Week Thirty-One (May 25 – May 30) Topic:Half
Winner: Arthur
The Path Of The Five Clover Patch
By Arthur
Erin “iron” Parker had been a boy once. He knew when he grew up without knowing who his parents really were that it had left a scar on him. He was raised by his aunt, an actual half aunt, for one thing. Erin did a little of his own research, to find his parents. He would need to know how his half-aunt had been the half sister to his mother. Of course he was never able to find that out about them on his own. No one spoke of his parents or his mother or about it to his half-aunt who took responsibilities of bringing up the boy on her own. Erin had two half cousins who were much older. His half aunt had two sons of her own.
Of course if Erin had really been related as his half aunt implied it would have been much easier to find out about his parents. Only now he did feel the need to confront his aunt with wanting to be told the truth.
His mind made up he simply was intended on getting in an arguing match with his half aunt to learn the truth of his real parents and who they were. Because he couldn’t find the half sister his aunt claimed all along had been his mother all these years. The name he had of his mother didn’t exist.
His half aunt didn’t have any sisters. So why did he believe all these years she had a half-sister. His half aunts relatives were all passed away. He husband was dead. She only had two middle aged sons. If worse came to worse, Erin would turn to the sons for answers.
The Path Of The Five Clover Patch
There was lightly wind which felt good. Erin kneeled his knee at the bench his Aunt May was sitting taking her hand in his. His was slow to begin his simple plan of confronting her which was hard for him. Really aunt May looked so frail in her old age.
“Is your back hurting again?” His aunt asked.
“Yes aunt. It’s nothing. Maybe I should see a doctor?” Erin asked. He had worked for his aunt doing the chores and keeping the farm. They didn’t have animals since after his half brother finished college they move away. Erin wasn’t a teenager yet. But they did have a garden and fences to mend, a huge amount of land to cut grass and fixing of the house.
“I have just the right thing my boy,” aunt May said. “I just come from the town and I brought you these muscle relaxing pills. The pharmacist said take these.” she handed it a large bottle, nearly a whole kg of pills from a shopping bag.
“Oh aunt, I don’t know what to say, but thank you. I’ll run in and get water, these do with water don’t they?” Erin asked.
“Read the label Erin. I think they might, I’m sure that was what I was told that you can drink water after each tablet. But if you don’t like these don’t give up, there are more kinds to help pain relief.” Saying this Erin nearly forgot why he can out here to greet his aunt.
They sat outside and that brought peace of mind. Now was the time to speak and get what he wanted out of her.
“Oh Erin, I’m sorry, I don’t feel very well, can you help me in and bring me tea. I’m going to take a nap, let’s talk about it tomorrow.” She said after he asked her about his parents. She planned to avoid him and possibly let it be forgotten.
Erin went inside, making tea. He stopped a few minutes and took a few tablets out and took one. Those tables tasted awful. He chucked the kg bottle out the door landing in an old compost pile near the garden at the back kitchen door. He would speak with his half brother tonight.
Erin only leaned a couple of things from Neil. All the things Neil said was true. He had been there the day Erin was brought to the house. What Erin found out about his birth and being placed in half-Aunt May’s was that his missing parents were a couple of teens from out of town looking for a free ride. The two who disappearance had been after the summer. Its secret wasn’t a shocking story, but Neil told Erin the teens had run away from the big city. Of course were unwanted by their own home if they were found out about the mother being her pregnant. No one in town knew them or from where they came from and they kept to them self as loners. They did hang out on the beach with other homeless. That was common then, years ago. But the night Erin appeared the two unknown teens disappeared.
Likely the couple whose disappearance had occurred after the end of the summer returned to their home.
His half-aunt may wasn’t his mother’s sister after-all. His shocked shook Erin putting his hands on his head. Erin went to bed early that night.
When he woke he shifted in his bed, and then looked out his window. One more ordinary unchanging uneventful inauspicious nightmare of a day. Erin went down stair, aching the way but not regretting his pain. Erin’s muscles needed the pills more than ever. Then he remembered, he through them out the door into the yard.
He went out to trough out the trash. As he stopped he noticed a huge new patch of ever green grown over the decompose compound. The composite was usually brown but not now. And strangely there were clovers all over it too. Then Erin noticed the large one in the middle. It didn’t have three clove leaves, it had five.
Ironically he suddenly imagined what it was. What if it was to grant five wishes? He was trying to have some fun after-all.
He made one wish. While his insides were feeling on edge. And his back ached. His muscles seized on him. A wish formed in his mind onto his lips. For all things of life-his had meaning.
His wish? His wish is to be able to hear the national ball games and hear their scores as they played whenever he wanted. He then smiled for his wistful thinking and ultimately was childish wish. But when it did make some sense, and it came true suddenly. Suddenly Erin knew the ball games and was altogether different. “If I have a five leaf clover and it granted my wish then I have four more.” He thought to himself.
And then his decision was to wish for four more things and let things end as that. Too choose four more were to choose wisely and choose smart.
The gift to tune into his favorite games had been his wish come true. And now it actually worked. He tuned in and out frequently knowing scores and plays. The next day he wished to meet the loveliest girl alive. Oh that was unwise. But he didn’t change his mind, he decided too late to, because to merely meet wouldn’t mean anything enough to either of them except a brief exchange of greetings. To be safe if it was possible to come true he would still want it to occur that way. No forcing any wish to change anyone’s future.
The next day he stopped and looked at his patch outside. It had not changed since he found his wish clover, except two clover leaf petal withered dry. He had almost hoped it would as a sign. Really, since after his brief encounter yesterday with a young lady he felt almost as if he could eventually as easily ask for her hand in marriage, maybe wish for it. His second wish had come true. Now more than ever he wanted to be wise and not ask for something he couldn’t enviably predict the outcome of.
For his third wish he wished to know how they build airplanes. That was a smart wish too. Then it too had sudden come into his mind like and almost just as mysteriously come true too.
That afternoon Erin tinkered with problems of aviation his mind could not work with before. Surprise none of it bothered him now.
Erin wanted to take a flight, just anywhere after all of his wishes was granted. Maybe he could only go economized for the fun of being on the plane. The plane with its simple maneuverable flight control appealed to him. Little planes like the Cessna caravan appealed to him, the light airframe and take off runway, air time, the very one with neat trinket seats and no no-class flight. Or maybe the big jets or whatever. anything! Erin’s third wish came true and made him more adventurous now. And now Erin would have to make a standard fourth wish. But now Erin had been on a standstill for his fourth wish.The following next day he had such bad dreams about it. What if something went wrong? What if someone found out he had been granted magical wishes? What if it was only in his imagination?
Today he went to the pet store to look at getting a pet. He wasn’t totally sure what he would wish for. But a type of pet came to mind. But he wouldn’t wish a pet into existence. Would he? Not likely. His decision although. But he wanted to go to the store to relax about his problem and see the cute animal faces.
When there he met that same girl he wished to have met, again. she mentioned she was staying only for the summer. She had come to look at the types of pets in the store to relax about her problem too.
Erin thought self consciously the urge to tell her about his clover and the things he wished for. But that would mean revealing he had wished to meet her – well – her.
She had come to learn to be a water life guard this summer. Without thinking about it, Erin wished to be a very excellent swimmer. Learning to swim and being strong. It would become true.
When he went home he thought about her. He never asked her name. But now that he knew she was at least here the summer maybe he would figure out a way that she could see him swim. He wouldn’t make a fool of himself, or the others of the other swimmers now that he was as good of a swimmer.
All night he dreamed about her. He wondered what it would be like with her. Suddenly he remembered he didn’t have parents of his own and that she probably did. That would work out to be awkward. Then in a trivial blinding flash there it was his fifth and final wish. That he knew who his parents was and they would send for him.
Nothing felt odder than that.
‘Soon.’ he thought and he would know who he was and why his parents abandoned him. A very nice choice.
Outside a flash of lightening and with big thunder came the sky. it appeared dark blue then grey – then safari green lights flashed from the sky in quick succession. Not ever before had Erin seen such a rain storm. Then in just seconds the horrid sounds of honking appeared. He went outside to see what was coming from the sky. He had wished something bad. Was god angry? Was there no way he was going to bring Erin’s parents? Were they dead? Was he now?
When he reached outside, he saw Neil protecting half-aunt May from the lights and the winds. Half-aunt May and Neil had been standing outside. Neil held his hands over his eyes to protect them from the blinding UFO’s light.
Half-Aunt May was waving at it. Why was she waving to a flying ship?
“What’s going on Neil?” Erin asked
“It’s . . . ” Neil said. “It has to do with you and Half-Aunt May,” Neil said. “Something to do with you two.”
“Aunt may?” Erin said. “What do a space ship have to do with Aunt May?” Erin then suddenly wondered if Aunt May was going away with the flying saucer; why was she being taken away?
“No you don’t understand Erin. Your parents didn’t just leave after they gave you to us. They left in their ship.” Neil said.
“They? There are people inside?” Erin asked.
Aunt May nodded her head back at Neil and Erin.
“Yes. I’m afraid it’s all true. I am so sorry Erin. But they are your parent and they came one day and they left you. For me to raise you. Here on earth. But they wanted to come back. And they said to give you those pills one day and you’d understand what to do with them. Knowing that you’d react the same they all do. You’d dislike the taste and throw them away. Once you did those things you see. One grew in the patch wherever they were and sprung up clover. They explained this all to me. You wished them here.”
The End.
More by Arthur: http://www.goodreads.com/story/list/7353...
More from this contest: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1482...
