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 ~) April's Song (~
By~ Simon West

     Sitting here exhausted from the day's chores, I was watching the sun set in the swamps.  You can see strange things, or what appear to be strange things, in the early evening as the sun is setting and the shadows are getting longer.  I notice this happens also in the early morning light, especially when it is foggy.  Livin' down here in the swamps, though, with Aunt Ezmerelda, mysteries are soon brought to light.

     I remember when I first came to live with Aunt Ezmerelda and swamp life was new to me.  The shadows in the early evening used to be terrifying to me, and the sounds I hear now seem nothing like the sounds I heard back then!  Time has allowed me to analyze these sounds in their true light.  The truths about strange apparitions and horrifying sounds are also brought forth in the light of day.  I reckon rumor and gossip are like shadows.  All of them are dissipated as the sun chases the night away.


     A few years ago Aunt Ezmerelda told me a story about a new family who had moved into the area and started attending the church she used to go to.  It was a single woman and her one child.  The rumor was that this woman had gotten pregnant and her lover had deserted her.  Now this woman lived alone with her eighteen-year-old daughter.  The daughter, it was said, was a strange one.  You couldn't always understand her conversation.  Some said she was retarded.  A couple of old women said it was God's punishment for the illicit affair that this woman had had.

     But Aunt Ezmerelda, bein' no stranger to false rumors, took up with the woman right away and in no time at all had this woman's story right from her own lips.  Aunt Ezmerelda invited herself over for a glass of afternoon lemonade.  She and this new member of the church, (whose name, by the way, was Sarah Jean Greene) started talkin' about family.  And, well, you know Aunt Ezmerelda -- before she had left that afternoon she knew everything about Sister Sarah and her daughter, April.

     The man who was supposed to have deserted Sarah was not just her lover; he was her husband.  They had been married about six months when Sarah, who was then four months pregnant, sat up one stormy night, waiting for her husband to come in from the fishing trawler he worked on.  She fell asleep in the chair that night waiting for him.  Just as the sun was coming up the next day, Sarah received word that her husband had been washed overboard during the sudden storm and he had been lost at sea.

     Sarah had endured the remaining months of her pregnancy alone.  When the day arrived and a new life was brought into this world, Sarah was informed that her new daughter suffered from Down's Syndrome.  Some suggested that the new baby should be institutionalized so Sarah could get on with her life.  She was told that they would know better what to do with the baby.  But Sarah would have none of that.  She had lost her husband and she was not about ready to lose their daughter too.

     Sarah spent her time and energies taking care of her daughter, and as the days passed, Sarah's heart grew in the love she had for her April.  She managed to earn enough of a living for the two of them.  The few times that Sarah had dated (years after her husband's death) brought no hopes for a new husband.  When the time came for Sarah to introduce her daughter to a new man in her life, Sarah could tell by the look on their faces that this new relationship had ended before it had even started.  It was painfully apparent to Sarah that the buds had withered on each one of her blossoming relationships.  It is hard for some men to go into a ready-made family, especially if there is a special needs child in that family.  Sarah never once, even for the briefest of seconds, regretted having April.  But there were times she missed the steady embrace of a man who would dedicate his life to Sarah and her daughter.

     Aunt Ezmerelda told me that our Father in Heaven had a holy purpose for creating the institution of marriage.  She was always amazed at how some men and women reacted to marriage and how they added their own qualifications to that holy ordinance.  I reckon she was right, 'cause I have heard comments from both sides of the aisle wondering how could this beautiful woman get married to this plain man -- or, how could that man be married to that homely woman.  Aunt Ezmerelda told me anyone who could make comments like that, did not understand marriage or the workings of a loving God.  Well, anyway, Aunt Ezmerelda found out the truth.

     Sarah was not an unrighteous woman who had had a child out of wedlock, but rather she was a widow whose husband had died all too young.  Sarah had confessed to Aunt Ezmerelda that at times she regretted that her husband was not here to receive and give the hugs that were generated by April's presence.  She also confessed that once or twice she had been angry with God for allowing this tragedy to happen.  But she would take one look into April's eyes and she would realize how much God was aware of her and how much He loved her.  Her faith in God did not dwindle, but increased because of April.  Sarah knew that one-day when she and April cross over, there will be a loving God to make up for any loss that she and April have had in this life.

     Aunt Ezmerelda said she tried to tell the other members in the church the truth about Sister Sarah and while some of them accepted it, others seemed not to listen.  By their reactions, Aunt Ezmerelda decided it was April who had caused their continued hostility towards Sarah.  After a couple of months, a lot of the gossip about Sarah had died down, and it seemed people had almost forgotten the rumors they themselves had been spreading for months.

     Still, the church members did not invite Sarah or her daughter to any of their community get-togethers.  One time Sarah went to the park for a picnic sponsored by the church, but she didn't stay long.  While the minister and his wife were friendly, there was still that coldness by some of the other church members.  Sarah left when April caused a commotion by going over and just looking at a two-month-old baby she saw next to one of the ladies of the church.  Aunt Ezmerelda told me that April loves babies.  She said she didn't think it was a Down's Syndrome thing that April loves babies so much; she thought it was just a female thing.  Sarah didn't go to any more church outings after that.


     Then one day, about three months later, just after a heavy rainstorm, there was an accident on the highway close to Sarah's home.  A car with a woman and three children in it slid off the rain soaked road into the wooded area alongside it.  Sarah called the sheriff and informed him that there had been an accident about a half a mile from her place.  Sarah and April got in their car and drove down to see if Sarah could help.

     The sheriff arrived shortly after Sarah got to the accident.  Sarah was holding a piece of cloth to the injured woman's forehead.  Taking a quick look at the scene, the sheriff was analyzing in his mind what had happened.  The injured woman, who was holding her baby in her arms, started looking around frantically.  The sheriff heard the ambulance coming as he knelt down, trying to comfort the woman.  She started mumbling, “My baby!  My baby!  Where's my baby?”

     The sheriff answered, “She's right here in your arms.”

     “No, no.  Where's Donna?  Where is Donna?”

     The emergency personnel arrived on the scene, and started taking care of the injured woman.  They examined the baby and the five-year-old boy who was standing next to his mother.  Then the boy spoke up, “Where's Donna?”  It became immediately apparent to the sheriff that there was another child.

     He said to the injured woman, “Who is Donna?  Do you have another child?”

     The woman answered, “Yes -- Donna, my two year old.  She was here a minute ago.”

     The sheriff looked up and stared into the woods.  He became instantly concerned because he knew, to an injured person, minutes could actually mean hours.  And there was always that nagging knowledge that was close to the surface of his consciousness -- there was that pack of wild dogs in these woods, which his deputies had yet to catch.  There was some talk that they might be rabid.  Without delay he called in his other deputies to set up a search and rescue and to bring in any volunteers they could find.

     The accident had happened about nine-thirty in the morning, and by three o'clock that afternoon, they still had not found little two year old Donna.  Sarah and April were there, helping as much as they could, serving coffee to the searchers when they wanted it.  As Sarah was handing out coffee, the sheriff came up to her and said, “In all of the commotion that has happened since the accident, I haven't thanked you for your prompt response in reporting the accident and your readiness to be here and help.”

     Sarah asked, “Sheriff, what are the chances of finding the little girl?”

     The worried look that came over the sheriff's face gave Sarah her answer before he even spoke.  “The longer the day gets, the more I'm worried that we won't find her alive.”

     April had been listening very attentively to this conversation.  The sheriff and April's mother did not notice the change that came over April's face.  April began remembering.  About four hundred feet from where the sheriff was standing, just inside the woods, there was a little wash created by the run off.  Years ago the water had cut back into the bank and made a small overhang, which was covered by bushes.  You wouldn't know it was there unless you fell into it.  April knew this place because she had played in the woods, even though she knew she wasn't supposed to.  She had found this secret little hideaway and she had dug it away even more during the year she had played there.  April hadn't been back to that place for several months, since the time her mother had caught her in the woods.

     As April remembered her little hideaway, she smiled, handed a cup of coffee to one of the searchers, and began walking to that hidden area.  April stepped into the woods and out of the sight of her mother.  Sarah, handing a drink to one of the volunteers, suddenly noticed that April was gone.  She called out for April ---  there was no answer.  Several of the nearby search and rescue volunteers were members of Sarah's church.  The sheriff told them, “Now we have two missing.”

     One of the volunteers said, “Well, where do you think she went?”

     The sheriff responded, “She's out looking for that little girl, I'll bet.  We need to find both of them before it gets dark...”


     As April stepped into the woods she headed right for the place where she used to play.  It was there she found little Donna, curled up asleep, in the back of the overhang.  April ran to her with a smile and gently awakened little Donna.  She hugged her tightly, and took Donna by the hand and said, “Let's go find your mommy.”

     April led Donna up to the little rise and started walking towards the edge of the woods.  Between the rise in the land and the edge of the woods was a small clearing.  As the two girls reached this clearing, April stopped and listened.  She heard something in the woods.  Then April saw them!  There were five large dogs and they looked mean to April.  April picked up Donna and at the same time the dogs focused their attention on April.  April screamed for her mother, and then she ran.  She ran with all of the strength her heart and body could muster.  She made it across the clearing about ten feet away from the edge of the woods.  April tripped and she and Donna tumbled to the ground.  April immediately spun up and turned around.  She saw the dogs running towards her very fast.  April picked up a rock and threw it in the direction of the dogs.  It hit the ground well in front of the charging dogs.

     April again screamed for her mother, and then threw herself to the ground and covered Donna with her body.  Just as the dogs reached April and were biting at her arms and legs, the rescue party burst through the edge of the woods into the clearing.  For a brief second the entire party stared at April.  They all saw the look of terror in April's eyes and it temporarily froze them.  Then April screamed again.  With one voice the rescue party yelled out and ran towards April and the dogs.  Upon hearing the men, the dogs looked up and started to bolt and run back across the clearing.

     Lying there, bleeding on the ground, April winced with each sound of the rifle shots.  Sarah and the sheriff ran to April, and right behind them were the emergency medical staff.  April lifted herself up and exposed the protected child underneath her.  She looked into her mother's eyes and said, “Dogs not bite Donna, Mama.”


     Aunt Ezmerelda who was part of that search and rescue team said it was the first time in her life that she had ever seen a large group of strong men break into tears.  Aunt Ezmerelda said that April spent a few days in the hospital while her wounds healed and the sheriff waited to see if any of the dogs were rabid.  Fortunately none of them were.

     Aunt Ezmerelda said she moved away from there about six months later and moved down here to the swamp.  She said that before she left Sarah and April were having frequent visitors and when the church planned an outing, Sarah and April were on the top of the list.


     Well, I see the sun is getting low and I don't want to be walkin' in the swamp at night, so I'd better be gittin' along.

          ~ ~ This is Jacob Wilder, sharing Aunt Ezmerelda's wisdom from down in the swamp.

              ~ ~ Simon West
                 © 6 June, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Nine