AncilShe didn’t answer.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t say sorry.”
“Oh right….Sorry,” I joked.
Sara laughed then said, “The next time I hear you say sorry, I’ll punch you in your face.”
“Sorry,” I joked.
She punched me in the face but not hard enough to hurt me, just hard enough to prove a point. “I told you.”
“I definitely learned my lesson.”
“Good,” Sara said as she shuffled closer to me and laid her head on my chest. I placed my arms over her shoulder and stroked it. Her skin was cold as a corpse but she didn’t seem very sick so I assumed that it was just what the thing inside of her was doing.
“I don’t think I ever told you this but I am really grateful for what you are doing for us even if it’s only temporary,” Sara said.
“Grateful for taking you from safety? You said it yourself, you were safer with the blue devils.”
“Yeah, we were safer but we stayed in a small prison cell for most of the time. That is hardly a life worth being saved for. You freed us from captivity and protected us. And I am grateful for that. We all are, even Clive.”
“I’m not sure how long I could protect you guys for though. Look at what happened to Clive. It’s much harder than it looks.”
“Well you’re doing a good job so far,” she said before closing her eyes.
While her eyes were shut I gazed at her for a while and I felt something. It wasn’t love or desire but — concern. I truly felt concerned about her and I needed to keep her safe no matter what. Right there and then I began to question my decision to kick them out to fend for themselves. Kicking them out was the right thing for me to do in order to fulfill the promise I had given to my father but for some reason, it just didn’t feel RIGHT. That conflict invaded my mind all through the night until finally, I fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning with Sara still lying on my chest. She seemed to be still sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her so I tried to stay as quiet as possible with very subtle movements.
“Today is Saraya’s birthday,” Sara said with her eyes closed.
I jumped a little when she spoke. “Really? How old is she today?”
“Eleven.”
“She’s a big girl now,” I said.
“Not really,” she said, getting off my chest. “She’s still a baby.”
“I’m sure I could probably head out and buy something nice for her.”
“Are you going to risk your life for a birthday present?”
“I could grab some shoes and magazines while I’m there,” I joked.
“Pssh.” Sara said then she got up and headed off towards the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Breakfast.”
I watched the clock on the wall to check the time only to notice that it wasn’t working. I made a mental note to get some batteries for the clock and I headed off to the bathroom to freshen up.
After I finished freshening up I grabbed some stuff to eat and started off to the town of Arima to look for a gift, among other things.
The town was relatively quiet and there weren’t any jumbies on the streets. I wasn’t expecting to see any jumbies since it was so early so I didn’t even bother to bring my shades. I was so accustomed to the early morning trips that I just accepted the fact that the streets would be empty. Most of the jumbies were probably sleeping.
I went into a couple of stores and pulled some toys off the shelves. Saraya may never get another birthday so it only made sense that she enjoyed this one as if it was her last.
While rummaging through stores I noticed a Midnight Robber toy on the shelves. It had the big hat and everything. The only thing different about the toy was that it had a long flowing red cape that looked kind of cheap. I wasn’t sure if I really even wanted it in the house. I hated the Midnight Robber. I hated him so much that I took the toy threw it on the floor and began to stamp on it intending to break it into a million little pieces. I stamped on it continually and refused to stop. I imagined that in some way by destroying the toy I was affecting The Midnight Robber. I wasn’t.
When I was assured that it was completely destroyed I went to another store. On my way I passed by the grocery and I noticed, surprisingly enough, that it was completely restocked. It was exactly what I needed; more food. The restocked grocery had an inviting glow to it that seemed as if it was put there on earth by God just for me. It was a strange sight and I suspected that it was a trap but my growling belly then intervened saying, “Maybe it isn’t a trap. Maybe The Midnight Robber placed it there for the jumbies them. But since most of them still sleeping you could be the first one to take advantage of it. Don’t let this opportunity go to waste Jed. Take it before the jumbies wake up.” I decided to listen to my gut. Literally. It was very convincing.
I made sure that there was no one around and I went into the grocery and quickly started pulling food from the shelves. The grocery wasn’t only restocked but new items had been added to the inventory. Cookies, candies and a whole bunch of things that my childhood self would have loved. I couldn’t wait to get all the food back to the house to Sara and her siblings but while emptying out the store I felt a force on the back of my head then I blacked out.
