’ve gotta get a whupping. He would go back inside. His father would put him over his knee and lash on him until he cried.
  
  After the punishment, his father would go over to the pot-bellied stove and rub his hands as if to say, ‘that’s that,’ and throw in the switch as Henry lay sobbing with his backside full of welts.
  
  “Don’t sit there blubbering, either,” he’d say. “My father used to lick me. Smartened me up and straightened me right out. Yep. Smart as a whip now, and tough as nails too. You don’t hear me stuttering, do you? You won’t do it either, when I’m done with ya.” He’d nod his head and smile.
  
  Henry knew he wasn’t smart. He’d never been to school. His father said he wasn’t smart enough for school.
  
  “Boy, you’re too stupid for school. They’d laugh you right out of there. Nope, you stick to the fields,” he’d said, but Henry knew enough to know that a spanking wouldn’t help his stutter or make him any smarter.
  
  Sometimes Henry would go out into the yard in the early mornings before he went to work in the fields. He’d sit under the willow tree and talk to it as if it were a real person.
  
  “I don’t know why Daddy’s so mean,” he’d whisper, rubbing his bruises. “You suppose I’ll be like him, someday?” The tree never answered, but it was a kind and patient listener.
  
  “If Daddy is the way he is, and my granddaddy, and his daddy before him were that way, how come I don’t feel the same? You’d think there’d have to be some goodness in someone, somewhere along the way. I don’t want to hurt nobody. Not nobody ever. When I have kids, I’m never going to hit them. And I’m going to make sure they go to school.” He didn’t know if the tree understood, but he’d keep talking on and on about all the things he wanted to do and about all the things he’d been thinking about while the tree cradled a nest of young birds and rocked them to sleep.
  
  His father caught him one day. He overheard Henry’s ambition to become a forest ranger. “You’re a fool,” he yelled. “That tree can’t understand you. That tree doesn’t care if you live or die. No one does, except me. I swear, you’re softer’n a jack rabbit’s scruff. Forest ranger,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re never going nowhere. You’re gonna stay right here and farm potatoes just like I do and just like your granddaddy did and his daddy before him did. I guess I need to smarten that hide of yours up some more. Go on now, cut me a switch. I’m going to make you the meanest and smartest son of a gun there ever was, then maybe I’ll get some real work out of you.
  
  Henry didn’t know a lot, but he knew that a spanking wouldn’t make him mean. He also knew that it wouldn’t make him want to farm potatoes. He didn’t want to be like his father, or his father’s father, or anyone before him.
  
  As he grew older, the tree started to die. The limbs began to dwindle until there were only big ones left. Each whupping became more painful than the last. One day when Henry went outside to get a switch, there was a woman standing behind the tree. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
  
  “Hi.” She smiled shyly and poked out her head. “You sure have grown up tall and handsome. You’ve changed a lot in fourteen years.”
  
  Henry turned around to see to whom she was talking. There was nobody there but him. “Who, me?” he asked.
  
  “Yes, you. What’d your daddy name you?” she whispered.
  
  “Henry,” he said. He didn’t know what to make of the whole situation. “Who are you?”
  
  “I’m your momma, Henry.” She smiled again as she tried out his name.
  
  “Oh. W-want me to go and get Daddy?” he asked.
  
  “No! Don’t tell him I’m here,” she said, her eyes wide and fearful.
  
  Henry felt kind of sorry for her but didn’t know if he should. “Why’d you run off and leave me when I was just a little baby?” he asked.
  
  “I didn’t run off. Your daddy threw me out when he took up with another woman. He used to beat me something fierce. He told me he’d kill you and me if I ever came back to claim you.”
  
  Henry didn’t remember any other woman being around. “You sure you didn’t leave because I was so ugly?”
  
  “Heavens, no,” she said. “Is that what your daddy told you?”
  
  “Yep, but I didn’t need him to tell me. I’ve seen myself in the mirror.”
  
  “I bet you’ve been looking in your daddy’s shaving mirror,” she said. “That thing is so old and warped, everyone looks awful in it. When I lived here, it got so I felt pretty ugly, too. It got so I forgot what I really looked like. I was afraid to leave the house because I thought people would laugh at me.”
  
  Henry wrinkled his nose. He didn’t know whether to believe her or not.
  
  “See for yourself,” she said. She fished a tiny mirror out of her purse and handed it to Henry. He glanced at his reflection and grinned. He needed a haircut, but other than that, he liked what he saw. He didn’t look anything like he did in his daddy’s mirror.
  
  “You were just about the sweetest baby I’d ever laid eyes on,” his mother said.
  
  “But I’m not too bright. Never was. C-can’t even talk right.”
  
  “Nonsense! All you need is a little schooling. Don’t let anyone ever call you stupid!”
  
  Just then, Henry’s father came out of the house. Henry’s mother ducked behind the tree.
  
  “Where you at, boy? Hurry up with that switch!”
  
  “I’m coming!” Henry said.
  
  When his father went back into the house, his mother came out from behind the tree.
  
  “He sure has changed! He’s just a little old man now. He’s shrunk five inches! I can’t believe I used to be so scared of him,” she cried, surprised.
  
  “Well, I’ve gotta get in,” Henry said. “I’m getting a whupping for breaking the harvester.”
  
  “He hits you too, does he?” She glared towards the house. “That man is as mean as a snake.”
  
  “Yep,” Henry said, cutting off a large, dead branch. He reached over and rubbed the tree’s trunk, “I’m sorry,” he murmured, “I hope I didn’t hurt you too much.”
  
  “You talk to this old tree, too?” she asked, giving it a slap. “I used to do the same thing. It was about the only thing I had to talk to.”
  
  “Yeah, I talk to it, but it’s pretty near dead now. I don’t know what daddy’s going to use to whup me with when it’s gone.”
  
  “Henry, I bet you’re two feet taller than he is, and I bet you outweigh him by a hundred pounds! He can’t beat you if you don’t let him.”
  
  Henry hadn’t thought about that. He was much bigger than his father. He couldn’t even put Henry over his knee anymore. Still, though, he feared him. “I can’t go against him,” he said.
  
  “You can if you want to. Why, I bet you could give him a whupping”, she said, testing him.
  
  Henry looked at the branch. It was a big one. It was big enough to break bones; but he didn’t want to hurt anyone. Not even his father.
  
  “Nah,” he said. “I can’t hurt nobody.”
  
  “You’re nothing like your daddy, are you Henry?” his mother asked quietly.
  
  “Nope. I don’t suspect I am.”
  
  “That’s good,” she said, relieved. “Would you like to come home with me? We could sign you up for school.”
  
  Henry thought about that. “Would you hit me?”
  
  “Never!” she gasped at the question. “I could never hurt anyone.”
  
  Henry grinned. He didn’t know a lot, but he knew right then and there where he got his goodness from. He also knew that he’d have to go to school if he ever wanted to be a forest ranger. “That sounds okay,” he said.
  
  “Good,” his mother smiled. “You go and pack your things. I’ll wait out here.”
  
  Henry went inside to tell his father.
  
  “Like hell you’re leaving!” his father spit with rage. “You give me that stick. I’m gonna whup you double now.”
  
  Henry looked at the stick and then back at his father. “I’m bigger than you and probably a whole lot stronger,” he said, surprised when he didn’t stutter.
  
  “What’s your point?”
  
  “Well, I figure I could probably whup you if I wanted.”
  
  “Is that what you aim to do?” his father asked, fixing his jaw, but stepping back a few feet.
  
  “Nope. I’m just going to leave,” he said, and that’s just what he did. He went to live with his mother and his aunt a few towns away. He went to school and worked hard. When he grew up, be became a forest ranger, just like he’d always wanted to.
  
  One day, Henry received a call while he was at work, telling him that his father had a stroke. Henry wanted to see him, because no matter what, his father would always be his father. He made the drive over, his stomach flopping around the whole way. All the wounds inflicted upon him, growing up, felt raw again when he pulled into the driveway. He rubbed at old bruises as he got out, opened the back of his truck, and took out a can of poison. There was something he needed to do.
  
  He walked into the yard. Henry got tears in his eyes when he saw his old friend. The once beautiful whupping tree was now a crumbling stump. “You were a good friend for listening to me all those years,” he murmured. “I know it wasn’t your fault that I got spanked so often, so I hope you understand what I have to do.” New budding shoots sprung up from the ground underneath it, promising new life and another generation of whuppings. Henry didn’t want to take any chances there that might be some bad in him somewhere. He placed his hand on the withering trunk. “It’s time for you to go,” he whispered. He uncapped the poison, poured some into what remained of the tree, and went in to the house.
  
  His father was lying in bed. He couldn’t talk very well or move anymore; the stroke having stolen his functions. Henry fed him some soup.
  
  “Th-th-thanks, H-henry,” he said, drooling and looking embarrassed. “I s’pose you oughta get a switch and whup me. C-c-can’t even talk right n’more.”
  
  Henry wiped the soup off his father’s chin, “Nope. I figure this family has taken enough beatings. I’m just going to love you.”
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged abuse, contemporaryfiction, dreams, family, familyhardship, familyissues, fiction, published, shortstory
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