Well, ok…I guess I (techbaby) will handle reviewer responses, too ^_^
Thanks bunches and oodles to Princess, I know you've been a faithful fan since Unleashed Soul first started posting!!
BTW…cookies, cokies…I think Squirrel would eat them anyway….
And thanks to Andiavas and Mystical Dreams for your latest reviews!!
Rest assured that I bug her (Unleashed Soul) constantly about finishing this story…I have up to chapter 14 on my PC, we worked on all this together, but she is so much better at writing than I am, I just gave her ideas and helped when she hit a "block". I remind her every time I speak with her to finish it up, but, c'mon!!! She is with the Love of her life, she has wedding plans and what not to deal with (so far the date is narrowed down to December 2003)….I myself, her own flesh and blood, have not even gotten a chance to speak with her in over a week now…sigh…but I promise all you readers, this story will NOT be discontinued…...even if I have to fly on down to Guatemala myself and take her sweetie hostage for her to finish this story!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!! Ok ok….calming down now…….^_^
Please keep checking in, I am trying to post a chapter a week for all of you, and I am still posting illustrations over at Mediaminer.org (big thankies to Princess!!!) I know longer have a scanner, so there aren't to many left to post …L
If you have any questions,or have emailed Unleashed Soul and she hasn't sent a response, feel free to email me at techbaby5@yahoo.com
OK OK – enough for the annoying one….on wiff the story!!!……
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Angel walked down the hall with all the dirty dishes. He entered the kitchen and was surprised to see "Tee", as he called her. Or would have called her had he been able to speak. He smiled at her while he put the dishes into the sink. He left them there, not cleaning them and moved over to where Tee was cutting up one of the cotton dresses. She was using one of the kitchen knives to do it.
Angel hugged her waist and remembered when he used to stand with his mother like that. Hugging her while she cooked. He missed his Ma. He couldn't speak but could hear just fine. Understanding words was so much harder for him though. He hadn't seen people since ...that day...
"Kyle, Kyle!" Called a woman with long blonde hair, she was perhaps the same height as Tee and the same build. Kyle, who was only perhaps four years of age, came hobbling up to her. She picked him up and carried him to the table where Bubby and Pa sat.
Ma laid a plate of food down in front of Bubby and patted him on the shoulder. Then when she laid food in front of Pa she kissed his cheek. She then placed Kyle's food on the table and sat next to him and had to spoon feed him.
Bubby and Pa would go out after lunch and cut down trees but Kyle had to stay there with Ma. He watched everything she did. He wished he could be more like Bubby.
Bubby was thirteen and looked just like Ma; he was able to help everyone. He didn't care that Kyle that couldn't run or play, Bubby played with him anyways! He and Ma taught Kyle how to count and learn different colors!
Pa even seemed to like him, until that day...
"Angel?" Kyle looked up at Tee. "Come here." she said as she lifted him up and put him on one of the several empty work tables next to the window. She bent down and looked at his ill-formed ankle. He watched her as she put the cloth around it very lovingly. He smiled at her but deep inside he was hurting very badly... he missed his Ma.
Kyle couldn't believe it! Pa was taking him to go cut down trees! Just like he takes Bubby! Bubby was sick and was unable to go with Pa so Kyle got to go instead. His Ma looked a little worried but Pa gave her a kiss and she always smiled after a kiss from his Pa. Kyle was a very lucky boy!
His Pa took him out to the woods and after watching Pa cut down lots of trees Pa turned and looked at him. Kyle didn't understand why Pa was crying. He had seen Pa cry once before when he was only two or three but he never understood why.
Pa looked sad but he kept muttering words:
"Life would be so much easier without you." and "Why did you have to be so crippled?"
Kyle couldn't understand the words but remembered the word "crippled" and also a word called "mute" the last time he saw his Pa crying. Pa then did something that Kyle never expected, nor understood.
Pa slapped Kyle across the face. He slapped him very, very hard and Kyle felt tears falling from his eyes. His father kicked him then and then turned and picked up the ax.
Kyle didn't understand why his Pa was doing this to him, didn't understand what his Pa was even doing. He had never felt pain like that before. He did realize though that if he did get away Pa was going to hurt him more. So Kyle stood up and hobbled away as fast as his crippled feet could go.
He ended up hiding and when it grew dark time he fell asleep and when it grew light time he woke up and limped around looking for somewhere to go...
That was when he found this place!
"There you go," Tee said looking up at him. He smiled again, his eyes coming from their distant look. He reached out his arms and she hugged him and he buried his head in her neck and cried. "Awe, what's the matter, Handsome?"
She hugged him while he sobbed and hiccupped and she even looked him over to make sure he wasn't hurting.
Just like Ma used to do.
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Angel carried the tray of food up to "Kiddy". He never knew what to call him until the day Tee and he sat eating dinner. She was calling him to come back and said "Here Kiddy, Kiddy, Kiddy" so that must be his name!
He never minded taking care of Kiddy and bringing him food. He loved Kiddy very much. Even though Kiddy never played games with him or even paid much attention to him Kiddy never ever hit him! He never even said the word "Crippled" or "Mute" in a bad way. Just in a way that it was supposed to be said. Though Angel didn't know what either word meant he knew that they must be very bad words to make Pa do mean things to him. But Kiddy never hurt him, Kiddy is what his Pa should have been like... well, maybe a little less furry and scary looking.
He laid the dinner on the table in front of the balcony, he didn't like sitting at this table because the breeze blew in and his cloak wasn't very warm, when he even wore his cloak. He didn't like it coz he tripped over it.
He liked sitting with Kiddy and eating food with him. That was fun. Kiddy would speak to him, and even though Angel didn't know what the words meant it didn't matter. He understood some of the words though, like "no" but when the big words came or words like "damn" he didn't understand it. He liked the way Kiddy greeting him with a deep sound. He wished he could make that sound!
He sighed and placed the food on the table and pulled up his chair.
Kiddy growled and sat down.
"Eating together again, are we?"
Angel smiled up at Kiddy, yup, Kiddy loved him a lot! Just like his Pa should have. Kiddy spoke to him like he was a real person; his Pa never spoke to him...
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