Published: 24 Oct 2019
Adam’s Story, and Casey
I had brought clothes only for a couple of days. I figured that either I’d be going home Sunday afternoon or I’d be in jail. TomTom takes me to the Animus Mall in Window Rock to get more clothes. When we enter the mall, I realize we could be anywhere in the country. The stores are the same ones I would find at any mall in Atlanta. The only exception is the food court, where one of the fast food places is called Navajo Taco and another, Ya-Ta-Hey Burgers.
I buy some blue jeans, pullover shirts, socks, and underwear. TomTom wants me to buy boxers, but I stick with my usual jockey-style briefs. After shopping, we go to the food court. TomTom pooh-poohs the Navajo Tacos, but goes along when I insist on trying one.
We are sitting at a table in the middle of the court when I hear someone call, “Stop, thief!”
A little boy is running from the Y-T-H Burger place. He holds a paper bag in one hand.
“Stop, thief!” This time, I see who yelled. A man in a smock with the logo of the burger place is chasing the boy. The boy scampers through the crowd, but can not dodge the foot that someone sticks into his path. He falls, hard. His bag of food explodes across the floor.
The boy who tripped him gets up from his seat. He kicks the thief. Even over the hubbub of the food court, I hear him. “Yeah, fag, you’re busted. Really busted.” He kicks the boy, again. I gesture to TomTom. We move quickly toward the altercation.
The man in the smock reaches the boy. He grabs his arm and yanks him to his feet. “You’re goin’ to juvie for this, punk.”
“Yeah, you little queer,” the boy who had tripped the little boy says. “You’re just right for juvie. You’ll like it there. All the dicks you can…”
By this time, TomTom and I are only a few feet away. The man in the smock slaps the thief – hard. “Juvie’s a good place for you, punk!” He back-hands the boy and raises his arm to hit the boy again, but I grab it.
“You may not assault a child,” I say. “No matter what he has done.”
The man in the smock tries to twist from my grip. Meanwhile, the boy who had tripped the thief raises his foot as if to kick him again. “Tommy,” I call. “Stop him!”
TomTom grabs the older boy’s foot and flips him on his back. The boy falls and slaps the floor with his hand when he lands. TomTom stands over him.
I’m still holding the man in the smock. I pull his arm behind his back and snarl into his ear. “You assaulted a child. Do not try to escape me; I will break your arm – in at least three places.
“Tommy, are we on the Res?”
Tommy looks startled, but then answers. “Yes.”
“Please call Uncle Joe and tell him we need backup.”
Diné Nation Police arrive within minutes. “Tommy, you are the best person to deal with them,” I say, and point to the four uniformed officers. They are followed by two of the mall’s rent-a-cops who finally responded to the reports of a ruckus.
I don’t know what TomTom says to the Nations Police, but the lieutenant is polite when he asks me what is going on.
“This boy,” I point to the alleged thief, who is now clinging to TomTom, “may have left without paying for his food.
“The guy in the smock, who appears to be the manager of that burger place, cried thief, and started chasing the boy. Whatever the complaint from the food vendor, I will make it good.
“This boy,” I point to the one still on the floor, “tripped the boy who had been called thief, and then used vile language toward him. He also physically assaulted the child after he was on the ground.
“The man in the smock physically assaulted the child. I will sign and swear to anything necessary to see them arrested and prosecuted for both physical and verbal assault.”
The lieutenant assesses the positions of the people I pointed to and assimilates what I said. “Sir, Captain Leaphorn asked us to render all possible assistance to you,” he says. “We will obey, of course; but, would you please tell us who you are?”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. You remind me of the need for harmony. It would not be right for you to be asked without knowing the reason.
“My name is Oliver Linden. Captain Leaphorn is my brother.”
The lieutenant raises an eyebrow, and then gestures to his men, who pull out handcuffs.
Tommy takes the little boy back to our table, and feeds him from Tommy’s own plate.
“I’m Tommy Chee,” he says. “What’s your name?”
“Adam,” the little boy says between bites. “Adam Begaye.”
“Why did you run away without paying,” TomTom asks.
The little boy ducks his head. “I didn’t eat since Friday. I don’t have no money. It’s crowded. I thinks I can get away.”
“Where are your parents, Adam?” TomTom asks.
The little boy looks everywhere except at TomTom. TomTom puts his hands on the boy’s cheeks and gently turns his head until they are eye-to-eye. “Adam, please help me help you. Where are your parents?”
“It’s 12:00 o’clock, right? They’re more than falling-down drunk; by now, they’re passed-out drunk.” Tears pour from the little boy’s eyes.
“Adam was assaulted pretty brutally. He needs a medical evaluation,” Oliver tells the policeman. “But he doesn’t seem to like you a lot.”
Adam is holding on to TomTom like a favorite toy. He cringes when the lieutenant approaches. The man has enough sense to back away. He turns to Oliver for help.
“He seems to trust TomTom – Tommy,” Oliver says. “What if Tommy and I take him to the hospital? We’ll make sure you get a copy of the report. I’ll check with Captain Leaphorn and ask him decide what to do, next.”
The lieutenant agrees. “That is logical and, given the captain’s trust in you, satisfactory, as well.”
The emergency room isn’t busy; a doctor sees Adam within minutes of our arrival. When the doctor comes back to the waiting room he doesn’t look at all happy. “Mr. Linden, this boy has been beaten, starved, and abused. I have notified the police. Please remain … ah, security has arrived. They will take you into custody and hold you until the police are here.”
“Doctor, I thank you for caring for Adam, but I do not thank you for assuming I am an idiot who would systematically abuse a child and then bring him in for a medical evaluation. We’re on the Reservation; the police you’ve summoned had better be Diné Nation Police, unless you want a real problem.”
It turns out that the doctor, a bilagaana, had called the state police and the FBI. Captain Leaphorn arrives first, and settles the question of jurisdiction. “Doctor, your heart is in the right place. No one should be allowed to abuse a child, much less to the extent that Adam has been abused. However, you acted hastily without all the facts.
“The alleged crime took place in the Diné Nation’s territory. The state police have no jurisdiction. The government of the United States has concurrent jurisdiction for certain crimes.”
He turns to the FBI Special Agent in Charge. “Sam, I will handle this.”
SAIC Sam Murr from the liaison office between the FBI and the Diné Nation Police waves to his people. “Come on, folks. False alarm for us; more paperwork for Captain Leaphorn is how I look at it.”
He adds in a low voice, for Joe’s ears, only. “No glory for anyone, either. Not in a case like this. Any help you need, my friend, to bring these creeps to justice. Your justice or mine.”
Joe shakes Sam’s hand. “Walk in harmony, Sam, wherever you find it. When it seems far away, come visit, will you?”
Sam’s mouth, which had been set in a tight frown, relaxes. He gestures his men from the waiting room.
Joe takes TomTom and Adam home in the patrol car. I had turned in the rental car and follow in Joe’s truck. When I pull into Joe’s driveway, I see TomTom half in and half out of the backdoor of the patrol car. Adam is curled up on the back seat, and TomTom is trying to coax him out of the car.
Joe is watching, arms folded, offering no help. I am close enough to hear what’s said.
“You must hate me …” Adam whispers before hiding his face in his arms.
“No, Adam. We do not hate you,” TomTom says. “Oliver doesn’t hate you; I don’t hate you.”
“But I’m queer! I’m a no good fag! I like to suck dicks! I like it when somebody sticks his dick in my butt! You have to hate me!”
TomTom looks at me and raises his eyebrows. I know what he is asking. “It’s up to you, TomTom; you live here.”
TomTom presses his lips together for a moment, and nods. Then he says to Adam, “You’re not queer and you’re not a fag. You’re homosexual. Gay.
“Adam, Oliver isn’t just my friend; he’s my boyfriend. He and I like to suck dicks, too. And I really like it when Oliver sticks his dick in my butt.” TomTom giggles.
Adam’s face is a picture of surprise, His eyes are wide; his mouth is open. “You … you and Oliver … you’re queer, too?”
“No Adam, not queer. That’s a word we don’t use. We’re gay, just like you.”
“And you don’t hate me?”
“No Adam, we don’t hate you. If we hated you, we wouldn’t have helped you, would we?”
Adam shakes his head. “But my parents hate me…”
The Nations Police find Adam’s parents, just as he’d described. They are passed out, drunk, in the trailer where Adam says he lives. Adam’s father is sprawled in a recliner in front of the television, his gut protrudes between worn blue jeans and a filthy T-shirt. The television is tuned to a reality show. Television, the officer thinks, the opiate of the massives. He laughs. His partner asks what the hell is so funny, but the first officer can only shake his head.
Adam’s parents are in no condition to interfere as the police scour the trailer. No food in the kitchen except cereal with an expiration date of two years ago, one notes and photographs. What is that stink? the other wonders until he finds the dead rat behind the stove. He gestures to the officer with the camera.
“We gonna wake them up and cuff them?” one officer asks.
“I’m not going to carry them,” another says. “But let’s cuff them, first, and then wake them up. He looks mean.”
Tommy takes Adam to the guest room where the boy cries himself to sleep after some cuddles from TomTom. When he is sure Adam is asleep, TomTom comes to his room where Oliver is waiting. When we settle under the sheet and cuddle, TomTom speaks.
“Oliver, I told Adam you and I are boyfriends, but I know that’s not really right.”
It is not a question, but TomTom is quiet for so long, I have to answer.
“TomTom, you are my nephew, and I could not love you any more than I do. You and I have shared, and sharing builds love. But, you are right. We are not boyfriends. I am older than you. And, I will not be able to remain here forever.
“We were brought together for a reason. When we have finished our task, we will separate, perhaps forever. In the meanwhile, I will share with you; forever I will love you, but it will be a love that transcends sharing. Does that make sense? Is it something you can accept?”
TomTom rolls over and kisses me, and I know his answer is yes.
The next day, TomTom and I take Adam to the Nations Police Headquarters where all of us are deposed. Talking about his parents’ neglect is rough on Adam. The police don’t seem to know about the sex stuff, and I make sure they don’t learn about it. Once we get back home, TomTom takes Adam next door to play with Tommy’s cousins. I return to the police headquarters, and ask if I might speak to the boy who tripped Adam. His name is Casey. A few years ago, he had been in the same school as TomTom.
The sergeant in charge is happy to oblige, but warns me, “He’s stubborn. Hasn’t said a thing. His parents won’t bail him out; say he’s adult and has made his own bed. We’re holding him until Captain Leaphorn decides what charges to file.”
Minutes later, I am alone in an interrogation room with Casey. The boy glares at me.
“Tommy tells me your name is Casey, but your kiva name is Ahiga: one who fights.”
That is enough to get him talking. “How do you know my true name?” the boy asks. “Tommy should not tell a bilagaana that!” He spits out the word for white man like a cat hair that had gotten on his tongue.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not bilagaana. I am of the People. My true name is Gaagii.”
“Raven? You are Raven?” Casey asks. “You tell me your true name? Why?”
“They say it is because of my hair,” I reply, ignoring his real question. “And, yes. I am Raven of the Salt People. TomTom, Tommy to you, is my nephew. You know who his uncle – my brother – is.”
Casey’s face becomes rigid, and he blushes. I think he is stunned by what I said. Then, he speaks. “I am Ahiga. That name is not of my choosing. The shaman gave it to me after my vision quest. My spirit guide is Atsa, the eagle. I watched Atsa as he fought a demon, a skinwalker – something not human. The eagle won. The shaman says it means I will be a great warrior, but it’s not happening!”
“Casey, you’re how old? Sixteen, Tommy tells me.” The boy remains silent, but his eyes answer my question. “You know some martial arts; I saw the way you fell after Tommy grabbed your foot. Maybe you’re still on the path to being a warrior,” I say. Casey shrugs.
“Casey, I was two years older than you are now when I joined the Army. I spent a year training nearly every day, and then three years in the Middle East, fighting nearly every day. Even after that, I’m not sure what it really means to be a soldier.
“I’ve been out of the Army for only two years. I still remember. Would you like me to tell you?”
Casey’s face relaxes, and we spend the next two hours talking about my Army experience. Then, I ask the boy, “Do you think you can wait a little while to learn?” Reluctantly, he agrees.
There is something else to settle. “There is one more thing. You called Adam queer and said he is a fag. He says he sucked your dick, and you liked it. He also said you sucked his. Doesn’t that make you the same thing you accuse him of being?”
The boy blushes, and then lowers his head to look at the floor. “You don’t like that, do you?” I ask. The boy shakes his head. I feel he is miserable.
“Ahiga,” I says. The boy looks up, his eyes widen. It is the first time I called him by his true name.
“Ahiga,” I say again. “We are brothers. Adam is also our brother. You have put me in a difficult place. A brother has hurt a brother. A brother has broken harmony, and I do not know how to deal with this.”
Casey looks at his feet, again. “I do not want to break harmony. I do not want to hurt Adam.”
“You have been initiated into kiva. You are an adult. You had sex with a child.” I look at the boy. “That is a violation of both the bilagaana law and the nation’s law.”
Casey nearly collapses. I catch him before his head hits the table. I wrap my arms around him to keep him from falling. I am surprised when he hugs me, drops his head on my shoulder, and cries.
“They’re going to send me to juvie, aren’t they?”
You’re an adult. You assaulted a child. Even if they don’t find out about the sex, you’ll probably go to the federal penitentiary in Yuma. But you don’t deserve that. That does not serve harmony or justice! How do I convince Joe? I think this, but can not say it. I am saved from this decision when the door to the interrogation room opens and the guard beckons to me.
Joe and TomTom are waiting. Through the one-way glass, I see Casey still at the table. He has stopped crying, but looks thoroughly miserable. I explain to Joe what I want.
“I do not understand,” Joe says. “He has broken harmony. He has broken our law and state law. Yet you wish to spare him punishment.”
“Not exactly,” I reply. “I think he has punished himself enough, and that nothing else we could do would serve any purpose. He hurts, inside where it counts, because he hurt Adam.”
“You know this?” Joe asks me.
“Yes.”
“I know it, too, Uncle,” TomTom says. He takes my hand, perhaps looking for strength; perhaps looking only for approval. Perhaps it means nothing, but I really don’t want to believe that.
“Casey is probably gay,” TomTom says. “But he’s not had the support, the love, to accept that. He is stuck in the beliefs of the bilagaana: that gay is bad; that gay is a choice; that gay is a phase or a fad. He is our brother, but he has not been given our beliefs.
“He is in a bad place. We cannot leave him there. He is not in harmony; he disturbs our harmony. Besides,” TomTom blushes, and then says, “He really was a nice boy, before.
“Let me talk to him,” TomTom asks. “Please?”
Joe agrees. “Oliver? Go with Tommy. This is your idea, but I will do as TomTom says.” Tommy gasps, and then glows when he understands the trust his uncle is offering.
Casey stands when TomTom and I enter the interrogation room. Casey glares at Tommy, but I think he might have smiled at me, maybe for an instant, maybe.
TomTom cuts to the quick. “My Uncle Jim Chee is a shaman. I study with him. I learn much. I see your future. I see you lying, drunk, outside the trailer where you live by yourself. I see you trying to crawl to the door, and up the steps. I see you passing out on the steps. I see the snow as it falls onto your face. At first, it melts. Then, as your face grows colder, the snow clings and covers you.”
“No!” Casey cries. “No! Please! I don’t want to die alone like that! Please tell me what to do!”
TomTom shrugs. “I cannot tell you what to do. Only you can say. But today is the last chance you have to decide.”
Casey falls to his knees. He covers his face with his hands, and cries. Great whooping gasps echo from the walls. I kneel by him and put my arms around him.
“Shh, shh, Ahiga, warrior,” I say. “If that is not what you want, you must change it. You must change it. Do you understand? I cannot; TomTom cannot. Only you can.”
I whisper these words over and over until they seem to sink into the boy’s mind. As the words penetrate, they also release the tension in Casey’s body. Gradually, he melts into my arms.
The ceremony is over. Casey, whose true name is Ahiga, is now a brother not only in kiva, but also in clan. He has a new family. Since he is an adult, he is not adopted under the white man’s law. By the People’s customs, Uncle Jim and his husband take Casey into their family.
TomTom’s Dream II
When we get home, TomTom is very happy, and our sharing is special. That night, however, TomTom’s screams wake me. He is having a nightmare. I wake him and cuddled him until he stops shaking. Finally, he speaks.
“Oliver, do you remember my dream? I said I recognized one of the boys who was running from the fire with Uncle Jim. It was Casey. I didn’t remember that until I saw him at the mall. I’ve been hiding that from you and Uncle Joe and Uncle Jim because I am so afraid.
“I know Casey is a good boy. I also know he will be with Uncle Jim and my family when they go to the new world. I am so afraid if I told anyone I had seen him in a dream, I would mess things up.
“I saw the rest of the dream, tonight. It hurts to tell you, but I must. When we reached the new world, I saw Casey and me, standing on a hill, looking at a lake, watching deer drink there. We are holding hands. We kissed; we are boyfriends.”
Tears pour down TomTom’s face. “I did not see you anywhere, Oliver.” The boy is crying so hard he can scarcely talk. “I didn’t see you!”
I hug Tommy tightly and kiss the tears from his face. He calms down enough that his crying is only an occasional hiccough. “TomTom,” I say. “Please do not be afraid. We all have different tasks in this life. We have different roles to play. We have different ends. I will play my role; you will play yours.
“I am happy that you and Casey will become boyfriends. He really is a nice boy. He will be a great warrior; you will be a great shaman. I will be what I will be.
“You know I cannot stay here forever. I have family, friends, and a home in Georgia. You and I will always be family; I hope we will always be friends.”
TomTom kisses me. We cuddle. I wake the next morning with TomTom nestled in my arms.
Adam’s Story II
“You’re Mr. Linden?” The woman’s nametag had the Diné logo and the name, “Mary Begaye, RN.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Oliver says. “You’re from Family Services?”
Mary opens a card case and hands Oliver a business card. “Yes, I’m here about Adam Begaye – no relation – not a close relation. What can you tell me?”
“You didn’t get a case file?” Oliver asks.
“I did; but I won’t read it until I hear firsthand all I can. Case files start as summaries of witnesses’ statements, doctors’ reports, police reports, and so on. Something important always gets lost in the translation, and they are not always as accurate as I’d like. Please? Tell me what you know.”
“Sure, Ms. Begaye – ”
“Mary, please.”
Oliver nods. “And I am Oliver. Here’s what happened.
“Tommy Chee, nephew of Joe Leaphorn, and I were in the Animus Mall. I am visiting Joe and Tommy, and needed a few things. Tommy and I had stopped for lunch in the food court when I heard someone crying out, ‘Stop, thief.’ ”
“I’m sorry,” she interrupts. “You say you heard this. Did Tommy not hear it, too?”
“Almost certainly; however, I assume you’ll want to talk to him, as well? Get his impressions and story first-hand?”
“You’re right, of course,” Mary says. “I am just surprised. Please…”
“I saw a boy who looked about ten years old running through the food court. I later learned his name is Adam Begaye and that he is nearly thirteen years old. He had a paper bag in his hand. Later, I saw the bag had the logo of the Y-T-H burger place on it. I saw a man running behind the boy. The man was wearing a smock with the same logo. The man continued to cry, ‘Stop, thief.’ It appeared that he was chasing the boy. I later learned the man’s name is Dale Earnhart.
“A boy whose name I later learned is Casey Brown Deer stuck his foot into the path of the running boy. Adam fell. Casey got up and kicked Adam, twice. Mr. Earnhart reached Adam, grabbed his arm, slapped him once open handed and once back-handed with a closed fist. Adam fell to the floor.
“By this time, Tommy and I reached the scene. Casey had drawn back his foot as if to kick Adam, again. I instructed Tommy to stop Casey. Tommy took Casey’s foot and tumbled him onto the floor. Mr. Earnhart had grabbed Adam, again, and had drawn back his arm as if to hit the boy. I subdued Mr. Earnhart and asked Tommy to call his Uncle Joe, who is a captain in the Diné Nation Police.
“Policemen arrived, followed by mall security personnel. I explained what happened. The lieutenant in charge arrested Casey and Mr. Earnhart and asked Tommy and me to come to headquarters to sign depositions. I suggested to him that Adam needed medical attention, and asked if Tommy and I could take him to the hospital. You see, Adam was quite upset. He was holding on to Tommy, tightly and appeared to fear the police. When the lieutenant tried to talk to him, he cried, and pressed his head into Tommy’s chest. The lieutenant agreed, and charged us to bring Adam to headquarters, later.
“We took Adam to the hospital. The examining doctor told me the boy showed signs of neglect and abuse, including abnormally low weight and height for his age, suggesting chronic malnutrition. The doctor summoned the state police and the FBI; however, after Captain Leaphorn arrived, it was agreed that the Diné Nation had jurisdiction.
“We brought Adam to Captain Leaphorn’s home, where he spent the night. We took him to police headquarters the next morning. He was interviewed. Tommy and I stood in for his parents who, by this time, had been arrested.”
“You were his adult advocate? That’s not proper procedure. It should have been someone from my office. At the very least, it should have been a member of the People,” Mary says.
“I was told your office hadn’t responded to several phone calls,” Oliver says. “Tommy is an adult; and I am a member of the People. I’m Joe’s brother and Tommy’s uncle … adopted.”
Mary’s eyes widen, but only a bit. “Again, you surprise me. Please continue.”
“Tommy and I dictated our depositions; signed them; and then came back here. Adam and Tommy are at Tommy’s aunt’s home, next door, playing with Tommy’s cousins. Would you like to see them?”
“I’ve seen this before,” Mary says. She, Joe, Sam Murr, and Oliver sit on the porch of Joe’s home, drinking iced tea and watching the boys play. “A broken boy bonds with another boy. He won’t bond with an adult, because he’s been mistreated by adults. He doesn’t trust them. Adam trusts Tommy. He may come to trust Oliver, because Oliver is one of his rescuers. I cannot place Adam in a foster home without removing him from a place he feels safe – your home, Joe.”
Joe answers the unspoken question. “He may stay. Tommy is home-schooled. Adam will be, as well. Tommy has duties that require travel with me throughout the nation; Adam will accompany us. When I am not home, my sister who lives next door will look in on the boys. Tommy is an adult by initiation into kiva. Will all this be satisfactory?”
Mary agrees. “Yes, it will. Thank you, Joe. There will be some paperwork for you to sign. I’ll bring it tomorrow, if that will be all right?”
“Yes, I will be here,” Joe says.
Mary stands. “Walk in harmony,” she says.
“You bring us harmony,” Joe says.
TomTom went to his Uncle Jim’s for secret shaman things that I cannot see. I go to bed in TomTom’s room. I am almost asleep when I hear the door open. I hear the patter of small feet and a warm body slip under the sheet. Adam! I think.
“Unca’ Oliver,” he whisper. “Will you stick your dick in my butt?”
My heart races, and I feel my face get tight, a sure sign that the hypertension that underlay my medical discharge has kicked into overdrive. I sit up and turn on the reading light.
“Adam, I can’t do that,” I say.
“Why not? It can’t be that big,” he says, and flips back the sheet to look. I am erect. I attribute that to the hypertension, by the way, even though that’s medically counterintuitive. “You’re just a little bigger than Casey,” Adam says, and reaches for my penis.
I intercept his hand. “Adam, it’s not that it won’t fit. It’s that you are a child and I am an adult. Right now, TomTom is my boyfriend. Right now, you are entrusted to the care of my brother Joe and my nephew TomTom. You should have a boyfriend your own age, or close to it.
“That makes at least four ways to break harmony if you and I have sex. Do you understand that?”
The little boy’s lips twist into a sneer. “I knew you hated me!” He digs his head into a pillow that does nothing to muffle his crying. His body shakes with sobs.
I lie down beside him, and pull him into a cuddle. “I don’t hate you, Adam. I don’t hate you. I love you. I can cuddle you; I can hug you. But I cannot have sex with you.”
“But Tommy says you like it!” he says.
That isn’t what I want to hear, but at least he stopped crying. “Adam, liking it isn’t enough. Have you ever seen a pair of dogs making puppies?”
“You mean fucking?” he asks.
“Um, yeah,” I say. “About how long did it take?” I ask.
Adam giggles. “About five seconds.”
“If I stuck my dick in your butt and shot after five seconds, would that be any fun for you?”
“No?” He draws out the word, turning it into a question.
“The dogs have sex to make puppies. Boys can’t make babies with other boys, so they have sex for fun. More important, they have sex to make bonds of friendship and love.
“TomTom and I were friends for almost two years before we had sex. We knew each other; we knew we would like each other. TomTom is also an adult. Adam, I’ve known you for only three days. If we are allowed to know each other for another year or two, and if we’re still friends, and if you are initiated in kiva and are an adult, and if TomTom and I aren’t boyfriends, and if you haven’t found your own boyfriend, you may ask me again – if you still want to. Until then, cuddles and hugs, only.
“But…”
“That’s the rule, Adam. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you, but that’s the rule.”
The little boy sighs. “Okay,” he says. He lies down and curls up. “Cuddles!” he demands. I turn off the light, and curl around him, holding him as his breathing slows and he falls asleep.
This book wraps up many of the stories of World, though we hope it is not the last from the fertile mind of David. Let David know you are reading: David dot McLeod at CastleRoland dot net. He deserves your feedback.
15,559 views