A New Neighbor

"Jem," I sighed. "Now that your arm's feelin' better and your cast's come off, I gotta tell you somethin'. I never thought I'd be the one givin' you information poignant as this, but there's somethin' I gotta tell you; it's about that night we were knocked about so. I've waited two months to tell you, cause the doctor said you need to be well to hear it or you might faint. You better put the football away and sit down with me on the porch swing to hear it."

Jem sat down. I held his hand. "What happened that night, Scout? Atticus wouldn't tell me." Jem, although older, listened attentively.

I felt important, a feeling I don't think I ever felt before, bein' the youngest and all. "The who saved us and took you home, we knew him all along."

"Who?" asked Jem, impatiently.

"Now hold your horses, Jem, you can't get overexcited. The man who saved us would be overwhelmed if you get carried away, and he ain't goin' noplace."

"Alright, Scout," he droned.

"On that night, Jem, Boo Radley came out. He was the one who put the gifts in the tree for us awhile ago."

Jem sprinted toward the Radley house, his arm still twisted up. I caught up to him and grabbed his good arm. "Jem," I shouted, "I won't have you torturin' Mr. Arthur no more. He's a shy man, and he saved our lives. He's one of them mockingbirds. We can't kill his private lifestyle."

Jem became silent. After awhile, he replied, "Scout, you been learnin' a lot from the events of this past year, and you're right. I can't torment the guy now that he's officially our neighbor. I just want to know what it was like meetin' him."

"Well, first off, Boo wanted to meet you just as much as you want to see him. He just stood there as big and tall as he was said to be. He was brave enough to save us, but he feared going home alone in the darkness. I guess he was just afraid of what he might be up for in our Maycomb County havin' made any big news for savin' us. There was none, but he didn't know. After all, he'd been isolated all his life, and he ain't willin' to change it now."

"Will I ever meet Boo?" Jem asked feebly.

"I reckon you will some day if you come onto him gently."

"Thanks for fillin' me in, Scout."

"No problem."

Jem and I embraced tightly. Gradually, Jem fell asleep there on the porch swing. I smiled and did the same. I suspected he had the same feeling, that the followin' year would be a great one, even if we never saw Boo Radley again.