| Biographical Non-Fiction posted May 1, 2014 |
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Scarlet journeys west, alone and friendless in the dark...
Scarlet's Music in the Night
by healfromwithin
The steel Greyhound dog hurled itself down the moonlit track, cutting through the heavy cloak of the summer eve’s humidity that clung in the air. Smoothly eating the pavement, the smog-belching beast chased the distant stars on the ink-black horizon, ever-edging nearer to its western sea-shore destination. Crowded with a menagerie of human oddities, the dog seemed to cock his head to the side to listen to the rumblings in its belly…
~*~
Muted voices peppered with an occasional decipherable word penetrated the blanket of darkness in the coach. She was alone in the dark; about halfway there, and halfway gone. Excitement and foreboding were electrical charges in her veins, first pulsing white-hot; then, ice blue. Scarlet’s new course lay charted before her; there was no turning back now. Anxiety within twisted her stomach and mind. The musty, skeletal hull of the bus seemed to seep its cloying odor right through her. The beautiful girl took small, shallow breaths, only giving in to the demand for oxygen when her lungs pained her. I hope the next crazy that sits next to me has showered, she thought bitterly. It’s just one more day; just one more day…her mantra thrummed like a tom-tom beat as she rubbed her temples.
~*~
She awoke with a jolt. Scarlet clumsily retrieved the backpack from the floor where it had landed, with a loud, thick thud. She’d slept tucked against the smudged window pane with her back pack doubling as a pillow. It had slowly inched its way out from under her head, sliding down the slick silver wall under the window. A sudden bump on the endless highway was just enough to send the heavy pack stuffed with her portable treasures crashing down. At nearly the precise moment that the pack had hit the floor, her lolling head whacked the buses window glass. The rude awakening brought back the dark loneliness of the night, the smell of the close bodies, the annoying snores of her fellow travelers; and worse-memories…
~*~
“I hate you,” she screamed, slamming the door to her room.
As expected, three thundering steps later, the door flew back open, crashing into the wall. “What was that?” he growled at her, his face contorted in anger.
“I. Said. I. HATE. You,” she raged, breathing raggedly as she dragged the words out one by one. Scarlet sank down onto double bed that she used to share with her sister. Suddenly, feeling deflated and depressed, she ground out, “I can’t live here anymore! I want...I need to go live with Mom.”
The hardwood floorboards creaked beneath Rudy’s weight as he repositioned himself in the doorway. From his six-foot frame to his extra-large girth, he had the advantage, as he leaned on the door jamb. His words took on a weary tone. “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re in the best school district in the state. You’re among the best-dressed kids in high school. You have your music, sports, and friends; why would you piss that all away?” His face shifted to a dead-pan, serious expression. “Your Mother left you here nine years ago; she didn’t want you then, and she certainly won’t want you now.”
Like I said-I hate you, she screamed at him silently, through eyes streaming with tears. “I can’t take it. You’re always cramming your religion down my throat,” Scarlet croaked, angry that she couldn’t stop crying. “Your rules. Your church. I hate it here!” she yelled. Wiping her face sloppily with her hands, the beauty seared her father with a purely vengeful look. “I have to leave! You know why? I’m pregnant. Did you hear me? Pregnant. I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me!” There, it’s finally out, she thought, as she shuddered from the words, now that she’d said them out loud.
For a second, she thought she’d actually stunned him into silence. With a delayed reaction to her last words, Rudy sprang into the room, his hands clenched at his sides. She knew his palms itched to slap her. “You filthy little bitch! Who was it? I’ll kill the bastard!” Towering over her, he was Satan incarnate.
Scarlet’s self-award for bravery went right out the bedroom window as she cowered down into the bed away from her father. Rudy’s face fluctuated from an angry, fire-engine red to a chalky, corpse white. Clutching the bedspread in her hands, she wished a hole would open up and swallow her. She’d always wanted a way out; now that she had it, and she had to take it.
Thrusting her chin up and squaring her shoulders, Scarlet demanded, “How would it be for you and Rhonda if you had to drag me to church pregnant? What’ll happen when all your churchy friends find out?” A knowing, sick little smile trimmed her pretty lips. “Let me go now, before anyone finds out.”
Towering over her, he jammed his finger sharply to the ground, and hissed, “Tell me who did this – right now,” he said between clenched teeth. “You’re only fifteen, God Damn it! What in the hell is wrong with you?”
Scarlet’s deeply ingrained guilt forced her to cast a shamed look to the floor. “He’s not from here; he’s gone. You didn’t know him; I didn’t really even know him.” Tears of a different sort had crept to her eyes. The heat of embarrassment flushed her cheeks, then seeped up to her hairline. “Don’t you get it, Dad? We both know I need to go.”
Rudy shook his head as he turned his back on his youngest daughter. His shoulders sagged like a sock puppet without its hand. “God, how am I going to tell Rhonda?” Without waiting for a response, he stepped through the door and closed it firmly between them.
~*~
Scarlet wondered how she’d survive another night within the insanity of the wheeled hostel. She desperately craved peace-of-mind, and needed an outlet to find it. Music was her soul; it gave her a reason to open her eyes and breathe every day. Furtively glancing around, she figured that just a handful of the old fogies and derelicts were sharing her ride, and fewer were even awake. She shifted the hefty backpack around on her lap. Withdrawing her beloved Marine Band harmonica; Scarlet placed it gently to her young cherry-red lips.
With a whisper of breath, a quiet series of three-note chords rose on the air, blending with the hum of the wheels on the New Mexico highway. First slow and melancholy, then rising stronger and more fervently, the strains became the well-loved melody of another girl, who dreamed of a land far away.
One by one, the coach’s voices went silent, winking out like late night stars before dawn. The resonance of the notes caressed the inner beast of the racing dog. Like a trickling stream, the others slowly joined in, softy humming along. The music stream mixed into a river of sound that enveloped the scent of the warm earth and balmy night. The beauty of the western night was transformed by the magic of music. In their mind’s eye, the travelers’ indigo desert night had become the sunny brightness of a Kansas rain-washed afternoon. In their visions, Bluebirds flew high, yellow lemon raindrops fell, and their harmonious spirits soared over rainbows.
As the last strains faded away, Scarlet realized that she wasn’t alone, and never would be again. Her gift, given to the faceless shadows around her, had been returned to Scarlet, ten-fold, and would live in her heart forever. Restored courage surged through her with each heartbeat. Though these friends in the dark were strangers, she was at peace. They were all united, through Scarlet's music in the night.
~*~
Non-Fiction Writing Contest contest entry
The steel Greyhound dog hurled itself down the moonlit track, cutting through the heavy cloak of the summer eve’s humidity that clung in the air. Smoothly eating the pavement, the smog-belching beast chased the distant stars on the ink-black horizon, ever-edging nearer to its western sea-shore destination. Crowded with a menagerie of human oddities, the dog seemed to cock his head to the side to listen to the rumblings in its belly…
~*~
Muted voices peppered with an occasional decipherable word penetrated the blanket of darkness in the coach. She was alone in the dark; about halfway there, and halfway gone. Excitement and foreboding were electrical charges in her veins, first pulsing white-hot; then, ice blue. Scarlet’s new course lay charted before her; there was no turning back now. Anxiety within twisted her stomach and mind. The musty, skeletal hull of the bus seemed to seep its cloying odor right through her. The beautiful girl took small, shallow breaths, only giving in to the demand for oxygen when her lungs pained her. I hope the next crazy that sits next to me has showered, she thought bitterly. It’s just one more day; just one more day…her mantra thrummed like a tom-tom beat as she rubbed her temples. ~*~
She awoke with a jolt. Scarlet clumsily retrieved the backpack from the floor where it had landed, with a loud, thick thud. She’d slept tucked against the smudged window pane with her back pack doubling as a pillow. It had slowly inched its way out from under her head, sliding down the slick silver wall under the window. A sudden bump on the endless highway was just enough to send the heavy pack stuffed with her portable treasures crashing down. At nearly the precise moment that the pack had hit the floor, her lolling head whacked the buses window glass. The rude awakening brought back the dark loneliness of the night, the smell of the close bodies, the annoying snores of her fellow travelers; and worse-memories…
~*~
“I hate you,” she screamed, slamming the door to her room.
As expected, three thundering steps later, the door flew back open, crashing into the wall. “What was that?” he growled at her, his face contorted in anger.
“I. Said. I. HATE. You,” she raged, breathing raggedly as she dragged the words out one by one. Scarlet sank down onto double bed that she used to share with her sister. Suddenly, feeling deflated and depressed, she ground out, “I can’t live here anymore! I want...I need to go live with Mom.”
The hardwood floorboards creaked beneath Rudy’s weight as he repositioned himself in the doorway. From his six-foot frame to his extra-large girth, he had the advantage, as he leaned on the door jamb. His words took on a weary tone. “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re in the best school district in the state. You’re among the best-dressed kids in high school. You have your music, sports, and friends; why would you piss that all away?” His face shifted to a dead-pan, serious expression. “Your Mother left you here nine years ago; she didn’t want you then, and she certainly won’t want you now.”
Like I said-I hate you, she screamed at him silently, through eyes streaming with tears. “I can’t take it. You’re always cramming your religion down my throat,” Scarlet croaked, angry that she couldn’t stop crying. “Your rules. Your church. I hate it here!” she yelled. Wiping her face sloppily with her hands, the beauty seared her father with a purely vengeful look. “I have to leave! You know why? I’m pregnant. Did you hear me? Pregnant. I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me!” There, it’s finally out, she thought, as she shuddered from the words, now that she’d said them out loud.
For a second, she thought she’d actually stunned him into silence. With a delayed reaction to her last words, Rudy sprang into the room, his hands clenched at his sides. She knew his palms itched to slap her. “You filthy little bitch! Who was it? I’ll kill the bastard!” Towering over her, he was Satan incarnate.
Scarlet’s self-award for bravery went right out the bedroom window as she cowered down into the bed away from her father. Rudy’s face fluctuated from an angry, fire-engine red to a chalky, corpse white. Clutching the bedspread in her hands, she wished a hole would open up and swallow her. She’d always wanted a way out; now that she had it, and she had to take it.
Thrusting her chin up and squaring her shoulders, Scarlet demanded, “How would it be for you and Rhonda if you had to drag me to church pregnant? What’ll happen when all your churchy friends find out?” A knowing, sick little smile trimmed her pretty lips. “Let me go now, before anyone finds out.”
Towering over her, he jammed his finger sharply to the ground, and hissed, “Tell me who did this – right now,” he said between clenched teeth. “You’re only fifteen, God Damn it! What in the hell is wrong with you?”
Scarlet’s deeply ingrained guilt forced her to cast a shamed look to the floor. “He’s not from here; he’s gone. You didn’t know him; I didn’t really even know him.” Tears of a different sort had crept to her eyes. The heat of embarrassment flushed her cheeks, then seeped up to her hairline. “Don’t you get it, Dad? We both know I need to go.”
Rudy shook his head as he turned his back on his youngest daughter. His shoulders sagged like a sock puppet without its hand. “God, how am I going to tell Rhonda?” Without waiting for a response, he stepped through the door and closed it firmly between them.
~*~
Scarlet wondered how she’d survive another night within the insanity of the wheeled hostel. She desperately craved peace-of-mind, and needed an outlet to find it. Music was her soul; it gave her a reason to open her eyes and breathe every day. Furtively glancing around, she figured that just a handful of the old fogies and derelicts were sharing her ride, and fewer were even awake. She shifted the hefty backpack around on her lap. Withdrawing her beloved Marine Band harmonica; Scarlet placed it gently to her young cherry-red lips.
With a whisper of breath, a quiet series of three-note chords rose on the air, blending with the hum of the wheels on the New Mexico highway. First slow and melancholy, then rising stronger and more fervently, the strains became the well-loved melody of another girl, who dreamed of a land far away.
One by one, the coach’s voices went silent, winking out like late night stars before dawn. The resonance of the notes caressed the inner beast of the racing dog. Like a trickling stream, the others slowly joined in, softy humming along. The music stream mixed into a river of sound that enveloped the scent of the warm earth and balmy night. The beauty of the western night was transformed by the magic of music. In their mind’s eye, the travelers’ indigo desert night had become the sunny brightness of a Kansas rain-washed afternoon. In their visions, Bluebirds flew high, yellow lemon raindrops fell, and their harmonious spirits soared over rainbows.
As the last strains faded away, Scarlet realized that she wasn’t alone, and never would be again. Her gift, given to the faceless shadows around her, had been returned to Scarlet, ten-fold, and would live in her heart forever. Restored courage surged through her with each heartbeat. Though these friends in the dark were strangers, she was at peace. They were all united, through Scarlet's music in the night.
~*~
 Recognized |
Part of Scarlet's Memoirs; a non-fiction work. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and hide the guilty. This is a segment that will be added to a larger work.
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