Over wash

So far, Heddy has discovered a German man living in Dr. Monroe's abandoned house. She meets a new friend name Lester and decides to make him her boyfriend. Her brother Willis has returned home from the war and has been having nightmares.

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Momma starts cleaning first thing in the morning. I look over at my daddy as he reads last weeks paper. He winks at me. I don't understand why she's cleaning when it isn't really dirty to begin with. "Sweetheart, what can we do to help you?" he asks, dipping the paper down to peer over it.

"Go rinse out those rain barrels and set them against the house. We might have to use the water from the storm if it hits, and I don't want them full of spiders or frogs."

Daddy shakes the paper straight and then folds it over. "Heddy, why don't you and Willis go gather some wood for the fireplace. If the electric goes off, we are gonna be cooking over the fire."

I grin. I don't know why, but I like when we lose our electric. It's fun to sit around the fireplace and eat cheese sandwiches and soup. Even when the wind is screaming right outside the window. I've only been scared during one storm. It was a bad one. Lots of folks on the other side of the island lost their houses when the winds pulled all the water out of the inlets. They said that the whole sound was just mud, not one drop of water in the entire thing. But the trouble is, the water comes back and it comes back fast and a lot more than before.

Momma and Daddy had to go over and help look for a boy who was about Willis's age who had been playing in the empty sound. When the water started coming back, he couldn't get back to the shore quick enough. He just got swept away. His body wasn't found for over a week. He'd been all tangled in the marsh grasses about ten feet away from his uncle's dock.

Willis seems happy to be doing busy work. He used to be kind of lazy from what I can recall. He would moan and roll his eyes something fierce when Momma would tell him to do a chore. But, now, he looks for things to do. Says "yes, ma'am and yes sir" all the time. He even said it to Mrs. Collette when he was talking to her the other day.

While I aim the hose at the barrel he tilts over I look him in the eye. "I hope we get a storm."

"Why? You shouldn't want one. Nothing good comes out of storm, Heddy."

"I don't know why. I just like them."

He shakes his head like I'm tetched. "That's a dumb thing to like."

"I don't want anything bad to happen to anybody, but it's kind of exciting."

He walks over and turns off the hose. "Bad things always happen during storms. Even if it's just to one person, that's bad enough. Don't let Momma or Daddy hear you say such foolishness."

I watch as he tilts the barrel over to let the dirty water drain out. I keep my mouth shut for the rest of the morning. I hate when people say my thoughts are foolish or silly. My thoughts are my thoughts and nobody has a right to judge them.

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After dinner, we all go out and look at the sky. Its gray, covered in clouds that are somehow thicker, darker and bigger than regular clouds. Daddy puts his arm around Momma's shoulder. "It's definitely heading for us."

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It's pitch black when I wake up, Nonni is standing by the window, her thin hand holding the lace curtain back. "It's here, Heddy. That wind is picking up. If it keeps up like this, your momma's garden is gonna be in pitiful shape."

I get out of bed and hurry over to the window. I can hear the rain pushed by the wind as it peppers the side of the house. It's getting bad. Most people would be scared, but I'm not. My pulse quickens as I see the occasional reflection of the of the wet leaves shaking furiously on the trees that are closest to the house.

"Listen, your brother is awake."

I try to push the noise of the wind and rain out of my head to listen for Willis. At first I can't make out anything, then I hear the faint moaning. "He's frightened, isn't he?"

"Go talk to him. He loves you. He trusts you."

Without waiting, I open my door and tiptoe down to his room. "It's just the wind, Willis." I don't wait just go sit on the edge of his bed and start talking. "Remember when you taught me how to swim?"

He looks up, eyes hooded and guarded.

"I was so scared. I remember pointing my toes so I could touch the bottom, but there wasn't anything there. I thought I was gonna die. I think you laughed at me."

He nods his head slightly, his eyes trying to focus on me. "I knew you could do it."

"I didn't. I was afraid. We've been in these storms before. You remember them, don't you?"

"Everything has changed, Heddy. Everything."

"You want me to keep you company?"

He looks away, only nodding his head. "I didn't used to be scared like this."

"We all get scared sometimes, Willis. You just got to have faith that nothing is gonna happen. Do you have faith?"

He breathes and nods his head.

I hold out my hands and wait until he places his in mine. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. For thine is the kingdom," I whisper.

Then I hear him, feel his hands squeeze mine gently. "For thine is the kingdom, forever and ever. Amen."

I don't pull my hands away, just wait until Willis smiles at me. "Thank you."