Page 25 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland

Chapter Three

step, I am so scared the alien monster will come slithering
through the slats. Then he’ll reach up and wrap himself around
my ankles. He’ll drag me back to his den and who knows what
he’ll do to me? Ewww, it gives me the chills just thinking about
it.
I always jump up to grab the string as soon as I reach the
bottom of the staircase. I can’t wait to get that light on. My
brothers tell me that this is where the Boogie Man lives. I
believe them.
I hate that basement so much. I only go down when Mommy
sends me into the cold cellar. It’s another small, dingy room,
filled with large gunny sacks and wooden barrels that store
potatoes, onions, and carrots. There are wooden racks stacked
with mason jars of Mommy’s homemade peaches, pears, jams
and jellies, pickled beets and yucky pink meat. Gross! The pink
meat is for emergencies, when unexpected company comes,
and she needs something fast to make for dinner.
Mommy loves cooking for company. She’s used to feeding
the hired hands who work during the busy summer harvest
season. We have a large beef cattle ranch and a very big
vegetable garden. There’s always plenty of food.
My favourite thing about our house is our big verandah.
That’s where Daddy smokes his pipe on warm summer nights.
I love the way it smells. When he blows out a big puff of
smoke, it looks like a miniature cloud all around him. We love
to gaze up at the stars and try to find the Big Dipper and the
North Star. We can hear the croaking sounds of frogs and the
howling echoes of the coyotes off in the distance. Those are
special times with Daddy.

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