Arilla Sun Down by Virginia Hamilton

Author:Virginia Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781480411302
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

8

Saying that kids can sleep the sleep of the blessed. Mom. Saying that sleep is the best medicine for healing hurts. And she is right on. I come to in the dark, knowing that Dad has come and gone. I am wide awake at once. Haven’t a hurt anywhere in me, not even my leg muscles. I’ve slept as easy as a little babe, if only for three hours or so. I figure the time is around twelve-thirty. What I need is my own clock with some numbers lit in the dark. I just stay relaxed in bed and wait.

Jack Sun says the best way for to wake someone is not to hit the bedroom window.

He says, “If you use small stones against the glass, you’ll never hear them. And if you use larger stones, you’ll perchance to crack the glass.”

What he does is to take a clump of dirt, like a clod, and throw it at the house right next to the window. It’s enough of a different sound so’s to wake you up. That’s what must’ve wakened me. I wait and, sure enough, there comes the soft thud so like throwing a rubber boot on a wood floor.

I get up easy, not too slow, not too fast. Throw off my nightgown. Cross the room and out my door. Not opening the door real wide, but just so to get me through.

Jack Sun has warned me — walk down any hall and down any stairs like you walking it in daytime, when you are full of strength but walking lightly. He says if you tiptoe or move real slowly, someone is bound to hear you. Because tiptoeing is never natural. Walking slow, afraid to be heard and of every sound, is not natural. Says nobody is going to wake up when you move the way you always move.

Know he’s right, too. But it sure is hard not to slow down and get up on tip-toe. I force myself and I don’t slow down. Take the hall like going to the bathroom. Steady and easy. I get down the stairs, making whatever little noises are natural.

Comes the hard part. Getting the front door open without clicking the lock. Sun says any house-owner is primed to hear locks clicking.

But Sun is there. He has used a plastic ID card on the slip lock. I see the doorknob turn. The door slides open an inch as he holds the knob just so and holds back the clicking. All for me to do is slip off the night chain, and that isn’t easy. Sun has to close the door near to the whole way. My hands shake and the chain will clink if I’m not careful. But I catch hold of me inside and calm me down. I’m out the door.

The night air, so crisp. No stars above looking like little gems. Cloudy, and no moon tonight. A dark night and I’m going to be cold. But they’ve brought an extra sweater for me.

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