The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern by Rita Zoey Chin

Author:Rita Zoey Chin [Chin, Rita Zoey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melville House
Published: 2022-10-04T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

BLAZING CALYX CARNIVAL, 1984

Leah’s mother used two animals in her performances. One was a floppy-eared bunny named Horatio, whom she pulled, in the standard way, out of a top hat. The other was a canary named Chipper, who flapped into being from Jeannie’s wands of fire. Horatio always let Leah play with his ears, while Chipper liked to sit on her shoulder and pull invisible things from her hair. Leah was in charge of feeding them, a job for which she’d zealously volunteered. Every morning before she ate her own breakfast, she gave them theirs.

The only times Leah could remember being at odds with her mother was when they ran out of bird food or rabbit food. An all too regular occurrence, it usually went something like this:

Leah: “We’re out of food again. Both this time.”

Jeannie: “Just give them some carnival food like you usually do. Put a little hair on their chests.”

Leah: “They don’t need hair on their chests. They need food.”

One night, Hank was privy to one such conversation. He and Leah’s mother were slouched on the bed, passing a joint back and forth. Leah disliked it when they smoked because her mother went someplace far away from her, but what she disliked even more was when Hank spoke. “What Horatio needs is a little hare on his chest. Get it? A hare!” He and Leah’s mother started guffawing like apes.

“It’s not funny,” said Leah, dropping a piece of stale funnel cake into Horatio’s cage.

“What did you say?” asked Hank.

Leah ignored him and held a piece of funnel cake up to Chipper’s beak, while Horatio chomped through his in record time.

Hank kept on her. “Go ahead. Tell me a joke, since you’re a goddamned expert on what’s funny.”

“Tell him the one about the man who threw the clock out the window!” said Jeannie.

Leah looked not at her mother but at Hank, his greasy skin, his moustache, his slicked-back hair. “He died a painful and horrible death.”

In that instant, something flared in his eyes that made her look away.

“Oh c’mon,” Jeannie insisted, “that’s not how it goes! He wanted to see time fly!” She started giggling and nudging Hank. “Time fly, honey!”

Hank nuzzled his face into Jeannie’s neck. “I’m going to make time fly for you tonight,” he said, and she broke into another laughing fit.

Meanwhile, Chipper was refusing the funnel cake. “He won’t eat,” Leah huffed. “He needs real bird food.”

“Aww, don’t be so serious all the time,” Hank said, feigning chumminess. “I know how to help the little guy eat.” He stood up and moved toward Leah as he took a long hit off the joint. Instinctively, Leah dropped the cake and closed the door to Chipper’s cage, putting herself between Hank and Chipper.

But Hank crouched down beside Leah and blew a long stream of smoke at the small yellow bird. “Leave him alone!” Leah yelled. But the smoke kept coming until Chipper stuttered on his perch and fell.

“Chipper!” she called. But it was too late.

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