Talisman (26 page)

“Save me a dance,” Ty called back with a wink and then ran off like his tail was on fire.

A
smile crept across my face, amplifying the flush of my cheeks as I pondered his staggering request.  I found myself daydreaming about dancing with Ty while my fingertips stroked the edge of my mug.

Could Katie be right?  Was he possibly interested in me?
  I allowed my thoughts to carry me away for a moment.  I never thought he shared any of the same feelings I’d had.  Then again, I was too focused on school to even notice.

I pictured us there, dancing slowly under the soft lights of our dimly lit schoo
l gymnasium…until the reality of that ghastly dress surfaced.  Like a cold slap hitting my face, I emerged abruptly from my trance.  Not to mention, the reality of his girlfriend, Kara, and
my date
, Mike Riverside.  I shook off any preconceived intensions regarding his “dance request”.  We were already coupled up for all intents and purposes — Kara had been his girlfriend for a while and Mike was merely a peace-keeping favor from Hell.

My eyes
wandered around the kitchen while I sat there waiting for Ms. Sutherland to return.  Surely she needed to pack up a few things in here as well.  The décor of the cutesy little space was strawberries, and they were
everywhere
. So many you would think you were out in the middle of a berry patch — on the wallpaper, the placemats, the appliance covers — practically on anything standing still.  Even all the ceramic canisters and dishes that lined her almond-colored countertops were painted in the motif.

My eyes continued
to travel around the room.  I soon spotted the box marked, “Master Bedroom”, that Ty had forgotten in his haste to take out to the truck.

I pushed my chair away from the table and walked over to collect the box.  It was kind of heavy, but nothing I couldn’t handle.  I used my butt to push open the backdoor
and made my way down a small set of concrete steps.  There was a long narrow walk beside the house that led out to the driveway.  As I toted the box to the truck, I noticed that the cypress trees which desperately needed pruning ran clear back to the rear of the house, right alongside my path.  The overgrown limbs hung down over the walkway and had a creepy appearance, like rough jagged arms reaching out.  I felt a few of their needles scratching me, but I continued to push onward, burying my face down behind the box to avoid any scrapes.  Once I’d arrived at the back of truck, I slid the cardboard box snugly inside and gave it a little tap, signifying a job completed.

While I stood there, my ears picke
d up on a subtle noise.  It was an odd, high-pitched rattling sound, which seemed to be getting louder and escalating at a disturbing rate.  As I turned to check it out, from out of nowhere Ms. Sutherland lunged at me.  She had come at me so fast that I immediately flinched and crouched down defensively toward the concrete drive — hands over my head and eyes now closed.  Oddly enough, my knee-jerk reaction to her hostile and unforeseen move had been mostly triggered by the horrible scowl I’d seen etched on her face.  But something else had caught my eye in that split-second — something that appeared to have been lodged in the center of her forehead.

I hunke
red down beside the box truck thinking,
WHAT THE HELL?

Gradually, I open
ed my eyes slightly, squinting for a clarifying peek.  She was just standing there in front of me, now passive and motionless, but something was hanging beside her that trailed down to the ground.  Since there seemed to be no more apparent signs of aggression, I slowly lowered my arms and rose to my feet.  On the way up, my eyes shot open just as fast as my bottom lip fell to the ground.  There standing in front of me was Ms. Sutherland —
holding the largest freakin’ rattlesnake that I’d ever seen!

Chapter  7  —  Surprise, Surprise

I stood there
flabbergasted by the horrid vision of the elderly “
blind
woman” clutching a stout-looking, twelve-foot rattlesnake lying limp in her hand.  The sight of its lifeless, scaly body, which stretched from her fist to the ground and then curled around her feet, shot a jolting shiver down my spine.  My frame may have been locked in a stupefied state, but my eyes continued to swell from the impossibility of the feat I’d just witnessed.

“Shiloh, are you okay, dear?”
Ms. Sutherland asked with utmost concern.

“
Um
…
Yeah,
” I mumbled in a daze (and without checking).  As I came to my senses, my hands briskly patted my head and upper body.  “I
think
so,” I assumed.  “Where did
that thing
come from?  I’ve never seen a snake
that big
before
—
EVER!
”  Its daggone head was bigger than her fist!

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry.  I feel just awful.  It must’ve been hanging on a branch in one of these old cypress trees.  I haven’t had them pruned all year, and I bet they’ve grown out of control.  I should’ve
had Tyler trim them back when he was here last week.  I figured they probably looked bad, but I had no idea how
dangerous
they were.”

Ms. Sutherland stood there pleading for my forgiveness, but that was the last thing on my mind.  I was we
ll aware of how the snake could have been in the tree, but that didn’t help me comprehend how in world she knew I was outside or better yet, how accurate her aim was in reference to its demise.

“But
HOW
…how on earth did you know
WHERE
it was?”

Ms. Sutherland
held up the scaly corpse and gave its tail a quick shake.  “By its
rattler
, dear,” she replied casually.

It took
me a second to process her answer.  “
Maybe
…But you grabbed it and killed it in one shot!
 
HOW?” I demanded skeptically.

“Lucky, I guess…
or rather you were the
lucky
one
,” she deuced with a smile.

No shit
, I thought as I observed how long and pointy its fangs were.  All of my earlier suspicions were aroused once again.

“Okay, but
…
how
did you know that I was
outside
…
BESIDE THE TRUCK?
”

There’s no way she can spin this one
, I thought confidently.

“I was coming into
the kitchen and heard the backdoor slam, so I followed whomever it was around the side of the house.  I heard the sound of a rattler coming from above,
and well
…my instincts kind of took over.  My eyes may not be of use to me, but my other four senses are very fine-tuned.  I’ve gotten quite familiar with the sounds of rattlesnakes in the woods from—”

I interrupted her far-f
etched excuse.  “From your bird-
listening
expeditions,
right?
” I posed crisply.

“
Exactly
, dear,” Ms. Sutherland replied in a candy-sweet tone.

I threw my arms up in defeat.  I couldn’t have cared less if she saw me do it either.  My patience
was spent, and I was sick of her twisted game.  On one hand, I was thankful that she’d kept me from becoming snake-bait, but on the other, she was driving me crazy with suspicion. 
WHY?

I suddenly remembered
seeing something stuck on her forehead when she had leapt out to grab my slithery attacker.  I started inspecting her face and found myself impulsively brushing her forehead with my hand.  Alarmed by my actions, Ms. Sutherland immediately jumped back and began rubbing her head.

“Shiloh, is there something wrong?”
Ms. Sutherland asked nervously.  “Oh, goodness.  Did some of those little needles land on my face?”

“
No
,” I replied somewhat confused.  “There aren’t any
needles
, but I thought I saw something on your head… Something round and kind of glassy.”  Mystified, I stared at her forehead.

I could’ve sworn I saw something there
.  My eyes searched all around to see if anything had fallen onto the ground. 
Nothing but grass…and a little old lady holding one huge, dead-ass snake
.

“Come back inside, dear.  You need to sit down for a second after a scare like that, and besides, I have something for you.”  She pitched the snake down onto the grass beside the driveway.  “I’ll get Mr. Mayfield to dispose of that when he comes by later.”  She felt around for my hand and then guided me
back down the path beside the house, en route to the kitchen.

No sooner than
I’d plopped down in my seat at the table, my fingers started tapping a steady rhythm unconsciously on its firm oak top. 
How am I going to find out?  After all, she’s had a lot of practice at concealing it all these years
…

“Is something
wrong
, Shiloh?” Ms. Sutherland asked.  She’d noticed my little tapping tick before I realized what I was doing.

I stop
ped pecking on the table.  “Nothing. I’m still a little dazed…
I guess
.”

“W
e can call it a day if you would like,” Ms. Sutherland suggested.  “There are only a couple of drawers to box up in here.  I do a lot of cooking, so I didn’t want to pack up my entire kitchen just yet.”

“I’m fine.”  I planned on staying here as long as it took.  She wasn’t getting rid o
f me that easy.  “Oh, but Ty already left.  He had to go pick up his tuxedo for the dance tonight.  I’m sure he would have told you ‘bye’, if he hadn’t been running late.”

“He’s such a nice
boy. 
Well
, I suppose you can’t call a high school senior a boy, now can you?”  Ms. Sutherland took a sip of her steamy cup of cider.  “
So
…the Homecoming Dance is tonight.  Are you still going with that
Mike Riverside?
”

“How did
you know about
that?
” I asked uneasily. 
Does the whole freaking town know?

“Your
father mentioned the favor you were doing for your sister to me yesterday.  Sweet, selfless
Shiloh
…Always trying to keep the peace,” Ms. Sutherland stated with a smile as she shook her head.  “Your name ‘
Shiloh’
means
‘peace’
.  Were you aware of that?”

“No…
I just thought I was named after that creepy old ridge behind our house,” I huffed.

“Why do you think that ridge is
creepy?
” she inquired.  “That’s one of my favorite places to go on my nature walks.  You can hear so many different kinds of birds up there.  A peaceful place and a beautiful name, for an equally beautiful girl…
both inside and out
,” her voice echoed through the kitchen.

I noted quietly,
If you had been attacked by the fiendish, black haze that lurks up there, I’m sure you’d be singin’ a different tune
.  I sat there listening to her words, but no matter how many times they lingered in my head, that “Y” I changed in my name wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon!

“What else needs to be packed?” I asked as I jumped up and
grabbed a box from the countertop, clearly to avoid answering her question.

“Just a few drawers.  I’ve got a bunch of random things
in them like tools, batteries…well, junk really.  They’re the ones closest to the door.”

I walked over and pulled open the first drawer.  She was right, no
thing but a hodgepodge of miscellaneous items.

“Do you want me to separate each drawer, or put both of them into one box?” I questioned.

“Separate them please,” Ms. Sutherland replied as she washed her hands and then began preparing two more cups of apple cider.

I dumped all
the items into the first box.  Once it had been sealed and marked, I started on the last one. I pulled open the remaining drawer to find a small black and red flashlight lying on top.  I glanced over at Ms. Sutherland, who had just finished pouring our drinks.

Now
I’ve got her
, I thought as I swiftly tucked the flashlight into the front pocket of my jeans and whipped my sweatshirt over the top of it.  I dumped the rest of the drawer’s contents into the box, taped it up, and marked it, “Kitchen - Miscellaneous #2”.

“All done,” I announced as I prowled back to the table and sat down.

In a stealthy fashion, I removed the flashlight from my pocket and hid it under the table.  I coughed slightly, to conceal the sound of me clicking it on.  As I watched her sip on her cider, I thought,
There’s no way she can talk her way out of this one.  If her eyes dilate one little bit, her goose is cooked!

I waited until she lifted the hot cup of cider up to her mouth for a drink.  That way her “keen senses” wouldn’t feel any traces of heat coming from the light (precautionary measure, if it turned out
she was being truthful).  She would simply feel the warmth coming from the hot cider hovering in front of her.  As soon as she lifted the strawberry adorned mug towards her, I quickly raised my arm and shined the flashlight directly into her left eye.  I waited for a few seconds, but it remained unresponsive and fixed.

Nothing
, I quietly noted.   Disgusted and disappointed, I moved to her right eye.  Just like her left, it stayed completely motionless.

Damn…
I was so sure
.  I lowered my head in defeat, conceding that my theory had failed on so many levels. 
Well, at least she couldn’t “see me”
.  Ironically, as I sat there feeling like crap, Ms. Sutherland looked like she was about to burst with joy.

“Shiloh, now I know you told me
that I couldn’t pay you, but I want to give you something…
for your
birthday
,” she announced.

I looked over at the trusting little old lady who seemed so excited about giving me a present. 
Would she still feel the same way if she knew what I’d really been up to today?

“You didn’t have to buy me anything, Ms. Sutherland.  I
wanted
to help you.”

Now I really feel like
shit!

“I know that, dear.  That’s why I want to give you something of
mine
.  I didn’t
buy
you anything.  This is something I’ve had for ages, and now it’s time to be passed on…
to you
.”

Ms. Sutherland’s
request seemed so sincere, and she spoke with such grave conviction that I felt even worse at the thought of denying her plea.  “All right,” I consented.

“
Excellent!  Now, close your eyes, dear,” she softly commanded.

I closed my eyes
and waited patiently in the silence of the room. 
However
, as composed as I may have seemed, my thoughts still dwelled on my actions from earlier and how undeserving I felt to receive any gift, especially one from sweet ’ole Bea.

I
’d heard a soft tap, and the next thing I knew, Ms. Sutherland was guiding my hands towards the center of the table.  They landed on something small and firm.

“Open them up…
if
you haven’t already,” Ms. Sutherland added with a giggle.

A small box in the shape of an octagon
lay under my hands.  It appeared to be very old, nothing like you would find nowadays, and crafted from a heavily-veined wood.  Delicate scrollwork filled the sides and covered its top.  Apparently, it was some sort of little trinket box.  I ran my fingers along its edges and smiled. 
Maybe this was something she treasured as a little girl?

“It’s lovely, Ms. Sutherland.  Thank you.  I’ve never seen a box with this much detail before,” I
raved.

Ms. Sutherland laughed. “The box
is
rather nice…but you have to open it to see the
real gift
.”

I
gazed curiously at the tiny box, which didn’t have any visible creases to indicate where or how it opened.

“You’ll figure out my little puzzle box, dear.  I have faith in you,” Ms. Sutherland divulged as she sat back and took another sip of her cider.

I analyzed the box meticulously for the next few seconds.  Since this was a
puzzle box
, the opening wouldn’t necessarily be in the center or even close to its top.  I ran my fingers along the bottom of the small container.  As the tips of my fingers pressed against it, the base began to give a little.  I gave the bottom a firm push and then a small
“pop”
rang out.