THE THIRTEEN UINCORNS

Its time

"Dust motes floated lazily in the warm May sunshine that streamed through the window of Ben's seventh grade history class. Soon school would be history. For the summer anyway. All of the text books had been collected, final exams were over, and five minutes were all that remained of seventh grade at R.C. Johnston Middle School. At twelve years of age Ben, was a small boy who had not yet hit a growth spurt like most other boys his age. Being smaller than the other boys, Ben shunned sports and other physical activities and spent much of his time reading. His sister Casey was just the opposite. While Ben was a handsome boy with big brown eyes and dark brown hair, he was shy and the glasses he wore gave him the appearance of being bookish and somewhat frail. Casey, on the other hand, was an extraordinarily beautiful and outgoing girl. One year older than Ben, Casey had long curly red hair, green eyes, and a splattering of freckles across her nose. Casey played volleyball, basketball, softball, and ran track as well.

As the last second ticked off the clock, the final bell rang and students and teachers a like.

"heir mother, Carol, had been in a coma now for almost two years. A car crash with a drunk driver had brought this tragedy upon them on a bright crisp fall afternoon - one of those autumn days where the sky seems impossibly blue, the sunshine exceptionally bright, and the fall colors deep and vibrant. The kind of day that gives you a spring in your step and all seems right with the world. The kind of day when you least expect to hear the shattering news that your mother has been involved in a car accident and will probably not make it through the night. However, their mother did make it through the night. Yet now there were no sunrises or sunsets to mark the passage of days for her, only endless hours of sleep and dreams.

When Ben got to the parking lot he saw that Casey was already in the car with their dad. He opened the rear door of their little Honda Accord and tossed his backpack across the seat as he slid in. No one was speaking.

"What's going on?" Ben asked. Casey ignored him and continued to stare out the window. Charles turned the

"Carolina. The closest mall to their farm was over forty miles away. Ben, however, thought it would be cool to stay there over the summer. He always enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the slow, tranquil pace of farm life suited him just fine. Grandpa was always joking, playing pranks and telling the funniest stories. Grandma always cooked the best meals. Every morning she would fix country ham, scrambled eggs, and hot grits with a lake of butter in the middle; or stacks of pancakes smothered with maple syrup and thick slices of crispy bacon. Ben's stomach noisily rumbled as he leaned forward and snaked his arm around the front seat to poke his sister in the ribs.

"What about Mom? Who will look in on her while we're gone?" he asked.

Ben and Casey's mother was staying in a full-care nursing home called Newberry Downs. Round-the-clock nurses were on staff to look after her and the other patients who were no longer able to take care of themselves. For the past two years, Charles, Ben, and Casey faithfully visited Carol every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Their visits would mostly consist of Ben and Casey telling."he rest of the ride home was quiet. Ben thought about all of the fun he would have this summer while staying with Grandma and Grandpa Alderman, while Casey thought about her friends that she would miss and all of the fun they would be having this summer without her. Charles worried about them both. He had to leave them home alone at least twice a year while he attended a user's conference but that was only for three days, not all summer. Forty-five minutes later, after a quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for their trip (Ben liked to call it Wally World), they pulled into the driveway of their suburban Atlanta home.

"Okay kids, let's unload, get some supper and start packing. We'll go see Mom tonight and leave early tomorrow morning."

The next morning was overcast with puffy gray clouds that promised rain on what was already starting out as a gloomy day. Ben was quiet, still worried about being away from his mom, and Casey, sullen and pouting, was not speaking to anyone. Charles, however, tried to stay in good spirits and, by 9:30 AM, they were on.

"men. The set was old. It had belonged to his dad when he was young. When Ben had learned to play chess, and had developed a love for the game, his dad had given him the set. No one at school could beat him and, most of the time, he won the computerized games too.

Charles turned the radio down. "Hey guys, I've got something for you." Ben looked up from his chess game and Casey, who had been listening to her iPod, pulled the earphones out of her ears. "Casey, open the glove compartment and get the two boxes out. The one wrapped in red paper is yours, and the one wrapped in blue is Ben's."

Casey opened the glove compartment and retrieved the two gifts. She tossed the blue one over the seat to Ben and began opening hers.

"A cell phone?" Casey asked with disbelief as she tore off the last shred of wrapping paper. She had been begging for a cell phone all year. All of her friends had one.

"Yes, a cell phone," Charles replied with a grin. "I don't want you running up your Grandma and Grandpa's."was wrapped in tan leather and had a compass on the end.

"Awesome!"

"You like it?" Charles asked, grinning ear to ear.

"It's totally cool, Dad! Thanks!"

"I had a knife like that when I was your age. You'll find a lot of uses for it on the farm over the summer. Just promise me you'll be careful with it and you won't cut yourself. Or your sister either."

"I'll be careful Dad, I promise," Ben said.

"Don't run with it and remember to always cut away from your body, not toward your body. That's how people get their eyes poked out."

"Can I put it on now?" Ben asked.

"No, you'd better wait until we get to the farm. We'll be there in about an hour."

Ten minutes later, they crossed the state line. A big sign welcomed and informed them that South Carolina was a place of smiling faces and beautiful places. Shortly after crossing the state line, they left the interstate and took state highway 11 -- a long and scenic highway that wound its way through the Cherokee Foothills. Ben put his chess game away and was enjoying the scenery."Can we get some roman candles?" Casey asked.

"And some M80s?" Ben chimed in.

"We'll see. You'll have to be extra good though. Mind your grandparents, clean your plates at every meal, go to bed on time, and all that other stuff."

"What if we have boiled okra for supper? Do we have to eat that?" Casey asked.

Ben wrinkled his nose. He hadn't thought of boiled okra. There could even be boiled squash too! He leaned forward to hear what his dad would say about that.

"I guess you could skip the boiled okra," Charles laughed. "Casey, find us some tunes on the radio."

Casey picked up some rock and roll on a station called B93.7 and went back to programming her cell phone. She already had her best friends on speed dial and most of her other friends phone numbers entered in the address book too.

Highway 11 seemed to go on forever but, eventually, they turned off on a secondary road that was mostly tar and gravel and just barely wide enough for two cars to pass by each other. These back roads were so small that it was pointless for the state to paint a"passing time sitting on benches in front of the store. They threw up their hands in a friendly wave as the Honda rolled by. Charles waved back to them.

"Do you know them, Dad?" Casey asked.

"No, honey, I can't say that I do."

"Then why did they wave to you and why did you wave back?"

"That's the way people are out here in the country, Casey. Here comes a car now -- watch."

The car was an old primer-gray Camaro. As it passed by, the driver raised his finger from the steering wheel in a friendly hello and Charles reciprocated with a nod.

"See what I mean?" said Charles.

"That's weird." Casey replied.

"That's country," said Charles, "and here is Grandma and Grandpa's farm"