A Tale from the Hills (10 page)

That night he dreamed again. This time there was a fire at the school and old man Rosenbaum seemed to be the only victim. He stood in the doorway and melted like a candle in the very vivid imagery of William’s subconscious mind. But William and the Principal were not alone in this dream. Standing at the corner of the burning building, with a sinister smile on his dirty bearded face, was the old man from that long ago dream. William shuttered and shivered in his sleep. He woke up in a cold sweat, and feeling confused and disoriented.

The next morning William thought about his dream all the way to school. He was concerned about seeing the old man again. He remembered all of the details of the dream this time, but he could not connect his anger at the Principal with the appearance of the old man. Why did he dream about the two of them at the same time? Was it because he felt like both of them were his enemies? Or were the two of them adversaries of each other?

William was so distracted that he did not hear the train until the whistle blew. He came as close to pissing in his pants as when he was just a little boy. He jumped from the tracks and watched the old train chug by.

“Thank goodness I wasn’t on the trestle.” he said tohimself.

He knew that he was going to have a hard time in class again that day if he didn’t get his mind on something else besides that eerie dream. Otherwise he might just as well go back home. But if he did that, his daddy would ask too many questions, so begrudgingly he trudged on.

He was glad that it was Friday. It had been a rough week for a twelve year old. He hoped that Mrs. Smith was easy with the work load because he was already tired even before the opening bell rang. To his surprise Mrs. Smith was not there. She had not been feeling well for several weeks, and now she was in the hospital in Abingdon. Rumors circulating around the school yard hinted that she might be out of school for a long time. The students in her class were excited because they thought that their workload might be easier. Even though she was well liked and respected by her students, she kept them busy all day long. She believed that hard work was the best teacher.

A plaque above her blackboard proclaimed her motto: “Experience gained by hard work, is knowledge that is never forgotten.”

She lived by that motto and she expected no less from her students. That motto might very well have been her downfall. She put off going to the doctor until her breasts were so sore that she could hardly touch them. Her husband finally insisted that she go to the doctor, and the doctor put her immediately in the hospital. The prognosis was not good, and the rumors circulating around Mountain School were right. She would be out of school for a least the rest of the year, and maybe even for good. After the surgery to remove her breasts, there was a good chance that the cancer had spread. Only time would tell. In the meantime her students would have a substitute teacher.

Substitute teachers were not easy to find especially inrural Virginia. The school board started a vigorous search, but in the interim, Mr. Rosenbaum was required to fill in. There could not have been a worst possible choice as far as William was concerned. It would prove to be the straw that would break the camel’s back. As soon as he found out who his teacher was going to be on the particular Friday morning, William sneaked away from the school. When the bell rang for classes to start, the students filled into the classroom and Mr. Rosenbaum called the roll. When he got to William’s name, there was no response. He called the name twice before he finally looked up. He could have sworn that he saw William through the window earlier that morning when he was preparing a lesson plan for the day. He asked the other students if they had seen William, and again there was no response. He shrugged his shoulders and started the lessons. Deep down he was glad that the little deviant was not there.

Mr. Rosenbaum did not find out until practically the last minute that he would have to teach the class that day. He hoped that the school board would find someone soon because he did not have the patience to deal with adolescents. He lost all of his patience and tolerance when he was in the military. He only got into teaching after his military duty because he thought that it would be relatively easy. Besides he could lord his authority over students in a way that was similar to being in the military. Since it was Friday and he had not had much time to prepare, he issued a reading lesson to the students and then he went back to his office. William would have had an easy day if he would have chosen to stay in class.

William could not go home because his daddy was there. He decided to explore the stream from the school house to the trestle. It was a bright and sunny day, and the crystal clear water looked inviting. He made sure that he was well out of sight of the school before he made his way down to the stream. He threw flat stones to watch them skip across the water. He poked a stick at some frogs that were trying to hide along the bank of the stream. He peeped under rocks to find lizards and crawdads. The day was fun and it was passing quickly.

After a couple of hours the sunlight glaring on the crystal water made William begin to feel sleepy. There was a comfortable looking spot under a tree just ahead that looked too inviting to pass up. He took off his jacket to use as a pillow, and settled down for a nap. Since the bad dreams had returned, he was not sleeping very well at night. He quickly fell asleep under the tree.

The old man showed up the minute that William fell asleep. As if to tease William, he peeped at him from behind a tree up ahead. Then he would disappear behind that tree, only to reappear seconds later behind a closer tree. As the old man got closer and closer, William tried to wake himself up. He knew that he needed to wake up but it was as if his eyes were glued shut. He struggled under that perfectly shaded tree, but the harder that he tried to wake up, the closer the old man got to him.

Finally the old man was behind the tree where William was sleeping. He spoke before he showed himself.

“Why are you trying to avoid me William?” the old man asked.

“Go away. Leave me alone. Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

“You know that I cannot leave you alone William. I need you. You need me too.”

“What do you mean that I need you?” William asked.

The old man understood from William’s question that he finally was ready to talk. He moved from behind the tree and sat down beside of where William lay. He seemed to be gliding instead of walking. When William looked at him he was so repulsed that he was struggling to keep from gagging. If a passerby would have happened by at that very moment, he would have sworn that the boy was having a seizure.

The old man’s face was caked with mud and slimy green moss. His hair was crawling with bugs and spiders. He had open sores that oozed a soupy green and yellow paste.

His glaring eyes looked like burning fire pits from the very bowels of Hell. William knew all about Hell from a Bible story of Lazarus and the rich man. He also knew that the old man could not possible be alive, even in his dream state, and he knew that for a fact. William had to turn his face away from the horrible old man.

When the old man touched him o the arm, William quickly turned back to face his nemesis. The old man’s touch was like a red hot poker.

“I will help you boy if you help me. I will help you find your sister, and I will help you with your problem at school.”

William knew that the old man was talking about Mr. Rosenbaum.

The train whistle blew and William woke up, completely terrified again. Only this time it was the middle of the day. He jumped up and looked all around to make sure that he was all alone. He was on the verge of screaming out in fear and hopelessness. What was happening to him? Who was the horrible old man who was appearing in his dreams to torment him? Why did the old man want to make deals with a boy?

The old man’s answer came into William’s consciousmind.

“You are not a boy now son. You are twelve years old. You can make decisions for yourself now. In time you will understand what I mean.”

If William had ever seen his grandfather, or even a picture of him, he would have been surprised and shocked. The old man in his dream looked exactly like his grandfather Hill from Alleghany County, looked a few days after he died of that terrible influenza. Of course his grandfather Hill had been dead at least two years before William was even born. He was a mean, hateful, and spiteful old man just like the old man in the boy’s dreams. William would not have liked him either.

When William was sure that no one else was around, he composed himself well enough to go home. He did not know if it was close enough to the time for school to be letting out, but by then he did not care. If his daddy asked any questions, he would just say that he was not feeling well and came home a little early. He surely would not be telling a lie, because he felt like he had been touched by a demon from Hell, and that same demon was watching him from behind every tree.

He decided on the way home that he was going to get his young life back on track. He could not go on living this way. He was going to get along with Mr. Rosenbaum no matter what he had to do. He knew that he could not be afraid to go to sleep either, because lack of sleep could cause his mind to imagine seeing things and hearing things that were not even there. It was the only explanation for his scary visions. But deep down inside he knew that he was only kidding himself. His dreams were beginning to take over his life.

*********

The weekend was uneventful. William tried to stay awake on Friday night to avoid the old man who haunted his dreams, but he was so tired that he fell asleep in spite of his best intentions. The old man never came. As a matter of fact, William had no dreams at all, for all of the weekend. Monday morning he awoke well rested and happy. That is, until he remembered that Mr. Rosenbaum was going to be his teacher. He hoped that Mrs. Smith would soon be back at school. As badly as he dreaded seeing Mr. Rosenbaum, he knew that he had to go to school. His daddy would never let him quit school so young. His daddy was definitely not his father’s son. He appreciated an education and recognized the fact that his sons were much better off by going to school until they each finished Mountain School. He wanted that for William too.

Even though he did not want to go, William left for school at the usual time. He needed an excuse for being absent on Friday, so he decided to tell old man Rosenbaum that his daddy was sick and that he needed to stay home to take care of him. The excuse worked easily to William’s surprise and relief.

Mr. Rosenbaum had worked all weekend on class preparations, so that he could make a smooth transition back into teaching. He was an animated and imaginative teacher, and surprisingly William stayed interested throughout most of the lessons. He did not bully William either, which was another pleasant surprise. If the county nurse had not led him to believe that William had one foot in a mental asylum, and the other foot on a piece of ice, things might have been more normal in their unstable relationship.

William never knew that important bit of information.

**********

The same group of boys met for lunch as they did every other day. They talked about the usual subjects and their new teacher. Bobby was the first to bring up the subject.

“My brother says that old man Rosenbaum is probably a panty waist.”

“What’s a panty waist?” asked one of the other boys.

“Oh, you know, a sissy man.” answered Bobby.

William who was not sure of anything anymore, added, “I don’t think so. He was in the military. I saw certificates on the wall in his office.”

Deep down he kind of suspected otherwise.

“So what. Someone can be in the military and still be a sissy man.” said Bobby, adding, “One thing for sure, I don’t want to be in a room alone with him. He might try something.”

“What would he try with one of us?” asked anotherboy.

“You never can tell, and I sure don’t want to find out. Do you?” asked Bobby.

They all shouted “No!”, at the same time.

“It just ain’t natural for a man to be a teacher. Women are supposed to be teachers. We have never had a man before, and I for one don’t want one now. I hope that we get a woman teacher soon.” Bobby declared.

“We all do.” added William.

William probably wanted a new teacher more than anyone else in their room. He had never dreamed about killing anyone before until he dreamed about stabbing Mr. Rosenbaum to death. That was reason enough right there. And he had been alone in Mr. Rosenbaum’s office with him, and it was very uncomfortable. But he knew that if he said anything to the other boys, they might think that he was a panty waist too.

After the lunch break and classes resumed, all of the boys closely scrutinized Mr. Rosenbaum’s behavior and habits. They looked for any mannerisms that would give him away as a sissy man. They could not find anything that would reveal a secret lifestyle. By the end of the day most of them were satisfied that he was a regular guy. They couldjust not understand why a man would want to be a teacher.

**********

Chapter Five
 

A new family, the Sims, moved into the community and created a stir at Mountain School. The reason for the uproar was the family’s only child, a daughter named Angie. The first day that she came to class, all of the boys stared at her as if she was a movie star. Even Mr. Rosenbaum seemed to be infatuated with her beauty. William thought that she was at least as beautiful as Miss Coalson, if not even more so. It had been a long time since he had thought about Miss Coalson, and Mrs. Boatwright too for that matter. He wondered what ever happened to both of them. Miss Coalson reminded him of a time when he was so happy and innocent. The time when Alice was with him and everything was perfect.

Angie’s family moved to Jewel Ridge Mountain from New York City, to live with Angie’s grandmother. Angie’s father had lost his job and with the economy being so bad, they had no choice but to move back to the mountains. Mr. Sims had not found a job yet, but he was rebuilding the small farm where he grew up. Angie had never met hergrandmother until they moved in with her, and she was having a hard time adjusting to country life.