The Hidden Path Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE     (Last Chapter)

 The sound of rain pitter pattering against the window woke a still sleepy Isabella and Harris from their short slumber…

Harris, stretched; yawning widely….

Isabella glanced at the clock on her dresser…Only twenty minutes had passed…

She rose, crossing the room, to close the window against the rain which had started coming in from the outside. Although it was summer, she noticed the temperature had dropped substantially; she shivered a bit as the drops rushing in wet her arms…

Turning around, she started to move back toward the bed, when she noticed a spider making its’ way down the ceiling, along a thread of its web. Instinctively, she reached for a magazine on her bed stand, and raised it to the spider, making ready to whack it…

Just as her hand was coming down, she heard. “Nooooooooo!!! Please! Don’t hurt me!!” - The spider screamed out, in a shrill voice - doubling over, her two front legs raised up, covering her head in an attempt to protect her-self…

In an instant, at the sound of her voice, Isabella stopped dead in her tracks.

“What did you say?” she asked through reflex…as the spider, began to reply…”I-I, said”…

- then she too stopped dead, asking…”Hey, wait a minute! You can HEAR me?” …  In a voice sounding quite a lot like Angelina Jolie…

Isabella answered… “Yes, I can”….

She began to explain to the spider how it was that she was able to hear her…

When finished, and Harris confirmed it all; the spider was mesmerized…

She lifted one of her eight legs, as though to shake hands with them,…”It’s nice to meet you both, my name is Susan”…

Isabella introduced herself too, as well as Harris…

“I just came down”…Susan went on, - (as she felt she owed them an explanation)… - ”To try and scrounge up some food for my babies”, she said…pointing up near the top of the curtains, to the corner of the window; Isabella, by following her gaze, could see a nest with about 10 or so baby spiders,

She felt immediately relieved she didn’t squish their mommy…

“I’ve seen you many, many times before”…Susan went on, saying… ”I just never thought” - but she was cut off by Harris, who finished for her, saying: “You just never thought you’d be having a conversation with her one day”, he said…Snickering…

The three of them laughed together in response to the comment…

At that moment, Isabella’s mother knocked softly on the door, entering the room…

“I thought you might enjoy a nice sandwich, as well as some soup to go along with it”…she said…Setting the tray down upon the night stand…

When she looked up again….just like that…WHACK!! - Her hand reached for the magazine next to her, and it came crashing down…Splattering something beneath it…

Isabella screamed! “Nooo!!!

Her mother, trying to calm her said: "It’s just a spider! See?”… ”You always were afraid of them, remember?” She reminded her…Looking at her oddly… She held out the magazine for Isabella to inspect…

Isabella’s eyes teared up…

Her mother……. thought perhaps she was acting strangely from being overly tired, hungry, and in deep need of sleep….

While rubbing her daughter’s back…she said: “I am going to run a nice warm bubble bath for you, honey”  “You and your little friend here”…. - she gently scratched his ear…”The both of you eat up…By the time you are through, your bath should be ready. How’s that sound”? She more stated than asked; while touching Isabella’s cheek.

She then kissed her daughter’s head, and started for the door; before she left, she said. “I’ll leave a nice soft towel out too for when you finish”. She blew her daughter another kiss and left the room to prepare the bath…

 As soon as she was gone, Isabella began to sniffle; as did Harris…

 At the same time, they heard another voice crying out… - a strange male voice…

 “Nooooo“…………….. “Whyyyyyyyyy?”…he cried…

”Dear Lord noooo.  Whyyyyyy?”…he repeated…Through heavy sobs…

He sounded just like Bruce Willis…

When Isabella and Harris followed the direction of the voice; there, sat on the window sill, was a large praying mantis…His hands held up in a praying position as he petitioned to the Lord as to ‘why it was‘,  he had lost his friend..

Going on to ask….”How, oh how…. can this have happened, Lord?”….

”When at any other time that I prayed, you came through for me”…he asked God …through uncontrollable sobs…

“And ‘who’ may I ask, are YOU?|”…Isabella declared…Just barely, through her own teary sobs…Silencing him momentarily at once!

He stopped crying just long enough to ask…”You can HEAR me?”  said, with one ear cocked at her…Holding his breath in anticipation; forgetting for a moment his own sadness…

Isabella rolled her eyes; then once again explained her story…

When she finished, he was just as struck by it all as Susan had been…

“Well, I am Lenny”…he told them both, finally…Bowing slightly…

Harris this time, introduced himself and Isabella…

“I just can’t believe this happened” Lenny went on…Through a tear strained voice…his nose swollen from crying so much….

”Susan was my very best frrrrriend” ---- he whined…. -

… He was stopped short - by a sarcastic female voice….

“WAS?!!!” the voice asked… indignantly! Coming suddenly into view…

It was none other than Susan herself!!… They couldn’t believe it!

“Susan!!” the three of them shouted, all at once, joyously!

”Why yes!”…

”Who ELSE would it be? “she asked…sounding a bit confused by their strange behavior; Isabella told her what happened…And what they thought had happened to ‘her‘…

When she finished, Susan giggled; she explained…

How:  “just prior to what they told her, - back when she and Isabella were looking up at the ceiling, at her babies; how one of them had suddenly cried out to her in great need…

How she, having no time to waste, had “scurried back up along her web to be with them again”…

"How, It must have happened”…she concluded…”at the very same moment that Isabella’s mother had entered the room…

They all let out a big sigh of relief as it all began to make sense…

 After a long moment, Isabella, confused, asked her…

“Well Susan, if that wasn’t you who got whacked…well..…Who WAS it then, exactly?”…

”For certainly, there was somebody I saw there on that magazine!!”She exclaimed!

The room grew still as they all looked from one to the other, in silent, but questioning concern...

Isabella lifted the magazine back up, slowly turning it over…She peeked at it from the corner of her eye…- As did the rest of them…

“Ahh”…said Susan….

”Yessss”…

Turning to her; Isabella asked...

“Well who? Is it then?”… Harris too echoed her question...

“Ahh”…

That is just Helen”…

”The old black widow…

"She used to enjoy reeking misery on everyone"  “Everyone, and anyone, who crossed her trail…That is, of the one’s who survived her tortures”…

Then pausing for a beat…she looked once more, briefly again at Helen, and shuddered… Before Isabella turned the magazine back over again; away from everyone’s view.

“Well thank HEAVEN!” Isabella exclaimed…Overjoyed!! - “It wasn’t you”, Susan"… - The others chiming in quickly, agreeing…

Isabella, beginning to feel relaxed, felt the stirrings of an appetite building. She leaned over, lifted the tray of food from her night stand, and set it down on the bed next to her... Taking half a ham and cheese sandwich, and pushing the other half over to where Harris could reach the plate…

She grabbed too, the cold glass of lemonade and drank some down, pushing the other half over toward her friend…He just wiggled his nose though in disapproval.

She began to taste the vegetable soup; cold it was; just how she enjoyed it prepared in summer…

Harris, upon seeing the veggies, lifted his eyebrows in interest…

Isabella, seeing his reaction, drank down the broth; she put half the leftover contents onto her plate; then pushed the other half remaining over towards a hungry and waiting Harris…  He snatched them up, wolfing them down in almost one gulp…Slurping, and smacking his lips when finished; letting out a loud belch.

They were all chatting and giggling when the door suddenly opened; Isabella’s mom poked her head into the room again.

“Have you finished yet, sweetheart?”  “Your bath is ready for you now…So anytime that you ‘are’ ready…

Just don’t wait too long honey, you don’t want the water to get cold”… She  paused, looked at them curiously for a few seconds; before adding…

”If you need anything more , I’ll be downstairs with your father in the living room”…She pulled her head back then, slowly closing the door in front of her, and left..

“Whew!!!” Isabella said, “That was a close one!!”

“Nooo, it was not,” ”she can’t hear us, remember? Only you can!!” Replied Harris…

“Right!…I keep forgetting that!”    She sat back and was about to finish the last bite of her sandwich…thought for a moment, and saved a large crumb for Susan…

”This is for you”….she said… pushing it over to the edge of the nightstand…

”So you won’t have to work so hard hunting; you can spend a bit more time now with your little ones”…she told her new friend…

Susan, quite touched by the gesture, thanked Isabella; Lenny, smiling, thanked her too…

”Let today’s earlier events be a lesson to us all!  When we hear mom coming, everyone RUN"!!

They all cracked up laughing; but agreed….

  They knew all too well, it could very easily indeed have been a close call earlier for Susan…

 Isabella said….”To think too, that at one time I feared spiders…who would ever have thought?!!” she exclaimed, merrily; stretching… She turned to Harris, and suggested he have a nap; while she excused herself to them all, going into the bathroom…

Once inside, she closed the door, slid from her dirty clothes; putting them neatly into the hamper… she climbed gratefully, into the waiting tub of warm water, and sat back; her head against a large bath pillow her mother put there for her…It felt wonderful!! She thought…closing her eyes; and had herself a nice long soak…

After she was all sweet and clean; she brushed her teeth, put on her dressing gown, and headed back to her bedroom.

When she got there, her mother was seated on the side of the bed; petting a very indignant looking Harris on the head…

Isabella stifled a laugh…

Her mother, holding the top sheet back for her, let Isabella slide into bed; covering her.

When she was all cozy and settled in for the night…her mother went on to say how happy she was to have her back home with them again; and how very much she, and Isabella’s father had missed her.

How…Isabella getting lost could NEVER happen again…. how she was to promise, to never go off the normal pathway to the house ever again.

Smiling, Isabella agreed; promising her mother she wouldn’t.

She knew now, just how much her mother, - how much both of her parent’s, loved her!

She vowed, never to worry them again… for she really did learn, that moms and dads truly DO know what is best for us!!

… They lay quietly, her mother talking softly, caressing Isabella's hand; Harris by her side…

Her mother went on to mention, casually,... how …

“I really do understand what you were telling me about earlier, honey. About your ‘adventures’” she said… winking at Isabella…
The room went quiet.

Isabella lay still…. not knowing what to do…

She lay there silent; looking around her pretty bedroom; thinking to herself how fortunate she was to have such a loving home.

Enjoying thoroughly the sight of everything in her room; especially, her lantern nightlight, which sat on the table by her bed side…

All of this, she was thinking about…

When her mother stood, and said goodnight; giving her a last kiss before exiting the room for the night…

Once she had gotten outside the bedroom, Isabella closed her eyes; snuggling Harris close to her…

She lay there in the dark, thinking….

When a flash caught her attention from the corner of her eye…

Almost at the same time, Isabella’s mother opened the door again…saying… “Turn off the”…. -

She stopped herself short…her voice trailing off…

“Oh…I’m sorry honey, I thought I saw your light on”…she said… her eye brows knitting together in confusion…

Once again, she said goodnight; closing the bedroom door…

Isabella lay in the dark; her eyes open… staring,  at the door, at the place where her mother last stood; when out of the corner of her eye, again she saw the light….A pink, flickering light, coming from inside her lantern….

Turning onto her side to get a better look…. Her eyes grew incredibly wide; as she caught sight of none other than Rose!!

The whole lantern was lit with a lovely pink hue; Isabella could hear Rose’s tiny voice; as she giggled…

”Goodniiiight Isabellaaa”….”Goodniiight Hare-isssss”……

And then…

”Good night Isabella’s ……….. - “Mom!!”…

She giggled even louder, mischievously; the pink light which was Rose, growing smaller, and smaller… until finally, it faded out completely…

Just as it did, Isabella’s mom opened the bedroom door…

”Goodnight again!!” she said…A big smile on her face!

She winked at them, shutting the door for the last time.
 

Isabella and Harris, - looked at each other in wide eyed wonder… Stunned!

Giggling, they hugged each other tightly with happy faces, and went to sleep….

By Linda Ann P******k   ©

Also known as LindArtz/loveis/sTreetAngeL