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By the time I made it back to the shop, the wind had picked up. From the dark clouds rolling in, it looked like we were in for quite a storm. Time to batten down the hatches.
I walked in to find Kimberly anxiously looking out the back-shop window. She looked over to me with worry in her eyes. “This looks like tornado weather to me.”
Anyone who had spent any time living in a little metal box had a healthy fear of tornados. Smart people had that fear, even without that living experience. They weren’t things to mess around with.
“Have there been any sightings?”
She shook her head. “No.” She shivered just a bit. “Just the hair standing on end at the back of my neck. I think this one is going to be bad.”
I glanced up at the clouds. She just might be right about that. “You think we should close up the shop and head home?” We had a basement there. That wasn’t the case at the shop.
Kimberly hesitated but finally shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. We’re closer to the kids’ school here. I think that’s more important.”
She would. Mothers thought things like that. I know I always did.
“Well, if you start feeling different, you let me know and we’ll head out.”
As it was, closing up shop turned out to be a necessity. That’s because as I was going to turn the sign on the door to open, the lights flickered twice and then went out.
And with all those black clouds overhead, getting sunlight through the windows really wasn’t a possibility. It got dark quick. Kimberly came through from the back room with a flashlight. “How’s about we put a couple of these antique kerosene lanterns to good use?”
I nodded. Sounded good to me, and I always kept a bit of kerosene on hand for just that purpose. Within minutes, we had the place lit up again. Not quite as bright, but at least we could see well enough.
“Open up or stay closed?” Kimberly looked at me.
It was a fair question. I was old-fashioned in the running of my store. Nothing here really that we couldn’t do just as well with or without electricity. But why look a gift horse in the mouth? Having an afternoon to catch up on backroom stuff might not be such a bad thing.
Besides, with the electricity out, we would likely be the only store in town to be open, which meant we just might be even busier than ever. Not something I felt like handling right at the moment. Some fools didn’t know well enough to stay inside and out of the rain. Not if meant getting a bargain.
“I’d say we stay closed. We can still hang out here until school lets out. Then we can just collect the kids and go home. Unless, of course, the lights come back on.”
Not that getting the power back that quickly was a likely scenario. Last time the power had gone out in Wind’s Crossing, it had taken a full day to get it back. I wasn’t expecting this time to be much different.
Kimberly hugged herself. “Sounds good to me.” Then she looked around her. “What can I do to earn my pay?”
I laughed. The girl was funny sometimes. “You’ve earned a heck of a lot more than what I’ve been paying you the last few days. Take it easy and put your feet up for a change. Or you could go upstairs and stretch out on that mattress up there. Take a good nap.”
She shivered. “I think I’ll stick to downstairs if that’s okay with you.”
Oh, yeah. I hadn’t thought about that. “No problem.” I nodded to one of the lanterns even as I grabbed the other one. “Let’s ride this out in the backroom. Less glass back there.”
***
THE STORM BLEW OVER pretty quickly. At least the rain part of it did. By the sound of it hitting the windows of the shop, there might have been a few hail balls mixed in there too. It kind of worried me about my car parked out there in the open in the back lot. She might be an old beauty, but she was still a beauty. But the shop didn’t have a garage, so the best we could do was ride it out and hope for the best.
The wind, however, didn’t die down. If anything, it picked up. Kimberly wasn’t the only one who was relieved when it was finally time to pick up the kids and head for the hills, so to speak. That basement was a comfort in times like this.
Not that my basement was nice and furnished or anything. It wasn’t. Actually, most people would probably just call it a cellar. Dirt floor and cement walls... it wasn’t anything pretty. But pretty wasn’t a necessity. Safety was.
And that cramped little space was optimized to the hilt for safety. Right down to a crank-powered emergency radio, kerosene lantern, flashlight, blankets, and a whole army backpack of bottled water and food supplies.
A person could live down there for a week if need be. The thought of being trapped in a cellar under a ton of rubble and starving to death wasn’t one I enjoyed. Hence the preparation.
Orville wasn’t the only boy scout around here. Of course, I wasn’t a boy, and I’d never been a scout, but still. A witch was kind of close if you were willing to stretch your mind a bit.
The storm didn’t bother the kids one bit. If anything, they were excited by the possibility of spending time in the basement cellar. But I knew that excitement wouldn’t last long if we had to retreat to it. Nothing much to do down there. I should probably think about adding some games to that preparation.
Maybe I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was.
I kept my ear out for the town’s tornado siren, and Kimberly kept her ear to the local news, but no warnings or watches ever came. Other news did, though. According to the local station, our power was out because of multiple trees down, and it would take a while for electricity to be restored.
Out this far from town, even if it was just a few miles, it would be even longer. They always took care of the bigger areas with more people affected first. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t really fault them for that.
But all those news stories of trees down started my mind wandering to that sacred hilltop behind the house. What if?
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know.
Kimberly gave me an odd look when she saw me putting on my rain poncho. The rain could always start up again, and besides, the poncho served as a good windbreaker too.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I grunted at her. “Trees down. I have to check the clearing at the top of the hill. I have to know.”
She gave a pointed glance out the window, where tree limbs in the yard were still dancing in the wind. “What’s done is done, Opal, and it isn’t safe.”
I shrugged. I knew that. But I also knew I had to go. My overworked brain and stressed-out heart weren’t giving me a choice in the matter.
“I’ll watch out.”
I grabbed one of the kerosene lanterns and filled it up, then lit it. The glass case would keep the flames from going out, and those woods were likely to be pretty darn dark.
The lantern gave just enough light to see me to the top of the hill. Where my worst fears were realized.
There, where the clearing had been, there was only chaos. A large oak tree had uprooted by the root balls and fallen completely over, covering most of the area of the clearing. And with all the tree limbs everywhere, it was hard to tell where that tree stopped and the general chaos began.
My sacred clearing, the place where I received my Goddess’s blessing every full moon, was gone. It was just too much to bear.
***
“OPAL?”
Orville’s voice came from directly behind me. I refused to look back at him, hoping in my heart that he’d just go away. I didn’t want anyone to see me this way. Crying and broken. Not even the man I loved with all my heart.
Of course, there was no way he would do that. No, the man came to sit beside me on the soggy, wet ground.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, looking at the crisis before us. When I finally got my weeping under control, he spoke.
“This isn’t as bad as it looks, you know. I can have a tree guy up here in the morning. The clearing will be as good as new in a couple of days. Long before we have to start preparing it for the wedding.”
“I’m not sure there’s going to be a wedding. I think I made a bad bet.”
He looked at me, his brows furrowed. “Please tell me you aren’t serious about that.”
I still wouldn’t look at him. I’d spent the past hour thinking about that very thing. It was one thing when the omens came from man. It was a totally different thing when they came from the Goddess herself.
That tree had stood for well over a hundred years. It had been strong and healthy and beautiful. And a small part of me felt I was the cause of its demise. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
“You said I shouldn’t take the omens too much to heart because they were from man, not nature.” I gestured weakly in front of us. “Well, nature sure told you.”
He just swallowed and went into thoughtful mode. Another few minutes passed.
“Don’t do anything rash, okay? No calling off the wedding, no telling anyone you’re having doubts about it. Not for a week. Seven days. Opal, after all we’ve been through, can you give me seven days to put all this right? Please?” His voice cracked on that last word, and it just about broke my heart.
As if it hadn’t already been breaking.
“Seven days, Orville,” I whispered. “But if the omens don’t start going the other way, the wedding is off. I couldn’t bear what might come next.”
I meant it too. If the universe didn’t want me getting married, who knew what it might take from me next?
Next time, it might just be Orville himself. That wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.