The Wet Walkers

By Mary E. Smith

Finally we found the stack of carefully placed rocks and we had our sign… the wet walkers had been here! We exchanged looks and Raff gently guided our mule and enormous wagon off the trail on to a faintly used path that led down a gentle slope into a breathtaking wooded area. The path turned sharply… and there it was

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Dec 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781647531508

Mary E. Smith

Mary E. Smith earned a master’s degree from Wayne State University and is a certified Biblical counselor, Precept Ministries International Bible study leader, and Bible teacher. As a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, she has a unique frame of reference to many issues in the church today that are odious or injurious to God and people. Smith and her husband, Raymond, have three grown sons, several grandchildren, and live in Detroit, Michigan.

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To my three mothers

Mary

Myrtle

Ruth

3 sisters who unselfishly gave me life and eternal love.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 1

It was a long, long time ago….

I felt the softness smoothin’ my hair, over an’ over an’ over. I don’t know how many nights had turned to morns, or how long I’d been without anyone. I don’t even know now when Mam an’ Pap was with me! Were they ever or was I jes’ thinkin’?

There it was again! That soft smoothin’—I didn’t want it to stop.

My eyes squeezed shut, so the morn wouldn’t make me try to crawl out of my box yet. I didn’t want to open my eyes for fear the smoothin’ would stop. I was thinkin’ maybe it was my Mam, but I’ member she’d say words.

I didn’t know if she an’ Pap jes’ went, or they was took!

I jes’ know one morn when I let my eyes open, they jes’ wasn’t! There wasn’t nuthin’ in our house-room, jes’ my little box-bed for sleepin’. The big box-bed whar my Mam an’ Pap slept was gone. The chair my Pap sat in, the little table an’ bench where we ate the food my Mam cooked; everythin’ jes’ wasn’t.

I wasn’t scairt when I woke up that morn, but there weren’t no sounds all day; an’ I was so hungry! I’d hear birds but not … anyone.

I walked an’ walked so slow… an’ called out for them over an’ over till my mouth hurt, but it was still quiet an’ I was so hungry. I was little an’ I only jes’ walked far enuf so’s I could still see the box-house. I was careful, cuz I didn’t want it to be gone too!

The smoothin’ stopped.

Please don’t stop!

Mebbe I’d jes’ cry, an’ then I ‘membered I couldn’t cry no more.

There it was again!

The rags kept me warm in my box bed. I didn’t even know part of me wasn’t covered, but somethin’ or someone was smoothin’ me! I musta moved a little cuz it stopped again! I wanted to reach out an’ grab it so it wouldn’t go away, but I didn’t know, I jes’ didn’t know how. I barely moved an’ then I could feel my rags movin’ and I opened my eyes a slit an’ saw a hand. It would smooth me an’ then move my warm rags, then smooth me.

I knew I wasn’t warm no more an’ I was scairt again.

Then I heard a hum, almost like my Mam’s hums. If I opened my eyes wide would I see her? Would my Pap be comin thru the door with a mess a’ fish from the stream so’s Mam could fry ‘em up? I could almost taste ‘em!

I wanted to open my eyes big, an’ see! But I was too scairt.

There, the smoothin’ started again an’ so did the hummin’ so I opened them wide!

She was there!

She weren’t my Mam, she was jes’ someone like my Mam. She weren’t my Mam, mebbe she was lost an’ lookin’ for her little girl babe. Would she stop smoothin’ an’ hummin’ when she saw I wasn’t her? I wanted to grab her hand an’ make her stay, but I could barely lift my hand cuz I was so hollow an’ empty. She looked at me with her eyes to my eyes an’ made a whistle whar her hum had been, an’ I heard a soft noise from somewhar. The door to the box room opened an’ I smelled wood burnin’! It was so hard to think, an’ I wanted to curl back up an’ sleep, but another Mam was liftin’ me out of my box an’ holdin’ me and I felt good! She was warm an’ soft an’ pattin’ me an’ sayin’ ssh words.

She said, She’s alive, but jes’.

The other Mam said, She needs food!

The Mam that was holdin’ me in her arms began to rock me back an’ forth in her lap on the floor by my box bed an’ sing! I kept my eyes right on her so she couldn’t go away! The other Mam brought a cup a somethin’ warm with a bit of twisted rag in it. She tucked it ‘tween my lips an’ I sucked on it. It was warm an’ wet an’ sweet an’ filled my edges. When there was nothin’ left she gently took it out an’ stuck it back in a cup an’ after a bit she tucked it back in my mouth, over an’ over till I was asleep.

I woke up hearin’ noises an’ smellin’ wood burnin’. The noises were quiet noises, but I knew I was not alone anymore.

I was so hungry but somethin’ wasn’t the same. My box bed was soft an’ the rag that covered me was big an’ all one piece an’ so warm an’ not scratchy at all. My head was on a bump of soft an’ I was so warm, so warm. I opened my eyes an’ morn was gone an’ I could see the inside of the house-room was not the same an’ I could tell nite was comin’. The noises were jes’ barely, but someone was there. I was not alone anymore! The soft thing my head was on let my eyes see over my box bed an’ I could see the inside of the house-room weren’t the same. It was jes’ a room, an’ it was empty that first morn when Mam and Pap wasn’t: but now there were two piles of clothes piled high where someone could sleep, an’ a little table, boxes to sit on an a chair with legs that turned into funny things an’ sat crooked.

I was so hungry, but it seemed my arms an’ legs couldn’t move. I could make out the cook-fire thru the open door and hear soft sounds of talk, so I knew I was not alone. I felt somethin’ on my cheek an’ I moved my fingers to touch it an’ it was wet. Then I felt wet on the other cheek an’ I heard a funny sound that was comin’ from me, and suddenly there were arms around me, liftin’ me up an’ carrying me to the crooked chair. She sat in it with a blanket around me an’ made ssh sounds an’ hums an’ began to rock me back an’ forth an’ smooth me. Her whistle brought the other Mam and she brought me some more of the warm, sweet rag. I wanted to chew it an’ swallow it but they took it from me an’ give me a hard strip to chew on. It tasted so good an’ I chewed an’ chewed but there was nuthin’ to swallow cept the juices from it. It made my tummy feel funny, an’ hurt, but I felt good an’ warm an’ not so hungry. I only felt held an’ warm an’ rocked on that funny crooked chair till my eyes wouldn’t stay open.

My ears heard the wind an’ I opened my eyes. But the night was there an’ so was the dark. I was warm an’ the door was shut an’ fixed against the blowin’ an’ I knew I was not alone so I closed them an’ stayed with the night. My cover wasn’t scratchy an’ the soft bump for my head was good an’ my tummy wasn’t as hungry and I was not alone. I was not alone.

I was aware of quiet swishin’ sounds an’ hard noises an’ I guessed it was morn. It was so dark an’ the room was filled with chill. It had no windows, tho I member my Mam tol’ me about em. They had the sound of magic! Her Mam an’ Pap had a house with windows an’ she tol’ me how you could see in an’ see out! I couldn’t make my mind think on those things, but she used to tell me they let light in! I loved her tellin’ an’ I never tol’ her how much I loved the dark night. I tol’ her I wanted her to have a window but I didn’t! Mebbe that’s why she isn’t anymore.

In one corner was a little fireplace made out of river-rocks an’ mud. My Mam had one in her other home with her Mam an’ Pap. Said it would take the edge off ‘a the cold cuz it burned wood, but it never did, cuz we needed what little we had to cook with an’ to heat water. It took my Pap a long, long time to build it; cuz Pap only had one arm. I thought all Paps only had one arm til my Mam tol’ me he lost it in the war. It made choppin’ wood, carryin’ water, huntin’n’ fishin’ hard—so hard! I felt sad about whatever a war was an’ that my Pap lost his arm an’ couldn’t find it. I was allus careful bout my arms cuz I didn’t want to lose one.

I began to smell smoke an’ I heard cracks an’ pops an’ I saw the corner of the box room was on fire. I tried to sit up in my box but I couldn’t seem to stay up, then I saw the door open an’ the other Mam carry a bunch of sticks to whar the fire was. I couldn’t take my eyes off a the fire. It made the whole room glow, and it shooed away the chill It was too much for me. I slid back down in my box an’ watched the light dance on the ceiling! I couldn’t believe Mam wasn’t here to see it! It surely would make her stop wishin’ fer an old window!

I heard busy sounds an’ soft whispers an’ then the Mam was beside me. We looked at our eyes an’ she tol’ the other Mam, She’s awake, let’s try the food.

The other Mam spooned somethin’ into a cup and sprinkled a powder on it and poured somethin’ on it a’ stirred it. The Mam picked me up an’ went to the crooked chair an’ the other gave me little bites from a spoon. I ate til my tummy hurt an’ my eyes drooped. I don’t member her puttin’ me back in my box, but when I woke up next, I felt strong! I pulled myself up an’ leaned against the side of my box. I was warm an’ not awful hungry an’ I was not alone.

The two Mams was talkin’, almost whisperin’, wonderin’ how old I was, 3, 5, 4? Was I mute, deaf: I’d never heard those words but I wanted to tell ‘em I was 4 or gonna be, but my words was gone. When I went lookin’ fer my Mam an’ Pap an’ called ‘em an’ called ‘em…. All those words was gone away an’ it’s like they never came back…’ or maybe I’m thinkin’, …don’t let any words go or they’ll all be gone—like my Mam an’ Pap.

The Mams looked at me an’ I looked at them. None of us said any word. The door was open an’ I could see it was after morn, when I heard a loud, loud, noise like I’d never heard before—over an’ over til somethin’ bubbled out of me, an’ the wet came out of my eyes an’ the more the sound came, the more noise I was makin! The Mams jumped up an’ picked me up and twirled me around an’ said, She’s laughin.

I couldn’t stop until the noise quit an’ then I had the hic-cups. They give me some white stuff to drink; an’ some more bites, an’ my very own hard stick to chew. I loved these Mams, an’ I didn’t know why I had two in place of my Mam, but I was happy inside me. I didn’t member anyone ever carryin’ me or wrappin’ anythin’ around me. Pap couldn’t pick me up an’ my Mam was tiny like me, bigger, but not much.

Let’s take her out to meet Legs and the kids.

I didn’t much understand what they was sayin’, but I knew it’d be good if they was doin’ it! I’d never laughed before an’ it was as good as havin’ my hair patted an’ being carried! My Mam allus’ tol’ me what fine big girl-babe I was to walk by myself. Mebbe cause she was too little to carry me. Seems like I didn’t walk much, so I didn’t walk good but my Mam didn’t seem to mind. The Mams was so high I needed to lie on my back to see to the top of ‘em, but they allus’ sat down beside my bed so’s my eyes could look right into their eyes.

They pick me up an’ carried me like I was a little piece of cloud. I felt the warm sunshine as the Mam carried me out the door by the cook fire into our little yard, an’ I saw things my eyes had never seen! A big hairy animal with long, long legs. Longer than I was head to toe! He had a long head an’ nose an’ big, big pointy ears an’ great big teeth! He put his lips back over his teeth an’ did that hee-haw sound over an’ over an’ my bubble came an’ I laughed agin’. I’d never seen nor heard my Mam laugh or smile, but she used to tell me how happy she’d been with her Mam an’ Pap, an’ how she an’ my Pap used to laugh together when they lived in Virginny afore he left for the war, but none of us ever laughed… or smiled.

The Mams made some whistle sounds and two odd lookin’ little animals come trottin’ up. The Mams said they was little goats an’ they made me smile. They reached up to my bare toes an’ licked em an’ I laughed some more. They were so sweet an’ when the Mams stood me down they licked my hands an’ stayed by me. I thot my heart would bust I was so happy! I had me two Mams, and a donkey named Legs and two little goats name Willy an’ Nelly, an’ my very own hard stick to chew, an’ my box-bed was soft an’ so warm, an’ a fireplace that danced on the ceiling at night…I’d never had so much. I wondered if my Mam an’ Pap was somewhere watchin’ me, knowin’ I was took care of by these Mams an’ they was glad, an’ my Mam was a watchin’ thru a window.

And I wondered if mebbe my Pap had found his arm? …

Chapter 2

Somethin’ made me wake up an I sat up in my box an’ stared into the eyes of my new Mam. Both Mams was there beside my box an’ we were lookin’ at our eyes. The Mam that rocked me said to me My name is Oatie. Try to say Oatie. I couldn’t make my mouth do it, but they didn’t seem to mind. The other Mam said, "You can call me Raff when you’re ready. My whole name is Rafferty but that may be too hard so—just Raff. Oatie’s name is Leota but she’s called Oatie. We are wet-walkers.

Oatie touched my hair again which made me soften an’ then said, It’s a warm day we’ve been waitin’ for to do some things you need. We will call you little one but we’ve shortened it to Lil. That’s our name for you child. We love you and you will be ours to care for. There were so many words for me to hear but I put them all in my head where they was safe. Lil. I felt it in my mouth an’ it felt all right. I wondered if it didn’t, could I spit it out? But I didn’t want to lose it so I closed my mouth tight so it would stay with me an’ be mine. I’d never had a name. My Mam had called me her little girl Babe. My Mam had a name cause I heard my Pap softly call her Laura; he never said it loud, almost whispered it like he was scared she’d run away if he wasn’t careful. He never called me anythin’, but sometimes he would rub his rough hand across my cheek and say to Mam—she’s soft—like it was a surprise. My Mam would pat my head or kiss the top of it and say but she’ll be strong. All that seemed so long ago I could barely remember their faces. I guessed I wasn’t their girl babe anymore, that they had given me to Oatie and Raff to take care of me an’ see that I was strong. Now they were going to do things I needed! I couldn’t think what things I needed. I felt a shiver up my back but Oatie Lifted me out of my box an’ stood me up an’ took my hand. Raff quickly took my other hand. We slowly shuffled our way to the doorway. They let me sit down on the step to look at the wonders before me.

There was a cook fire going with a huge tub a’ water on it. Legs was tied to a tree munchin’ grass. He looked up an’ saw me an’ let out his funny sound. I laughed an’ laughed. Oatie let out her little whistle an’ I could hear sounds comin’ thru the tall grass an’ all of a sudden Willy an’ Nelly came boundin’ towards me. They licked my toes an’ hands an’ Nelly put her little hooves on my lap an’ licked my face again an’ again. I felt myself laughin’ til I cried, an’ she licked my tears as fast as they came an

Somethin’ inside of me broke open. I put my little arms around her an’ held her an’ she nuzzled up close to me an’ I felt warm an’ safe an’ happy. My two Mams was standin’ in front of me with smiles on their faces. I felt my insides gettin’ so big I could hardly breathe an’ I said, Oatie then… Raff. I watched them both for fear they’d be gone an’ I would never see them again an’ I couldn’t get my words back in my mouth where they’d be safe- but as I looked at them, their faces was shinin’ and I saw they was cryin too. They both sat down on the stoop with one arm around me an’ the other pettin’ the sweet little goat. Willy was lying on my feet and I knew my Mam an’ Pap was gone from me but somehow they’d sent Oatie an’ Raff an’ Legs an’ Willy an’ Nelly to fill that big hole inside of me that was so empty. I wished Mam an’ Pap was here but they had to go away so they sent this family to take care of me. My insides was happy an’ safe an’ I was almost strong like my Mam said I’d be.

Our yard didn’t seem like the one I ‘membered. My Pap had been tryin’ to make a fence but it wasn’t ever done an’ it seemed like the wind was always blowin’ it down. He said it was to keep things in an’ keep things out. It seemed to me like that window where you could see in an’ see out an’ I couldn’t see the sense in either one of them, but now we had a fence that stood up straight an’ it made our yard great big. My Mam an’ Pap tried to make a garden so we’d have food but it was so sorry an’ it made my Mam so sad she cried. She just didn’t seem to know an’ I would hug her legs an’ never ever say I was hungry. My Pap would carry water up from the stream in an old wooden bucket an’ my Mam would cook it on the cook fire with greens she’d picked with a potato or turnip from the garden. We’d have fish sometimes an’ my Pap would bring a rabbit home an’ they’d cook it. We was all hungry, but I didn’t know nuthin’ else. Oatie an’ Raff seemed great big to me an’ seemed like they could do anythin’. The noise I’d heard must have been them knockin’ sticks into the ground for the fence. There was so much I didn’t understand but each day I’d got stronger an’ stronger an’ now I was brought out to the yard for the things I needed!

One whole side of the box house was covered with wood all stacked up nice. They had made a gate that opened an’ shut an’ latched, like our box house door. There was a big wagon with wheels pulled into our yard that made my eyes get big. It was like a big box with wheels an’ the box had huge bumps in it covered up an’ tied down with ropes. The Mams watched me look at this world I’d never seen an’ as I would look startled or confused they would do a tellin’ so I would know it by name an’ what it was for. I didn’t know how many words a head could hold an’ I got scairt mine would fill up an’ I couldn’t get any more in, but it was still a takin’ every one I put in. My Mam used to tell me to treasure words an’ so I did. They was my treasure, an’ my Mam an’ Pap, but now with Oatie and Raff I had so many treasures I couldn’t believe it. I saw a garden that was so big an’ filled with wonders, the likes of which I’d never seen. They picked me up an’ carried me thru the garden an’ pointed out holly hocks an’ sunflowers an’ sweet peas an’ vines of beans an’ rows an’ rows of stuff I’d never heard of comin’ from the ground. Oatie said they had seeds for all those plants that they kept safe so you could stay alive cause you needed to eat. It made me wonder if Mam an’ Pap just blew away cuz they was empty so much of the time?

Finally they took me to some big trees where they’d tied great big cloths hangin’, so that it was almost a cloth room only open at the corners. Oatie said, "Lil, we’re going to give you a bath and cut your hair. Nobody’d ever give me either and I didn’t know what I’d do with a bath or whatever it was, but I guessed if they was doin’ it it would be good. I touched my hair an’ it was a huge big wad an’ it was tangled an’ sometimes it hurt but they were gonna cut it an’ make it better. They took me in the cloth room and took off the sack I was wearin’ that was so scratchy. My Mam had cut holes for my head an’ arms an’ pieced together covers to keep my arms warm. It was hard to walk in but I didn’t walk much. I just stayed in my box bed an’ watched an’ listened to my Mam.

Oatie picked me up an’ sat me in the tub of warm, warm water. I could hardly get my breath. It came up almost to my chin when I was sittin’. They both had gourd cups an’ they’d scoop the warm water an’ pout it over my head. It would run down my face an’ they would laugh so I did too. They had big chunks of smooth stuff and they rubbed their rags around it an’ then rubbed me all over. They worked an’ worked on my hair an’ finally Oatie gave up an’ said to Raff, It so matted I have to cut it or we’ll never get it clean. She picked up some shears from the grass an’ cut off great big huge mounds of hair an’ laid them over beside the tub. My head felt cold all of a sudden but they both started rubbin’ it with their chunks an’ spoonin the water over it an’ before long we was all laughin’ an’ I felt wonderful. Oatie asked Raff to go get the cloths from in front of the box house fireplace an’ bring ‘em. She was back in a minute an’ they was wrappin’ me in the warmest cloth I’d ever felt! Every bit of me. I couldn’t even see out, but I didn’t care I felt so good. They carried me into the box house where they had pulled the box benches that they called trunks over in front of the fireplace an’ sat beside me an’ started drying me an’ the hair I had left. Raff had brought the shears in an’ when they had me good an’ dry she cut my hair better. I was scairt to touch it but I did an’ it was funny feelin’. They looked at each other an’ smiled with their eyes an’ then hugged me. Raff opened the lid of the other trunk an’ dug down thru cloths an’ came up with a circle on a handle an’ held it in front of me. I saw a girl-babe. I reached out a finger to touch her an’ I looked at her fingers, hand an’ arm an’ they was mine. They was the same as the girl-babes an’ I was so scairt. I put my hand on my nose an’ so did she. I opened my mouth and so did she. Oatie an’ Raff were laughin’ so I did too an’ so did the girl-babe. She had bright red soft curls all over her head. So bright they looked like they were on fire. That’s you, Lil. That’s what you look like. I started to cry because the girl-babe looked like my Mam only littler.

The Mams patted me an’ made ssh sounds an’ explained that it was a reflection an’ it was called a mirror an’ they would leave it out so’s I could see it whenever I wanted to look, but I would need to be very careful because it was another treasure! Another Treasure! When I told them the girl-babe looked like my Mam they looked at their eyes an’ then mine an’ tol me I would never ever forget her cuz I could look at the mirror an’ see her whenever I wanted to. I was cryin’ again but it was happy cryin’ cuz I could always see my Mam in the mirror. I wish I had a mirror of Pap but somehow it was all right. My eyes were so happy I could hardly hold them open so Oatie wrapped me in another warm cloth an’ laid me down in my box bed. It was different somehow. It smelled so good an’ it was softer an’ the cover was thicker