The Monkey's Paw

Charlotte’s Perspective:

Leaving the school for recess Sasha well a head of me, I feel my collar tugged on as Seth’s hand brushes the nap of my neck and I feel something wriggling down my back as I scream. Mrs. Killeen having yet to leave the building doesn’t notice as I stare at the ground as a centipede falls down to the ground and I glare at Seth who’s grinning.

Ignoring him, and blushing after making a spectacle out of myself, I go to where my sister is wondering where they got the damn thing as it’s still winter, the ground is quite hard still. There are mounds of snow still around, but the sun is baring down everyday and we’re moving into spring time.

Leaning against the tree with the lonely swing, my sister enjoys herself on it while I watch the other kids playing. My Papa’s forlorn conversation rearing it’s ugly head as there’s a weight on my mind and how I snapped, making wishes that would hurt him… Hurt me even, if wishes come true then will I be put through that same pain...a pain I know nothing about but willing asked for?

One of our friends runs up to us, a smaller girl with brown curly hair much like my sisters but lighter and cut short. She stops before me, “what's on your mind, I’ve never seen you so lost?”

I look up to see Cassandra and a few of our other friends surround us, I wasn’t aware I was looking lost, but my mind isn’t on what’s in front of me. “I’m just regretting an argument I had with Papa,” I tell her plainly.

“It happens,” Yuna says, the oldest among our group as she stops playing with a jump rope. I’m a close second by a few months, already fourteen.

“What you tell him,” Seth says joining our conversation, having been close by and playing tag with the boys who now wait for him to rejoin them to play.

“Stop talking with the girls,” One of them shouts and he waves back, but remains with us. A slight smile on his face as his bulling has become significantly less over the past few years, but he still does it. Like the centipede thing, before recess had even began.

Like my parents, I am straight forward, I don’t like keeping things to myself, so I answer him. “His friends all died while at war, so he became bitter,” I am reluctant to share this at the same time, but I want them to understand where he’s coming from, I don’t want to betray my Papa’s reputation. “I said I wish I could understand how he felt…but more so I wish to understand abandonment. My Mama say’s he was never loved.”

“Well love,” Seth says getting close to my sister as I approach him, stepping between the two as he seems more fond of her then myself, but likes bulling me all the same. “That’s when a man sweeps you off your feet and you swoon.”

My sister has gotten good at saying away from Seth and stops swinging, getting off and backing away from him, “I think coming from you, it would be assault.” She answers Seth looks offended.

Cassandra still listen to us, takes the swing and begins swinging her self. Seth turns back to us, “well if you’re looking to feel what your Dad felt, how about we pretend to be at war, Sasha,” He points at her, “You take this stick,” he grabs one that has fallen from the tree on the ground, “go poke Cassandra or one of the other girls, and pretend to kill them, like that’s a bayonet.”

“What’s a bayonet?” She asks and Seth frowns.

“Do you know what a Kitchen Knife is?”

“Yes.”
“That’s a Kitchen Knife then,” he points at the stick, “go poke someone.”

“I don’t want to be the bad guy.”

“It’s for your sister, we’re pretending right now, just do it.”

She stares at me as I shrug. We’re pretending.

Stick in her hand she goes to Cassandra who’s swinging on the tree and hesitates.

Seth looks at her and then says, “Well…” waiting and she shakes her head again.

I go over to Seth, “she doesn’t want to pretend to kill people, we’re not at war. I don’t like war.”

“It’s fine Sasha,” Cassandra answers, slowing down her swing to a standstill, “you can poke me in the neck with that, my father explained to me what war is like, and fighting those Nazi’s.”

Seth smiles, “yah, that’s right, you need to see them as enemies. So they can be German, or even Japanese.”

Sasha pokes Cassandra in the neck as she falls out of the swing, her tongue hanging out like some cartoon character that just died. “Good job,” She says to Sasha who looks worried.

“My folks are Japanese, they’d never want to hurt anyone,” Yuna answers, being a Japanese American herself.

“It doesn’t matter,” Seth answers her, “Sasha, go stab Yuna next.”

“Wait,” Sasha has charged her, although more of a quick walking towards her as she stumbles backwards, but holds the jump rope as if it were a weapon or shield, but she falls onto her rump.

Seth laughs and Margret steps forth, “You can kill me next, I’ll try to protect myself though.”

“We shouldn’t be playing like this, this isn’t fun, even if it is pretend…” I tell them, but Sasha has quickly gotten the swing of things and goes over to Margret.

“Sasha, you don’t have to pretend to do anything, I don’t find this fun…”

Sasha pokes Margret in the stomach with her stick when Margret laughs, “one poke won’t do, do it multiple times and I’ll push you some, need to make it look realistic.”

Sasha fallows along while I frown, “Don’t encourage him,” I glare at Seth, then back to my sister and go over to her, trying to stop her. “We need to stop.”

Amelia who’s been off playing on the jungle gym joins us, asking me what’s going on and Seth shouts at her, “We’re playing war and Sasha is killing all of Lotty’s friends so she can understand what it like.

“Stop this Sasha, you don’t need to listen to Seth.”

“It’s pretend, I’m having fun,” She says with a smile.

Amelia smiles, “Let me join, that sounds fun.” She rushes Sasha who’s startled and tries pulling the stick out of her hand while I trip forward from trying to stop her, Sasha now into the thrill pulls back, a little game of tug of war between the two of them.

“Stop this!” I rush them when Seth gets in my way.

“This is how it’s like to go to war, remember that, you want them to stop, but they won’t, look at them, they’re having fun.”

Sasha and Amelia are having fun while Yuna tries to get out of the way from the two and has Margret tumble over her by accident.

A Dog starts barking from a neighboring home when Mrs. Killeen storms over to us with a frown, “What are you all doing?”

Seth answers her, “we’re pretending to be at war and Sasha is killing all the Japanese girls.”

Mrs. Killeen takes Seth’s ear in her hand, “We’re going to call your parents, all of you stop this at once.”

Sasha and Amelia stop wresting over the stick while the others pick themselves up and pat off their dress.

I stare at my sister, frowning, this is the first time I ever though about disliking her, but she went along with Seth’s suggestion so easily. “Sasha...please never do that again, don’t listen to Seth.”

“I was just having fun, don’t worry about it.” She says brushing it off and talking with Amelia move, while I realize she’s her own person, and she’ll stop tagging along with me as much. She is growing up and it’s new to me, this feeling of loosing my only friend...my own family.