GoT Poems and Stories

Prompt 4 ♥ What a Dilema ! ♥ Week 4 ♥ Story

Under a bleak sky, a six year old boy, and his parents sat huddled in front of a fireplace, trying to stay warm. The gusty north winds whipped the hanging arms of a weeping willow nearby, shredding them, its leaves falling like snowflakes onto the Littleton's sparse lawn with no signs of letting up. The weary couple, Simon and Sarah along with their little boy, Christopher, knew they were in big trouble when the last of their money was spent on a loaf of bread that has long disappeared. Sarah didn’t go to the grocery store today with only a few pennies left to their name.

The Littleton’s lived in a little mountain town of Daleville, which lies nestled amongst a wooded area. Their home stood further back from the other row of houses in town, so it was private but in dire need of repair. The wood shingles on their little cottage was showing wear, rotting away in some areas, and with no money to repair it, the problems just kept getting worse.

"What are we going to do? Our life savings is gone, Simon." Tears ran down Sarah's cheek and onto her blue sweater which matched her eyes.

"I don't know, but I'll think of something." Simon got up to pace. "We all need food in our bellies most of all."

Bills were piling up on the desk and with no income coming in to pay them, they knew they'll be evicted. Simon got laid off two months ago from his menial job at the lumber company. Threats of taking their home away were already filtering into their lives. Scared, no food to feed their son, Christopher, Simon’s mind was already deep in thought about stealing a chicken from a farmer nearby. Would he miss one chicken?

Christopher was thinking of getting a paper route like his friend Raymond, who was eight. He was a cool kid, had a great looking bike. Christopher thought about his bike; it looked old, the chain kept falling off, and his tires were threadbare from all the braking and wheelies he did to show off. Wrinkling his brow, he knew the Daleville Press wouldn't hire him. Great! How can I get a job with my sad looking bike!

Sarah was thinking about finding a job as a seamstress or something in that order. She use to teach school, but got laid off due to the school's low funding. She knew she could sew beautiful clothes, but with no sewing machine, there was no way out of this mess. Maybe I'll put my application in at Sally's Clothing.

Christopher got up and walked over to his mother. "I'm going to my room. Good night, Mom." He gave her a hug. His dad came over to hug him. "Good night, Dad." When Christopher walked into his small bedroom, he fell to his knees to pray. "Dear Lord, we need help, Dad lost his job, Mom is crying most of the time now, and it makes me cry, too, when I hear her in the bathroom. I want to help my parents, but I don't know how. Could you please help us in some way, if that is possible? Amen." He laid down, listening to his stomach growled, but knowing there was nothing to eat, he closed his eyes. Sighing, he tuned on his side and fell asleep.

Later that night, Simon snuck out of the house, stealing his way down the street by staying in the shadows as much as possible. When he reached the Volk’s farm, he jogged quietly over to the hen house. A lone hen was nesting in the corner in some piled up hay; her eyes closed, so she never knew what grabbed her when Simon's hands shot out, grabbed her, and smothered her surprised cackle. He walked out of the hen house with his prize tucked in his flannel shirt. When he got back home, he cleaned the chicken for eating.

The next morning, Sarah woke up, feet dragging, opened the refrigerator. Her eyes opened wide when spotting a freshly cleaned chicken all ready to tuck in the oven and bake. She went to work preparing it and placing it into the over. With food in their bellies, they’ll be able to think of a way to get out of this mess they were in. She didn't want to think about how Simon found this chicken.

When Christopher woke up, he thought he was dreaming. It smelled like heaven! He got dressed, and ran into the kitchen where his mother was dishing him up a plate.

"Wow! This smells so good, Mom!" Hugging her good morning, he pulled up his chair and dug into the tasty meat. He felt so much better afterwards. He finished by drinking his glass of milk, thankful his father didn’t sell Betsy, their cow. He was sad to see her two calves go to market, they were so cute!

"Where is Dad, anyway?" Christopher asked.

"I left him sleeping. I'm sure this smell will waft over to him soon enough, just you wait."

Right after she said that, Simon walked into the kitchen, rubbing his belly. "Oh, that does smell heavenly, Sarah." He kissed his wife and sat down, looking over at Christopher.

"Feel better now, son?"

"Oh yes, it's like a miracle! I prayed last night, and this morning we're having chicken for breakfast."

Simon smiled at his son, feeling a little guilty on how he got this miracle. He paused a moment to ask God for forgiveness. He tried never to break any of the commandment, and now here he was breaking the eight commandment, stealing. "I'm so proud of you, son, praying for us last night."

"I love you dad!" Hugging his father, Christopher ran outside to play with the other neighborhood kids.

During the day, the Littleton’s went about their daily duties. That afternoon, two policemen came to their humble cottage and informed them that they were being evicted. Simon nodded and the officers left.

They packed up what little belongings they had, and with Betsy following along behind them, they took off down the street. They had no car to their name, having to sell it to put food on the table. What a sight it was too! Some people laughed at them, while others felt sorry, but were in no position to help them either.

Christopher was in the park playing when he spotted his parents. He ran over to them. "What's going on, Dad, Mom?

"We lost our home, son. We packed up all your belonging too, so just come with us now, please."

Tears filled Christopher's eyes, but he did what his dad told him. He patted Betsy as he walked with her, thinking about the friends he was leaving behind.

As they passed the Volk’s farm place, Roger Volk saw them and waved them over. "What happened?" Simon told him. He nodded and offered Simon a price for Betsy. It saddened Christopher, but he knew it had to be done. With the sale done, and with Roger also throwing in his beater car with a full tank of gas, the Littleton's drove off with money in their pocket, and a car to transport them to the great city of Louisville.

They found a cheap motel, and Simon got busy hunting for a new job. A week past, Sarah found a seamstress job nearby. She was so happy, she danced a little jig. Four weeks later, Simon found a job as a tugboat operator on the great Ohio River. Whistling, he walked through the door to the motel and danced Sara around the little area they had. Which was fine with them, they were happy that they soon will put a roof over their heads.

Christopher laughed, clapping his hands, keeping time with his parent’s silent waltz. I guess I don’t have to go out and find a job now. I can't wait to move into our new home! Thank you, God, for answering my prayers.

1342 words