She Danced with Autumn

                                      “Hey mom, I’m home” she says closing the door to the house front door. Laying her jacket on the stool chair in the kitchen while massaging her bottom lip with her teeth, she walks around the corner  “mom” she shouts once again while looking around before shrugging and opening the fridge only to notice a note on the fridge “inspection this evening hide essays and burn note” she walks over to the fire place that’s at the far end of the living room and turns a nob clockwise; a slight hiss comes out the open hole in the wall before the roar of fire comes revealing the otherwise hidden fire place. She sits there on both knees staring at the old worn out, chipped red showcased bricks that were gray underneath. The fire’s orange glow reflecting off her dark caramel skin, she stares on into the dance of orange and yellow embers lighting up her brown eyes. She relaxes her knees that are pressed into the old wooden floor in front of the fire place only complimented by creaking sounds singing from the floor, taking the note she looks at the paper and tosses it in the fire watching it intensely. It slowly burns away as she sighs before waiting a few seconds for the paper to turn to ash then turning the nob back counter clock-wise the roaring stops with the hissing winding down shortly after.

She leaves the living room and walks into a hallway that screams of disappointment and sadness as if it had the permanent look of a child’s face after they scrapped their knee. The wood was old and a dead brown color, probably more rotten than fresh and visibly warped but that didn’t stop her from calling this shit hole her home, she thought to herself. Making her way down the hall, her room seems to be out of place compared to the rest of the house; at first glance you would think it was pristine. Sighing deeply, she takes up her floor rug rolling it up and setting it off to the side, gathering all of her paintings up but she stops to take a look at the last two. One of a little wench standing in a open field the audience only able to view the back of the young wench wearing a light purple dress, the dull orange grass  plain scenery only taunted by a deep black mist coming from the sky above her head, opening up like a rose in the spring time. The details and smooth brush stroke lines on the canvas almost made it seem photo-realistic. She never made it clear whether the reason she never showed her figures face was through ambiguous abstract style or just simply she did not want the audience to feel the horror her face as the abstract darkness approaches. The other painting was one of her first she had sketched for months in a notebook she hid in a tree stump right out in her back yard. It was a simple painting a hall with a single rusty nail that very symmetrical to her sketches in with such dynamic lighting it would leave a viewer at awe, she sure thought to herself.

The door slams from the front, snapping her out of her trance causing her to rush into a panic as the foot steps increase down the hallway her heart beats concerningly doubles as she rushes around the room trying count through all the art pieces and chuck them into a nearby suit case but closer the steps grew even with her feeling like she was moving at light speed the foot steps where faster. “Kal-Beth” a voice shouts out in anger hearing the familiarity in the voice, Kal-Beth snaps her neck looking over to the door way with a knee jerk reaction. Her heart begins to steady back to normal pacing as her mother’s face comes into view, she clutches her chest “geez, ma something next time”, “put this away Kal, the inspectors are on the way”, “But your note….” Beth is cut short “I’m aware of what it said but I just passed by Dillion in the market place.” Her mother walks in taking over for Kal-Beth, shoving paints and drawings alike into the bag with Kal-Beth taking heaps and groans at the sight, before taking a second to organize them before her mother shoes her hands away to zip up the suit case. “Stay here” she says walking out of the room with the case. Beth waits there a second hearing the footsteps quickly pace away from her room before rushing to the window as she hears the back door squeak open; looking out her sullied and scratched window, she looks around the room and picks up a dirty hoodie using it’s to clear the window , barely catching a glimpse of her mother exiting the old worn down shed in the back yard, surround by the company of dirt and patches of dried out brown grass.

She runs down the hall as soon as the back door slams close “you could be more careful”, “yeah, ma” she marches past Kal-Beth right into the kitchen “well they’ve never found any of my other essays”, “Well dear, Just cause you’ve not been caught doesn’t mean it could never happen” her mother says in a harmonized tone. “Yeah or it could just mean you’re over reacting “ her fist pushing into the side of her cheek makes some of her words muffled when it unexpected pain causing her to jerk her hand away from her resting head “hey!” she shouts angrily rubbing her elbow, her eyes immediately dart to the wooden spoon her mother was stirring the stew with over the stove.

The atmosphere around them crumbles as a knock comes to the door, wiping away any sense of warmth in the air, a instant feel of a cold breeze only drowned out by another knock not too heavy but far from soft, it was demanding enough to cause them to stop for a moment. Her mother clears her throat before dialing back the nobs on the stove down from a five to a three as she straightens out her torn and worn out green dress with ruby colored flowers silhouetting with part of her back revealed open showing various old scares in no particular order but Kal-Beth knew not to stare at her mothers scars. The knock coming for a third time in the same three rhythmic pattern but this time it seemed rather impatient being a little harder “Kal-Beth, please go change into something more appropriate” her more ask looking at her ragged and dirty sweatshirt and ripped black shorts, Beth begins to make a smartass remark only to be halted by her mother walking to the front door, she turns her head to look back at Beth and nodding with Beth reading her mom’s body language and darting off to her room. The old house being small had it’s benefits even for all of its downfalls and Kal-Beth knew this as she sat in her room, she moved around quite as a mouse to eavesdrop as she heard the front door open. She always knew when it was the front door as it was a little rusty on the hinges that made a awful whining sound when opened too slowly.

“Nar….Narwin, hello” Beth could hear her mother say from the door and she knew if she could hear the shakiness in her mother’s voice from down the hall then so could Narwin, who was right in front of her. She leans closer to the hallway trying to hear what Narwin and her mom were discussing, leaning further into the door frame with her head barely giving her away if someone decided to walk up the hallway. Her attention only broken by the sound of twigs breaking right outside her window, she ignores it at first believing it to be a stray or a bird but the light chatter makes her turn back towards the window.  She crawls over and peaks ever so slightly as not to be seen. The chatter is coming from men outside in her back yard three moving cautiously toward the shed and another three a few inches behind them but their uniforms were all the same long trench coats that were full dark grey and each holding long rifles this particular model she hadn’t seen before the metal on them black in color and the handles being wooden grained, Beth could tell that each of the six man standing in her back yard were trying to keep the talking to a minimum as to not draw her mother’s attention.

Kal-Beth was stuck and she know it, what was she to do? Run to the front and tell her mother in the presences of Narwin? No, she knew that would be a dumb move on her part. Narwin was the man behind the myth, the shadow man in children and adults’ nightmares alike; the man who answered the call to take those who were artistically gifted away from their families. No one knew where they were taken, whether they were alive or dead, their families always moved by force shortly after their taking. Kal-Beth frozen in fear peaking out the window watching as the men approached the shed. Bump bump….bump bump…bump bump her heart increasing the longer she watches for a seconds it was almost as if time itself had frozen and the only words running through her brain being “run!”, it was quite at first but noticeable with it only becoming louder as shouting over takes the conversation from the front “Where is the girl” she hears, Narwin’s voice so loud it even accumulated the attention of his men, they turn their heads like a domino effect with the three men closest to the shed staying in position while the one at the shed door orders the other three furthest from the shed to check out the commotion.

She knew this was her only chance to escape whatever faint awaited her if they got their hands on her. Her mother had planned for this day for a long time, making her practice for years just in case, she backed away from the window slowly and quietly moving towards the door. The struggle from the front door can be heard, quickly closing the door only to softly shut it and quietly locking it, she then positions her bed to prevent the door from opened kind of wedging it between the door and the wall. Opening her closet and removing a fake wall panel, it was small but big enough for her to crouch and crawl through. It wasn’t too long before the piercing sound rings through the air echoing the sound of broken metal, she knew what it was but never the less she continued to slide her sandwiched body in between the two walls as fast as she could, feeling for the hole with her bare feet as she breathed heavy. It was….it had to be here…maybe a few more feet…inches? She thought to herself, there! Her foot was at the edge of the hole, the hole fell down to the basement, it was dark…very dark to the point she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face but she knew the layout by instinct. She gets on all fours crawling around feeling for the storm grate, it had to be around there, somewhere she thought; the pounding of footsteps over her head storming towards where her room is makes her heart start racing again. “Ala-Lauren, where is your daughter”, “please, Narwin she isn’t here” she replies followed by a loud pop that can be heard before a thud to the floor “tisk tisk Lauren, lying to the blue cloth especially with the high crime of housing a artist…. pick her up. And you two don’t just stand around…. find that wench!” his shouts this time more malice than before the rage charging the air.

She hears her mother’s cries from above “Pick…her…up” Narwin repeats himself as the double time of pounding and grunts comes from her room door but the clear sound of it not budging brings more frustration to the soldiers. Beth still feeling around on all fours finds the barrel, so she knew she wasn’t far from the….the….here it was the grate…The heavy Iron grate. She sits there for a minute listening to her mothers whimpers, the tears forcing themselves out leaving Beth having to cover her mouth with her hand to stop her cries from being heard upstairs only snapping out of it when she hears the bed being forced flying into the wall. Pulling at the grate she begins to panic as it won’t budge “No…no…no” she whispers to herself as she tugs with all her strength before it gives; the rust around it that was sealing it closed finally begins to crumble. As it flings open Kal-Beth jolts up catching it before it has a chance to slam on the ground as she holds it open with one hand, positioning herself over the hole with her legs dangling in the hole she sighs in a brief moment of relief “There is a got damn secret hole in the closet” one of the soldiers shout sending a chill up her spine.

She knew her time was up, jumping down into the hole while slowly pulling the grate back down letting her weight tighten it back. She swings for a few seconds before letting go, her feet land in a skim stream below. She darts forward in a full run, splashing through the water her feet feeling frozen, her breathe shaky, heart pumping with max blood flow. This underground tunnel ran three miles away from her house directly into the woods. There it was the light, the afternoon bright white light that slowly became more vibrant the closer she got. Autumn leaves on the ground ahead only brought excitement to her face as the cold winter air brushed up against her nose and cheeks, her heavy breathing becomes visible in the air as she slows down in the woods, leaning a hand on a tree to catch her breathe, her heart stops as the tears come back…..the sound of the light running stream from the tunnel the only thing keeping her company.

All the happiness she felt disappeared as fast as it came, that piercing echo rung out again scattering the birds around. She looked back towards the dark tunnel the echo hugging those dark bricked tunnel walls as her eyes swell, the water overflowing down her cheek under her chin as her vision becomes blurry. Kal-Beth uses her torn sweater sleeve to wipe away her collecting tears she remembers her late father’s words before continuing on through the forest hugging herself headed north to Canada.

“Look Beth, you’re a special kid and people in our society are afraid of special. No matter what happens, know that your gift will one day change the world and give the voiceless here hope. So, if it ever comes to it and you need to run know you are no coward Kal-Beth but a survivor”, “You’re funny, papa”.