Yesterday's Child

By Christine Fortune

Two people drawn together; which would be the hero, which the villian? Who would save life here on earth as we knew it? Who would help the Adversary walk among us?

Was it the old woman or the young girl? It was a guessing game and only one player knew the answer but was he willing to play?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781467024631

Christine Fortune

Christine Fortune was born in Houston, Texas and was one of seven children. She loves to write poetry and short stories. She writes for the adventure. Christine finds the exciting part about writing is not the destination but the journey into the unknown.

Book preview

Chapter One

Mae walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror at her reflection. She ran her fingers slowly across the lines on her face as if to smooth the years away.

She wondered where had time gone and why couldn’t she remember much about yesterday. It must be one of the many blessings from God because it made her live in today. Standing there she gazed at her thinning hair and the streaks of silver that ran through it. It reminded her of the tinsel that hung on her tree at Christmas time every year.

Mae thought, I may be eighty years old but I still have the heart and soul of a teenager. She winked at herself then turned and opened the door to leave.

Hello, how are you today? She said to the young girl coming into the ladies room.

The young girl didn’t answer. She just hurried past Mae and out of sight into one of the stalls.

Slowly Mae walked back to her table. That darn leg of hers kept her from moving very fast most days. She wished at times they had just went ahead and taken it off. This was one of those days when the pain was so bad; she could hardly stand much less to walk.

As she sat down the waiter arrived to take her order.

The usual Miss Mae? asked Robby.

Yes, and could you please ask them to hurry? said Mae gazing out the window.

Yes Ma’am, answered Robby.

It had begun to rain outside and the sky had darkened since she had arrived. It was days like this that lured her back to a time she could remember. She had to fight back the tears.

Robby finally came with her soup and salad. Mae ate quickly and then motioned for him to bring her the check.

As she walked out of the restaurant, Mae waved goodbye to Robby with the feeling that this might be the last time she saw him. He was such a nice young man. Mae very much enjoyed his company. While she was there, sometimes, he would come and sit and talk with her.

The rain was light for now but from the look of the sky she would never make it home on foot so she might as well wait for the bus. Since Mae’s husband had died she hadn’t driven.

As Mae waited for the bus she knew the time had grown near, something inside her was telling her that she was going somewhere. Mae felt it would be soon. Where she was going she didn’t know, but she knew she would have to leave behind everything she loved.

The bus finally came and Mae along with a couple of other people got on. She put in her two quarters and walked to the back of the bus. That’s where she liked to sit because usually no one sat there. This time there was a young man.

Hello, She said to the young man.

How do you do Ma’am? he replied.

Life is good and I can’t complain, Mae said with a smile.

He smiled back. This young man looked to be about twelve years old.

Are you riding the bus all alone? She asked.

Yes Ma’am but I’ve done it many times before, he replied with a big grin.

Where are you going if I’m not being too personal?" asked Mae.

Nowhere particular, I just like to talk to people. You can meet some very interesting people when you ride the bus. One time I met a pilot. He told me all about how to fly a plane, he said with excitement in his voice.

Well isn’t that nice, Mae said smiling back.

Mae loved talking to this young boy he reminded her of her son when he was that age, so excited about life.

My stop is coming up; it was very nice to meet you Miss Mae, he whispered.

Well I hope to see you again young man, said Mae.

Oh, I’m sure you will. See you later, he said as he stepped off the bus.

When Mae looked out the window to wave good-bye he was gone. She couldn’t see him anywhere.

Fast little kid Mae thought. How did he know her name? She hadn’t remembered telling him. Mae’s memory wasn’t what it used to be.

Oh my goodness he had left his cap. The logo said, You Can Do It. She had no idea what that meant but she was sure if she were young she would know. Kids today had their own brand of language.

There were two stops the bus had to make before it got to hers. Living only five blocks from the restaurant Mae didn’t have a long ride but it was long enough for her to think back to a time when things were so simple, like that young boys. God made life simple; it was us who chose to complicate it.

Mae laid her head against the seat and closed her eyes; she began to dream about the days when she was growing up. Mae couldn’t remember a whole lot about her childhood but the times she did remember were happy times. Mae come from a time when life was not taken for granted and every moment was a gift. How she longed for those simple days again.

Drifting deeper and deeper into the recesses of her mind she could see her Mother. How beautiful she was when she was young. She had long black hair and her skin was such a beautiful bronze; she had dark brown eyes that you could get lost in. She was part Indian and proud of it.

Mae’s Mother wasn’t much older than a child when she started having children herself, but oh how she loved them. Mae could still hear her Mother calling them in for dinner.

Dinner’s ready get in here now and wash up, she would yell.

Mae was the one who had to make sure all of them were in and hands washed. She guessed it was because she was the oldest girl.

Mae had three younger brothers, one sister and one older brother. She truly adored her older brother, Jimmy. He acted like she was just a pest to him but Mae knew without a doubt that he loved her. It was kind of neat because for a month she and her brother were the same age between May 7th and June12th.

Getting them all in and washed up was quite an ordeal, it would usually take Mae about twenty minutes to round them all up.

They were very poor and usually had rice and pinto beans every night for dinner but sometimes they had a gourmet meal, which consisted of fried cornbread (Mae’s favorite) and pinto beans (they had them every night for protein) and country fried potatoes.

Mae’s Mother was a very good cook; at least Mae thought so. They would all sit around the table and tell each other what they had done all day while they were out playing. Mae had to make things up because she had promised to keep where she had been a secret. Mae always kept her word.

Life was simple in those days. They played outside from sun up to dark in the summertime. Mae’s Mother would always tell them just to be in by dark. Until then each of them were on their own.

After dinner they would clean up and get ready for bed. There was only one bathroom and there were seven kids so it wasn’t hard to imagine how that went every night. It was funny too, when Mae thought back about how happy they were with so little that they had.

In Mae’s house there were only two bedrooms. All the kids slept in one room. There were two beds for the boys and one bed for Mae and her sister. When they all got in bed that was their time to talk to each other. They talked about things that they hadn’t wanted their Mom and Dad to know. Being raised to recognize right from wrong, they really didn’t talk about anything their parents couldn’t hear.

Nights in bed when it was just themselves, were very special. They would keep talking until they fell asleep one at a time. Of course that only took minutes for everyone else, except for Mae. She was always the last one. Eventually the sounds of the crickets and a nice soft breeze coming through the windows would lull her to sleep.

Mae would dream about the place in the woods, even though it was forbidden to go there. Her mother would tell them that if they went into the woods they would get lost. She said there were wild animals that could hurt them. None of the other kids ever went near it. Mae knew it was wrong but she had to go. There were times when she could hear someone call to her. It was like God was telling her that it was okay to go. And she would always find a way when no one was looking.

Miss Mae, wake up. Miss Mae we’ve arrived at your stop, said Joe the bus driver.

Mae told Joe she was sorry that she must have dozed off for a few minutes.

That’s perfectly okay, he said.

Mae got up and as she did, she remembered the little boy’s cap; she thought she’d keep it, maybe she’d see him again. Mae thanked Joe as she was getting off the bus for getting her home safe again.

My pleasure Miss Mae. Good evening. You be careful walking home by yourself, said Joe.

Don’t worry Joe, I’m never alone, said Mae as she pointed towards Heaven.

Joe knew exactly what she meant. He smiled, closed the door and drove on down the road.

Thank God the rain had stopped by the time Mae got off the bus. Having a block and a half to walk before she made it home, she was glad it wasn’t dark yet.

Arriving at her front door she noticed the mailman had left a rather large package there for her. Slowly bending down, she picked it up, unlocked her door and went in locking it behind her and flipping on the lights.

Mae’s house was an old house but very cozy. It had two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room and one bathroom. She had all she needed, God saw to that through the years even when life was hard and she sometimes wanted to give up. Knowing that God had a reason for everything Mae just kept her faith strong and alive.

Looking around her living room she saw things that brought back so many wonderful memories. Things that meant so much that her late husband had carefully chosen for her because he thought she would love them. Most of them Mae loved just because he picked them out with love. These things told her life story. They