We is walking in the woods, Daddy and me. I watch him sneaking around in front of and I smile, for Daddy knows how to do everything right. He looks back and holds a finger to his lips and points in the direction we is heading. I nod and look serious again. We is on a mission. Daddy says we ought to be as quiet as we can, for we is taking something which ain’t really belong to us, even though we need it more.
Daddy crouches behind a log at the edge of a clearing, and he gestures for me to come closer to where he is. I do and Daddy is whispering out of the corner of his mouth. “There they is” he says, and he sounds excited beyond his whisper. I look around but I ain’t seen nothing out of the ordinary. Daddy grabs my head between his hands and turns it in the opposite direction I was looking.
I see a few fat birds, flappin and peckin’ at the ground near the trailer and they’s chickens, and then I recognize we is at the chicken man’s house. Daddy licks his lips and says again in my ear so his breath and whiskers tickle. “we’s bound to get them chickens, boy. We is bound indeed and ain’t nothin’ going to stop us from doin’ so. You ready to catch us some chickens?” I nod my head. I’m not sure how we’re going to do this, but I’ll follow Daddy in whatever he’s doin’, for he’s the one with the vision. We is about to climb over the log and help ourselves, but Daddy holds me back and says “hup!” Gesturing at the house.
The front door flaps open and the chicken man comes into view. He’s wearing greasy blue sweatpants with suspenders to hold them up and he ain’t wearin’ no shirt. He stumps down the stairs and into his yard. We is both peering at him from underneath the log. He snaps his suspenders over his flappy skin and kicks around in the dust a little, not unlike the chickens we is schemin’ on getting ahold of. He takes a seat on a chunk of upended wood in front of the trailer and rolls a cigarette while watching the chickens dance around the yard, fighting each other for bugs and little rocks.
“Damn.” Daddy sighs, “we’re going to be here for a while” and he settles in to get comfortable for the long wait. I sit with my back against the log and get to thinkin’ about how we is going to get them chickens away from that man. I want to impress Daddy and I’m thinkin’, and pondering, then I shove off and leap over the log. Daddy hisses and tries to catch at my ankle before I get spotted, but getting spotted is what I’m tryin’ to do. Daddy is going to be so proud. I start waiving my arms and shouting at the man, taking a quick peek at Daddy who’s eyes is just peeked over the log, frowning like I’m doing something against him, but after this, I’m sure daddy going to trust my own actions all the way.
Stolen novel; please report.
The man stands up quick and looks around for something, settling on a stove length of wood to use as a clobbering device. I’m shouting “help! Help! I’m in a big lot of trouble over here! I think my brother is going to die!” The man looks at me suspicious as I get closer. “what all you yellin’ about, boy? Nope! That’s far enough! I’m aimin’ to wallop someone what gets too close to me and I can throw this hunk of wood pretty far and accurate enough to take a chunk off ya! That’s close enough I say!”
And he swings the wood around menacingly, like he’s batting at flies in front of him even though I’m still about twenty feet away. I slow to a walk but I don’t stop. “Oh boy!” I shout “got a real situation out here! My brother done perched on a big ol’ pile of branches and was playing at tightrope walking, but he done slipped and took a tumble right on inside the pile! He ain’t able to get out! I think he done broke something in him! Something bony and painful so his limbs don’t move too good! I tried to move them sharp branches away, but my arms is too weak on account of how little I am, look here!”
I flex my arm and there’s not but a small muscle. The man lowers the chunk of wood, but is still eyeing me suspicious. “How I know you ain’t just a little person from like a circus and is trying to lure me away from my homestead? You gonna put me in chains and attach some extra limbs on to me and make me into a circus freak? Payin’ five dollars or so to watch the incredible man with an arm coming out of his neck or something?” I stop at this for I ain’t sure how to prove I ain’t from the circus. I ain’t never had to consider that before. “I ain’t! I’m a kid! And I ain’t never even been to the circus!”
The man says, “that’s exactly something a person trying to kidnap people for the circus would say. I ain’t believe you.” He sits back down on his seat, wood thumper across his legs for easy access. “Look!” I say loudly, walking slowly closer “I ain’t got even like a beard or nothin’, ain’t got no hairy pits and can’t hardly even chop a piece of wood for the weakness of my arms!” The man regards me, then says, ”ain’t I know you from somewhere?” I say “No sir, just passing through is all, and I ain’t been in these woods for long enough to get to know nobody.” The chicken man narrows his eyes, but he ain’t recognize me for he only saw me the once. “Hold on then, I got a test for you. Don’t go nowhere or I’ll sic my dogs on you. They take to bitin’ anything if I say so.” I nod okay.