feelings.
“Is everything alright?” she finally asked.
“I’m really sorry about what happened,” I confessed, unable to look her in the eyes.
“Don’t worry, Thomas,” she said with a smile, “from what I’ve read, your reaction was perfectly normal.”
“You’ve read about it?” I asked.
“My parents go away on business very often, so books were all I had to keep me company growing up,” she admitted.
“What about TV?” I questioned.
“This was before TV,” she stopped as if she said something that she didn’t mean to, “before we got a TV, I mean.”
I had heard about some parents being so strict that they didn’t allow their children to watch TV at all, forcing them to read books for entertainment. It seemed that Eden’s parents were like that, or so I had thought at the time.
We lost interest in the movie; the events of the evening made it hard to focus on the television screen, so we gave it up and decided to clean up the popcorn that was littering the floor.
Eden went into the kitchen and quickly reappeared with a small vacuum cleaner. Turning it on, she quickly cleaned all the popcorn from the floor. Looking under the couch, I could see that plenty of kernels had taken up residence there. Standing up I reached out to move the couch. It didn’t budge. I gave it my all, grunting as I pushed with all of my strength; still it didn’t move an inch.
“Wow,” I exclaimed in wonder, “How heavy is this thing? I can’t move it at all.”
“My family likes their furniture built to last,” Eden explained, “This couch is from the 18th century. Of course my parents had it reupholstered in leather, but that frame has got to weigh well over a hundred pounds.”
“How will you clean the popcorn under it?” I asked.
“I’ll get a broom and push the popcorn out the other side,” she informed me, “but it’s getting late, I’ll clean it up tomorrow.”
“Alright,” I agreed, “then I’ll see you in school in the morning.”
“You bet,” she agreed with a smile.
“And you are sure that you aren’t upset?” I asked one last time.
“No, I’m not,” she smiled. As if to drive the point home, Eden leaned over and kissed me on the lips. After the kiss, I stumbled back a few steps onto the doorstep.
“Have a good night, Thomas,” she said, standing in the doorway.
“You too, Eden,” I returned.
Smiling back at me, she slowly closed the door.
I stepped off the doorstep and headed towards my house. I felt bad that we hadn’t been able to clean up all of the popcorn. It was my fault that it fell on the floor in the first place and I couldn’t believe that I was so weak that I couldn’t even budge that couch. I was just about to make up my mind to go back and give it another try when I heard the silent roar of the vacuum start up again from inside Eden’s house.
I walked back towards her house, hoping that Eden wasn’t trying to move that couch alone; she could hurt herself. Just before I knocked, something strange caught my eye. Peeking through the thin window that ran alongside the door, I witnessed the unbelievable – the couch that I had not even been able to move an inch was now suspended over Eden’s head!
Eden had balanced the couch in one hand and held it over her head; with her other hand she vacuumed up the popcorn that previously we had been unable to reach.
I stood there in shock for a few moments, not believing what I was bearing witness to. How could Eden have been able to lift that monstrous couch over her head with only one hand? It was impossible; she told me herself that it weighed over one hundred pounds!
What did this mean? How strong was she? What was she?
All of these questions and more raced through my mind as I silently made my way back to my house. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I failed to notice the lone figure standing in the street before Eden’s house, watching me.
7
Creeping in the front door, I
“Is everything alright?” she finally asked.
“I’m really sorry about what happened,” I confessed, unable to look her in the eyes.
“Don’t worry, Thomas,” she said with a smile, “from what I’ve read, your reaction was perfectly normal.”
“You’ve read about it?” I asked.
“My parents go away on business very often, so books were all I had to keep me company growing up,” she admitted.
“What about TV?” I questioned.
“This was before TV,” she stopped as if she said something that she didn’t mean to, “before we got a TV, I mean.”
I had heard about some parents being so strict that they didn’t allow their children to watch TV at all, forcing them to read books for entertainment. It seemed that Eden’s parents were like that, or so I had thought at the time.
We lost interest in the movie; the events of the evening made it hard to focus on the television screen, so we gave it up and decided to clean up the popcorn that was littering the floor.
Eden went into the kitchen and quickly reappeared with a small vacuum cleaner. Turning it on, she quickly cleaned all the popcorn from the floor. Looking under the couch, I could see that plenty of kernels had taken up residence there. Standing up I reached out to move the couch. It didn’t budge. I gave it my all, grunting as I pushed with all of my strength; still it didn’t move an inch.
“Wow,” I exclaimed in wonder, “How heavy is this thing? I can’t move it at all.”
“My family likes their furniture built to last,” Eden explained, “This couch is from the 18th century. Of course my parents had it reupholstered in leather, but that frame has got to weigh well over a hundred pounds.”
“How will you clean the popcorn under it?” I asked.
“I’ll get a broom and push the popcorn out the other side,” she informed me, “but it’s getting late, I’ll clean it up tomorrow.”
“Alright,” I agreed, “then I’ll see you in school in the morning.”
“You bet,” she agreed with a smile.
“And you are sure that you aren’t upset?” I asked one last time.
“No, I’m not,” she smiled. As if to drive the point home, Eden leaned over and kissed me on the lips. After the kiss, I stumbled back a few steps onto the doorstep.
“Have a good night, Thomas,” she said, standing in the doorway.
“You too, Eden,” I returned.
Smiling back at me, she slowly closed the door.
I stepped off the doorstep and headed towards my house. I felt bad that we hadn’t been able to clean up all of the popcorn. It was my fault that it fell on the floor in the first place and I couldn’t believe that I was so weak that I couldn’t even budge that couch. I was just about to make up my mind to go back and give it another try when I heard the silent roar of the vacuum start up again from inside Eden’s house.
I walked back towards her house, hoping that Eden wasn’t trying to move that couch alone; she could hurt herself. Just before I knocked, something strange caught my eye. Peeking through the thin window that ran alongside the door, I witnessed the unbelievable – the couch that I had not even been able to move an inch was now suspended over Eden’s head!
Eden had balanced the couch in one hand and held it over her head; with her other hand she vacuumed up the popcorn that previously we had been unable to reach.
I stood there in shock for a few moments, not believing what I was bearing witness to. How could Eden have been able to lift that monstrous couch over her head with only one hand? It was impossible; she told me herself that it weighed over one hundred pounds!
What did this mean? How strong was she? What was she?
All of these questions and more raced through my mind as I silently made my way back to my house. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I failed to notice the lone figure standing in the street before Eden’s house, watching me.
7
Creeping in the front door, I
Similar Books
