Charlie the cat<\/a> crept out from her hiding place under the porch\u2013 she, too, tried to leap on the fireflies. The children and the animal baltered and danced in the slick wet grass, sparks flying everywhere, the moon peeking out from behind the clouds at last.<\/p>\nWhen it got quite dark, I saw the Sylph, standing on the edge of the lawn.<\/h3>\n
She did not break the rules. She stayed beyond the boundary, calling to her brother, and did not address me.<\/p>\n
The next day, the rain was nearly gone. It sprinkled a few drops here and there, but for most of the day, we could play outdoors. Jimmy\u2019s Boy and the Artful Dodger came by for snacks, which they got. The Mandrake came back for another popsicle. I gave it to her, along with a jar of bubble soap. We blew bubbles on the back porch and watched them fly over the garden in the last of the gusty winds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going up to Heaven!\u201d I said, wishing that I was.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where Jesus is!\u201d said The Mandrake.<\/p>\n
Just before dusk, the boys came back again. I showed them the garden, and how the sunflowers were getting their buds. I said they were welcome to grab a handful of peas or the last of the strawberries without asking me, as long as they left the other food alone. I was going to bring tomatoes and squash to the homeless downtown when they were ripe, and then make pasta sauce for everyone.<\/p>\n
They helped me pull weeds. When I said that some of these weeds were actually kale plants from where last year\u2019s kale had seeded itself, growing unwanted brassicas everywhere I\u2019d spread compost, they were fascinated. The Artful Dodger took a bite of it, and then another, and then ate a whole bunch.<\/p>\n
I said he could help himself to kale and lettuce\u2013 but better not eat just any weeds, because some weeds are poisonous. I pointed out weeds as\u00a0 I pulled them. Violets are edible, but they\u2019re not very tasty to me. Grass is harmless but you can\u2019t digest it. Mint is edible. Sourgrass, also known as yellow sorrel, is delicious and tastes like green apples. If you see a plant that reminds you of Queen Anne\u2019s Lace but has a smooth stem with purple blotches, you mustn\u2019t eat or touch it, because it will kill you.<\/p>\n
There was the Sylph again, standing on the edge of the lawn. She was bedraggled as ever, in the same clothes she\u2019d worn yesterday, her hair matted, reeking like old sweat, unloved. For awhile, she played with her brother and Adrienne\u2013 minding my rules, and not speaking to me. She cut through the yard of The Haunted House, chasing them, while they evaded her and ran to the other side of the garden. Then she cut around to the alley, but they\u2019d already gone around front. She darted through the abandoned yard again to the front yard. She did not trespass in the garden.<\/p>\n
After awhile, I called out directions to help her. She squealed and laughed as she joined in the game.<\/p>\n
I conferred with Adrienne, and then offered peace terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to mind your manners like a good guest and never tease or hurt people. You have to clean up after yourself. You may never steal anything except a handful of peas or a bit of kale again. You can only be out here when I\u2019m here with you. And no going inside my house for awhile. And you have to apologize. If you do that, you\u2019ll be welcome to play in the garden again. Can you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, she could.<\/p>\n
I welcomed her onto my yard.<\/p>\n
I showed her where the kale and sourgrass were growing. She gobbled handful after handful while I showed her the edible and poisonous plants I\u2019d showed her brother. \u201cThis pokeweed is poisonous, but it makes a good ink. Those pioneers in the cartoon about horses you showed me, they kept their diaries with pokeberry ink. I\u2019ll boil a big pot of it to show you when the berries are ripe.\u201d<\/p>\n
All played on the grass, as the fireflies came out.<\/h3>\n
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,<\/em> said everything.<\/p>\nNo, the fear didn\u2019t suddenly leave me. I\u2019m still anxious and traumatized and always will be. I suppose that I\u2019ll feel as if I\u2019m going to hell until Jesus appears to pronounce my sentence Himself.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s Easier to believe in mercy just now.<\/p>\n
Night fell, and life was good.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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