Berry

BLACK BERRY PIE

Episode #2

The black berries were blooming, the scent caring for miles away. Children were gathering in the meeting hall, an old house near the swap to map out the directions to the largest berry patch. Nikie and Murl directed to go to the east of the pasture where Mr. Moss keeps his three old sway back horses. Bobo and Tina to the north end of the pasture and Mae and Tyann to the west of the pasture pass the old cemetery.

Nikie and Murl singing along the path, picking big black berries the size of dimes to hear the sound of them falling to the deep bottom of the red chittening bucket was like hearing a miniature bomb explode. Shortly after the hour Murl decided to separate. He finally told Nikie that they could surely win the berry contest if they split up and pick a bucket a piece. Nikie didn't mind the separation as long as the reward would be the ten dollars that Mrs. Mary promised and a giant piece of the Black berry pie.

Nikie had a half of bucket full of black berries and the odor of the sweet berries was very tempting. She continued to pick one berry at a time and dreamed how juicy the berries would be if only she could taste a few. She fought with the temptation. Now about 10am the morning breakfast that was so filling started to fade and the hunger of the berries arose and her hand dug into the chittening bucket suddenly Placing hand full of juicy black berries in her mouth at a time. The wonderful taste for out weighted the ten dollars and waiting for Mrs. Mary black berry pie to finish, cool, and serve would take years it seem like to Nikie.

Soon after eating four or five hand full of berries, she was overly grieved wondering just how mad her partner would be after seeing the black berry stain on the front of her sky blue shirt. Even more important how her mother would feel knowing that the task of hopefully regaining that crisp color would ride in her capable hands. Just thinking about the idea of her mother upset, sent chills down her spine. Nikie hurried to another section of the pasture still in the east field started to pick so fast that the stickers didn't seem to matter. Nikie could hear Murl in the distance calling her name. She tried hard to ignore the voice, picking even faster to try to assure that her bucket would be full and perhaps she would even have more berries than Murl.

Murl soon caught a glimpse of Nikie and started making his way to her side yelling out how he had found a good spot. Nikie soon stop picking and focus on where Murl said it was a good spot. When Murl reached the side of Nikie he was slightly disappointed yes she had three thirds a bucket of berries but he seen the stain on her shirt and argue with her about how if only could have went without tasting the berries they could have won without going back to complete the bucket in which Nikie and Murl had. Murl red bucket was full and he had to be careful not to spill berries over the rim. Murl directed Nikie to the good spot and completed the bucket. Walking slowly back to the meeting house they called Liz Place to get more buckets to grantee a win. Murl told Nikie what he would do with the ten dollars.

Bobo and Tina were the lazy ones of the group they went toward the north end of the pasture. However, when they seen Candy, one of the horses of Mr. Moss they couldn't pass up an opportunity at trying to ride the sway back horse. Tina warned Bobo against trying to ride the horse. She was upset about going to the north side because about a month ago she was walking and Mr. Star's big black and brown German Sheppard had tried to bite her. So animals and her didn't seem to go hand and hand fearful of the horse temper she back up and quietly watched Bobo as he tried to ride her bare back.

Bobo being the typical boy was yelling at Candy. Bobo now on Candy's bare back began to kick the horse side. However, Candy continues to graze on the emerald green grass that was Mr. Moss pride in the middle of a drought in the majority of the Southern United States of America. Bobo soon bored with Candy uninterested in galloping to the kick of his feet. He proceeded to get back to the idea of picking berries. So once again Tina and Bobo were off to the north of the pasture. Tina noticed a small berry patch near the railroad. They immediately changed directions and headed northeast to the patch. Picking berries and eating berries after 2 hours of picking they didn't have enough between the two of them to fill not even one bucket. Tina disappointment in the efforts to win the contest decided if the contest was to be won it would take her doing it alone. After the decision was made by Tina to win she became a black berry picking machine picking black berries at a record speed.

Bobo was totally impressed on the ability to pick black berries. Instead of him chipping into help her pick so that they would win the contest he sat down under a tree to take a break. Why pick when he dad the secret weapon (a berry picking Tina). Meanwhile, Tina was growing tired with one bucket full to the rim and the second bucket near the rim Tina stopped to take a break under the tree with Bobo. Bobo and Tina talked. Bobo pleaded with Tina to eat a few berries as a reward just in the case they didn't win they would have a reward of having a few berries as a mid day snack. Tina overly tired didn't oppose her partner's idea. So they sat and ate berries and laughed thinking about all they did that day. The day was getting late and they decided to go back to meet the others at Liz Place, the meeting house near the swap.

Mae and Tyann had an adventure of themselves. They were directed to go to the West end of the pasture an area that kids rarely went alone or even for that matter with two or three. The west end of the pasture was just past the old cemetery were old scary stories originated. These scary stories scared the children of the bottom and no one ever wanted to go to the cemetery alone or even at the eve of the day. Tyann and Mae tried to be brave as if it really didn't matter that they had to pass the old cemetery. The slower they walked paying special attention to every sound. The wind seem like it was blowing against their every step. Mae was so scared she couldn't remember the whole reason she was foolishly walking near the cemetery. Tyann had to remind Mae of the ten dollars of prize money and the wonderful steaming black berry pie of Mrs. Mary.

Just as they began to feel safe an owl started to hoot. The sound was so laud that the two of them started to run. Tyann pointed to the owl and they laughed at how scared they were to hear the odd sound. The cemetery was just a few yards away Mae reached for Tyann hand and the two of them walked at a rapid pace to get though the cemetery. However, the girls seen a large tombstone and the glitter of the stone stopped them. Mae decided to go closer to the tombstone to see if she knew the deceased. The name on the tombstone was Chris Johnson. The years read Sunrise 1980 Sunset 1992.

This was surprising to Mae because she was just a few years younger than this person. Many questions started to fill her head. Who was He? Where did he live? Did he attend their school? Did he have a sister? Who were his parents? What did he die of? Was it an accident, suicide, or a very bad sickness? Mae just nine years old had never thought of death at such a young age. This terrified Tyann and Mae. They both began to cry for the boy sitting now at the foot of the sparkling gray marble tomb. They made a pack that they would come every month to visit the grave and place a stone down so he would know that someone cared enough to come.

They searched around the grave to fine a suitable stone. Tyann found a stone beautiful caramel color stone with a small black spot on the side, shaped like a boat. Mae could not find anything she thought was good enough. Mae venture out a little from the grave to find a pretty rock. She finally found a brown and oval shaped rock. She placed the rock ever so carefully upon the headstone unlike Tyann which placed her rock on the foot of the tomb.

Now they where off again to the berry nest just pass the cemetery. There about ten yards pass the Bugtussle Cemetery sign was so many black berries. They picked and picked until all the buckets were filled and then began to fill their pockets with berries. Heading back towards the cemetery the girls was please with the fact they no longer viewed the cemetery in the same way. No, not now since they became so emotionally connected to Chris Johnson. The beautiful grave of the twelve year old was an event neither Mae nor Tyann would forget. Now the only fear Mae had was the fear of knowing that young children could die.

Tyann was very quiet the entire trip this troubled Mae. Mae wondered what she was thinking about so deeply that she didn't even respond to her calling her buck teeth. This was a nickname that the children around the bottom often called Tyann because her two front teeth grew back and they stood out to far. Mae again taking a stab at humor joked about how scared they were before they entered the Bugtussle Cemetery. This respond got a smile from Tyann. They had reached the meeting hall, Liz place and began to tell the story of how they discovered the large sparkling grave of some Chris Johnson and how he was only twelve years old when he died.

This caught the children interest and they began to ask some of the same questions Mae asked herself in the cemetery. Who was Chris? How did he die? Did he go to our school? Did he have any living relative still living in the Bugtussle community? By this time Mrs. Mary was walking in the meeting hall and told the children Please put your berries were I can see what each team have to offer. Bobo and Tina, Murl and Nikie, and of course Mae and Tyann gladly revealed the amounts. Bob and Tina two full buckets, Murl and Nikie four full buckets and a half of bowl full of berries were noted. Mae and Tyann two buckets barely filled to the lower rim of the buckets. The winner of the berry contest was by far Murl and Nikie. However everyone had picked so many berries that Mrs. Mary agreed to bake every team a berry pie to enjoy