Fall all Together (standard:other, 900 words)
Author: Andrew Dayton	Added: Nov 30 2012	Views/Reads: 2949/1904	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Written for a short story contest dealing with the topic of Halloween.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

looked up anxiously as Papa came out of his bedroom and sat at the 
table. His Papa was a quiet, big shouldered man and he heard Mr. 
Jackson saying at Church one time that Mike Ferguson was the hardest 
working man in the county.  Colin had felt a flush of pride at this and 
watched his father now.  He looked worried. 

“Boy, You're gonna have to hand out the candy your Mama made.  She's
gonna be in with the Doc awhile.” Colin tried to hide his anxiety, “Is 
she okay Papa?” “She's gonna be fine, now mind you don't eat more than 
you hand out.” 

Colin gathered the candies into a bowl and, because his Mama's groans
were getting louder, he took the bowl outside and sat on the stoop.  
Colin handed candy out to groups of children until they stopped coming. 
 He took the nearly empty bowl inside and sat next to Papa at the 
table. 

Mama's groans became louder then stopped.  Doc's soothing voice was cut
off by the squalling of a baby.  Colin and Papa looked toward the 
curtain, waiting for it to open.  It remained closed.  The baby's cries 
grew softer, weaker and stopped as if cut off.  The sound of Mama's 
sobs reached them then. Papa took out his knife and started scraping 
out his pipe, his hands shaking.  Colin watched, afraid to speak.  The 
knife slipped and the tip pierced Papa's calloused thumb and he stared 
dumbly as the blood welled and began to flow.  The pipe slipped from 
his fingers and he his hid face in his hands and sat, silent immovable. 
He sat like that a long time. 

On a rising breeze he heard faint singing from down the block: 

Gold and red and yellow 

The summer leaves have fallen 

Harvest is in and pantries stocked 

And cold winds soon come calling... 

The singing faded and the candy in his mouth tasted like vinegar. Colin
rose to spit it out. 

He slid onto the bench next to his Papa and put his arms around him
tightly and felt him shaking.  He put his head against the rough wool 
shirt and closed his eyes. 


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