by L. H. Hall
Chapter 28
Sarah
Sarah had
not asked for much on her birthday, but it was something I had never
planned to do again. She wanted to go up on top of the mountain,
and look out over the sea. What a dumb thing to do. We've seen
everything there is to see up there, and done everything there is to
do. It's a hard, tiring climb. It's inconvenient to get wood for a
fire. The swimming is poor, and it's too dangerous to play rowdy.
I thought, but I said nothing. After all it was her day. If she
wanted to waste it climbing the mountain, that was her privilege.
She said she did not even care if we had a fire. We could eat
jerky, but I would not go up there without fishing. That was the
only thing worth doing.
Friday, July
25, 1951, we arose early and were all ready to go when we finished
breakfast, but Sarah wanted to swim for a little while before we
left. She said if we got there for supper, it would be early
enough. Finally, with Sheba in the lead, we started the climb. It
seemed much easier this time, the trail was halfway familiar, and we
were a full half year older, and we had more experience hiking the
jungle trails. Also, the trails were not so difficult to reopen.
The undergrowth had closed them again, but it was not as dense or as
large. The sun was still high in the western sky when we made the
trip around the rim of the lake.
It was
Sarah's birthday and no one had complained about making the trip,
but after we arrived, Julie said, "I don't like the Top of the
World. It's kinda scary up here. We can't play 'cause we might fall
down into the jungle."
"That's the
Top of the World." Sarah pointed to the rock covering the shelter.
"This is only the top of a mountain, and I better not ever catch you
on the Top of the World. It's too dangerous up there."
I said
nothing, but I knew why Sarah wanted to celebrate her birthday in
this miserable place. The Top of the World was her special place,
and maybe a little bit mine. We could live to be gray haired men
and women on this island, and it would still be too dangerous for
the others to climb the extra six feet to the top of the giant flat
rock. I did not have to be told that after the others went to
sleep, she would wake me, if necessary, and we would climb to the
Top of the World. She wanted to try to relive her experience of
our first night up here. I also knew we would make this trek every
year on her birthday to sit in the starlight and gaze out over the
sea. It was a secret the others would never understand.
We did not
need firewood. There had been enough left over from the last time
to cook a fish for supper.
I looked out
over the sea through the binoculars for a while scanning the horizon
for something I knew would not be there. I checked the western surf
looking for the dolphins. They were below the cave, waiting for us
to come out and play. I would much rather have been down there with
them than up here on the mountain.
I turned my
attention to the island. It looked different, now that we had
explored the lower part. We still had not seen the upper ridges and
ravines south of Goat Field. We'll have to do that some day.
I gave the glasses to Julie, who wanted to look.
I sat down
at the north end of the shelter to relax and meditate, and maybe
take a nap. It might be nice to sit up all night with Sarah on
the Top of the World. It was not long 'til I was asleep. When
I awoke the sun was starting to settle low in the West. Butch and
Rascal had come to let us know they were going hunting. "No!" I
ordered. "Lie down!" They went around the rim a little and lay
down.
Sarah was
sitting on the other side of me napping. She had hooked her arm
through mine and had her head on my shoulder. It was not normal for
her to be so close, without teasing me, and I could not remember her
ever taking a nap in the afternoon, but it was her birthday. I
decided she could do pretty much what she wanted. I tried
unsuccessfully to withdraw my arm without waking her.
"Where are
you going?" She looked at me.
"If I want
fish for supper, and I do, I'd better get a fire started."
"Don't build
it too big. I'd like to sit in the starlight tonight."
"Just enough
to cook the fish; then, we'll put water on it if necessary." I
promised.
"I wonder if
we can see the bats come out from up here," I picked up a pair of
binoculars, as twilight began to fade, and trained them toward the
cave. There was nothing, but it was still a little early. I sat
down on a large reasonably flat area above the lake. "Sarah, would
you come here a minute, I want to whisper something to you."
"What?" She
asked as she sat close to me.
I put my arm
around her, pulled her close to me so she could not get a way, and
whispered aloud enough for the others to hear, "Happy birthday. We
almost forgot birthday spankings."
"No!" She
screamed. "This ain't fair."
"Spanking
time," Jamie yelled and the three came running.
"Don't
forget, I'm your momma. No fair hitting hard."
"You ain't
my momma, tonight. You're my sister, and I'm gettin' even for all
the times I've been mad at you all year." Julie brought her hand
down hard on Sarah's bottom. "Me too," Debbie took the next swat.
"Remember,
I'm a girl, Jamie," Sarah pleaded. "Boys ain't s'posed to hit
girls."
"Birthday
spankin's ain't hittin'. They're spankin's."
By the time
we finished, Sarah wished she were only about three instead of nine,
but she took it all in good fun, and managed to get through it with
only a few tears. "That wasn't nice, tricking me like that. I
thought you were going to tell me something important."
"That was
important."
"You didn't
have to whisper it."
"If I had
yelled it you might have run right off the cliff into the jungle.
That wouldn't have been a Happy birthday, would it?"
She slapped
me playfully.
"Here come
the bats." Jamie distracted us.
We turned to
see the bats coming, not only from the little window above the
entrance, but also from the big window in the den room and a few
other entrances we did not know existed. "We've got a better view
from up here than we do at the cave." I grabbed the binoculars, but
they limited my field of vision, so I dropped them.
"Can we
sleep out here, tonight, Sarah?" Jamie asked.
"Aren't you
afraid that you'll roll off into the lake, or off the cliff?"
"We don't
roll around that much." Debbie found a hollow spot her size in the
apron. "'Sides if we roll into the lake we can all swim."
"What if you
don't wake up?"
"You're
being silly, Sarah," Julie found a place for herself. "We'd wake up
when we hit the water."
Sarah never
really answered them. We just lay there talking for a few minutes.
I told them about David and Goliath; how, because of his faith in
God, the little boy was able to defeat the warrior, and cut off his
head with the giant's own sword. Then I explained how we all have
giant problems that are easily licked if we put our trust in the
Lord. I remembered Sarah's illness as an example of that kind of
giant. We could not help her, until we trusted in the Lord. We
stood in a circle and said our prayers, went through the dumb
kissing ritual, and everybody sat or lay back down where they had
been.
It was the
first time since we had been on the island that we had lain down to
sleep at night that I could not put my arm around Julie and touch
Jamie. I said nothing, but I kind of missed it. It was a dark
night. A little sliver of a moon was just rising out of the eastern
horizon. We talked for a while, but soon Sarah and I were alone.
"C'mon up on the Top of the World with me." She spoke softly. "It
was so nice the last time, I want to see if it'll be the same
again."
"I'll go up
there with you, but it won't be the same. That was a once in a
lifetime experience. We can never recapture that."
"I hope
you're wrong."
We were
seated on the Top of the World, really close together. She was
hugging my arm, as if she was afraid I might fly away without her.
We sat there for a few minutes in silence; then, she put my arm over
her shoulder. "Lets pray together, and ask Jesus to let that warm
glow fill us again like He did the last time."
"All right.
You go first." I squeezed her tightly.
“Lord God
Almighty, ruler of the universe, you see us here alone, here on the
Top of the World. Let your love shine down on us here as it did
before. Let us again experience that wonderful, wonderful feeling
of being one in mind and spirit. Let us know without a shadow of a
doubt that you are with us, and in us. Let the light of your Son
light our way tonight. Thank you, Lord, for your presence."
"Lord God in
heaven," I continued, "we are your children, in your hands. Have
your perfect will in our lives. Help us always to do what's right
in your sight. Lead us in the paths of righteousness, and correct
us if we start to go the wrong way, and bring us back onto the right
path. Like Sarah says, Let your light shine through us always, and
as we sit here, let us feel your holy presence here on the Top of
the World. Fill us with your glory and let us know that we are in
your will. Help us always to lead and teach the others your ways.
Thank you Jesus for hearing our prayers. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
I had been
wrong. The feeling had returned. We squeezed each other one time,
and she kissed my shoulder. We removed our arms from around each
other, and once again she grasped my arm like she might lose it if
she did not. We must have sat there for an hour in total silence
enjoying each other's company on the Top of the World, inside as
well as out. Under God's great and wonderful starlit canopy, we
gazed out over the dark sea, which had snatched us from our families
and stolen our childhood. We did not talk. We did not have to. We
saw through each others eyes, thought each others thoughts, and felt
each others feelings. After a long time, I lay back, and she lay
beside me. My arm was her pillow, and her arm rested on my chest.
Never again would we joke about this place. Never again would we
make light of these experiences.
When I awoke
in the pre-dawn light, she was already awake. Neither of us had
moved, and neither wanted to, but morning necessities demanded it.
It was still there. Nothing had changed from the night before. We,
two little children, lay pure and holy in the sight of our loving
Father. We would never have to talk about this night, or try to
remember it. It would live in our memories until we drew our last
breath.
Copyright 1995
by
Leonard H. Hall, Sr.