Hush, She Said to Her Restless Heart

Sarah will always remember the day she discovered that she was the most powerful person on Earth. Riding her bicycle to the top of a hill on the asphalt trail in the Nature Preserve, she had to stop. The twelve-year-old felt her legs getting stronger and it became difficult to control the bike. The wind picked up and gusts of warmth swirled past brushing her face and arms. The girl thought it strange that gravity could feel so weak.

She brought the bike to a stop and stood to look straight up into the tallest tree in the forest. The adolescent fell asleep and dreamed about reaching up to touch the summit of that behemoth. While unconscious Sarah saw herself standing and teetering on the top of that tree. She saw the central business district of the nearby town and visible too were the mountains to the west. Songbirds flew above and beneath the girl. The clouds looked close enough to touch. She shivered as a slight breeze felt to her like a gale force wind. Looking down her stomach fought the dizziness she felt was coming. A Mayfly made several revolutions around her wobbling body and then lit on her arm. Waving the insect away the girl fell backwards. Young hands gripped the handlebars as Sarah thought the special dream had left her. Ahead of her trail signs marked the exit from the preserve.

Sarah stayed with her Grandparents while her mother traveled out of state to go to a funeral. The girl’s Father walked away from them three years earlier and Mother and child were happy about that. The girl loved riding her bike with Grandpa Joe. The joy came from the fact that he paid attention to her, really listening to what she had to say. That meant a lot to the girl. He played the role of favorite adult male figure in her life right then.

The Granddaughter went to the grocery store for her Grandmother and on the way back made a quick little diversion to the Nature Preserve on the outskirts of town. Leaving the Preserve, Sarah pedaled as fast as she could, feeling terrific. She ignored the spectacular vison believing her energy came from the fresh air and the quick little nap. The town’s main street became the goal; it was the quickest way to Grandma’s house. Bursting out from the tree covered path, the air cooled while the noise of traffic invaded her mind. Then the world she once knew began to change. Cars pulled out from driveways and people walked from the sidewalk onto the street in front of her. A miffed young girl walked her bike down the sidewalk for safety after almost colliding with pedestrians. Sarah remained alert for shoppers at the entrance to stores. They constantly made her get out of their way. A delivery man pushed a cart loaded with cases of canned soda pop across the walk forcing her to make a panic stop. An elderly lady walking behind bumped into her. The woman did not even say, “excuse me,” to Sarah. That made her think to herself, “what am I, invisible?”

Angry, she climbed onto the bicycle and again pedaling as fast as She could, veered down a quiet street toward the Grandparents house. The girl suddenly recalled all the world events on the morning news. Grandpa listened to the radio during breakfast that morning and the Granddaughter discovered that she could recite the entire news broadcast word for word. “Wow, I’m really smart,” she said to herself. After thinking about it for a moment she said out loud, “I’m the smartest girl in the world.” Then the name of every American President bubbled up into her mind. Her jaw clamped down hard as she thought about the difficulties encountered with a history quiz in school back home.

“Goodbye to you,” she yelled to the lone car that came up behind her and honked because she was in the road; she felt relieve that now people could see her. Pedaling as hard as she could, Sarah raced ahead of the vehicle and nearly lost control of the bicycle with the speed obtained. Braking hard she brought the bike to a skidding halt. The guy driving the car behind her came to a complete stop and stared at her with a look of disbelief. A woman weeding a flower bed in her front yard stood and turned to look at Sarah. A man walked out of his garage and down his driveway with head turned in her direction. An anxious girl walked the bike the rest of the way down the block before getting back on it again. Looking ahead, the girl with extraordinary powers spotted the cute boy she had seen when she and her Mother arrived the week before. Sarah took notice of boys now. This one looked a bit older, but she liked him. He rode his bike in circles while a couple of his male friends examined a do-it-yourself ramp made from some bricks and a piece of wood. She understood right away what they were planning to do with their bikes. The infatuated girl’s head buzzed with thoughts and images, but she decided not to approach the boy now. It thrilled her to see him again, yet she was sorry that she chose this street to get to the Grandparents house. She hoped that they would focus on their impending bike stunt and not her. The girl felt like she could probably bike-jump further than any of those older boys. An instant thought also told her that special boy inspecting the ramp would not like that. A little girl then noticed that she was riding her old bike, the one with training wheels. The longer she looked down, the younger and smaller she got. Now a child of just five, Sarah strained to continue pedaling as training wheels clicked and clacked a noisy number on the rough road surface. “Special boy,” turned to look briefly as did the other kid and then they resumed examining the bike ramp.

Only two blocks from her Grandmother and the narrowing of the street caught her attention. The towering trees along each side leaned inward toward her. The girl saw visions of her gymnastics class at school. She recalled how the instructor was always watching her and she could be so critical of Sarah’s performance. The teacher wanted the girl not only to walk across the beam with arms at her side, but also to do a back handspring on it. The little drama remained fresh on her mind even though it happened over a month ago. The teacher yelling at her made the young student freeze. Yet, now the girl felt like she could do all that the other students did and more. She wondered what would be the reaction if she did? At her school, the girls are on one side of the gym and the boys the other. Both groups see each other. A surge of energy in her instilled the belief that she could do anything on the balance beam and in slow motion just to impress everyone. The imagined reaction of everyone to such a stunt frightened her. Returning to normal size and age, she continued down the street, feeling strange. Sarah decided she wanted to be alone. Riding along, a glimpse through a window of a cluster of bare light bulbs hanging from a living room ceiling gave her an anxious feeling. The houses on either side of the street looked sinister. Sarah felt like a ghost of a girl as she sailed down the tarmac on a bike not touching the earth.

The sight of the Grandparents house brought a sense of fear. Stopping her bike, Sarah got off and walked it down the sidewalk toward the front entrance. She looked herself over making sure she was Sarah at twelve. Her mind raced with thoughts about giving away the fact that she was now different. An apprehensive girl climbed the stairs to the porch slowly after making landfall on what was once her island of security. Hoping to see no one the girl with supernatural power crept from the foyer into the living room. Grandma came out of the kitchen wearing an apron. Sarah liked the upbeat attitude of the woman. Her friendly manner allowed the child to relax and accept a level of control that would otherwise start a rebellion if directed by another adult authority. Silently Sarah vowed to keep her mouth shut as much as possible to avoid sounding like she knew more than her Grandmother. The girl held her power close. A quick glance in the mirror calmed her; no changes in appearance were seen.

Grandpa Joe entered the house from the back door. The smell of fresh mowed grass came in with him. He asked his Granddaughter if she wanted to go for a bike ride. It surprised him to see her hesitate. Riding the bike with Grandpa gave her something that had been scarce in her life; a gentle parental love is nourishing for children. In the past Sarah jumped at the opportunity to bike with Grandpa. Grandma told them that she could hold up dinner a bit to give them more time to ride bikes.

Sarah reluctantly agreed; “how about a ride around that old movies outside place?”

“You mean the old drive-in theater,” Grandpa Joe corrected her.

“Yeah, that place with the funny looking building.”

“That’s a big movie screen,” Joe told his Granddaughter. “In my younger days, we saw many new actors blown-up into giants on that huge screen. Everyone watched from their cars.”

The girl’s stomach felt queasy, but she thought it too late to say no so she forced a smile, and they were off. The ruins of the drive-in sat behind a chain-link fence, but there was a parking lot where a concession stand once stood. No one seemed to mind if the neighborhood kids rode their bikes around on the lot. Sarah remained her same age for an hour and that was a relief for her. The child pedaled slow so the elder could take the lead.

“When we get the time maybe tomorrow, we could take the bikes down the trail that goes through the Nature Preserve. Wait till you see it Sarah, it’s beautiful,” Grandpa always full of good cheer said.

“I don’t think so Grandpa, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t in the forecast I saw.”

“If we have the time. Mom needs to get back to work after the funeral.”

“The funeral is not until Saturday, then she needs to get back here. What is the matter Sarah, I thought you liked being out in the nature?”

The girl riding behind hesitated for a moment, “I’m sorry Grandpa, I miss mom.”

She loved it that grandpa went along with her imagination. Sarah thought that playing make believe would be safe territory. The young girl’s mind could not find answers for the troubling events of that day.

“Grandpa, I thought of a game we can play on our bikes. These are the instructions I have made up. You are a knight, and I am a Princess. We are traveling in a spaceship to other worlds and your job is to protect me.” She caught herself looking down to see if the bicycle had training wheels. “Now Grandpa, this is a special mission. No one is to know about it. Raise your right hand and swear to keep secret what I am about to tell you. By the power vested in me from the King and Queen of the realm of Saturn and Jupiter I declare this journey to be classified.

“I do,” Grandpa Joe said with a tone of sincerity with his right hand raised. Though inside he thought his Granddaughter was getting a bit old for this kind of play. He went along with it because he knew it pleased her.

“There are dust storms on Mars. I have seen those bad conditions, and I am told by the high command that hostile aliens are using the bad weather to hide from our space probes. Just remember your ability to shoot energy from your fingertips. Nothing can penetrate that special suit your wear. Your brain was made bigger and faster by the scientists. You are superior to all our enemies.

“I am invincible,” Grandpa Joe proclaimed.

Arriving at the empty parking lot they rode their bikes in circles. Sarah instructed Grandpa; the lot was outer space, and they were in orbit around one of the two moons of Mars. Then the busted concrete of the old lot became that moon. They explored all the craters, “potholes”. Suddenly it became time to blast off again. Grandpa looking at his watch, told her they needed to head back to Earth. They left for the house and the meal Grandma was preparing.

After they ate dinner the sun still lit the landscape and Sarah was not in the mood to retreat into the guest bedroom. In the kitchen the Grandparents were cleaning up the dishes. When she came out of the bedroom, they told the girl she could go out in the backyard and play.

When Sarah left Grandma asked, “so I didn’t hear much about the bike ride.”

“Oh, we played the usual games. Child fantasies, really. You should hear this one. She made me a knight, she was a Princess, and we were traveling in a spaceship.”

Grandma let out a brief laugh.

Grandpa Joe continued, “she’s got some growing to do. You know we should talk to your daughter when she gets back from New York. Maybe Sarah needs counseling. I know of some competent psychologists in town. Her Father has deserted both her, and her Mother, and she’s all wrapped up in these fantasies about…”

“What I need are people to keep their promises. You just broke yours Grandpa. I’m not crazy,” Sarah yelled from the back door where she had been listening. The girl then turned and ran, letting the door slam shut. It happened so fast that both Grandparents stood motionless with shock.

“Joe, go find her,” Grandma said with her voice trembling.

Grandpa ran out to the driveway just in time to see her riding away on her bicycle. From the street he called her name, but she continued pedaling. The wise elder shook his head when he saw the direction she took. An angry young girl headed toward the section of town where there were abandoned buildings and dangerous people. That surprised him. She had been warned about going there.

Sarah wanted no more thoughts about the Nature Preserve. The girl wished she had never taken that trip down the asphalt trail. Pedaling

fast she told herself that that forest with its moldy smell and high humidity would be the last place she would ever go. She longed for the happy times of the past. The child saw a limited picture of life back then. The meaning of the word, “mystery,” escaped a girl of five, but it was the spice of her experience. She recalled the magic that seemed everywhere and the passion for exploration that filled her with delight.

Now she knew all the scientific names of all the plants and much more, and she wasn’t sure she wanted everyone to know that she walked around with all that in her head. Before he left them, her father had moved them around a lot. Sarah found it tough to make friends, but that skill had been getting better. The gymnastics teacher and the balance beam kept intruding into her thoughts. The female student gripped the handlebars tighter.

The young girl headed toward blocks of deteriorating brick and steel structures. There was no destination in her mind. She biked straight down the same street for blocks, before veering off into a potholed narrow service road to an abandoned warehouse. Sarah orbited several connected parking lots for half an hour while she explored the vastness of the world inside her.

“It’s time,” she said to herself, “to return home.” A sense of urgency flooded her thoughts. The way back to the Grandparents house seemed to be located behind two buildings. She pedaled toward an alley between them that led to the main road that brought her to the parking lot maze. She knew that a disaster was imminent, and it pulled at her like gravity. First came the shouts and the breaking of glass. A high-pitched sound overpowered that noise. The bicycle pedaled to the breaking point was responsible. Rubber tires smoked and then blew as the girl controlled the bike during a panic stop.

There in the alley sat a car surrounded by a group of young males. They looked like a bunch of teenagers. They paid no attention to her as they proceeded to smash out the windows with rocks and a ball bat. The adolescent toughs yelled obscenities at the unseen victim. Dropping the bike Sarah walked closer and recognized the car. It belonged to her Grandpa. She saw him poke his head up briefly and then he hunkered back down into the declining safety of his armor.

The girl who now accepted her power, marched toward the boys, weakened by their fear of her. The teens stopped attacking her Grandpa and turned their attention to the Sarah. The looks on their faces projected the anger and malice of their hearts.

The girl forgot the fear of connecting with her power. With hands on hips and looking directly at them, she marched toward the band of hooligans. They instantly halted their movement toward her and in unison slowly fell backwards. Their landing on the pavement was a soft one. All of them closed their eyes and appeared to be sleeping.

Sarah knew what was happening. Every one of them beheld the same special vision created by the girl. In a dream-like state they saw themselves holding hands, dancing around the base of a huge tree. Bending their necks to look up, they smiled at Sarah, enthroned atop the tree. She stood perfectly still. In the vision she smiled back sending down a cloud containing a spell she cast into it.

Sarah let her arms drop to her sides. The boys awakened and smiling got to their feet. Together they walked back into the neighborhood from where they came.

The door opened and Grandpa got out of his battered car. As he walked away his Granddaughter just looked at it. Grandpa Joe heard the pop and rumble of metal being bent. Then came the tinkle of glass faintly in his ears. He turned around and looked at his vehicle. Sarah using her power, restored it.

“I’m sorry I got so mad. I had some growing up to do. It caused you to be in danger,” she explained.

“Sarah I’m amazed,” Grandpa Joe said.

“Hey Grandpa, do you want to hear the world news,” Sarah replied.