Strawberry Hill, Chapter 6

Recommended for ages 8 and up. Raleia Pendle always wished she was from an old fashioned family from a bygone era who would be involved in every aspect of her life, but instead she has modern (for 1976) hippie parents who keep their distance. Raleia gets a taste of the past by moving to Tidal, ME which was hit by a Tidal Wave in 1911 and is a living museum to the event. She also meets Ian Rutherford a recluse who hasn't left his house since the tidal wave hit and shows her a very different past

Transcript

Hello,

This is Ela Fay of Sylvanosity,

And I'm new to the next chapter of Strawberry Hill.

Rellia has just left Mr.

Rutherford's house,

Feeling uncertain and slightly amazed and very unhappy with the young children who thought it would be a good idea to start a fire to draw Mr.

Rutherford out.

Let's see what happens next,

When those children are waiting for her as she leaves.

What did he say?

Chocolate's greasy brown hair bounced as he jogged alongside Rellia.

Tooth asked,

Did you see anything gross?

He nearly tripped as he tried to keep up with her in the brush alongside the road.

Does it smell in there?

Bandana wanted to know.

Leave her alone.

Zoe pushed her brother aside as she came to get closer to Rellia.

Your pigs!

Rellia dragged her bike out of the weeds.

Dirty,

Nosy,

Mean little pigs.

Rellia saw Tooth's face flush red,

And Bandana started to open his mouth.

But she wasn't about to wait.

She hopped on her bike,

Then started to coast because this was the fastest way to get away from those boys.

Rellia,

Don't!

Zoe screamed.

Don't watch,

Rellia thought.

Maybe Zoe thought it was a bad idea to run away.

But Rellia didn't want to waste any more time with those creeps.

As she sped down the enormous hill towards town,

Her bike started to pick up speed.

She squeezed the brakes a little to slow down.

They squealed,

But she kept going faster.

Visions of flipping head over handlebars kept her from squeezing the brakes too hard.

She had to ride it out,

Applying her brakes just a little at a time.

Her idea was to make a quick getaway,

But she hadn't thought it through.

There was no real end to that darn hill,

Just a bend,

Then a long,

Steep slope to the ocean.

At the fork in the road,

She leaned into the wind to veer off to the right.

The road heading toward the ocean was so bumpy,

It felt like her ribs were being knocked together.

Hold on,

She told herself,

As house after house whizzed by,

The water on the road from the rain spraying her legs.

The stone wall before the ocean came into view.

She was running out of road.

With its shed to the left and a park car to the right,

She had no room for a turn.

Standing up on the pedals and pulling hard to the right,

Rellia knocked her bike to the ground,

Slid across the pavement,

Then collided with the stone wall,

Wheels first.

Stunned,

Rellia was afraid to move.

She had visions of being hauled off in an ambulance,

Surrounded by shouting doctors,

And trapped in a hospital bed wearing leg casts.

The pain snapped her out of her fantasies.

Her right leg felt as if it had been skinned.

Her whole body wobbled as she tried to pull herself out from under the bike.

The skin feeling wasn't far from the truth.

Blood covered her leg from her mid thigh to her ankle.

The sight of it made everything turn to liquid for a second.

The world around her swirled a little.

Then she lost all control of her legs.

Rellia!

Zoe appeared above her,

Screaming.

I'm bleeding,

Rellia gasped.

Zoe squatted beside her,

Saying,

It'll be okay,

Rellia.

We'll get your parents.

Zoe gave Chocolate a shove.

Go get him,

He ran off.

Did you hurt your head?

Tooth asked,

Upside down.

He looked so goofy,

Rellia had to laugh.

She's gone batty,

Bandana spurted.

No,

I haven't,

Rellia sat up.

Seeing the blood again,

She said,

Yuck.

Nobody rides their bike down that hill,

Tooth told her.

It was so cool.

Bandana picked up Rellia's bike to get it off her foot.

It must have been going like 60 miles an hour.

Not hardly.

Zoe shook her head.

Close,

Tooth insisted.

Rellia,

Tick called as he cut through a nearby yard.

Yikes.

He pulled up short when he saw her legs.

Where are your parents?

Zoe asked Tick.

Don't know.

Typical,

Rellia thought.

Nowhere to be seen when she needed some help.

When she got her big toe stuck in the drain of the tub,

Max was in the basement listening to the hi-fi with his headphones.

He didn't even hear her when she screamed for help.

Tick finally heard her from his treehouse in the backyard and came to the rescue.

What can I do,

Rell?

Tick weaned over her.

Help me up.

You shouldn't move,

Bandana said.

Help me.

Rellia shook her hand to make Tick take it.

He did.

Standing was tough.

Her legs were still a little rubbery.

I'll get my mom.

Zoe gave Chocolate a shove.

No,

Rellia shook her head.

The last thing she wanted was someone else's mother,

Oohing and aahing over her.

Let's go,

Tick.

She took a step toward their house.

Her knee gave out a bit,

But Tick held her up.

I'll bring your bike,

Tooth offered.

Fine.

They all walked back to the house together in silence.

Rellia could feel their eyes on her,

But she didn't care.

Walking took all her energy.

The blood was already drying and making it hard to bend her knee.

Let me help you,

Zoe said,

Opening the door.

No,

Thanks.

Rellia stepped past her and pushed the door closed.

Tick shook as he guided her to the couch.

You should rest.

I'll go find Max.

Don't bother,

Rellia let go of Tick,

Then wobbled to the stairs.

I'm taking a shower.

Tick's voice cracked as he said,

But you're hurt.

Not even looking,

Rellia knew he was crying.

Don't worry,

Tick.

I'll be fine.

She felt like she had a fatal case of shame.

What kind of idiot would try riding down that hill?

The kind with parents who weren't even home when she needed them.

That's who.

That meant she had to take care of herself.

The shower water felt like sandpaper against her skin.

When the blood washed away,

Rellia could see the long scrapes running down her leg,

Like an odd set of stripes.

They weren't even that deep,

Just dirty.

She held her breath against the pain and let the water wash everything away.

The heat loosened her stiff muscles.

In no time at all,

She felt like falling asleep.

Without turning it off,

Rellia got out of the shower.

Tiny never remembered to buy things like band-aids,

So Rellia knew gauze bandages were out of the question.

Instead,

She opened the unpacked box of linens on the floor and found a pair of her parents' pillowcases.

She used them as bandages,

Tying them on with her socks.

She decided to leave the water running.

It had served Max Wright to have to pay a monster water bill.

Besides,

It reminded her of rain.

She loved to sleep to the sound of falling rain.

The sheets were cool as she slid into bed.

She fell asleep to the shower rain.

Rellia was convinced someone had come in and tied her legs into knots as she slept.

Why else would it hurt so much?

Even the thought of moving made her cringe.

Then she felt the damp coolness of ice being piled onto her knee.

Looking up,

She saw Tiny standing over her bed,

Plastic sandwich bags full of ice balanced on her stomach.

Max came in the room with an armload of his own.

What?

Rellia tried to sit up,

But a bolt of pain shot through her leg and sent her back into her pillow.

Rellia?

Tiny handed her bags off to Max,

Then went to Rellia's side.

How are you?

Where were you?

Rellia asked,

Checking out garage sales.

Tiny rubbed Rellia's arm,

But Rellia pulled away.

Even if I was there,

Rell,

I couldn't have stopped your bike.

You could have come and brought me home.

You did a pretty good job of that on your own.

Tiny smiled like she was proud.

Yeah.

Rellia clenched her bedspread in a fist and gave it a good twist.

You better take you to see a doctor to make sure you didn't break anything.

Max made it sound like a major inconvenience.

At least Max carried her to the car,

But Tiny didn't even bother to come.

Rellia had to sit with Tick in the waiting room while Max was hunting for a doctor.

Tick kept staring at the ceiling or watching his shoelaces dangle.

They had figured he was afraid to look at her leg.

Max came back to bring Rellia to the exam room,

Saying,

This place is short on doctors.

You're seeing the obstetrician we met yesterday.

Rellia had a vision of an old doctor who knew everything,

Everyone in town by name,

Because he had delivered most of them.

His walls would be covered with photographs that date back decades to his years as an intern.

The doctor turned out to be a she and bare walls,

A pink lab coat,

And the name Vera Shields.

She was nice enough until she put on her,

Let me take care of you,

Little girl face.

Who put this on there?

The doctor asked as she started to peel away a pillowcase.

The blood had adhered to Rellia's leg,

So having someone peel it off felt like she was skinning her leg all over again.

Rellia gritted her teeth,

Answering,

I did.

The doctor nodded,

Saying,

Not a bad idea.

She let go and then turned to the sink.

Getting a glass,

She filled it with water.

Until you have to take it off,

That is.

The doctor poured the water over her leg.

Rellia hated the feeling of it oozing between the fabric and her leg,

Like honey in an open sore.

The pillowcases came off easily,

Though.

The doctor poked and prodded.

Looks clean.

She felt all of Rellia's limbs rotating them to check the joints.

Looks good.

Let's bandage it up.

I suggest you give yourself a day to let the swelling go down and the skin to scab over.

You move too soon and it'll start bleeding again.

Just great.

She had a day in her room,

While the rest of her family wandered off to hunt frogs,

Check out garage sales,

Or catalog sea creatures.

So it's not bad?

Max asked.

No,

It should heal up pretty quick.

Max smiled,

Then nodded.

Rellia slid to the end of the examination table to stand.

Max stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms before she could put her feet on the ground.

He carried her to the car.

When they got home,

He put her in bed,

Then came out for some ice.

All the attention from Max made Rellia feel kind of good.

She almost wished she got hurt more often.

You need some aspirin?

Max asked as he put the last bag of ice on her leg.

The ice made her leg sting,

But she knew it'd go numb in a minute.

Rellia,

Tiny gave her a nudge,

But Rellia closed her eyes so they'd think she was asleep.

She's not at all,

Max said.

Rellia imagined Tiny standing up to take Max's hand.

They'd holler over her with a grief-stricken face.

Tiny would whisper,

We could have lost our baby girl,

Max.

He would comfort her by putting his arm around her,

Saying,

I know,

Dear,

I know.

But no,

That would be too sappy for her parents.

Tiny stood up and said,

I'd better go get some buckets and more towels,

Or we'll have a flood when the ice starts to melt.

Good idea,

Max said.

Ray cracked an eyelid to watch him follow Tiny out of the room.

They were complete creeps,

As far as Rellia was concerned.

Real?

Tick whispered.

Yeah.

Rellia moaned.

Want some hot chocolate?

I made it for you.

No,

Thanks.

You drink it.

Tick sat beside her bed,

The cup in his hand,

The cocoa slopping under the floor.

What was it like?

The memory of her flight down the hill squeezed her heart for an instant.

I don't think falling off a cliff could be much worse.

Sure it would.

You would splat if you fell off a cliff.

Tick giggled.

Right.

Sorry.

Uh-huh,

Raya closed her eyes.

She wasn't in the mood for Tick's silly jokes.

Get out so I can go to sleep.

Okay,

Tick shrugged.

Raya intended to wait until he was gone,

Then read,

But she started to stare at the leaves tapping against her window.

The slow,

Careful motion put her to sleep.

Rellia!

Rellia!

She walked to Tick's shouts.

Her muscles jumped to attention.

She was instantly sitting up,

Her leg throbbing,

Her head spinning.

What?

She asked,

Holding her head and leaning against the headboard.

Look what we got you.

He ran in and plopped a book in her lap.

It's all about Tidal.

The big wave and everything.

He tapped the book.

Did you know that tidal waves are caused by earthquakes in the ocean?

He danced a little to the left,

Then a little to the right,

Shaking his fanny.

Do you have to pee?

Nope.

Why are you dancing around like that?

No,

Tick's true.

See ya!

He ran off down the hall.

Raya laughed.

What a weirdo.

The book was one of those fancy leather-bound special-order tourist books.

Complete with old photos,

Newspaper clippings,

And testimonials from survivors,

It told the whole story of how Tidal Maine got its name.

It happened way back in 1911.

Rutherford must have been just a young man back then,

Maybe even a teenager.

Raya read the book with feverish interest.

Timing came in with a lunch tray a few hours later,

But Raya had no time to eat.

She was so deep into the book,

She could hear the crashing of the waves on the shore,

Each one getting bigger and bigger.

Why didn't they know the tidal wave was coming?

Didn't they see it?

She read and she read and she read until she knew every detail so well the event played in her mind like a movie.

Raya could see young Millicent Davies,

Who went down to the marketplace that July morning in 1911.

The tides had been rough all week.

The leftovers from a bad storm,

Everyone said.

A fierce storm indeed.

Millicent was sitting on the front porch when it hit.

She and her beau,

Harry,

Were sipping tea when the wind let a howl and the rain came down,

Like God had just let out his bathwater.

It rained and thundered for three days straight,

Flattening trees and caving in rows.

Millicent feared the whole town would be dashed into the cliffs before the storm blew over.

That Saturday,

Everyone was in a chipper mood.

Things were finally settling down.

The waves still crashed into the beach like angry children banging the front door,

But the debris had all been cleaned up.

The ferris wheel on the boardwalk was running again.

The carny folks had replaced the safety gates that had been ripped off in the wind.

Millicent could see the bright colored seats crest over the horizon as she stood on her front porch to put on her new straw hat.

A fine day to go down to the market and see what was selling.

She planned to buy some fresh cut flowers for the piano and maybe some stick candy for her little brother Gregory.

She met Dolly Framon her way down the boardwalk.

They talked about the storm.

Dolly's father was traveling in his motor car when it hit.

He had to abandon the thing and take shelter in someone's barn.

Poor fellow.

A group of young boys were racing the waves when the ladies reached the boardwalk.

Brave fools,

Millicent thought,

As she selected just the right flowers for the crystal vase for her piano.

The boys came charging up the boardwalk steps.

Get wicked out there again.

A few people turned to check the sea.

Millicent was one of them.

The waves were getting larger,

But the boardwalk seemed pretty far from the water's edge.

No harm will come,

Millicent thought,

Except for maybe a little spray on my new straw hat.

Then she saw it.

The first big wave.

It looked like a gray mist in the distance.

Others saw it too.

They were staring into the sea,

As if in a trance,

As the bay.

Water lowered,

As if the water was being sucked out to sea.

Then a grand wall of water crashed through the spray of an earlier wave,

Screaming.

Millicent remembered the screaming and the pushing.

People kept trampling her skirts.

She barely made it up the boardwalk steps before the first wave hit,

Knocking out the support pillars.

The boardwalk crumpled into the sand.

As she scrambled up the embankment to reach Main Street,

She could hear the screams of those behind her as they slid into the rising water.

The largest wave shook the earth like a goliath fallen tree.

Millicent was not flat.

The water rushed over her as the ground shook beneath her.

She felt certain.

The world had ended.

The sea had swallowed it whole.

Standing up,

Moments later,

She turned to face the sea.

It had eaten the entire beach,

Boardwalk and all.

Here and there,

Debris rose to the top,

A water mount,

A hat,

A child's ball.

The waves beat them back under.

Her mind said to run,

But the weight of her wet clothes and the awesome sight of the water held her fast.

Reading the book and hearing Millicent's story,

Rellia shivered.

She could barely imagine a wave so big it filled an ancient harbor all the way to a shoreline that had been dry for over a thousand years,

Crushing over one hundred people in its path.

But Rutherford had been safe in his big old house in the hill.

Did he watch it happen?

Could he see the wave coming from an upstairs window?

Or was he so frightened by its awesome power that he never left his house again?

This concludes the sixth chapter of Strawberry Hill.

You know,

These days we are witnessing some of the most catastrophic storms,

Tidal waves,

Tornadoes,

Earthquakes and fires caused by climactic change.

And it's hard to cope with the changes these terrific natural disasters are causing.

So perhaps if we desire to do something about it,

We can take steps towards fighting climate change by reducing,

Recycling and reusing.

But it's also important to recognize the fact that change teaches us something.

It teaches us something about ourselves.

How we are at accepting change,

How we are adapting to new realities and finding ways to recenter ourselves,

To find a calm within ourselves,

To refocus and recalibrate and find a way to deal with the problem in front of us.

Clearly the people in this book handle problems very differently.

After the catastrophic tidal wave,

Ian Rutherford never left his house again.

After a terrible bike accident,

Relia got herself up and walked herself home.

Now she wishes she had doting parents who helped her at every stage of that process.

And it certainly feels comforting to have someone to do that.

But not every kid has that kind of help.

Tic and Max have the idea that by standing back a little,

They help their children gain independence.

And that is certainly true.

But what sort of message is that sending to their kids?

What about intimacy and support and love?

Where is the love in their behavior?

Relia is having a hard time seeing it.

Perhaps we learn more about the love they hold for their daughter and their son and their unborn daughter in the chapters to come.

I hope you'll join me for those.

This has been a liffé of sylvanosity.

And now it's time for me to sign off.

Bye for now.

Reviews

That was fabulous please read more soon 🦋🦋🦋

This is wonderful! I listen to your stories every night 😍