Post by morriss003 on May 11, 2014 14:03:19 GMT -5
Sasha feeds Kim
I had been living in the heating ducts for about a year, so I must have been eight years old at the time. I could barely remember my mother and father by then. Every moment was spent just trying to stay alive and out of the sight of the men controlling Eagle’s Retreat. Every now and then they heard me crawling, and during that first year, they sometimes fired a bullet into a duct. Soon, the duct in the basement had several bullet holes. It was stupid of them, because the heat leaked from the holes. During the daytime, I stayed in the ceiling ducts on the second floor, because there was no attic, and they were smart enough not to shoot into the ceiling, because that might have left a hole in the roof.
They knew I would creep out at night and steal food, but they didn’t know that Sasha and her mother, Iris, were secretly feeding me from their own rations. During the first year, it wasn’t hard to find food, because the bad people were real slobs, and they would leave their remains lying around. That changed after the first winter, when they realized that they would have to ration their remaining food. I remember when the leader came back to the Retreat, one evening, and found that some of the other men had cut down the apple trees, so they could burn the wood in the fireplace. The leader shot and killed all three men.
At first, some places in the heating ducts were too hot for me when the furnace was operating, so I went to the farthest spots that were near the room vents. The second floor, away from the kitchen was a good place, and there was a small section, beyond the last vent, that stayed cool enough. I was careful to be very quiet, because if they had trapped me in that corner, I could not have escaped. Once they had used up the liquid petroleum gas, all the ducts were available to me as long as I was silent. And after they had used most of their ammunition, they stopped shooting at me.
I still remember that first day. I was sitting by the vent to Iris and Sasha’s room, and they were reading real books when we heard the door begin to open. One of the bad men entered. Iris and Sasha sat up, and peering through the vent, I could see Sasha’s hands begin to shake. Iris stood and moved in front of her daughter. The man looked at Sasha and smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. Then he turned to Iris.
“The old man wants you.”
Iris took a step forward, but then she stopped and said, “Bring my daughter a plate of food, first.”
“Later,” the man snarled.
“Now,” Iris replied firmly. “He knows the deal I made.”
I thought for a moment that the man was going to grab Iris, but instead he left the room, slamming the door. Not long after, he entered again, carrying a plate that contained a piece of deer meat, a glob of mashed potatoes, and a wrinkled old pear. He sat the plate down on the end table between the two beds, and then he and Iris left the room. Until then Sasha had sat quietly, but after her mother left, she put her head down in her hands and started to cry. I was distressed by her tears, but when I pressed my face against the metal vent, it creaked. Sasha looked over and saw me pressed against the vent. Alarmed, I drew back and moved farther into the duct.
“Wait, boy,” she said. I tried to stay absolutely motionless. “Are you hungry?”
I didn’t answer, but I moved back toward the vent. I was always hungry, and I could smell the tempting aroma of the meat that had been roasted in the fireplace. Moisture began to collect in my mouth. Straining to see, I saw her cutting the meat in half with scissors. Then she closed the scissors and pushed them into the mashed potatoes, creating two portions.
I hadn’t realized she had seen me again, until she glanced to where I knelt in the small cubed duct and said, “Wait a minute.”
As I watched, she hurriedly ate the mashed potatoes. Then she picked up one piece of meat and carried the plate to the vent, laying it in front of the opening. I drew away, again. The bad men had wired every vent in the Retreat with the type of paper covered wires that are used to close bags, making it harder for me to get in and out. Sasha used the scissors, and with some difficulty, she managed to cut the wire. She pulled off the vent covering and peered inside, but by that time I had moved far away.
“What’s your name?”
I didn’t answer.
“I’m going to leave the plate here. I’ll stand on the other side of the room while you eat.”
After a long time, I cautiously approached the uncovered vent. She was waiting patiently on the far side of the room. I ate the meat and mashed potatoes, licked the plate, took one bite from the pear, dropped it, and then scurried back to safety. I heard her come to the vent.
“I know your last name is Kim,” she called, “because I remember my mother calling your dad, Mr. Kim. So I’m going to call you, Kim.”
Maybe that was the day I fell in love with her.
I had been living in the heating ducts for about a year, so I must have been eight years old at the time. I could barely remember my mother and father by then. Every moment was spent just trying to stay alive and out of the sight of the men controlling Eagle’s Retreat. Every now and then they heard me crawling, and during that first year, they sometimes fired a bullet into a duct. Soon, the duct in the basement had several bullet holes. It was stupid of them, because the heat leaked from the holes. During the daytime, I stayed in the ceiling ducts on the second floor, because there was no attic, and they were smart enough not to shoot into the ceiling, because that might have left a hole in the roof.
They knew I would creep out at night and steal food, but they didn’t know that Sasha and her mother, Iris, were secretly feeding me from their own rations. During the first year, it wasn’t hard to find food, because the bad people were real slobs, and they would leave their remains lying around. That changed after the first winter, when they realized that they would have to ration their remaining food. I remember when the leader came back to the Retreat, one evening, and found that some of the other men had cut down the apple trees, so they could burn the wood in the fireplace. The leader shot and killed all three men.
At first, some places in the heating ducts were too hot for me when the furnace was operating, so I went to the farthest spots that were near the room vents. The second floor, away from the kitchen was a good place, and there was a small section, beyond the last vent, that stayed cool enough. I was careful to be very quiet, because if they had trapped me in that corner, I could not have escaped. Once they had used up the liquid petroleum gas, all the ducts were available to me as long as I was silent. And after they had used most of their ammunition, they stopped shooting at me.
I still remember that first day. I was sitting by the vent to Iris and Sasha’s room, and they were reading real books when we heard the door begin to open. One of the bad men entered. Iris and Sasha sat up, and peering through the vent, I could see Sasha’s hands begin to shake. Iris stood and moved in front of her daughter. The man looked at Sasha and smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. Then he turned to Iris.
“The old man wants you.”
Iris took a step forward, but then she stopped and said, “Bring my daughter a plate of food, first.”
“Later,” the man snarled.
“Now,” Iris replied firmly. “He knows the deal I made.”
I thought for a moment that the man was going to grab Iris, but instead he left the room, slamming the door. Not long after, he entered again, carrying a plate that contained a piece of deer meat, a glob of mashed potatoes, and a wrinkled old pear. He sat the plate down on the end table between the two beds, and then he and Iris left the room. Until then Sasha had sat quietly, but after her mother left, she put her head down in her hands and started to cry. I was distressed by her tears, but when I pressed my face against the metal vent, it creaked. Sasha looked over and saw me pressed against the vent. Alarmed, I drew back and moved farther into the duct.
“Wait, boy,” she said. I tried to stay absolutely motionless. “Are you hungry?”
I didn’t answer, but I moved back toward the vent. I was always hungry, and I could smell the tempting aroma of the meat that had been roasted in the fireplace. Moisture began to collect in my mouth. Straining to see, I saw her cutting the meat in half with scissors. Then she closed the scissors and pushed them into the mashed potatoes, creating two portions.
I hadn’t realized she had seen me again, until she glanced to where I knelt in the small cubed duct and said, “Wait a minute.”
As I watched, she hurriedly ate the mashed potatoes. Then she picked up one piece of meat and carried the plate to the vent, laying it in front of the opening. I drew away, again. The bad men had wired every vent in the Retreat with the type of paper covered wires that are used to close bags, making it harder for me to get in and out. Sasha used the scissors, and with some difficulty, she managed to cut the wire. She pulled off the vent covering and peered inside, but by that time I had moved far away.
“What’s your name?”
I didn’t answer.
“I’m going to leave the plate here. I’ll stand on the other side of the room while you eat.”
After a long time, I cautiously approached the uncovered vent. She was waiting patiently on the far side of the room. I ate the meat and mashed potatoes, licked the plate, took one bite from the pear, dropped it, and then scurried back to safety. I heard her come to the vent.
“I know your last name is Kim,” she called, “because I remember my mother calling your dad, Mr. Kim. So I’m going to call you, Kim.”
Maybe that was the day I fell in love with her.