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Thursday, November 27, 2003
^Emma Part 1
Everything is so scary, Emma thought as she lay in bed, trying to sleep, but afraid to close her eyes. The nightlight was on, sending orbs of warm light into the room, teddy was close by, soft and quiet, but still she lay almost paralyzed, looking anxiously up at the dim flower border at the top of the wall and the unpainted stucco on the ceiling that formed faces and goblins in her mind. The plastic flowers on the dresser cast ominous shadows of fingers and reaching hands on the curtains, but Emma did not even glance at those. And she knew what would come next after the screams and shouts quit echoing through the house. The thump, thump, thump up those long, long stairs, maybe even the sound of the belt hitting the wall.
"It's your kid! You were the one who laid down and whored yourself..." came the shouts from below.
"Don't tell me you never slept with nobody, you self-righteous..." And on and on until Emma was sick in the head with hearing it. Maybe they didn't know she could hear them, or maybe they just didn't care. Either way, Emma was afraid. She talked to her bestest friend on the way to school once, but she had to promise to keep it a secret, and her best friend said that nothing like that ever happened in her house. Emma didn't know why.
Not long before those ominous footsteps would come banging up the stairs, Emma heard something muffling around outside her window.
"Well, hey there, I say, open up! Broo hawhaw! I say! Open up" came an old and hollow voice.
"Who's there?" Emma asked nervously, poking her head out from underneath the covers, and bringing teddy still nearer.
"It's Underwood, who else could it be! Silly question, that. Come on then! Open up!"
"What do you want?" Emma asked, even more nervously, for she did not know an Underwood.
"I have received word, young lady, that you have my hat and I would like it back. If it please you, and what not...My hat, come on then, my hat."
"Your hat? I don't have your hat." Emma sat up in bed.
"I can assure you that you do, now, if you please..."
Emma inched out of bed and crept to the window, pulled back the curtains, just a tiny bit and there stood an owl on her roof, fluffing his feathers and looking most indignant.
"You're an owl!" Emma exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, and you have my hat."
"But, I don't have your hat."
"Fine, fine then, you want to bargain. Hmm, what do you want young lady?"
Thump, thump, thump came the footsteps up the stairs, the shadow falling across the crack at the bottom of the door.
"I want to get out of here!" Emma cried.
"Broo hawhaw, very well, I'll take you with me." Emma threw open the window and the owl stepped in. "There it is, right there." He picked up a big red leaf that Emma had collected on the way home from school. "Alright, on to my back, let's go." The owl seemed to have grown in size, or Emma had shrunk as she quickly climbed onto his back and Underwood flapped out the window, his red hat on his head, leaving the house far behind.
"I can't believe I'm flying!" Emma cried out in happiness as the air swept through her hair.
"Yes, yes you are" the owl commented dryly, as if flying were a completely normal thing and as if Emma were making a big deal about nothing.
"Look, there is my best friend's house, the one with the basketball hoop! I can't wait to tell her I was flying."
"Broo hawhaw. I'm just happy I got my hat back."
"But that's not a hat, it's a leaf."
"What are you talking about? A leaf? Have you gone mad in the head? This is only the finest hat ever made by Floyd the hatmaker of Swoosh! Just a leaf...broo hawhaw, that's what I have to say to you. Look at it again." Emma examined it closely and sure enough it was a beautiful piece of cloth, decorated with purple and blue stars and with gold embroidery that sparkled in the moonlight. "See what I mean?"
"That's amazing, but who is Floyd?"
"What, what? Don't tell me you've never heard of Floyd the hatmaker of Swoosh. Broo hawhaw, what nonsense. I shall have to take you there to meet him immediately."
© 2003 All rights reserved MJ Jackson
This article may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the author.
"It's your kid! You were the one who laid down and whored yourself..." came the shouts from below.
"Don't tell me you never slept with nobody, you self-righteous..." And on and on until Emma was sick in the head with hearing it. Maybe they didn't know she could hear them, or maybe they just didn't care. Either way, Emma was afraid. She talked to her bestest friend on the way to school once, but she had to promise to keep it a secret, and her best friend said that nothing like that ever happened in her house. Emma didn't know why.
Not long before those ominous footsteps would come banging up the stairs, Emma heard something muffling around outside her window.
"Well, hey there, I say, open up! Broo hawhaw! I say! Open up" came an old and hollow voice.
"Who's there?" Emma asked nervously, poking her head out from underneath the covers, and bringing teddy still nearer.
"It's Underwood, who else could it be! Silly question, that. Come on then! Open up!"
"What do you want?" Emma asked, even more nervously, for she did not know an Underwood.
"I have received word, young lady, that you have my hat and I would like it back. If it please you, and what not...My hat, come on then, my hat."
"Your hat? I don't have your hat." Emma sat up in bed.
"I can assure you that you do, now, if you please..."
Emma inched out of bed and crept to the window, pulled back the curtains, just a tiny bit and there stood an owl on her roof, fluffing his feathers and looking most indignant.
"You're an owl!" Emma exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, and you have my hat."
"But, I don't have your hat."
"Fine, fine then, you want to bargain. Hmm, what do you want young lady?"
Thump, thump, thump came the footsteps up the stairs, the shadow falling across the crack at the bottom of the door.
"I want to get out of here!" Emma cried.
"Broo hawhaw, very well, I'll take you with me." Emma threw open the window and the owl stepped in. "There it is, right there." He picked up a big red leaf that Emma had collected on the way home from school. "Alright, on to my back, let's go." The owl seemed to have grown in size, or Emma had shrunk as she quickly climbed onto his back and Underwood flapped out the window, his red hat on his head, leaving the house far behind.
"I can't believe I'm flying!" Emma cried out in happiness as the air swept through her hair.
"Yes, yes you are" the owl commented dryly, as if flying were a completely normal thing and as if Emma were making a big deal about nothing.
"Look, there is my best friend's house, the one with the basketball hoop! I can't wait to tell her I was flying."
"Broo hawhaw. I'm just happy I got my hat back."
"But that's not a hat, it's a leaf."
"What are you talking about? A leaf? Have you gone mad in the head? This is only the finest hat ever made by Floyd the hatmaker of Swoosh! Just a leaf...broo hawhaw, that's what I have to say to you. Look at it again." Emma examined it closely and sure enough it was a beautiful piece of cloth, decorated with purple and blue stars and with gold embroidery that sparkled in the moonlight. "See what I mean?"
"That's amazing, but who is Floyd?"
"What, what? Don't tell me you've never heard of Floyd the hatmaker of Swoosh. Broo hawhaw, what nonsense. I shall have to take you there to meet him immediately."
© 2003 All rights reserved MJ Jackson
This article may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the author.
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