The Wayward Gifted - Broken Point (7 page)

Sam and Steuart went to work
immediately. In less than two hours, they were unpacked, organized and ready to
enjoy their new town.

* * *

The back porch stood overlooking the
Saugahatchee River, a peaceful body of water that was wider than expected. Sam
leaned against the railing. She listened and watched her surroundings. She
looked across at a protected area of land known as the Preserve. Almost instantly,
Sam found herself drawn to one particular tree. It stood directly on the other
side—an indescribably vivid orange like nothing she had seen before that
moment. This color was on fire. It was persuasive, and Sam was compelled. She
knew immediately what she wanted. Breathing in autumn and letting it go, she
shouted for her brother, “Come on, Steuart. We’ve got to find that tree. Trees
like that don’t exist down south.” The translucent leaves glowed as the
sunlight touched them. “Steuart, I want one of those leaves for my collection.
That’s what I plan to have—today.”

“What?” Steuart walked onto the porch.

“That’s where I’m heading,” Sam pointed
in the direction of the tree. “I’m going over there.”

“Wait a minute. We just got here. Let’s
look for something on this side before we start running all over the world. We
don’t even know how to get there.”

“I can find it.”

“Why do you want to make things
complicated?”

“I don’t make things complicated. I go
after what I want. What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m just suggesting that it might make
better sense to explore this side first. We need to get our bearings and learn
our way around. Let’s go over there tomorrow.”

Sam shook her head. “I can’t do that. I
don’t know how long it’ll be before the leaves lose their shine. Tomorrow might
be too late.”

“You realize there are hundreds of
trees on this side of the river? I imagine that you can find something over
here too.”

Sam ignored her brother, and pointed in
the distance. “I know what I want,” she pointed again. “That is the tree. It
has to be that one.”

“But we don’t even know how to get
there.”

“I do.”

“You’re not listening, are you?”
Steuart put his hands in the air.

“No,” Sam smiled, exhaled and continued
to point. “I’m not. That’s the tree.”

“Why does it have to be that one?”

“Because! Look at the colors. Look at
them. When I saw that tree it did something emotional to my lungs.” Sam thrusts
her fist into her chest. “I have to see that tree.”

Steuart rolled his eyes.

“If there were words all over the thing,
you’d already be there.”

Sam moved into action and decided not
to wait for her Steuart. She began putting on her sweater and walking into the
garage towards her bicycle. She looked back at her brother, “Are you coming?”

“I have a choice?”

“Of course you do. You can start on
this side by yourself. You don’t have to come with me, but I’m going to find
that tree. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.”

“Wait up. Let me get my valise,”
Steuart ran into the house and yelled, “If I’m coming, you can at least wait
for me.”

Sam jumped on her bicycle. She looked
at the trail and a group of tall towers in the distance. She waited briefly
before Steuart returned to the garage with his valise in hand, running towards
his bike. Sam took off. She rode ahead and heard Steuart call out, “Wait up
Sam, wait for me.”

Sam rode towards the towers looking for
a path that might lead down to the river. “There,” she saw it. She looked back
at Steuart and pointed down the hill towards a bridge. “I knew it,” she yelled
and laughed.

She rode down the bike path, along the
side of the tall buildings, and then down the back of the property onto the
grass. She rode close to the water and beside a volleyball net before coasting
onto a pedestrian bridge and crossing the river. Back on the bike path, Sam
left the trail, jumped off her bike, and walked it through a patch of dirt,
down a small hill, across a tiny brook, and then trudged up a steep gravel path
towards the train tracks where she walked her bike to the other side.

Sam heard Steuart yelling in the
distance. “What are you doing? Wait for me. Where are you going? What do you
think you’re doing?

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” she
shouted. “Trust me.” Sam stood and waited for Steuart to catch up.

“Trust me?” Steuart muttered as he
trudged up the gravel path and stopped. Steuart and Sam stood looking at one
another on opposite sides of a train track. Steuart continued talking to
himself, “Trust her? This could end badly.” His heart beat fast. With labored
breathing, he repeated himself, “
Trust me,
she says. Why do those words always get me into trouble?”

“What now?”

“We shouldn’t be here. Mother will have
a conniption fit if she finds out we were playing on train tracks. We’ll be in deep
trouble.”

“No, she won’t. No, we won’t.”

“Yes, she will. Yes, we will.”

“She doesn’t have to know.” Sam shook
her head, threw her hands into the air, paused, and looked away, “I think
you’re scared to cross.”

“I’m not scared. I’m sensible. What if
a train comes?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“We’ll be dog chow. We’ll be squashed
little bugs. We won’t even know what hit us because our lives will be
over—forever.” Steuart lifted his index finger and pulled it in a
slashing motion across the underside of his chin. “Consider that.”

“You’re being a drama baby.”

“No, I am not.” Steuart rolled his eyes
and made death gestures. A dragonfly moved in front of his face and distracted
him. Steuart began slapping his face and the back of his neck. He slapped his
hands together as he tried to get the bug to move along. He looked across at
Sam as he slapped at his knees.”

Sam stopped laughing. She stood with a
straight face and waited for the dragonfly to go away. “Little baby brother, tell
me this, when did you become a baby chicken? What’s wrong with you today? Did
you leave your courage and sense of adventure back at Atchison Point? Is it
somewhere on the pier?”

“I am not a baby. I am not a chicken.
Do not call me names.”

“Then, don’t give me a reason.” Sam stood
firm and folded her arms. “Come on and cross.”

“What about trains? This is dangerous.
We might get hurt.”

“I don’t see a train. Do you see a
train?” Sam didn’t give Steuart an opportunity to respond. “Do you hear a
train? There isn’t a train anywhere close by.”

“We’re not supposed to do this.”

“I’ll help you across.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Did anyone ever tell you specifically
not to cross a train track?” Sam asked.

“No.”

“There.”

“
There?
Not
there.
You know and I know that
if we mentioned we were thinking about crossing train tracks, Mother would say
no.
She would say
don’t do it.”

“But she has not specifically told us
to stay away. Correct?”

“Correct,” Steuart nodded.

“So, it’s not a big deal. It can’t be.
She can’t punish us for something unless she has given us the rule. Come on.
Let’s get going.”

Steuart didn’t budge. “You’re kidding
me. Yes, she can. I don’t need anyone to tell me not to do something when I
know potential danger is involved.
This
is
dangerous.”

“Where’s the danger? There are no
trains close by. All we’re doing is crossing over one little set of tracks.
That is that. Look at me. I’ve already done it. Nothing happened to me. It is
no big deal. I’m alive. No breaks, no cuts, no bruises. I’m absolutely fine. We
both could have crossed over and back two dozen times by now. I can help you.”

Steuart shook his head, gazed down the
tracks in both directions and whispered, “I’ve never crossed tracks before.”

“Today is your lucky day. There’s a
first time for everything.” Sam’s voice grew quieter, “I’m not going to stand
here forever. If you’re going to be a chicken, just go ahead, turn around right
now and go home.
Shoo,
go home.”

“You’re being mean.”

“I want to get my color. I don’t care
if you come or not. It’s probably best if you don’t come. You’re too
frightened. Go on. It’ll be dark soon. I plan to reach my destination and be
home before dark. Go home Steuart. I can’t leave you here.”

“You don’t understand. I feel my heart
beating too fast.”

“That means you’re alive.”

“I feel it beating so hard that it
might come up through my neck and fly out of my mouth, roll over that way,” he
pointed, “and fall in the river so the fish can eat it. Sam, I feel sick.”

Sam felt guilty and decided to back
off. “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time Steuart. It’s fine with me if you
don’t want to come. I think you should go home and play.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t be pushing
you. Just go home. You can join me another time. There’ll be lots of
opportunities. Go home.” Sam got on her bike and began riding towards the tree.
She stopped behind a group of bushes and watched to see what her brother would
do.

Steuart stood frozen by the tracks. He
muttered something to himself. He held onto his bike, took a deep breath and
quickly walked the thing across the railroad track without saying a word. On
the other side, he stopped, turned around and looked back. He put his hand to
his chest and felt his heart beating. Steuart looked dazed.

Sam watched from the bushes and felt
ashamed for pushing her little brother. That feeling changed when she saw the
look of accomplishment on his face. She watched as he held his bike, looked
around, and noticed the gorgeous field of wild flowers, the trail, the trees,
and a deer. It stood in the distance and watched Steuart.

Steuart jumped onto his bike and began
peddling along the trail in the direction of the tree. Sam jumped on her bike
and rode quickly so that her brother would not know she had been watching him.
She rode and twisted along the trail, enveloped by tall grass and wildflowers,
peddling hard to stay ahead. Finally, Sam heard Steuart yell as he caught sight
of her, “Sam, wait up.”

Sam looked back and waved. Steuart and
Sam continued riding along the trail until, once again, they found themselves
beside the river. This time they stood together on the opposite side, their
hearts filled with wonder and satisfaction looking across at the back porch of
their new home. They shifted focus to the side they came to see and the colors
they had followed. Looking further down the path, Sam saw what she came for.

* * *

“There it is. That’s my tree!” Sam yelled.
The tree stood high, nestled alongside another straight, tall tree, holding a
little tree house. Sam and Steuart stood at the edge of the Preserve in an
extraordinary backyard belonging to a beautiful home. Sam broke the silence,
“Come on. Let’s do this.” She headed towards the tree house, threw her bike on
the ground and prepared to climb the ladder.

“You can’t.”

“What now?” Sam, with her left foot on
the bottom rung, stopped and looked at her brother.

“Pick a leaf off the ground and let’s
move on. This is private property.”

“Why did I bring you?”

“We shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, not again! Please don’t tell me
that you’re going to start up with that.”

“Find a leaf on the ground, or let’s
find a tree somewhere else.”

“I can’t do that.”

Steuart backed away from the tree.
“Yes, you can.”

“I can’t. The leaves on the ground don’t
have the same shades. They’re already decomposing. They don’t have the same
vibrancy as…” Sam pointed high, “the ones up there. I need to climb the tree or
climb into the tree house. I think the tree house is the better option.”

Steuart shook his head, “No.” He held
his bicycle and prepared to make a quick dash for home.

“Look Steuart,” Sam pointed towards the
tree house. “It has windows. This’ll be easy. I can climb the ladder, go in, and
reach out the window for the perfect leaf. That’s all I need. That’s it.” The sun
glistened through the trees as Sam stood enchanted by the colors. Determined,
she knew she would get the leaf. She looked matter-of-factly at Steuart and
pleaded, “I’m not going to disturb anything other than the leaf.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because, I can.”

“You’re disturbing something just by
climbing the ladder—just by being here. None of this belongs to you.”

Sam shook her head and looked away.
“Why did I want you here? I hate these conversations.”

“What conversations?”

“
These.
I hate these conversations where I’m forced to explain everything to you.
You have no idea how difficult it is being the older sibling and having to look
after you. You don’t understand as much as you think you understand. I
understand because I’m older and I’m better educated than you.”