My Guardian Angel

Chapter 4: The Unexpected

            Bennett was used to the cussing, and yelling in the house. And I think Laura was too. But definitely wasn’t. It scared me anytime Mr. McCrae would say stuff like that. And how he was a Christian, and still did those things? I do not know. But all I know is that Bennett and Laura are good children, and if Mary were here, Mr. McCrae would have never said those things.

“It’s supper. Now please, wash your hands and set the table.” Mother told me after I left Bennett’s house. After washing up and setting the table, I could smell the chicken that was about to be served. I sat down on a chair at the table, and so did the rest of my family. “Let’s say grace.” and everybody in my family began to hold hands.

And Father began. “Dear Lord, I bless you for this day.”

Then Mother, who sat next to him continued. “I thank you for keeping our family safe.”

“And healthy,” said Wendell.

“I pray that you will nourish our bodies,” Klaus said.

“Thank you for blessing us with a nice house to live in,” Alden said, continuing the prayer.

“Thanks for the sun and the earth,” Gertie said.

“And my family,” added Emmett.

“Let us learn from you,” Fern said.

“Thank you for everything,” Gretchen said.

“And please keep Bennett and Laura safe,” I said.

“And I thank you for the food you bring us today.” Lenny said.

“We love you,” Hilda stated.

“Amen!” concluded Greta, finishing the prayer off. That was only one of the few words that she knew. In our family, we did what we called “popcorn” prayer, so we each said something. Well, every meal we said the same thing, so it wasn’t different every time. After the prayer, we began to eat the delicious chicken.

            After dinner, I walked upstairs to my bedroom. I was so tired, it was almost unbearable. I thought about how hard Bennett works every day, and what does he get but crap back! Thinking about this made me tired, so I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

            I was woken by the sound of the scream. Not any scream, the scream. The loud, piercing scream of Gretchen. It woke up the whole house in a heartbeat. I ran into Gretchen’s room, and saw that Laura and Fern were trying to calm her down. As I walked closer, I realized that there were tears and sweat running down her face.

“Oh, Gretchen! It’s okay.” I said as I headed towards the bed. By now, the whole family was here. Well, except for my parents. Gretchen didn’t like them coming, especially Mom. That was because Gretchen’s dream was about Mother. And it wasn’t a good dream either. The night when Bennett’s mother died, Laura and Bennett weren’t the only ones who saw the death. Gretchen saw it too. She was there playing with Laura, when the sickness became worse. She saw Mary die. And ever since, about once a month, Gretchen would have a dream that she saw her own mother die. Whenever she had bad dreams, she would always become quiet when I walked in and cradled her in my arms, just as if she was a baby. And that was just what I did. After a few moments, she would quiet down and go back to bed, and we would too, like nothing happened.   

*  *  *  *  *

The next morning, I was woken up by Gertie, who always woke me up in the morning.

“Bennett and Laura are on their way. So hurry up.” she whispered into my right ear. She gently placed her little hands underneath my arms and pulled as hard as she could. But she was only five, and I was sixteen, so she could only move me a few inches.