A New Friend

Jess woke that Saturday morning and tip-toed to the kitchen. She found the large red , and lay it out. Careful not to disturb her parent's sleeping in the other room, she moved about the small kitchen picking out cookies, crackers, a couple of apples and then pieced together a bologna and cheese sandwich. She wrapped it in a paper towel, and placed it on top. Picking up the opposite corners of the handkerchief tying them in square a knot like her daddy taught her, being sure to tie the last one around the first to keep her goodies secure.

She adjusted the overalls on her shoulders. The shirt underneath used to be white once upon a time. Grabbing a hair band she swept her hair into a ponytail, scooped up the lunch pack from the table and walked to the back door.

"Jessica Eloise Johnson! Where do you think are going?" Came the deep voice of her father from the bedroom.

"' daddy!" She said impishly. "I'm going on an adventure! I need to explore the West-end of the property." Jess paused, and held her breath.

"Girl, you know you need to let me or your mama know if you're going off to explore." He chastised.

"Yes daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you on account of it being so !"

"Alright then, you be careful out there, and you best be home before dark! You have food and water?"

"Oh yeah, Water! Okay daddy! I promise! Thank you! Love you guys!" Jess squealed in delight, grabbed the canteen hanging by the door, slipped her feet into her hole-ridden Converse sneakers and was out the door before they could change their mind.

Jess secured her lunch and canteen to her walking stick propped outside the door, leaned it against the front of her shoulder and started out from the house heading away from the rising sun.

like Huck Finn! She snickered to herself as she wound through the struggling corn field. Last year the corn stalks were higher than she could see over, but this year had been tough. She overheard her mama and daddy talking the other night about not enough rain, and having difficulty making all the payments on the property. They had lived in this house for two years now, she hoped they didn't have to move again. This felt like home.

Jess had been walking for the better part of an hour, she was getting near the wooded area she had heard others in town talk about. They said there was an old abandoned barn out here and a small farm but a long time ago it had all burned down except the barn. She could wait to explore it. She paused for a minute to take a swig of water from her canteen, the sun was getting higher and hotter! Thank goodness she was nearly into the shade of the woods.

Picking her way through the forest, the ground was thick with small plants and twigs, spiderwebs stretched across her pathway. no one had walked this way in some time, she could make out the ghost of a path. Jess paused as she saw the leaves moving up ahead, in one spot. She slowed down, making her way closer, ready to bolt the opposite direction if necessary. The leaves rustled again.

Jess' heart thumped in her chest as the adrenaline increased, she knew well enough to be cautious and careful. Watch out for copperheads or any other such creature. She held her breath and watched, taking her walking stick she pushed it closer to move the leaves aside and see what was beneath.

She released her breath in a mighty exhale as the box turtle beneath peered up at her , and perhaps a little perturbed at the interruption. Drawing its head slightly into the shell protectively, the little legs continued the direction it had been headed.

She started to see the evidence of a structure through the trees. This invigorated her curiosity, she picked up her pace eager to explore. The forest that grew around the barn appeared to be sneaking up on it. She paused in her progression, taking it all in. The building, if it could still be classified as that, looked exhausted to Jess.

Jess cocked her head slightly to the side and squinted, wondering why the barn was this far out, away from all the other farms. A flash of movement caught her attention inside the old structure. not a turtle this time! Could be a doe? She would do her best not to frighten it.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She took a tentative step closer to the barn and the dark shadow of the doorway.

She heard the rustling of movement again, and peered around the threshold. The barren room revealed a boy, about her age standing wide-eyed near the back end of the barn.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You startled me! I didn't think anyone else would be out here. Hi! I'm Jess!" Jess waved and moved into the doorway, looking around as she continued , eyeing her surroundings precariously. "Is it safe?"

The young man nodded, and looked at her as though he had seen a ghost and backed up a step.

"Hey, sorry if I surprised you. I'm Jess and I live at the little farm that way. We have corn, but it's not doing so good right now. What's your name? Where do you live?" Jess paused and didn't advance any further so as not to startle him anymore. He wasn't dressed well for an adventure, old tattered 's and a t-shirt but no shoes even.

"Um, my name is Francis but people call me Frankie." He said, and continued to eye Jess warily.

"Nice to meet you!" She returned. "It doesn't look like you have any lunch with you, I was about to sit and eat, are you hungry? I have enough to share!"

"No, thank you." He said, and warming up a little, he inched out from the shadows.

"Okay! Let me know if you change your mind." Jess sat right where she had been standing, inside the barn, and began unwrapping her goodies taking another drink from her canteen. "Do you come here often? This is my first time coming this far. I have to be home before dark or I'll get in trouble. Do you go to school around here? You don't look familiar but I think we're about the same age." Jess rattled on, excited there was someone out here to talk to and explore with.

"Um, yes I'm here every day." He hadn't moved much closer but sat on the ground a short distance from Jess. His gaze panned around the empty, abandoned interior.

"So, Frankie - where is your favorite place to explore?" Jess had finished about half of her lunch but began wrapping everything back up inside the to save for later.

"Well, the stream isn't far off. That's always fun. Do you want to explore with me?" His face seemed to light up at the idea.

"Sure! That sounds like a fun adventure, let's check it out!" Jess was already on her feet and ready to go.

Jess felt like there was something a bit odd with this boy, but he seemed pretty fun and loved the company.

The two of them walked out the barn and as Frankie led the way towards the babbling stream. They continued to weave around the barn in a zigzag pattern they found themselves getting distracted with so exciting to discover. Jess held her walking stick in her hand like a marching baton, raising it rhythmically up and down in the air as she marched . They went down to the river and laughed, playing in the water she splashed around and refilled her canteen while she was there.

Hours passed and Jess began to realize she was hungry again, she also noticed the light of the day had shifted, and she still had a bit of a walk to get home. She reached into her pack and pulled out an apple and began crunching on it.

"Frankie! I best be heading back home." She hollered after him. She watched as Frankie stopped and looked back at her, heading back to where she was standing.

"Wow, okay - that's too bad. This has been the best day ever! Thanks for hanging out with me today!"

"What are you doing tomorrow? I was thinking I could come out again, and we could keep exploring more of the stream and ?" Jess' voice went up at the end, hopeful and holding her breath for his reply.

"Oh gosh, yeah! That would be loads of fun. See you tomorrow then!" With that, Frankie turned and walked back towards the barn.

Jess watched him go, wondering again where his house was, he never did tell her where he lived.

"Meet you back here?" She yelled to his back.

"Yeah!" He yelled back with a wave, continuing to walk along a fallen tree like on a tight-rope.

With that Jess turned the opposite direction and high-tailed it back towards her house. She was getting a little nervous with how low the sun was getting. She picked up speed once she was out of the forest and hurried home at a light jog to be sure she arrived in time.

As she walked in through the door, she could smell supper cooking and hear mama humming in the kitchen. She smiled at the warmth and the welcome of their little house.

"I'm home!!" She proclaimed.

"Well if it isn't our own Huck Finn - Adventurer Extraordinaire! How was your adventure sweetheart?" Her mama stood in the doorway to the kitchen smiling as she wiped her hands clean on the towel and waved for her to come give her a hug. "Papa should be in , you go wash up for supper."

Jess walked up and gave her a squeeze.

"I had the best time ever mama! I met a new friend! There was a boy out at that barn when I got there, and we explored and played in the little stream. Best. Day. !"

"That's great! What was his name? You know the family that owned the old barn had a horrible incident year's ago. I think it's been about 15 years now. Some vagabond wandering through the area stopped and asked for provisions and to freshen up before he got back on the road. Well, it turned out that he was a madman. Killed them all including their kids." Her mom looked up from her task of making dinner at Jess waiting for a reaction.

Jess, mouth slightly open asked her mom, "What. . were the kids' names?"

Her mom, tapped her finger to her forehead. "Let's see, there was a young girl named Josephine, I think she was about five, or six years old. She had an older brother as well about your age honey. His name was Francis, but I believe his family and friends all referred to him as Frankie." She smiled and turned back to work on dinner.

The color in Jess' face drained, and she reflected back to her adventures for the day with her new friend. His feet didn't move the leaves, or make a print in the muddy banks. He didn't join her when she splashed in the water, and he wasn't ever hungry. She looked out the window, should she go back tomorrow? How could she not?

This was going to be the most summer she has ever had.

"Mama, can I go back to the barn again tomorrow?"