Story Twelve

As a child, Everett knew that he would eventually leave the family farm. 

When his third grade teacher fastened a large world map to the classroom wall, 

his imagination and curiosity were ignited. 

His family showed only contempt for his scholarly pursuits, 

so he didn’t tell them that he had been named 

Chair of the Anthropology Department. 

They would never visit him to understand the details of his life 
and he had little interest in returning home, 

especially since the  disaster caused by his older brothers.

Story Eleven

When she suddenly became guardian of her niece and nephew,

she thought Conrad's solemn intensity was a result of the dreadful, mysterious accident.

Soon, small animals were appearing daily on the back porch, like morbid gifts.

She assumed the barn cat was responsible

until she took the children to the lake.

Both horrified and mesmerized, 

she watched fish swim to Conrad as if responding to a divine command.

Those fish that he casually grabbed with his bare hands,

died immediately.

No matter where they went swimming,

the same disturbing scene played out.

She felt a need to help him control whatever this strange phenomenon was,

and told him that he was the family hunter.

He could only call animals that they would eat.

They were never without food.

She loved her niece;

she feared her nephew.

Story Ten

She was devastated and furious 
when her husband announced that they were leaving the country where they were both born 
and where all members of their extended families lived within a five mile radius. 

He valued the thought of seeking fortune in America, 
while she valued little other than her family. 
Consumed with sorrow, 
she barely spoke to him after they settled in Brooklyn. 

Within a month, she began to understand that this new home had much to offer that she would learn to love. 

She also understood that she enjoyed carrying a fierce anger towards her husband.