The Reliant by Dr. Patrick Johnston

Author:Dr. Patrick Johnston [Johnston, Dr. Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Fiction
Publisher: Ambassador International
Published: 2017-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

7

VIOLENT COLLISION

AS THE SETTING SUN BEGINS to fill the sky with orange and pink, Faith comes up with a grand idea. We put our names in a jar, and decide that on every full moon we will have a birthday party for whoever’s name is drawn.

Faith pulls Danny’s name first, and I’m so glad. As the fourth of eight kids, I always felt like Danny got left out of things. We sing “Happy Birthday” to him around the dying fire. We give him gifts of art work, paintings the kids spent hours on, using different shades of mud meticulously scraped on slippery elm or chestnut bark. Adam gave him a necklace of different sized acorn caps, and taught him how to press them between his thumbs and against his lips to whistle a different tone with each cap. With a little practice, he catches on nicely. Backdropped by the kids’ creative percussion, Danny has quite a symphony going there for a while. He is all smiles and cackles as we tell funny stories about him for an hour. His willingness to engage in self-deprecating humor for our entertainment always makes him a hoot when the little ones’ giggle-boxes are turned on. Though we do have to continually remind him to keep his voice down.

Jimmy, unfortunately, missed the party. He wanted to take advantage of the remaining sunlight to try and set new traps farther away. I don’t miss him, and it seems to me the others do not miss him much either. There’s always contention when he’s around, though I do start to worry about him as the sky darkens.

With the warmer weather, the mosquito activity picks up exponentially. Adam’s anti-bug gourmet recipes involve quite a bit of wild onion and wild garlic, which makes our breath stink horribly but is quite protective against insect bites. The smoke from the fire is also helpful, and so we keep close to the fire pit on warm evenings in spite of its unwelcomed heat. Mud smeared around our neck, ears, and other exposed parts of our bodies helps keep the bugs away, though it makes our appearance rather frightening.

Under the matching orange glow of the dying embers and the disappearing sun, we softly sing as many songs as we can remember until the little ones’ eyes droop with fatigue. I lay back and watch the last rays of the sunlight skim the tops of the trees overhead. The trees gradually darken as the light rises, permitting the night to take over.

Anna-Lee settles Joey down for the night in the tepee, rekindling a small fire inside to drive out the damp humidity that seems to accumulate in our little shelter during the day. Danny fills a canteen with the last of the boiled water in the pan beside the fire and prepares to head up to the lookout for the night.

“Where is he?” Anna-Lee gazes down the trail down which Jimmy disappeared. “He’s normally back before dark.” Anna-Lee stands with her palm pressed against a tree, searching the deepening shadows of the deer trail.

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