May/June 2007

To Kill a Unicorn

  Our small hunting party trotted silently along the woodland path, searching for the white ghost of the forest. We knew the unicorn’s weakness now. An old enchanter, passing by my father’s castle, had said that a maiden fair of face could trap a unicorn with a golden bridle. We were taking along Jan younger sister, Francesca, for that job. The party was speeding up, making its way quicker now, for we were few. Francesca and her father, who was the Earl of Keshry, Jonathan the dog-keeper and his three finest hounds, me, and my own father. Francesca rode behind the Earl on his gray charger, while I had my own horse: a rather slow brown mare. Jonathan walked, holding the dogs’ taut leashes, and Father brought up the rear on a fine black stallion. I looked around, taking in the forest scenery, and knowing that a unicorn would have trouble hiding its snowy fur among the trees. Suddenly, the dogs stiffened and began to bay, nearly startling me off of my horse. “They’ve scented the creature,” muttered Father to Jonathan. “Quiet them now. They’ll frighten it deeper into the woods.” He turned on his horse to face me. “Matthew, take Francesca into the meadow, then come back to us. We’ll wait in the trees until the unicorn is trapped, then Jonathan will let loose the dogs to keep it in place until we get there. Understood?” I nodded. Father tossed me the heavy golden bridle. Then the Earl let Francesca down off his horse, and I helped her onto mine. She raised a hand in farewell at the remainder of our hunting party, then we disappeared into the trees. I knew the way to the meadow, so it was very easy to let my mind wander from guiding my horse. It had been about two minutes riding, before a voice broke the silence. Had I really set out with a will to murder the rarest animal in the forest? “Do you really think I should do it?” I was surprised to hear Francesca’s question. “Do what?” I asked, looking sideways at her serious face. “You know, catch this unicorn. They’ve always sounded so noble to me, and I don’t think I want to help kill one.” I started to reply, but the trees ended and we were in the meadow. I let Francesca down without answering, and began to turn my horse, but she hissed, “The golden bridle, Matthew!” Uh-oh. I retrieved the bridle from my saddle and handed it down. Then I nudged my brown mare and backed into the forest again. Once hidden behind a sufficient number of trees, I turned to watch. Time passed. I had long since picked out Father’s hiding place, and also that of the Earl. The unicorn had not come yet. How long would we wait? My horse stomped her feet and whinnied softly, and I rubbed my hand along her velvety muzzle. “Shhh, girl. Quiet now,” I murmured. She didn’t understand why we were to stand here for hours on end. Come to think of it, I didn’t really get it either. All this fuss and bluster, for the sake of killing a rare and beautiful animal. Then suddenly—Oh, my. I saw it. The unicorn stepped from the forest, shedding bits of leaves and thorns. Its long horn glistened as though polished to a shine. I saw at once why many men chased after it— the creature was so wondrous. Francesca looked up sharply I could see her hands trembling, clenched around the golden strands of the bridle. The unicorn warily turned its head in my direction, and I almost met its deep brown gaze. But, the thought of looking into the eyes of something you are about to help to kill— I quickly glanced down at the ground. It can’t see you, Matthew. Don’t worry about it. The white apparition trotted to stand in front of Francesca, and lowered its head. My heart was pounding, and I watched as the girl reached up and placed a hand on the unicorn’s mane. Would Francesca be able to do it? Her other hand still held the bridle. The Earl, I saw, was waving impatiently at his daughter, sending a silent message. The bridle! Now! My horse had stopped moving, and stared at the unicorn with simple wonder. I was staring just as wondrously, struck by the sudden thought that Father and the Earl were going to kill it. Francesca grabbed the golden bridle in both hands. She began to bring it up towards the creature’s head; I heard the Earl give a quiet chuckle of delight, but I couldn’t bring myself to be triumphant. Had I really set out with a will to murder the rarest animal in the forest? I wanted to tell myself no, I hadn’t, but I wasn’t sure. At least now I was of a clear conscience. The unicorn wouldn’t die by my hands, I swore silently Father’s face, half hidden in shadow where he was concealed, was smiling, the smile of the hunter who has his prey in an inescapable trap. But no! The unicorn wheeled and ran suddenly, leaving Francesca to sink to the ground. She had whispered something in the creature’s ear, I was sure of it, told it that it would die if it stayed. With a cry, the Earl signaled to Jonathan to release the dogs. My heart, which had risen so suddenly, plummeted again. The hounds would catch the unicorn, bring it down in a bloody scene of horror. The Earl signaled again, but Jonathan hadn’t let go of the leashes. He held them in a white-knuckled grip, his face stony “Jonathan!” Father snapped. “We’re losing time!” The dog-keeper shook his head, slowly walking back to stand beside me. “M’lords, face it,” he said softly, “none of us can kill a unicorn.” He gestured at Francesca, on her knees in the meadow; to me, leaning against an elm tree for support;

Notes to Each Other

CHAPTER ONE Emma and her family were walking home from the church meeting on Sunday, when her mother, Katherine Stuart, began to tell about the family that was coming to stay with them in a week. Mr. and Mrs. Keymon were some college friends of Emma’s parents. The Keymons had a boy and a girl, Mrs. Stuart said, Jerry who was fifteen, and Tansy, thirteen. She said she had never seen Jerry or Tansy and didn’t at all know what they were like. Emma just hoped maybe she and Tansy could be friends. Emma sneezed as she slathered lemon oil on one of the dusty old end tables that were on either side of the gold and warm-rose couch. Everyone was getting ready for the Keymons’ arrival. The Stuarts weren’t exactly the neatest people. If it weren’t for Katherine, Emma’s mother, the whole house would be in chaos. Just as Emma finished wiping down the end table, a minivan pulled up their winding drive that led to their yellow farmhouse. “They’re here! They’re here!” screamed Emma as she rushed upstairs to change her shirt. “What?” exclaimed Katherine. “They’re an hour early!” She rushed and put a pie in the oven, whipped off her apron and turned off the water in the kitchen sink. Sabrina came rushing downstairs with wet hair, patting it with a towel as she went. Emma sighed, thinking maybe ‘Tansy didn’t want to be her friend “So much for drying my hair,” she mumbled with a sour look on her face, very unusual for Sabrina. As the Keymons were opening the car doors and unloading suitcases, Katherine, Sabrina and Emma were peacefully seated on the plaid couch looking as though there were no reason to be alarmed. I wonder what will happen next, thought Emma with a chuckle. A man, a woman and two girls were heading to the door with large bags. Mrs. Stuart’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Oh boy,” said Sabrina, somewhat confused. Emma and Sabrina watched the Keymons as they walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Stuart looked at Sabrina and Emma and took a breath. *          *          * CHAPTER TWO Not what they had expected indeed. What they had expected was a man and a woman, an older boy, and a younger girl. “What in the world…” said Katherine, saying what everyone else was thinking. “Good thing we have a barn,” said Emma, laughing a little. Mrs. Stuart opened the door. In came a man, woman and two daughters, along with two cats, a dog and a rabbit. Sabrina looked as though she might burst out laughing any minute. Mrs. Stuart smiled. “Angela, Peter, it’s so nice to see you again!” Angela gave Katherine a bear hug. All the while Sabrina, Emma, Jerry and Tansy stared at each other. Tansy went back outside to get more bags. “Jerry” smiled at the two girls. She had a somewhat large mouth, with extremely white teeth. Emma thought it was pleasantly large. Sabrina thought she looked like someone from a toothpaste commercial. “Hello, I’m Jerry,” she said. Emma smiled back. “I’m Emma, and this is Sabrina.” “It’s nice to meet you,” said Jerry politely. The three girls began to make small talk, saying things like, “My mother told me you live in California. It must have been hard driving so far,” and “I’m so glad you brought your pets.” The latter comment was voiced by Emma, who loved animals, cats especially Jerry was a bubbly girl, always laughing and smiling. Where was Tansy? Oh there she was. Emma saw her peeking around the edge of the car watching a bird in the birdbath. She looked nice to Emma. She had long, sleek, honey-blond hair which Emma thought looked like gold. Her eyes were brown, no, that sounded too boring, thought Emma, maybe caramel-candy brown. She had freckles, but not too many. Jerry and Sabrina walked away arm-in-arm, laughing and talking. Emma sighed, thinking maybe Tansy didn’t want to be her friend. After all, she didn’t seem in too much of a hurry to go inside. Emma watched her through the sheer curtains. Tansy’s big eyes took in all their surroundings. The red barn behind the house, the wraparound porch, and the bales of hay in the distance. She thought she had never seen such a beautiful farm. Actually, she had never been on a farm. Mrs. Keymon saw Emma watching Tansy out the window. Angela walked up to Emma. Emma didn’t know what to say; unlike Sabrina she wasn’t very good at making small talk with grown-ups. “Emma, I’m Angela Keymon,” she said, sticking out her hand. “Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Keymon,” said Emma as she shook her hand. “No please, call me Angela,” she said as she winked at Emma. She seemed a lot like Jerry “About my girls, Jerry…” then she paused and laughed. “Well, it dawned on me that you probably thought she was a he. Her name’s really Jeranna.” Emma thought it was a beautiful name, very unusual though. The friends rode horses all day “As for Tansy, we didn’t think about telling you, but she is deaf. That’s why she isn’t coming inside yet, she was kind of nervous. But if you get to know her, she’s as enthusiastic and giggly as Jerry You have the most beautiful auburn hair, I always wanted wavy hair.” Now I’ll probably never have a chance of getting to know her, thought Emma. Well at least there’s Jerry But she’s already friends with Sabrina. Soon Tansy came in. She went to help Mrs. Stuart and Angela in the kitchen. Emma didn’t know how to introduce herself to Tansy. It looked like this visit would be a little awkward. *          *          * CHAPTER THREE When Emma woke up the sun shone happily through her window. She hoped Mom had made chocolate- chip pancakes, her favorite. She slipped her red robe over her pajamas and looked at the clock on the

My Friend, Luis Manuel

When I lived in Caracas, Venezuela, I went to a Catholic school called San Ignacio. I was there for kindergarten and preparatorio (a grade after kindergarten and before first grade). I was in a group of three friends that always did everything together. In this group, there was the oldest, a kid whose name I have regretfully forgotten, the youngest, Luis Manuel, and me, right in the middle. Luis Manuel had light brown hair, a long face, and was very thin. One thing that really stood out was a scar running from the corner of his forehead diagonally to his right eye. He always said he had gotten it from a cat, though I wasn’t so sure because this seemed like such an ordinary story for him. Though being the youngest, Luis Manuel was our leader. He was outspoken, getting himself where he wanted to be. He was very energetic, always running and jumping. “Vamos!” he would call back to us, already at the tire swings, grinning a devilish grin, while the other kid and I were still pondering whether to go down the slide or climb down the rope ladder. Always talking, he had a tendency of getting himself into trouble with our teacher. Even though he did get into a lot of trouble, the teachers still liked him. He just had to look at you with his innocent look and all was forgiven. What was one of the coolest things about Luis Manuel was this aura you could sense around him, that made you want to be friends and be exactly like him. That was how cool, nice, and friendly he was. “Vamos!” he would call back to us, already at the tire swings One day, as we were walking down the hallway, talking, we spotted a Cheeto on the ground a few meters away He turned to me with his devilish grin, ran to the Cheeto, grabbed it up, and popped it into his mouth. “Come on! That was no competition!” he laughed. “I would have won if I was a pig like you!” I joked back. “My mom says that you can get germs from eating things off the floor.” “Running out of excuses, eh? Cheetos are good, and plus, if I do get sick, at least I get to stay home.” We both laughed, and walked down the rest of the way to the class, shooting comebacks at each other. Every morning, before class, all the kinderkids and the kids from preparatorio would flock to the orchards and sit in the grass. Then the nuns and the principal would come and we would have our morning prayers, sing songs, and then go back to class. The principal told us to not tear the grass, but everyone did anyways, stuffing it all into their pockets and see who would have the most at recess. Teachers would walk around trying to make sure the rule was obeyed. Every so often someone would get caught and that would be the last we saw of them that day Luis Manuel never got caught. He was so sneaky, he could tear handfuls right under a teacher’s nose. He was amazingly daring, always ready to take risks and get into trouble. And he never cried. If the nicest teacher in the school would have screamed at him and said he was useless, his face would have showed no emotions. If he fell and ripped a knee open, he would just get up and start running again. It was kind of creepy. Since we lived in Caracas, we had earthquake drills. The alarm would sound and everyone would just stop and crouch under their desk, unless your teacher told you to walk outside, since there aren’t any buildings to flatten you. We would always discuss about what would happen if a really big earthquake hit. We came up with the most impossible situations, stuff like friendly aliens coming to rescue us and take us to their planet. Those were the good times, when you had no worries except learning cursive and making sure you knew that seven times two was fourteen. When you needed to make sure you had the newest version of some Pokemon card, or that you knew what Sour-Cream-and-Onion Pringles were. Well, I ended up having to move to the U.S., and I left my best friend. He had helped shape so much of my personality, and I know I wouldn’t be the same person if I never had known Luis Manuel. Manuel Anderson, 12Ann Arbor, Michigan Zachary Meyer, 11Shelby Township, Michigan