Eilise, God, And The Witches [Fake Tattoos #2]

Graveyard

Ohio - July, 1964

Mother stood on the porch looking over the farm that, for the first time in her life, wasn't hers. She wanted to shed a tear, but the state of shock wouldn't let her. She couldn't believe what she had done.

Father came out to the porch and put his hands around Mother's shoulders.

"It will be alright, Mother. We did the right thing," said Father.

Mother... Mother was beginning to hate the sound of that word. It was a reminder that everything she used to be was lost. The selling of the farmland was a reflection of what was no longer a part of her, a part of her history, of her soul.

Father held her a little closer.

"Look, Mother. We don't need it. It's much too much land for us. We got no boys, so we got to hire all the labor, equipment is getting too expensive..."

Mother placed her hand on top of Father's on her shoulder. She didn't turn and face him. His words were the last thing she needed to finally feel the situation and begin to cry.

"I know, Father. You've told me plenty of times."

She watched her beautiful blonde girls Bethany and Eilise play in the yard. She could help but feel she had sold off part of their world too. She turned and rested her weeping face on Father's chest. He hugged her, taking out his handkerchief.

"Now, come on, this my good shirt," he said, wiping her face, "what are you making extra laundry for?"

Mother let out a laugh in hysteria.

"Look, Mother," he said as he tilted her chin up to him. "We have everything we need for us and our girls. We've got the house, a huge garden, the barn, your apple grove... Heck, we even still got the family plot. Now how many of our new neighbors are going to be able to say they got all that. We'll still have the biggest piece of land in the neighborhood. But most importantly, we never have to worry about paying the bank a cent ever again. Hell, you know what? The bank's going to pay us for having so much money!"

"Father! The mouth on you today."

"I'm sorry, Mother. I can't help it. I'm so excited. I feel like the lord's truly looking out for us again."

Mother put a hand on his chest and his shirt was still damp.

"Then maybe you shouldn't be shouting 'hell' where the girls can hear you." She patted her hand on his chest and tried to rub the tears out of his shirt. "I'm happy for you, Father. I truly am."

"Well, you sure don't look like it."

"It's just a change. That's all."

"The world's changing. It's like that young man on the radio sings. The times are changing, we have to start learning to change with them... Now you've been pestering me for new furniture since the day after we got married. Why don't we sit down and take a look at that catalog."

"In a minute, Father. I'm going to watch the sunset and bring the girls in."

Father hugged Mother and kissed her on the cheek.

"Alright, I'll be inside."

She looked over the property they had left. It was still more than most people had. Yes, thought Mother, it should be more than enough.

After Mother put Eilise, Bethany, and her husband to bed, she poured herself a glass of red wine and took it out the kitchen door with her. The night air was warm and the cool grass pressed between her toes. She made her way to the family plot. When she got there, she opened the gate to the short iron fence that surrounded their late loved ones.

"Hello Mother, Father. It's me, Lahrlin."

It felt so good to hear her own name. It seemed the only time she herd it anymore was when she said it herself. Even in bed, even if the children were no longer around, she was Mother...

Her husband, John, had always been a good Christian man. Lahrlin's family had always followed the path of the old ways, and they had always been a family of women. Despite her mother's misgivings of John, Lahrlin, in her youth, thought a good Christian man was just what was needed to bring the farm back to life again. For a time she had been right. Now she was not so sure anymore.

"I suppose you've figured it out by now." Lahrlin sat in the grass with her glass of wine. The family plot was quite lovely. It was full of flowers at this time of year.

"They call it rural flight. Because everything is done with machines now, they don't need farms like ours anymore. I mean, really, what other choice was there? To have a farm full of noisy machines and cows penned up to their eyeballs? That's no life."

"So, we've sold off most of the farm land. They're turning it all into houses. Don't worry you're not going anywhere and the Grove is still protected. I'm not giving up on my promise to teach Eilise. A third daughter, lucky, I know..." Lahrlin stroked the grass of her mother's grave.

"I wish things could just stay the same, how they were when I was a child, but they can't, Mother. Sometimes I think this is why we die. So we don't have to see this, so we don't have to go through with these things..."

"But things are happening too fast now. Atomic energy, men in space... It's like we're suddenly living in a future book. You wouldn't like it at all. Makes me worry about what comes after me..."

It worried her because it was beyond here imagination. She stared at the stars. Men in space. What next? Life on other planets? Grow all our food on Mars and ship it back? Can't man ever leave well enough alone? Lahrlin stood up and shook out her nightgown. She walked over to the two graves beside her parents.

"Hello Elisabeth, Thomas. I miss you both so very much. I know your father thinks things would be different if you were here, especially you Thomas. But I want you to put that out of your minds. I know you are the children Father always wanted, but there is nothing that would be different if you were here..."

When Mother came back to the farmhouse there was a commotion upstairs.

"You two girls cut that out, if I have to get out of bed to settle this, someone's getting a lashing for sure!" Yelled Father.

Mother put her wine glass down on the counter and ran up the stairs. When she got up the stairs, Father was upright in bed with the light turned on and the girls were screaming at each other.

"What's this all about?" Mother demanded.

"Your daughters have been making a fuss for damn near ten minutes," Father scolded her, "Where have you been?"

Mother turned down the hall to the girls' room and opened the door.

"What in God's name is going on? Why are the lights on?"

Bethany, the older of the two at age seven, and Eilise, age five, both had sour faces on.

"Mom, Eilise won't shut up! I need my own room!" cried Bethany.

"Bethany! For the last time, you're not old enough yet. We don't use that kind of language. I swear I am living in a house full of sailors today! You address me as Mother."

"Sorry, Mother," said Bethany, "It's just that Eilise won't stop talking."

Mother turned towards Eilise who had her arms crossed.

"What were you saying, Eilise?" Mother asked.

"I wasn't saying anything," said Eilise. "I was talking."

"Fine," said Mother, "what were you talking about with your sister?"

"I wasn't talking to my sister."

"See Mother!" cried out Bethany. "She's crazy!"

"Bethany, be quiet before your father comes in here!" Mother shouted. "Now, Eilise, who were you talking to?"

"God," said Eilise.