Friday, May 16, 2008

Shae, God and The Spider

This is short story I wrote with idea of someday submitting it as a child's book. I simply changed my mind. I share it now with you and I dedicate it to parents with special needs children. I have had my share!



Shae, God and the Spider


The day that Shae Carson was born was a sunny summer day in a small town in the Northwest. Shae was a beautiful baby and her mother and father were so proud. Shae did not cry very much and they thought how they had been blessed. As Shae grew older she would not speak nor show much emotion. Sometimes she would point at things and make a humming sound. Mr. and Mrs. Carson were concerned and at times sad, for it became clear that Shae was not to be a normal child.
When Shae turned seven she would go to school but just sat and stared and the other kids would laugh at her and make fun of the way she was. Shae would just sit unmoved, as if she did not hear the other kids. When Shae’s mother would pick her up from school she would take her home and bring her outside and try to get her to walk around the yard for exercise. Unless she held her hand and walked with her she would just stand in one place not even blinking her eyes. Mrs. Carson did notice that when there was a breeze. Shae would slowly start to sway back and fourth and from side to side as if she were a blade of grass. She found herself staring at her daughter, realizing that she had become as graceful as the wind that moved the leaves in the trees. It was such a simple thing but it made Shae’s mother happy.
One day while Shae was outside. She stood, eyes fixed on the fence that surrounded her backyard. Her mother, curious about what she was looking at, walked up to her. Shae was looking at a large perfect spider web and in the center was small spider. Shae did not move for hours and when her mother tried to lead her away she refused to move. As Shae stood near the spider web, a small breeze started to move the web as though it were a made up of living butterflies. Shae started to sway as if she were a part of the web. She started to hum. The humming became louder and it was no longer a hum, but she was singing without forming words. Mrs. Carson moved closer so she could hear. Tears started to run down her cheeks as she heard the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. The notes Shae sang were as perfect as the spider web. Shae’s mother was so proud.
A few days later, Shae was sitting on the sofa. Her mother sat near by reading. Shae stared at her mother’s old violin which was hung above the fireplace. She hummed and pointed at it, surprising her mother. Shae's mother carefully removed it from the wall and Shae looked as if she were smiling. She stood up and took her mothers hand, leading her out to the spider web on the fence and Shae reached for the violin. She placed it under her chin as if she had played it many times before. She took the bow and began to play. Neighbors looked over the fence as Shae stood before the spider and the web and played the violin as though angels were moving her hands. Everyone who heard this music could not help but cry.
The doctors and experts who cared for Shae could not explain why these things happened. But many who had heard Shae play and sing, said that even though she was so different from everyone else, her message to the world was beautiful, just as God and the spider had planned.

6 comments:

Jane said...

Hi RJ,

Greetings from North Carolina!

Beautifully written piece there about the spider and violin.

Thanks for the comments you left for me on my mom's blog at imdowntown.blogspot.com. Truthfully, the key to decreasing your number of spelling errors is to force someone to read it for you, preferably over and over and over. I make the cat do mine.

I am intelligent and quite well-bred as you surmised. You may have read about my jump across the pond in 2000 in another blog, also posted on my mom's page. However, that being said, I do not sniff other dogs' butts as I find my own quite entertaining most of the time. Call me self-centered if you will. Actually, and trutfully, I would sniff other dogs' asses, but my mom keeps me on a short lead. Horrors.

Visit often,

Niko, who's also downtown!

BizyLizy said...

I love this story. Very, very sweet and simple.

Reminds me of the African spider, Anansi, the character of many folktales, delightful stories, and beautiful children's books.

Blessings...

Southern Girl said...

Thanks for the comment over at "Library Clocks." From the looks of your profile, we have more in common than just Northern Exposure! I was also in the USAF, but as security, working alongside law enforcement. I did a tour in Aviano, Italy and one in Keflavik, Iceland. I put Clear, AK on my dream sheet, but I never made it up there. (:

Kilroy_60 said...

The is a GREAT post.

Making my first visit here, following-up on your comment at The Gonzo Papers. It surely won't be my last.

I'm doing an experiment related to writing/receiving comments. A blog like this is difficult, in any case, because it would be all to easy to sit and write a comment on one post after another.

Will follow-up with an email. Let me know if you are interested in a link exchange on any of my three blogs.

Ciao

Sophie in the Moonlight said...

Lovely imagery, despite my arachnaphobia.

My favorite line is, "she had become as graceful as the wind that moved the leaves in the trees." It pulled me into the story so that I was standing next to Shae's mom seeing the same phenomenon.

The Giraffe Head Tree said...

Lovely, heartwarming, life-affiming story Randy. I loved it from beginning to end. Each spirit is so unique, so special. One need only to trust.