As it's New Year's Day, it seemed appropriate to give you a theme in keeping with the season. So your prompt for January is 'Beginnings'. That can be any kind of beginning your fertile imaginations can come up with. Happy New Year, and happy new stories!
Get writing.
rachel741
Posts : 102 Join date : 2019-09-15 Age : 50 Location : United Kingdom
Subject: Re: Beginnings Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:00 am
Jed and Hannibal stood side by side, facing the wall, their hands and butts burning from the impact of the cane. Their cheeks were flushed from embarrassed anger at what they considered an unfair and overly childish punishment. They were in no mood to pay any attention to Mr Grampian's continued hectoring about their behaviour. All they heard was a droning irritating buzz of noise. They only listened when Hannibal realised by the change in tone, that the man was finally winding up. He nudged Jed to get his attention, just as the assistant Master said. “You will both stay here until after supper is finished, then I will send Mr Rix to escort you straight to your beds. I'll inform you if there will be further punishment at seven tomorrow morning in my office. That clear, boys?”
They were always expected to answer when asked something directly and in unison they answered. “Yes, Sir.”
With that the teacher left the room, shutting the door heavily behind him. The two boys said nothing for a few minutes, then Jed turned to his friend. At thirteen, he could easily pass for eleven. But the determined set of his jaw and the dark anger that was sparking from his eyes were still quite impressive, despite his youthful appearance. “I ain't standing no more of this, Hannibal. I ain't! As soon as it's dark, I'm outta here. We did nothing wrong 'cept stop them other boys from hurting that poor dog, but I don't see no one but us being whupped.” His gaze turned accusing. “Your silver tongue weren't much use.”
Hannibal sighed, he'd been expecting this for days, weeks even, easily recognising the signs that the idiot staff had missed. Choosing to ignore his cousin's complaint, he only said. “I'm with ya, Jed. I been storing food under my bed and I got two bags of clothes hid in the barn nice and high. But we oughta wait till just before dawn so we can sneak into the Master's office tonight and relieve him of some of that cash he's been hoarding. I woulda taken it earlier, but it's safer when you're watching my back and besides, I wanted to wait on the weather clearing some.”
The previous week Jed had been on night stable duty helping Mr Greary to foal the school's two mares. And the last three nights, he'd been forced to sleep in what they and other boys called the hole. A tiny windowless room with just a mattress on the floor, because he'd accidentally broken a kitchen window during target practice with his catapult. Hannibal could have picked the lock, but he'd decided to hang on, so he could put the finishing touches to his plan. He was as happy as he could be with it and besides, he knew Jed's mind was made up to leave, and there'd be no stopping him, beyond the morning. Hannibal feared what would happen if he lit out on his own. They were all each other had and when they ran, they'd run together.
XXX
They clambered over the high wall out to freedom and a whole new life, just as the sun rose, tinting the sky with pink. Jed landed first and caught the bags that his friend threw down. He placed them both on the ground, before helping Hannibal down. They stood together staring at the grim stone building on the other side. “You sure about this, Jed?”
“Never surer, Hannibal. You?”
Hannibal nodded, feeling no regret at seeing the back of the place that he'd grown to hate. “That place don't hold nothing for me 'cept bad memories.”
“Ain't that the truth.” Jed said firmly as they turned away, walking side by side as they headed up the hill towards the way-station just a mile or so away from the school. They were taking the five am stage out, not caring where it was going, as long as it was away from here.
As they sat on the wooden bench, waiting for their transport to arrive, Hannibal nudged his almost asleep friend into alertness. He ignored the disgruntled expression on his face as he said. “I was thinking, Jed, Hannibal is a bit of a mouthful, and I ain't never been that fond of Han. It don't sound impressive enough for what I got planned for us.”
“So what, you're gonna change your name?” Jed looked over at him in some amusement.
“Nothing like that, I was thinking I'd just use Heyes. It's short and I can make it sound real authoritative.”
Jed shrugged. “Iffin you say so, Hannibal.” At the dirty look his friend threw him he grinned and said dryly. “Sorry, Heyes.” He paused for a minute then added. “Does that mean I gotta go by Curry?”
“Well I bin thinking about that Jed...You looking so young, I figure Kid or the Kid would suit ya fine.”
Jed frowned, not exactly certain that the name was a good choice. “I ain't sure, Ha-Heyes. It ain't real impressive, in fact it sounds kinda dumb.”
“But think about it- with your looks and that name together, most folk won't figure out how proddy you really are, till it's too late and we got 'em where we want them.”
Jed looked over at his friend's innocent expression, not sure if he'd just been insulted or not, but then shrugged and tried the name out. “Kid Curry. I guess it kinda don't sound too bad.”
Heyes grinned at his friend. “I always have the best ideas, J-Kid, you know that!”
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Kattayl
Posts : 47 Join date : 2020-08-10 Age : 69 Location : Los Angeles, Ca
Subject: Re: Beginnings Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:44 pm
Beginnings Final
Challenge January 2022
Looking into the bright May sun, Jedediah ‘Kid’ Curry smiled. Pulling his horse to a stop he stared across the rocky outcroppings of wildflowers.
Not noticing his partner had stopped, Hannibal Heyes rode on, absorbed in the book he was trying to read on horseback. Confused, his chestnut horse looked around at his still companion. The motion jolted Heyes out of his story. “Kid?”
Staring across the field, Curry did not respond.
“Something the matter?” Heyes squinted in the same direction looking for danger.
Heyes got a wistful smile in return and a distant twinkle in Curry’s blue eyes. “Just look at all the hollyhocks, Heyes, far as that field reaches.”
Not sure if Curry was looking for an answer or not, Heyes mumbled, “How could I miss them.”
“Pink, purple, red, white, yellow, my ma loved the yellow ones. Heyes! You’ve had your head in that book all day. Look around you, it’s spring!”
Curry’s enthusiasm forced Heyes to evaluate their surroundings. Indeed, spring was bursting out everywhere. Dimples appeared as Heyes smiled. “Yeah, you're right. But this is a good book about the stars. Spring means we’ll have a clear night and we can study them.”
Now, Curry wasn’t listening. His voice was buried in memories as he spoke. “Remember Ma had hollyhocks in her garden near our house. They were the first flower that bloomed in her garden. She’d smile, saying, “Look, Jeddie, the hollyhocks are returning. It’s spring, the season of new beginnings.”
Unwilling to interrupt his cousin’s pleasant old memory, Heyes gazed over the field. Then a memory swept over him as well. “Your ma used to make tea from them. Said it helped your breathing.”
“Tasted terrible even if we had honey to put in it, but it helped.” Drawing a clear deep breath, Curry pondered, “Now that I’m grown, I wonder if it was the tea that helped or her belief in the tea?”
Feeling philosophical, Heyes replied, “A bit of both, probably. The power of suggestion is a strong force. My book says the stars make a ram, a lion and a bull and more. Going to look for them tonight.”
Watching Curry’s eyes turn dark, Heyes knew his memories had turned dark, bloody. Trying to distract the thoughts, Heyes said, “The book sure lays out where we can see each animal. I know I’ve seen what they call the big dipper and, of course, we know the North Star.”
“My sister, Maggie, died in ma’s garden. That was spring, too…when they were all killed.”
Curry didn’t speak often of that day, so Heyes let him talk. “Not a time of beginnings. A time of endings, bloody endings, killing.”
Heyes silver tongue turned heavy. His own memories filled the field of wildflowers with bloody bodies. The darkness of grief threatened to overwhelm him. Fighting against it, Heyes imagined the star animals he had been reading about. He allowed the bright clarity of the North Star to be his guide back to the spring sunshine and the wildflowers. Knowing that the Kid was deep in his personal nightmares, Heyes called to him. “Kid, listen to me.”
No response from Curry, his eyes stayed fixed on the nearby hollyhocks.
“Jed, your mom loved those yellow hollyhocks.”
Abruptly, Curry turned to Heyes, so he kept talking. “They grew in a wild field on the shortcut between our houses. Remember your ma would always stop a minute and smile when she passed.”
Heyes heart jumped a beat as Curry’s blue eyes, so like his ma’s eyes, caught his brown ones. Thoughts of dead family morphed to the comfort of the family they had in each other.
“Han…I thought I saw…”
“Yeah, Kid, those memories…”.
“They’re gone now, Heyes.” Curry looked away. “Thank you. How’d you know I was gettin’ lost in them?”
“Cause I was, too. Started thinking about that book and the stars. Found my way back.”
Curry took a long look at the hollyhocks again, relieved that no memories, good or bad followed. “Heyes, tonight let’s see if we can find those star animals in the sky.”
Smiling, Heyes added, “And the North Star, Kid. The brightest of them all, to guide us.”
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