by Lynn Hones
She fought the sensation much too long. She turned from Mrs. King and let hot tears fall.
Later that evening, after the dinner dishes had been cleared and homework was underway, the telephone rang. Ruth took a sip of coffee, swallowed and answered.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Mrs. Adler? This is Rachel Townsend’s mother, Eve. She’s a friend of Pearls from school.”
It took a moment, but Ruth quickly placed Rachel’s face. “Yes, hi, how are you?”
“I’m fine. I just have a quick question about something that happened with the kids at school today.”
“Oh?”
“I’m concerned about—well, did Pearl tell you she saw a man near the playground this afternoon?”
“No, actually she didn’t.”
“I just want to make sure she didn’t see a pedophile or something. I talked with Mrs. King and she told me all about it.”
“Oh, boy.”
“What?” Mrs. Townsend asked.
“I didn’t want this to get out and really wish Mrs. King would have discussed this with me first.”
“Please, Mrs. Adler…”
“Call me Ruth.”
“Ruth, the problem is that my Rachel is a very sensitive child. Now, with Pearl telling tall tales about men in the field, why, I’m never going to get her to school.”
“Excuse me?”
“You have to know the stories of that area. It’s told that before the school was built, that part of town held bars and such. Rumor has it that during the early 1950’s a man was killed in the German American Club located right where the baseball field is, and then it was burned to the ground.”
“No, I didn’t know that.” Ruth coughed and swallowed feeling her throat tighten.
“The historical society has a picture of him on the wall. I assumed you knew and told the story to Pearl.”
“I’m sorry, Eve, but I’m not in the habit of telling my daughter gruesome tales of old. Gangsters getting whacked in local bars and then burned, as enticing as that seems, doesn’t cut it for bedtime stories around here.”
“Please don’t get upset, Mrs. Adler—Ruth. There’s no need to be so defensive. I’d want someone to call me if my daughter was telling lies to scare the other kids.”
“Telling lies? How dare you?” Ruth braced herself against the kitchen counter. Calm down…She now ranted with anger she was sure only a protective mother bear could understand. “In my opinion, you are a rotten, insensitive person, cruelly accusing my daughter of being dishonest. I’ll have you know that I will be speaking to Mrs. King, and if you breathe a word of this to the other parents, I will take it straight to the school board.”
“I can see this conversation is going nowhere,” Mrs. Townsend said. “Please keep Pearl away from Rachel. Like I said, she’s very sensitive and doesn’t need to be frightened by a classmate.”
Ruth hung up, livid.
“Mommy?” Pearl sidled up next to her. Holding a sheet of homework, she asked, “Was long division as hellish for you as it is for me?”
“Pearl, I’ve told you to stop the swearing.” She knew she was misplacing her anger, and after an anxious, apologetic look, she knelt down in front of her and wrapped her in her arms.
“Who was that you were talking to, Mommy?” she asked as she pulled away.
Pearl’s smoldering, dark eyes were a dead giveaway to the inner turmoil she suffered, and a smile would be like putting a drop of water onto an inferno.
“Someone from school. It was Rachel’s mom.”
“Did she tell you about the man I saw?” Her voice dripped with apprehension.
“Um, yep.” She pulled her close, again. “Why is it you didn’t tell me about it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t get a chance, I guess.”
“Well, I can give you a chance right now.”
“Mommy, what is it you want me to do? Should I keep it quiet when I see my people?”
“Um…yeah, Pearl. I think that’s a very good idea from now on. I should have told you that in the beginning. No more telling anyone, okay? If you see them, I want you to tell only me.”
“Okay.” Pearl slid off as Ruth stood.
“I need help with my math,” Pearl said as she walked away.
Ruth rubbed her eyes. They’d been sore lately, and bloodshot. She coughed and felt sick. She headed to the bathroom and threw up. Nerves. I’ve got to calm down.
Chapter Seven
On the last day for students, the schoolyard buzzed with excitement, full of tables holding tubs of ice cream and toppings. Everyone gathered for some fun. Parents, and teachers talked and laughed, while the kids stuffed themselves at the Parent’s Club annual ice cream social.
Pearl raced around with her friends, coming back up for second and then third helpings.
Ruth had volunteered months ago to help out, but now she wished she hadn’t. Her eyes still bothered her. A trip to the doctor did nothing to alleviate the watering and redness. On top of that, her fingers were sore. It felt as if she had hundreds of paper cuts on each one, but they appeared perfectly normal. Her hacking cough was no better, and now she’d developed chronic diarrhea. She’d lost ten pounds, and people were asking what was wrong with her.
“Sometimes, I wish I had something to tell people,” she said to Paul. “Maybe I should make something up.”
“Here, give me that scoop.” He put it in one of the empty tubs, walked her to a shaded spot, and sat her down on a bench. “We’ve done our share. I’ll go get the car.”
“Why?”
“I’m taking you to the doctor. If they can’t find anything wrong, then I want them to locate someone who will. It’s obvious you’re a very sick woman.”
“Oh, Paul. Don’t.” The mention of another doctor visit set off her increasing irritation with the medical profession. “It’s no use. I’ve seen so many doctors that there aren’t any more in the area to see. Some of them twice. When they see me coming, I swear they hide. They all say the same thing. I had a bad case of flu and now I’m rundown.”
Lotus, dropped off by a friend’s mother, ran up. “I was afraid I was going to miss this.” She threw her pile of books and papers onto Ruth’s lap without so much as a hello, and took off to get ice cream and visit with old teachers.
“Nothing like being appreciated,” Ruth laughed.
“She’s a teen. What can you say?”
“Oh, gees,” Ruth said. “There’s that Eve Townsend. What a piece of work she is. She thinks she runs this school. I can’t get what she said about Pearl out of my mind. She’s even trying to keep Rachel away from her. Who’s the adult and who’s the child in this scenario?” She glanced his way, exasperated. A small, dark haired woman came up to their table.
“We have a customer,” Paul said.
“I see that.”
They sauntered across the grass, Paul’s arm draped across Ruth’s shoulders.
The older Asian woman was dressed very strangely, and eyed Paul and Ruth.
“Sorry, ma’am,” Paul said. He tipped one of the empty tubs of ice cream. “We’re fresh out.”
As if she didn’t understand or speak English, she simply stared at them.
Ruth eyed her up and down, and realized she was dressed as they had in China many, many years before. “Is there something you need?” she asked.
Suddenly she knew – it was one of the ancestors. She swore she could see a resemblance to her baby, Pearl.
Slowly, the woman raised her arm, not saying a word, and when Ruth reached out, she placed a strange looking coin-like object, about the size of a half-dollar, in her hand. Still with no words exchanged, the woman turned and walked away. She ventured into the grassy area, and then turned by a building and out of their sight.
“Well, that was strange,” Paul said.
Ruth didn’t answer. She brought the object up to her eyes and studied it. Very old and worn, she studied the ancient Chinese characters.
She
knew it was one of the ancestors, but she could never tell Paul that. He’d tell her she was being ridiculous. This was one of the greatest moments in her life, and she wouldn’t let it be spoiled by his disbelief.
Paul reached his hand out, “Here, let me see that thing.”
Ruth didn’t want to part with it, and she didn’t have to, because Paul was caught off guard by Lotus and Pearl running up. They grabbed his arms and begged him to be one of the targets for a pie-throwing contest. They used up all the left over whip cream by covering a paper plate with it and throwing it at the teachers and parents.
“Okay, okay, no problem. I’m coming.”
He looked at Ruth. “So what did that lady just give you?”
“What lady?” Lotus asked.
“Some strange Asian woman walked up to us, and she handed Mommy something and then she left. Gone.”
“Oh, no, not you now,” Lotus moaned. “Am I the only one in the family who doesn’t see ghosts? It’s bad enough being the only Asian kids in the area, now throw in a family of psychic misfits and Pow—instant nerd targets.”
“She wasn’t a ghost,” Paul said.
Ruth confirmed that. “No, she wasn’t. We both saw her. She walked that way.” She pointed into the grassy area.
Instantly Pearl scanned the area.
“That’s it, super freak,” Lotus said. “Use your x-ray vision to spot the alien.”
“Do you see anything?” Ruth asked Pearl as she lightly punched Lotus in the arm. “Knock it off,” she hissed at her.
“No, nothing unusual.” Losing interest quickly, the girls grabbed their father’s hands once again and pulled him to the contest.
Later that evening, Ruth took to the computer. Everyone seemed to have forgotten the woman and the coin she’d handed to her, which was wonderful, as far as she was concerned. This gave her a little time to do her research.
It took awhile, but she finally found a website that explained what the old charms were.
They were meant for protection. After doing a rubbing on paper, she could make the details out better and couldn’t believe when she found the exact one. The amulet’s purpose is to suppress evil spirits and avert misfortune. The Taoist Immortal Lu Tung-Pin holds a magic sword, which can kill ghosts or demons. He holds a whisk also, which gives him the ability to walk on clouds and fly to the heavens. The words zhu shen hui bi meant evade all the spirits.
The other side had written on it qu xie jiang fu, which meant Expel evil and send down good fortune. She read further. The Immortal Taoist Zhong Kui, a popular slayer of demons holds a sword, also. On his hat are devices that indicate unseen dangerous ghosts.
She wanted, in the worst way, to hold on to this treasure, but she knew who it was meant for, so she went to Pearl’s room to talk.
“Hey, kiddo. You busy?”
“When am I not busy?” Pearl answered.
“Ya know you don’t have to say everything I do.”
“I know.”
Ruth sat on Pearl’s bed and leaned back on her pink fairy pillow. Pearl did the same, next to her.
“I got this today,” she started out, “from that lady at the school.”
Pearl took it in her hand and to Ruth’s horror, her eyes rolled back in her head.
“Pearl!” She slapped her face slightly. “Wake up.”
Her eyes returned to normal, but Pearl lifted her head and spoke. “The line will remain unbroken. Oceans divide, mountains obscure, the heart bends to the will of God, never will it be unspoken.”
“Pearl?” Shocked, she removed the talisman from Pearl’s hand and immediately Pearl became her child again. She cradled Pearl’s face in her hands. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You don’t remember, just now, what you said?”
She looked confused. “No.”
“Pearl, I think this is to keep you safe from your people. I think you need it when you are in danger. I don’t want you to have it, though. It takes you away from me. If you feel ever—and I mean this—if you ever feel threatened or in danger, tell me, and I’ll give to you.”
“Sure, Mom.”
Ruth got up, went to the door, turned, and stared at her precious daughter. She would die for her. She would let the evil come to her before she’d let anything touch a hair on her baby’s head. She left, her soul frightened, her heart bending.
Chapter Eight
The Fourth of July in the town of Eberstark brought out all the bells and whistles the city officials could afford. Always a grand time, with parades, picnics and a glorious fireworks display, this year’s celebration proved extra special because the city was celebrating its own one hundred and fifty year anniversary.
Pearl helped lay their blanket down, but grew antsy. “Can I go play now?” She jumped around, begging to go to the playground.
Lotus, who now sat on the blanket, was texting her friends, oblivious to what was going on with her family. She showed signs of life once a group of giggling girls came over and whisked her away.
“It looks like it’s just you and me, kid,” Pearl said to her father. Ruth laughed and sat back with a chilled lemon-aid, and her new House Glorious magazine, as Paul took their youngest to the craft tables.
“Ruth Adler?”
She looked up to see who owned the voice and recognized the woman immediately. “Mrs. Eberstark. Hi, how are you?” She stood, feeling her muscles tremble with the effort, to shake the dear woman’s hand. She wore a black dress with a white collar, and her gray hair, combed into a bun, added to her quaint appeal.
“We’re trying to make our rounds, my husband and I,” she said in her strong German accent. She glanced about. “I remember when I came here as a young woman. Of course, things were a lot different back then. In those days, women wore dresses even to picnics and the men wore suits and ties. And heaven help the man who was seen outside without a hat. Oh, the disgrace.”
“Could you imagine that today?” Ruth laughed and gazed about at the young kids in their skimpy shorts and shirts.
She shook her head. “No.”
“It’s the girls wearing those strings they call bathing costumes and the boys with their britches hanging off because they haven’t got the brains to use suspenders, that I don’t get.” She pointed a gnarled, purple veined hand to the heavens. “Why, if I ever so much as showed my knees, my mother told me I was a loose woman and would never find a husband.” She bent her head back and let out a delighted laugh, which Ruth joined in whole-heartedly.
“You proved her wrong though, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. I married my husband and we’ve been together for well over sixty-years.”
Ruth put her hand on the aged lady’s bony back and rubbed it comfortingly. “You are very lucky indeed to have found your soul mate. You two have done so many wonderful things for this town. The beautiful portraits of you in the vestibule of city hall prove that. Plus the fact the town’s name was changed to yours.”
The smile on Mrs. Eberstark’s face seemed as if she were gazing into the long gone days of old at that moment. “It feels like only yesterday when we sat on a blanket in a very different park listening to bands play and people with torches singing songs about love of country. That’s when my Daniel reached over, took my hand and slipped a diamond ring on my finger. Of course, my hand looked a lot different back then. Smooth and white, not the wrinkled and age-spotted paw I have now.” She glanced at her hand and smiled. “He asked me to marry him and I screamed out, yes! Quite un-lady-like, I might add.”
“You made a wise choice with that one word.” Ruth patted her once again and adjusted the sweater that hung over the stooped woman’s skeletal shoulders.
The shrieking noise of a microphone with horrible feedback flew through the air. The mayor, back on the platform, announced the watermelon seed-spitting contest starting in five minutes.
“My dear, I don’t mean to be rude, but are you unwell? You don’t look—”
“I’ve had a very bad flu,” Ruth interrupted. “I’m still kicking it, but I’m starting to feel better.”
“Well, good, then. Very good.”
The old woman bid Ruth goodbye and was on her way.
Once the last remnants of the sun’s rays took any light from the sky, the magnificent fireworks display began. Pearl put her head on her mother’s lap. A brown paper bag stuffed with candy she’d managed to catch from the day’s parade lay next to her.
Lotus came up with her gang of cronies. “Mom, I’m sleeping at Jade’s house.”
“Is that a question?” she asked sarcastically.
Lotus stared at her quizzically. “Um…what?”
“I don’t care,” Ruth said. She played with Pearl’s hair in hopes she’d stay awake long enough to see the grand finale.
“Night,” Lotus said. She bent and planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek.
Ruth called after her when she turned to leave. “Wait, aren’t you going to stay and watch the fireworks with us?”
She rolled her eyes—a horrible habit Ruth knew she’d picked up from her. “Mom, please.”
Pearl, her eyes closing, had a wad of gum in her mouth and a lock of hair stuck to her sticky cheek. “Hey, kiddo. Give me that gum before you fall asleep. You’ll choke.”
This sprang her back to life.
“I’m not tired. I was just refreshing my eyes.” She sat up quickly and looked to Ruth’s left.
“Whatcha looking at?”
“Mrs. Eberstark.” She pointed to the spot right next to where they sat.
Ruth turned, but saw no one. She figured Pearl, exhausted from a day of frolicking in the sun, and half-asleep, was seeing things.
“She’s saying something to me.”
“Really?” Ruth rubbed Pearl’s pink cheek in an attempt to get her fully awake.
“Uh-huh. Like the girl at the cottage. Into my head.”
“What’s she saying?”
“She told me to tell you that she’s glad she won’t have to look at the girls in the strings anymore, the girls in those awful bathing costumes, because now she’s dead. That’s a funny word, huh, Mommy. What’s a bathing costume?”
