The storm increased in minutes, resembling a raging fire, causing the parched, crunchy plants to combust! “Seth, hurry and get everyone to the cellar!” Solange shouted from the kitchen window, where the screens were installed. After the cookies finished baking, she quickly put them away for dinner. She chopped up some fresh bread, wrapped it in a tea towel, and placed it in a basket on the dining room table.
Seth stepped away from his work in the barn when he heard Solange call to him, and he yelled for the boys, “Hey, you fellas up in that mow, get down and head to the cellar! Seth yelled, “Now!”
“I’m coming, Daddy,” Jamie said.
“I too, Pappa,” Sadie said.
They appeared before Pappa opened the cellar doors and went inside with him.
“Beth-Anne, can you please get the bread basket and cookie tin from the dining table while I get the kids upstairs to the cellar?” Solange said to her oldest daughter.
“Okay, Momma,” Beth-Anne replied.
The kids rushed downstairs since the wind picked up, and they heard Momma scream to Pappa.
“Come on, we have to get into the cellar,” Solange said, leading the way. She told Grace and James to go hang out with Pappa.
Seth hurried to find matches to light the whale oil-filled lanterns, which prepared the family for the next few hours of being sequestered inside the cellar. The family helped each other stay safe because they all looked out for one another.
“Where’s Randall? Does anyone know where he is?” Solange’s voice sounded worried. Pappa heard her voice and rushed to her.
“Oh no, Solange,” he said, his voice filled with controlled order. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m going to go.” He shot past her and went through the left cellar door. He wasn’t gone more than a minute, and the door opened again. Seth returned, and Solange observed Randall wasn’t with him, and she faltered and sank to the ground. Pappa stretched out his arms and hugged her as he sat with her. He brushed the hair away from her face. Her head rested on his chest.
Seth said, “He’s clever, Solange. He’ll remember what we told him and find a place underground. He knows better.”
“Yes, he’ll figure out how to stay safe, ” she said and smiled as she grabbed his hands and nodded slightly. She felt better when Seth wiped away her tears. His words brought her comfort during a difficult time. But what are the other children thinking? she thought.
“Get it together, Solange,” Seth said. “We’ve got other little ones looking to us to lead them through this.”
That made Solange pull it together for the kids. Seth’s words, a blend of cheerleading and severe talk, captured Solange’s attention. Seth thought the worst storm was over because he could feel the ground shake and saw dirt clumps falling. It was super scary! The family huddled together, staring at the lantern light that swayed on the hook. Their only indication was that there was movement.
It was spooky but cool, too! Momma put all the food she brought into the basement for everyone to eat. She made sandwiches with meat and butter, and Seth got a big jug of water from the barn to drink, which he placed on the bottom stairs. Rain pelted the top of the cellar door. It sounded like animal claws scratching against a tree, and a loud banging on the door frightened the children.
***
Solange’s mind zoomed from what the kids were thinking to what Randall was doing. Her son, who was 13, was excellent, but that night changed everything for him. Randall took a big breath when he got to the dry well and the bucket. He knew the descent would be steep and uneven, but he was unfazed. He had to hurry down below.
A short while ago, he sprinted to escape the storm and locate a haven. Before he jumped into the bucket, he noticed the cellar doors on the same side of the house. He calculated how long it would take him to get to safety from the big doors and whether it was worth trying to make it there.
A chunk of tin roof zoomed past him as it dropped, prompting him to reconsider. Randall looked back at the bucket and the dry well. He suddenly froze and made contact with the cold ground. He was shocked by the movement and jumped out of the bucket onto the floor. He felt like crying because his ankle and neck ached so intensely. He could barely breathe and didn’t want to walk very far. He screamed, but he was a one-man show.
No one could hear him cry; he missed his parents and thought about them. He told himself it wasn’t that bad. He thought it hurt a lot—and he kind of wanted to cry. He wept as if it would be less distressing and frightening if he did not make a fuss about it. However, Randall looked up from the well and was frightened by what he saw above in the air. What a deep well, and how high everything looked around it surprised him!
The sky appeared strange. Unlike anything Randall had ever seen before. “Holy gobstoppers turned into dust already!” Randall shouted with excitement. “It’s showing an outline to the door!” Randall spoke with significant volume, “I only hope that the remaining tasks are not too complex, or I will be in serious trouble.” The cozy tunnel was like a big hug for Randall when he stepped inside. “It has to be the place I’ve always dreamed of going; otherwise, why would it even be here?” he said.
Randall didn’t notice that his ankle and neck no longer hurt him. He only thought about lighting lanterns so he could see better. Because he was dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, the temperature was cold as he went down the hallway to a stone cutout.
The oil lamps beyond the cutout were all lit. He followed the path to a beautiful location with water. He took a long sip of water from the little stream. He looked into the water, but he couldn’t see his reflection. But the fish caught his attention, prompting him to take another look before standing up to continue his journey.
He continued walking until he encountered another person.
“Hi there! You must be Randall,” said an old man wearing a straw hat and holding a big basket. “We’ve been waiting for you! Hurry up, or we won’t get to eat!”
Randall was relaxed around the man and not scared at all, and he went with him.
“Yes, that’s right, I’m Randall! What’s your name? How did you know I would be here? “Who are you? Should I know you?” Randall said.
“You sure should! But don’t worry about that stuff right now. How did you end up here?”
“I was seeking shelter from a gale of a storm, and the closest thing underground to me was this well. I jumped in it and rode the bucket down. Have you waited for me a long time?”
“We got the message at 6:30 in the morning.”
“I got here around 9:00 so I wouldn’t miss you.”
“Oh, gee. Sorry about that. But thanks for waiting! You’re very nice,” Randall said.
“Well, thank you. I’m glad you think so. We’re here, sweetie, like always, and we’ve been waiting for you. You can put your shoes over there and wash your hands in the sink on the back porch. My wife and I will cook in the kitchen and prepare the table for dinner—it’s fun when you work with someone you love!”
“Okay. Thanks! I will! I don’t like cooking or working around preparing the table,” Randall said, and he looked around the house to find out who else lived there. Everything looked fine, but Randall felt confused. He experienced a sense of unease and unrest within the house.
However, the house smelled delicious with its homemade supper, but Randall couldn’t shake his nervousness, and he noticed the man no longer seemed as hospitable either.
A woman about the man’s age with her hair in a bun smiled at Randall, but he could tell her smile was insincere. She was loud, bossy, and intentional in her words and actions.
“I’m Randall! May I help you in some way?” He returned a big smile to her and stood there, waiting for her to say something. “I wasn’t aware you and your partner were anticipating my arrival today; is he your husband?”
“Yes. We were expecting you today, and yes, he is my husband. Why are you asking so many questions?” she countered.
“Sorry. I just want to make conversation. If I offend, then just ignore me. If I can’t help, just let me know where to sit so I won’t bother you or be in the way.”
“You sit at that side of the table!” She pointed to the end of the table. Randall took his seat as instructed. The couple brought big plates of yummy food. She changed super fast into a lovely person. She and her spouse were lovely, super friendly, and sweet—not mean or grumpy anymore. Randall relaxed and enjoyed himself. She asked, “Randall, did you get a nice drink from the stream?”
“I did! Thank you,” Randall said. —How did she find out I was drinking from the stream? Randall thought. “Hey!” He looked puzzled. “How did you discover I took a sip from the stream?” Randall asked. “Did your husband tell you?”
“No, silly. Nothing like that. We see everything that goes on in our land. I wanted to go with Earl to meet you, too, but I stayed here to make dinner instead. Incidentally, how is it?”
“It’s super yummy! I love this dinner a lot! You don’t know my parents, do you?”
“No, we don’t,” the man said. “Why?”
“I don’t want my mom to find out I like your cooking better than hers!” Randall said, then leaned toward the woman and giggled at her because he could see her charm.
Then his face got white as a sheet, and he said, “After our meal, could you help me return to the dry well?” as serious as a heart attack.
“Of course, I can sugar, but why?” the woman said.
“What do you want with returning there?” the man asked.
“My family will be concerned and search for me,” Randall said.
“I doubt they’ll look very long before they find you,” she said.
“Why?” Do you know something I’m not aware of? Randall said.
“Enough talk for now; let’s eat! We can talk about that later; there’s plenty of time for that,” the man said.
The three ate and discussed topics of interest to the couple on the farm, such as seed to table and farm fresh to table, while Randall told of a similar philosophy his parents lived by on the topside of the well where he came from. After eating their fill, the lady suggested they eat their dessert after stretching their legs and letting their food settle.
After cleaning up the table, the man suggests they could have dessert after they finished their chores. Randall’s eyes widened at the word “chores.” He liked sharing the chore responsibilities with them; it sounded super fun! Randall got some coveralls from the farmer and put them on, and then the three got into the red Ford F-150 parked outside.
After driving for 15 minutes, they stopped to round up the sheep and head them back to the barn for some grain for the night. The man whistled, and a dog appeared out of nowhere, sprinting to the opposite side to assist in keeping the sheep in line. The three guided the sheep and closed the gates behind them as they moved through them back towards the farm to keep the sheep in. They fed the sheep inside the barn with oats. By the time they finished, darkness had descended.
“Randall, it’s too late for you to return now. We’ll take you back to where you came from tomorrow, so you must stay with us for the night.”
“No. It’s okay. I don’t want to go back anymore. I like it here. I like eating with you two and doing chores! Would you like me to stick around? I mean, would that be okay with the both of you?” Randall said.
“Yes. Well, aren’t you sweet? Of course, we want to keep you here with us. And it’s super dark out here now, anyway,” she said.
“Yes. That sounds good to me,” said the man.
“I want you to remain with us always,” the woman said. They entered the house and had their dessert and tea. And then the three went to bed.
Randall awoke the following morning and made breakfast for everyone, just like his parents had taught him. When the couple came from upstairs, breakfast was ready and waiting for them. The three of them had breakfast with lively conversations about many concepts and topics, and at 8:00 a.m., they were outside doing their chores. Randall and his new parents went over to see the horses and pigs on the far end of their property together; Randall, surprised by what he saw, realized the farm was huge.
“Your farm is super large! It feels like it goes on forever,” Randall said.
“We take care of things just fine between the two of us. If you stay, it’ll make everything much easier for us,” the farmer said.
They worked all day doing all kinds of chores on the farm, and Randall could barely keep his eyes open when they went in for supper. He apologized and went to bed. The couple laughed at him because it was Randall’s first day of a full day of work on the farm, and it pooped him out.
After falling asleep, Randall had a nightmare. He dreamt of being trapped in a bucket in a dry well, dead, unsure of how he died. He envisioned plummeting rapid fire and suffered a severe neck break.
He completely misinterpreted his reason for being in the well and moving through the wall’s opening. When he slipped through it, Randall didn’t understand what the old man and woman, or their land, represented for him. What would happen later when his parents found him in the dry well with his broken neck stuck inside the bucket?
They peered into the well and pointed at the figure below, stuffed inside the drawn bucket with its head slumped over.
“It’s Randall’s T-shirt,” Solange said. Her voice raised, and her eyes welled with water.
“Hey, Randall! Wake up, son. Please.” Seth said. He grabbed his wife in his arms and shone his lantern down into the mouth of the well. They held one another and wept while the other kids stood behind, wondering why Papa wasn’t drawing the well bucket up so Randall could get out.
Randall wanted to say something—and answer Papa, but he just couldn’t. He tried telling his parents he was with a lovely couple of farmers, whom he thought were incredible. However, he was unable to articulate his thoughts clearly. His words sat in a lump in his throat as though he had a blockage there of some sort. Randall couldn’t get the words out and cried because he couldn’t tell his parents much of anything anymore. The more he tried, the more distant they became, and the colder he got inside when he looked at them.
Then it was morning; his eyes opened, and he woke up. Morning on the farm brought many animals to the forefront of Randall’s mind since he now knew what it meant to be essential to his existence and theirs after that. He understood the life cycle and what his role meant to the cycle. His eyes were opened, never to be shut again, to the ways of living on the farm and off the land.
It got him out of bed again and nudged him to make breakfast again. The two noticed Randall exhibiting strange behaviour. Although he seemed in low spirits, he somehow took on more responsibility and became more mature in the last day and a half.
“Good morning, Randall. Did you make breakfast again? Fantastic.” The man poured himself and his wife a coffee.
“What’s the matter though, son? You look like you haven’t slept at all!” the woman said.
“That’s because I didn’t. I dreamt they found my body yesterday once the storm let up. Now they know I won’t be back for sure. I wept for my parents because I heard the hurt in their sobful, pain-riddled voices as they spoke to one another.”
“It’s going to be fine, Randall; it was going to happen eventually,” the man said.
“Yeah, now you can stay here and not feel awful about it,” the woman said.
The couple’s words made Randall wonder what returning to his old life—with all those brothers and sisters—would be like. Randall realized he would never be noticed there as a standout kid, but here—by this couple—he got all their attention and stopped worrying and thinking about his old life.
It pulled away from him so quickly that he felt it for such a short window that he barely registered the angst and suffering inside him since other feelings grew inside him that were much stronger. Feelings of importance, belonging, a sense of worth, purpose, and responsibility. Helping his new family with chores, he thought about all the cool things he had done. He put on his coveralls and stood at the door, excited to begin his morning routine.