Relentless: Three Novels (23 page)

“I want to see the lions,” said her little brother.

“I want to ride the elephant,” said Tawny. “And see the clowns!”

When the family got to the circus, the circus had elephant rides out front.

“Can we please go?” begged Tawny.

“I don’t see why not,” said her father.

Tawny and her little brother ran to the line to ride the elephant. Waiting in the line made Tawny tired and by the time it was their turn to ride the elephant, she was so sleepy that she was seeing double.

The lady in the sparkly red costume who was giving the elephant rides motioned for Tawny and her brother to get on. They both jumped on as Tawny was fighting back sleep.

“You have to hold on tight!” she said, when the elephant got up and started moving. Tawny held on but then her eyes closed and it felt so good to let them close. Then she heard her little brother scream her name.

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes opening so fast that she was dizzy. Her clown nose fell off and the elephant stepped on it.

“Oh no!” she said.

“You fell asleep, Tawny, and almost fell off the elephant.”

“That’s enough of a ride for you two.” The lady removed both kids from the elephant as their parents rushed to Tawny to see if she was okay. They had seen her almost fall from the elephant.

“Tawny, are you all right?” asked her father.

“Yeah, just a little tired.”

“Oh, that’s all? You know you never have to go bed anymore, Tawny,” he said.

Tawny was beginning to re-think this whole wish thing. The family headed into the large red and yellow striped tent to watch the circus. Before the show started, clowns ran through the audience and played with them. She loved that. She wanted a new clown nose and hoped her dad and mom would get her one again.

The first act was a trapeze act, her favorite. Tawny, however, wasn’t interested in it. The only thing she was interested in was going to sleep. The music for the trapeze flyers, “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” was so relaxing and watching them go back and forth in the air, swinging, was even more relaxing! But every time she would feel herself fall asleep, one of her parents would nudge her to wake up.

“Tawny, this is so great, you don’t want to miss any of it!” her mom or dad would say. And then she would shake herself awake from the dream she was having of being an acrobat clown on a trapeze in Cirque du Soleil.

She suddenly realized what she was missing. DREAMS! Never did she imagine that losing sleep would take away one of her favorite activities, which was dreaming. She could barely hold her head up and was aching to have a dream again.

Each time she nodded off, someone woke her, whether it was her parents or the audience at the circus, oh-ing and ah-ing over an act.

The next act was the lions doing tricks in a big cage, which was very exciting and should have kept her awake. The lions were roaring and jumping around on big platforms. They even showed their teeth. Her brother clasped his hands in joy. She felt herself began to fall asleep again, beginning to have a dream about lions escaping and running up the aisles. Dreams, yay! She wanted them, needed them, craved them.

“Tawny, stop falling asleep. You don’t have to ever go to sleep.”

“But I’m so tired, Mom. I can’t even help it anymore. And I don’t have dreams when I am awake.”

“That’s the rules,” added her father. “You wanted to get rid of bedtime and we agreed to it. No sleeping. It’s fun time!”

Tawny managed to stay awake for the rest of the circus and for the drive home, even though her brother was sleeping all the way home. He looked so comfortable in his padded car seat. By the time she got home, she was so exhausted that she felt like she was going to collapse.

She went into her room looked out her window to the sky and said three times, “Mrs. Honey Pickle.”

When Mrs. Honey Pickle and Buzzy arrived in her bedroom, she had fallen asleep.

Mrs. Honey Pickle woke her up. “I take it the wish isn’t going well for you, my dear.”

“No, Mrs. Honey Pickle. I’m so tired. Not only am I doing badly in school, I miss dreaming about being a clown in Cirque du Soleil when I grow up. Can I take back my wish?”

“Of course you can.”

Mrs. Honey Pickle got out her magic wand and waved it onto Tawny. By the time she could finish reversing the wish, Tawny was in her bed, fast asleep. She was even snoring a little bit! She began to dream and dream and dream and a big smile spread on her face as she dreamed she was a beautiful clown on the trapeze in Las Vegas. And the Barbies and Kens in the audience applauded, but they turned into adults clapping for her, when she soared above the fountains in her clown white face and red smile. Nothing had ever felt as sweet as that first sleep after being deprived of it for so long!

“You see, Buzzy? This is why little girls need their rest,” said Mrs. Honey Pickle. “Poor thing, she was completely tuckered out!”

Buzzy agreed as Mrs. Honey Pickle tucked Tawny into bed and gave her a kiss. Then she and Buzzy took a picture with the sleeping Tawny.

“I’m going to want this on my wall at home,” Mrs. Honey Pickle said. “Little does Tawny know that her dreams are going to come true! And that she couldn’t have made it without sleep!”

* * *

Mrs. Honey Pickle and Buzzy felt very good about the work they had done lately. So many kids had been able to have their wishes granted and then all of them realized that sometimes, we don’t always think hard before we wish.

The two of them headed home in their spaceship and talked about the next kids they would help and the crazy adventures they would have from getting their wishes granted. And then, of course, getting their wishes reversed.

And to you: Be careful what you wish for!

The End

Return to the Table of Contents

Also available:

Mommy’s Little Angel

A thriller

by Lindsey Stiles

(read on for a sample)

I remember that night as if it was yesterday.

It was a cold October evening and I had been preparing dinner for myself and my then-husband, Russ. I heard the phone ring and answered it on the first ring: “Hello?”

“Rachel?”

“Yes, this is she, can I help you?”

“This is Marcia Woodward, Amber Woodward’s mother. She wanted me to let you know that she is in active labor and for you to come down to the hospital as soon as you can.” I jumped and screamed in happiness. “I will be right down, thank you.” I hung up the phone. “Russ, Russ I yelled Amber is having the baby.”

Russ jumped up out of the couch and began cheering with me. “Is everything ready for the baby to come home?” I asked. “I got it all done last month, honey, remember?” Russ assured me as he grabbed both of our coats to head out. “Rachel,” he paused, “everything is going to be fine. We are going to be amazing parents.” I smiled and kissed him on the cheek as we headed out the door to meet our new baby daughter.

Russ and I had been married for eight years. He was my soul mate. Everything I had ever wanted in a partner. He was kind, caring, hardworking, driven, funny, and such a loving man. He was my second husband; I had married right out of high school to the first loser I fell in love with. Luckily, that marriage only lasted two grueling years. It was a very hard time in my young life. I met Russ on the eve of my twenty-seventh birthday and it was love at first sight. We married six short months later. Russ and I had a great marriage, we rarely fought.

When I turned thirty years old, I wanted to have a baby. We tried for a couple of years but later, I found out I couldn’t have a baby. All my life, I wanted a baby daughter who looked just like me. We could be best friends and do everything together. It was so hard for me to deal with the fact that, it just wasn’t in the cards for me. We looked into adoption but the wait was so long that we would be in our early 40s before it was our chance. So, I gave up my dream of becoming a mom and focused on my husband and my job as a registered nurse until one day, a young woman of about twenty came in to the emergency room complaining of abdominal cramps. I was drawn to her instantly, she was so pretty. Tall, brown hair, and big brown eyes. She reminded me of the way I looked at her age. I was her nurse in the E.R. and when the doctor came to examine her, he ordered an ultrasound. To the young girl’s surprise, she was ten weeks pregnant. I was very happy for her, considering my misfortune and congratulated her.

She gave me a blank stare and asked me if I knew of an abortion clinic nearby. I almost burst into tears; how could she not want this baby? I began to tell her my story and how badly my husband and I wanted a child. How she should re-think her decision and think of it as a blessing. She seemed not the least bit interested in my story. “Look lady, I have no intentions of ever having a baby. Now, will you let me know where an abortion clinic is?” Then all of a sudden, something came over me. An idea, something that would be so easy to do.

“Miss Woodward,” I asked, “are you currently working?”

She gave me a dirty look, and said, “I told the lady up front that I didn’t have medical insurance and she told me I could still be seen.”

“That’s not why I asked,” I told her. “If you are unemployed, I think I might be able to help you. I mean, personally. Not some social program. Me, and my husband.”

“Wow.” She smiled. “No, I can’t find a job. I moved out here a few months ago to live with my boyfriend and we broke up last night.”

“Where are you staying?” I asked.

“As of last night, I am homeless. Tonight, I was going to see if I could crash with a friend.”

My face lit up. I thought to myself, this woman had something I needed and I had something she needed. That’s when I proposed the idea to Amber about me paying her to have her baby. At first, she was a little hesitant, I mean, naturally. It’s not every day that a crazy nurse asks to buy your unwanted baby. After an hour or so of convincing her that this would be the best for both of us, she finally agreed. I informed her that I would pay for her to live in an apartment until the baby was born. And pay for all her expenses and medical bills and at the end, when she gave birth and signed over the child for Russ and I to adopt, I would give her fifteen grand to help her get a new start. After that, we would never see each other again.

“Can you really afford that?” she asked.

“Yes, we can.”

That night I told my husband my idea and surprisingly he went along with it. During the past nine months, the three of us were one happy family. Me, Russ, and Amber Woodward with our little baby growing inside of her. I was ecstatic. Now it was the big day. Baby day!

* * *

“Hurry, hurry!” I urged Russ as we drove to St. Lucas Hospital, the same hospital where Amber and I had had our first encounter. As we made our way to the small street in front of the hospital, I took off my seat belt. I was so excited. Opening the car door, I darted toward the entrance. Russ wasn’t too far behind me as we anticipated the arrival of our baby. This was a moment we both had dreamed about for so long, a moment we thought might not ever happen. I made my way toward the labor and delivery unit of the hospital, smiling from ear to ear. When I reached the nurse’s station, I immediately recognized the short, pudgy nurse on duty and waved. “Amber Woodward’s room please,” I asked.

The nurse glanced down at her desk and read me the room number. I thanked her and headed to the room. Making my way down the hallway, I could hear Amber’s screams coming from her room. I knocked on the door and a woman who I would later learn was her mother answered my knock.

“You must be Rachel,” she said with a smile. In my spur-of-the-moment happiness, I hugged the woman, she seemed a little startled by the gesture and then laughed.

“How are you doing, Amber?” I asked.

“She’s doing fantastic, the baby’s crowning right now,” the doctor said from between Amber’s legs. I glanced over at Amber, and she gave me a thumbs’ up. I laughed at her humor at such a time. Then I saw the most beautiful sight, my daughter, Jade Elizabeth, appeared before my very eyes. It was love at first sight.

Seven Years Later

“Jade,” I yelled from the bottom of the stairs, “you’re going to be late for the bus.”

“I’m not going to school,” Jade screamed from her room.

“And why is that?” I asked. “Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine. I just don’t feel like going to school, Mommy, and I don’t have to do what I don’t feel like doing.”

I wish I could say I that I was stunned by her reaction, but that’s the way Jade behaved on a daily basis. The past six years,(since Jade could talk), she has run my life. I don’t really know how this happened. I thought I did everything the parenting books said I should. I showered her with love, made her feel important, gave her all she needed emotionally. Whenever I went to the store, I always brought her back something. It was just the disciplining part that was hard on me. As a child, my own mother was physically abusive to me and my little brother. I swore that when I had my own child, I would be the opposite. And so I was. I oozed love and attention, affection and kindness. So, I guess this is why I had such a hard time punishing Jade when she misbehaved. And even though she was only seven, she was the one who had established the boundaries for her behavior, not me. Jade, was my everything. She made me happy in ways that no one else could. She was the ideal perfect little girl. She was small, frail, and had the most beautiful long brown hair I had ever seen. Everybody always stopped us to comment on Jade’s gorgeous hair. My own hair would never grow past my shoulders, so I was always proud to show off her long locks. At times, she could be the sweetest little girl, but there was times where I was actually afraid to approach her to ask her to do something that was not her plan for the day. She had these violent rages that were so intense that she actually blacked out. She would go crazy, breaking things and screaming like she was out of her mind. One time, she actually broke my nose with her fist. After that incident, I took her to a child psychiatrist to find out she was just basically a spoiled brat, and was most likely lying about not remembering anything afterwards. He suggested that I take some parenting classes because surely I was the problem. After all, I was the one that gave her what she wanted, so naturally I was the problem. I agreed that, at first, it was my fault for giving in to her because I loved her and wanted to make sure that she felt safe, secure and loved. Now I was afraid to say it to the therapist, but I was nicer and nicer to Jade out of…fear.