Reader’s Club – Dev1CH2
The Devonians – Book One: Daydreamer
…by Nancy Tart
Chapter Two: Storm
The drizzling rains that had followed the Taylors home from the meeting hinted at the storms to come. Summer storms always started this way. Light, misty droplets would fall just enough to begin to cool the air, then within a few hours the rains would intensify to a thundering revolt of water demanding to be released upon the ground. The torrential downpours typically lasted only four or five days, erased the late spring drought, and brought with them child-lifting winds and electric shows to light up the sky full of red and purple bulbous clouds. Sandy Summers had first christened the summer storms as “child-lifters” when the first one they encountered picked Butterfly, who was then two years old, up and swirled her around a few feet off the ground until Randy and Erakk tackled her back to safety. From then on, children remained indoors in safety until the child-lifter had passed.
Joseph wished the child-lifters didn’t have to have such ferocious winds. He was still not considered adult enough to go out in one.
“Do you hear the drops?” Mrs. Kelly asked as they reached the house. Mr. Randy nodded and shoved little Jacob inside.
“It’s coming over the bamboo jungle,” Mr. Randy said. That wasn’t needed; all child-lifters came from that direction. The bamboo jungle was to the northwest and was ever being pushed back by the clearing of the fertile land for new farms. Mr. Sandy said it was only a matter of time before they reached a point where the thicket was too dense to bother cutting back, but that hadn’t happened yet.
“I’ll get the shutters and the animals.”
“Can I help?” Joseph called, but his father was already moving around the corner of the house, closing the heavy wooden shutters.
“Inside,” His mother said, “I need someone to help me fasten them, and you’re just tall enough.”
Kelly smiled despite her concern. The child-lifters hadn’t caused any significant damage to their buildings since they had learned how to build them strong enough to withstand them, but there was always the question of if a child-lifter would come that was stronger than ever before and lay waste to the well-designed buildings.
They went inside and quickly the room was in a flurry. Charley took Jacob’s hand and the two of them readied for bed. Matthew and Stephen put away the baskets and their contents. Joseph fastened the latches on the window shutters his father had closed. Since they had no glass, the shutters could be pulled in from the inside, but it was more time-consuming so if a child-lifter had sneaked up on them, Mr. Randy usually closed the shutters and let someone within, usually Mrs. Kelly, lock them with the rods.
Just before Mr. Randy closed the last set of shutters, he yelled over the strengthening winds, “I’ll board up the barn and see to the animals!”
Mrs. Kelly heard and only nodded her reply.
Matthew and Stephen had finished with the baskets and now were dancing like crazies on the floor, chanting, “a storm is coming!”
Charley eyed them distastefully, since he didn’t think his mother would approve, as he waited, with Jacob’s littler hand in his, for his mother to finish.
“Mother, I’m going to go help dad,” Joseph said as he lifted the latch on the sturdy door.
“No sir, your father can tend the animals by himself; you run along and get ready for bed,” his mother shook her head, across the room and returning the latch to its place before Joseph had finished speaking.
“But I forgot something,” Joseph protested.
“Forgot something?” Mrs. Kelly repeated, her left eyebrow raised, “what did you forget?”
“I forgot to put something away.”
“Your father will find it,” she shook her head and turned back to the kitchen, moving things around as if she thought the winds would come into the house, “you know those winds are too strong for you.”
Joseph sighed.
Telling about his seed pile was almost of the tip of his tongue, and he felt the little voice inside him prodding for him to confess what he’d done, but he ignored it and disappeared into the loft where they all slept. When their father entered he was drenched. The boys were all in the loft, either sleeping like Jacob or trying to stay quiet while they laughed at the howling of the wind going over the roof like Matthew and Stephen. Joseph wasn’t asleep, but then, the little voice was keeping him awake; saying he should just tell someone. Someone other than Alena, anyway. He didn’t consider Alena telling someone, since she wasn’t here. He knew he should tell his mom or his dad, but he really didn’t want to. Joseph wouldn’t even join his brothers as they prayed; he didn’t feel like talking to God just now.
To continue with Chapter 3, click below!