Gifts of the Evanai

She was the kind of person you might see a thousand times yet never notice—unless you were a photographer, in which case you might have snapped a few pics. But you wouldn’t have learned her name or ever sought her out again. Only those in soup kitchens & shelters took the time.

Her face was weathered & dirty, hair unkempt, teeth yellow & crooked, some of them missing. It was difficult to discern her age, race, or gender. She was dressed in layers of clothes every bit as worn & dirty as she was. Her hands were swaddled in rags, fingertips calloused & cracked, her nails broken & grimy.

The smell, both of breath & body, were awful. Ralph knew this because she was leaning over him as he lay in bed, her face right above his. She didn’t need to do a thing to wake him. Her odor was more than enough.

But she shook him anyway & said, “Ralph, get up. I need your help.”

Everything about her seemed dismissible, except her eyes. They were fierce, focused & not about to be denied. He could see that, even as he tried to wipe the sleep from his own. They were so compelling he didn’t notice her lips were chapped, cracked & bleeding, or that she had spit a little of whatever was in her mouth onto his pajamas as she spoke.

And she knew his name.

He had no idea who she was. Couldn’t place her. Couldn’t imagine where they might have met.

Penny stirred & turned toward them.

“No, Penny, you stay here. The kids will be waking soon & they’ll need you. Ralph will be more than enough. C’mon, get dressed & grab some shovels. We haven’t much time.”

Ralph had no idea what was happening, but he did as she commanded. Penny rolled over & went back to sleep as though this was perfectly normal—or just part of a dream.

Ralph got up, put on his snow gear & grabbed two shovels. He noticed as he emerged from the back that she’d wound rags around her face, covering both her nose & mouth. He thought that might be a good idea for him as well. It would not only protect him from the weather outside, it would keep him from smelling her. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t gag if he caught another whiff.

“Where are we going,” he asked.

Following her through the front door raised another question. How had she gotten in? He had locked all the doors last night. It made him think of the old Roger Miller song, “And any lock-a ain’t-a locked when no one’s around….” Even if she wasn’t “Queen of the Road”, she might possess the skills.

With all these musings, he almost missed her answer.

“To your neighbors’ house down the street.”

He wasn’t sure which house she meant. Most of their neighbors had evacuated before the storm. His family hadn’t left because he knew their house was solid, they had a generator, all the supplies they needed, & weathering an epic five-day blizzard with record snowfall would be a memory they would treasure forever.

“Which house?” he asked as they emerged into the storm.

“It’s a few blocks from here & a couple more around the corner.”

He tried to picture that part of town & which house it might be, but he couldn’t.

As they trudged through the snow past homes with which he was acquainted, he thought about their friends who lived in them. Some had gone to stay with family, others just far enough to keep them beyond the storm’s wrath. Still others thought it a great time to take a vacation, whether to warmer climes or to winter climes with ski resorts where, even if there was this much snow, the streets were already clear & the power back on.

After just two blocks, he discovered he could no longer identify many of the houses from what little he could see. He wondered if he would be able to find his way back if this strange woman didn’t return with him. He had no idea how long they would be gone or how much snow would fall in the meantime. Would he recognize anything by then?

And that’s when he face-planted.

“It’s easier if you follow my footsteps rather than trying to make your own way,” she said as she helped him up. “That’s what I’m doing, following the same path I made earlier.”

Path? What path? He couldn’t see anything ahead of them but blowing & drifting snow.

But she was right. As he stepped where she had, not only was it easier to walk but the storm felt less bitter.

Five blocks later, she turned to face what appeared to be an empty lot & said, “This is it.”

“What is it?” Ralph asked.

“A one-story rental, two bedrooms, one bath, no basement & a landlord who doesn’t pay much attention. A family of seven moved in a couple of months ago. I’ve tried to make sure the sewer vent & chimney remain clear, but I can’t do that anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because I…,”

“No,” Ralph interrupted, “not why can’t you but why have you?”

“Because I knew they couldn’t afford to leave & I was afraid they wouldn’t know what to do in a storm like this.”

“But how have you managed? It’s been like this for four days!”

“Ralph, I’ve been living this way for so long I don’t know how not to,” she replied.

He was impressed. She knew her stuff & wasn’t asking anything for herself. She didn’t appear to be an alcoholic, drug addict or mentally unstable. She was simply looking out for others.

“So, how do we find the vent & chimney?”

“We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Let me show you.”

She led him to where he assumed the front door must be, then knelt in the snow. She indicated he should kneel beside her.

She pointed to the snow in front of them. “Do you see this?” she asked.

“See what?” All he could see was snow.

“Look closer.”

Ralph bent down nearer to where she was pointing. It took a while, but he finally saw it: a small ridge with a slight depression behind it, running in a straight line before them.

“What is it?” he asked.

“The roof is giving way. If we go out, there’s a good chance we’ll bring the whole thing down on top of them.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We dig. That’s why I need you, or at least your shovels. When the snow was fresh, I could clear things with my hands. But once it’s hard-packed…. That, & I’ve seen you work. You know how to clear snow & it never hurts to have a second pair of hands. Nice job clearing the roof, by the way. Looked like your kids had a lot of fun.”

“We did…. Wait. You were watching?”

“Yeah, I try to keep an eye on you & a few others nearby who stayed.”

“How many others are there?”

“Enough to keep me busy. It gives me something to do, keeps me out of trouble” she snorted, pleased with her own sense of humor. “C’mon. Let’s get to work.”

Throwing snow with her turned out to be fun. Time passed quickly, & before Ralph knew it they were standing before the front door.

So, do we break it down?” he asked.

“No, that might cause the roof to collapse.” Without another word, she pulled something from her pocket, stuck it in the keyhole, worked it around, turned the handle & opened the door.

“And any lock-a ain’t-a locked….” The song was becoming a real earworm.

They crept through the house to the master bedroom. The place stunk of sewer gas almost as malodorous as her own. He had no idea what all went into her smell, but he guessed stale cigarettes & raunchy cigars were included.

Once more? “Old stogies I have found….” Earworms.

In the bedroom, Ralph had another question. How do you wake a pair of strangers in their own home & persuade them you’re there to rescue rather than harm them? Sewer gas sedation?

Thankfully, once they stirred, she quickly made them understand something was wrong & they needed to leave. “How does she do that?” Ralph wondered.

The parents’ first thought was to get to the kids. She explained it wasn’t just the gas but that the roof was also about to collapse. They needed to move carefully as they woke the kids, dressed for the weather, & left.

In the other bedroom, the two oldest understood immediately & began gathering coats, hats, boots & gloves. The two youngest slept through the commotion. The middle child, still rubbing her eyes, pulled on her mother’s pajamas & complained, “Mommy, I’m hungry. Can I have something to eat?”

Mom looked at her for a moment, not sure what to do. She turned to this strange woman for guidance & she responded with an understanding nod. Sliding over & kneeling beside the child, she pulled a surprisingly fresh pear from her pocket.

“Do you know what this is?” she asked. The little girl shook her head. “This is a pear. So, you’ve never had one?” She shook her head again. “Well, I think they’re about the best thing you could ever eat. They’re kinda like an apple, only sweeter & more juicy. I picked this one just a few days ago from a tree downtown. They’ve got a lotta pear trees there, beautiful trees, lookin’ the way I imagine heaven’ll look when we get there. I was savin’ this one for a special occasion & I think this might be it. Would you like to have this pear?”

The little girl hid behind her blanket, but her eyes looked eager & hopeful as she nodded yes.

The strange but friendly woman held the pear out to her. The little girl looked to her mother who smiled & nodded. She took the pear & held it in her blanket.

The woman pulled another pear from her pocket & said, “You know, I’m kinda hungry, too, but I don’t want to eat until we get where we’re goin’. Do you think you could hold onto this one for me, so I don’t lose it?”

The child’s eyes widened over this responsibility with which she was being entrusted. She nodded again, placing the pear in her blanket with the other one. She looked up at her mother & smiled with pride.

Suddenly Ralph remembered these kids. He’d seen them playing as he was heading downtown not more than a month ago. They’d been roughhousing the way kids used to entertain themselves before they all had cellphones to keep them quiet & distracted. They reminded him of when he was their age. It’d made him smile then & now he found himself smiling again.

When everyone was bundled & ready, they headed through the door. Mom stood there making sure all were accounted for. But as the last one passed by, she suddenly cried, “Wait, I forgot his nookie!”

Before anyone could say a word, she bolted through the door which flew open with a dull thud. The house gave an ominous groan, followed by one loud crack, then another. They heard her cry, “Got it!” & saw her emerging from the hallway just as a beam came crashing down upon her.

Dad fell to his knees. The two oldest watched in horror. The only sound came from the daughter with the pears who screamed, “Mommy!” as Ralph held onto her.

For a moment they could see the blood pooling beneath her, eyes staring blankly, the nookie still there in her outstretched hand. And then she was gone, buried in house & snow.

The woman fell to the snow behind them. Her head tilted back as she let loose with a long, blood-curdling, heart-broken scream.