Runaway

by,
Kaitlyn


Part 1
Nope... Again. How many times was that? I can’t remember; I think it was seven. So far I had no fish, and had lost seven worms.
OK, this was not going to work. If I didn’t catch a fish soon, I was going to be skipping supper. Why? Because I ran away and ran out of food. Why did I run away and run out of food, you ask?
You see, for some reason my parents disappeared when I was young.
So I was sent to an orphanage. The lady that ran the place was nice, but I didn’t like people talking about me as a “Poor little orphan”. So I eventually ran away.
Which brings me to... wherever I was. I was at this creek. It was really shady and cool there, which I was thankful for. I just wished God would let me have one fish!
Suddenly I sat up straight. My string went taut. I eagerly pulled at the string. Then I sat back heavily; No fish. Why, God? If you have plans for me to prosper and not to harm me, why are you making my stomach cramped with hunger? I sighed.
Now for the ninth and last worm. On the hook... in the water... and wait.
“What are you doing here?”
I spun around. A girl with long, dark, thick braids stood over me. I gulped.
“Um, h-hi. I didn’t know you were here. I’d better leave,” I said as I scrambled up from my sitting position. Where was my rod? Oh, there it went, being pulled down the creek by what was hopefully going to be my supper. I started to run after it.
“Wait a minute. Who are you? Where did you come from? And what are you doing in my fishing spot?” She demanded, grabbing my arm.
“Uh- my name’s Sarah. I just came across this spot while I was walking, and--”
“You walked? No horse? How far? Are you hungry? I have some food in my saddlebags. Come on!”
I didn’t have much choice but to go with her, as she practically dragged me to her palomino mare. As if I wasn’t tired enough already!  
God, I sure hope you know what you’re doing. Here I am, this strange girl forcing me to come eat (not that I couldn’t eat anything, that is), and to make it all worse, I don’t know if she’s friend or enemy!
“I hope you like jerky. I personally can’t stand it! Sorry, that’s all I have. Now, what are you doing here, all by yourself?” She asked as I bit into the jerky. It was hard to chew, but it was better than nothing.
I decided to ignore her question. As I ate, I got a good look at her. Like I said, she had long, thick, dark braids. She was clean (clean compared to me, anyway), and she was wearing overalls.
“What does your mother think about you wearing overalls? Does she actually approve?” I asked. Apparently that subject wasn’t anything new to her.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that she approves, but she lets me wear them. What does your mother think about you wandering around alone?”
I had to think of an answer, and fast.
God, you don’t want me to lie, right? So please tell me what to tell her! I don’t want to go back to the orphanage!
“Uh, I don’t know. She never told me. But before you ask any more questions, what’s your name?” I asked, changing the subject. Her name made me choke on my jerky.
“I’m Andi Carter.”
As I was choking on my jerky, she patted me-- no, slapped would be a better word for it-- on my back.
“I’m fine, thanks,” I said. “It’s just your name. Carter... it somehow sounded familiar.”
She chuckled. “Well, that’s no surprise! The Circle C Ranch is one of the biggest ranches in California! Or, maybe you’ve heard of my brother, Justin. He’s a lawyer. One of the best, too.”
Justin... no, wrong name. “Where are your parents?” I asked, a little surprised that this girl was telling me, a complete stranger, all about herself.
“Well, my father died when I was little. My mother is at the ranch house right now with my older sister, Melinda. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
I guess I didn’t have anything to lose by telling her. “Well, let’s see... I have a twin brother named Thaddeus-- Tad for short-- then comes me, then my younger sister Terri. You said you had an older brother and sister. Have any more?” I asked.
“Sure do. There’s Justin, Chad, Katherine, Mitch, Melinda, and me.”
At hearing the name “Chad Carter”, I would have choked on my jerky again if I had had any more.
Was this it? Was this what I had been waiting for? “You-- you said you had a brother named Chad Carter?”
“Yeah, that’s right. He’s the bossy, impatient one. Justin, on the other hand, is really patient, kind, considerate...”
I didn’t hear the rest. All I heard was, “Chad Carter, Chad Carter”. Maybe everything would be alright, after all!
I interrupted her. “Well, I’d better get going. I’ve got to go try to find my rod and catch another fish.”
 She grinned. “I have a better idea. I’ll take you to the house. It’s quite a ways, so we’ll have plenty of time to talk.” 
On the way to the house, she asked me if I liked snakes, worms, spiders, and other bugs.
“No, I can’t stand them! I only put worms on my hook because that’s the only way they were going to get there. Back at the orphanage, we had a garden-”
“Wait a minute. Did you say ‘back at the orphanage’?”

Part 2
“Let me explain,” I interrupted. “I didn’t want to tell you so I wouldn’t have to go back, but yes, I was at an orphanage until I... ran away.” Andi gasped at that, but I continued. “My parents disappeared for some reason when I was only five years old, and I... well, you don’t want to hear about that. You’re probably wondering if I was lying about my siblings. No, I was telling the truth about them. We were all separated. Tad and Terri were taken in by different people, but nobody wanted to take me. So I was sent to an orphanage.
“As I was saying, each had to help with tending the garden. I hated it! Let’s see... the tomatoes had horn worms, the corn had caterpillars and black beetles, bugs liked to lay eggs in the lettuce, spinach and cabbage, fuzzy caterpillars crawl on green beans and broccoli... you get the picture. Alright, I’ve been talking your ear off. Would you like to tell me something else about yourself now?”
“Uh, well, I already told you all about the rest of my family, but I guess I haven’t told you about me. Well, I like all those ‘disgusting things’, as you call them. In fact, I once had a collection of spiders! But I accidentally left them in an open jar in Melinda’s room, and had to find and kill them all the next morning when she showed up at breakfast with bites all over her!”
I laughed at this, and she laughed with me. Maybe this girl wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
When we got back to the ranch house, Andi ran inside ahead of me. “Mother! Melinda! We got company!” She yelled.
A blonde haired girl came in with a frown on her face. “Andi! You shouldn’t come barging into the house like that! Who is this company that you’ve brought? Oh dear, you didn’t give me time to get ready! Oh well. Now, Who is this?” She asked, gesturing to me.
“This is Sarah, and I found her at the creek. She was hungry, so I brought her up to the house. Do we have anything to eat around here?”
That wasn’t exactly a flattering introduction, but at least I might get some food.
“Justin, Chad, and Mitch will be here for supper soon, so you’d better not eat too much. You are eating with us, aren’t you?” Melinda said, turning to me.
I couldn’t resist such an offer, and Melinda seemed nice enough, so I accepted.
We washed and went to the kitchen to see what we could find to eat.
After our snack, we watched the cook, a Mexican woman named Louisa, make dinner. My eyes grew wide as I watched Louisa make a whole bunch of things... it didn’t matter what she was making. What mattered was that I was going to get a full meal for the first time since I left the orphanage, which was longer than I cared to think about.
I had managed to maybe earn a few pennies here, catch a fish there, you know... living like a beggar. I don’t like to say that, but it’s true.
Thinking about the Carters again, I thought, God really did know what He was doing, making me go hungry, didn’t He?  Maybe everything will turn out right, after all!
Hearing the front door slam, Andi said, “Chad and Mitch are coming in, which means Justin will be home soon. We’d better hurry and freshen up before they get impatient waiting for us.”
So we ran upstairs to her room. Andi lent me one of her dresses while she put on another. She tried to brush my hair, but it was so tangled and painful that she gave up and tied it with a ribbon.
“There,” She said. “You don’t look half bad! Come on, I’m starving!”
Walking into the dining room, I saw what had to be the most wonderful meal I had ever seen. To me, it looked like they were celebrating Christmas early! But when I whispered this to Andi, she giggled and said that Christmas made this meal look small. My jaw dropped, and that brought on more giggles.
“Chad, Mitch, Justin, I’d like to introduce you to Sarah. Her parents are... away, and so she came for... a surprise visit. Sarah, this is Mitch, Justin, and Chad.” She pointed to each as she said their names.
 So, this is Chad, I thought.
Chad looked me up and down. “Who are your parents, Sarah?” He asked.

Part 3

I gulped.  “Well, uh, their names are... Jeremiah and Sarah... Kimball. You’ve probably never heard of the Kimballs, but we, uh, have heard a lot about you, and... my parents decided that I should be sent here.”
What a lame lie. Feeling guilty, I stared at my plate.
“And why, may I ask, were you not sent to stay with relatives, Sarah?” This time Justin questioned me.
“Well, we don’t have any relatives except for on the east coast, and that would be quite a ways to travel, so I came here.”
Mitch grinned. “Well, it looks like you got yourself a playmate, Andi,” He said. “But then, she might not like bugs, worms, caterpillars, spiders, and snakes-”
“No, she doesn’t. But that’s okay. We can still have a lot of fun, right, Mother?” She asked her mother, who had been quietly sitting at the head of the table.
“Well, if she’s going to be staying for awhile, and doesn’t like all those gross things, she can sew with me,” Said Melinda, who was sitting beside Mrs. Carter.
“Why didn’t your parents send word ahead of time so we could prepare for your coming?” Mrs. Carter asked me.
I didn’t want to lie again, so I just shrugged.
The remainder of the meal was spent talking about various things, with the Carters asking me a few questions, but miraculously they didn’t ask me any more about my parents or my family.
When the meal was over, Andi said, “Come on, Sarah, I’ll show you where you can sleep.”
“Sure,” I said, “But first, I must confess something.” I turned to the rest of the family. “I have lied, and lying is a sin. So I will now tell the truth. My parents disappeared when I was little...” I told my story.
I ended with, “My name is not Sarah Kimball. My name is Sarah Coulter.”
Chad stared at me with his mouth open. “You-- you mean your dad’s name is Jeremiah Coulter, better known as Jem?”
I nodded.
Justin looked puzzled. “I don’t recalling hearing of a Jem Coulter, Chad. Who is he?”
“I told you about him, remember? When Father went to Goldtown because of that mine, he took me with him.  I’ll never forget that visit! I was trapped in the mine with Jem and his little sister... well, that’s a long story, so I’ll save it for later.”
I had already heard the story from my daddy--- how Chad’s arm got pulled out of socket, and everyone was rescued by Grandpa- but hearing Chad talk about it again was like hearing it for the first time.
Tears of longing entered my eyes. Surprised, I wiped them away. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried. 
“Hmm. I’ll see what I can do to find your parents,” Justin said.
I smiled gratefully at him.
Walking up the stairs to her room, Andi bombarded me with questions. 
“How old are you? I’m thirteen. Do you like riding horses? Before you went to the orphanage, did you have a horse of your own? Does your brother like picking on you?”
“Boy, you sure know how to ask questions! Let’s see... I’m nine. I like to ride horses somewhat, no, I didn’t have a horse of my own.  And yes, my brother is quite fond of teasing me. But mostly he pays attention to Terri, who would now be... seven, almost eight. Does that satisfy you?”
“Yep! Oh, and Sarah, thanks for telling the truth. I wouldn’t have said anything, but it would have ended up a lot worse if you hadn’t!”
That made me feel better. I was still shaking a little from telling my true story, especially after telling that lie.
God, I hope you’ll forgive me, too. I wasn’t thinking straight, and well... I’m just glad it ended up not being so bad. I was scared to tell the truth, and that lie didn’t help, either. I’m surprised they didn’t kick me out! Thank You for leading me here!
When we got to her bedroom, Andi handed me one of her nightgowns.
“It’s a good thing you’re not bigger than me,” she said with a smile. “Otherwise you’ll be wearing something of Melinda’s, and I don’t think she’d like that too much.” I giggled. 
The next morning, after changing into one of Andi’s dresses, I went downstairs to eat breakfast. The wonderful aroma of bacon, eggs, sausage and biscuits filled the air.
I smiled. Even if my parents weren’t found, I knew God would take care of me.

Click HERE for “Revenge,” the sequel to “Runaway”

3 comments:

Encourage these young authors!