whispered, and then he fell asleep.
The ice pack melted. and I grew stiff sitting
there and hardly moving. I kept wondering where
Mommy had gone. Why wasn't she coming back quickly to see how Noble was? Suddenly, I heard a loud engine sound and rose slowly to look out the window. I didn't see anything, but the sound became louder. I thought for a moment. A memory returned of
Daddy in the woods getting us firewood.
Curious now. I headed downstairs and went to
the front door. The moment I stepped out. I stopped. It
was such a shocking thing to see. Mommy had
Daddy's chain saw, and she was cutting at the tree
from which Noble had fallen. It was a good-size
maple tree and a beautiful tree. I didn't understand
why she was doing it, but even more difficult to
understand was how she was able to hold that saw and
work like a man.
She didn't see me standing nearby, and she
couldn't hear me calling to her above the chain saw
engine. Finally, she caught sight of me when she
stopped to rest a moment.
"Why are you out here?"
"I heard the noise and wanted to see what you
were doing, Mommy. Noble's fast asleep and the ice
pack is all melted."
"I don't want you leaving him, Celeste. Empty
the water out of the ice pack and fill it with ice cubes
again. Keep it on the bruise. You and I are going to
have to take care of him until he mends," she said. "But... why are you cutting the tree?" I asked.
She looked up at it and then turned back to me. "It's touched by evil now she said. "We have to
get rid of it." She started the saw again, but I heard her
add. "We have to get rid of anything that welcomes
the evil. Get back upstairs and stay with your