Kat and the Valley of Shadows

        Hi everyone. I have to be honest with you; I do not feel like doing the blog this week. Ever since Carter and I found Jane Bet killed by her sister, I have been very down. If you read my last post you will know what I’m talking about. Anyway, ever since we found the body, I have felt like I did when I first stepped foot in the Valley of Shadows while traveling through Dearth (the land beyond the dead forest).
        People in Dearth warned us that it would be almost impossible to survive in that dark, cursed land. When we stepped foot on that black dust covered plane, it felt like I had stepped into Death’s living room. Feelings of sadness fell so heavy upon me that I knew I would never be happy again. I wanted desperately to turn and run back the way we had come.
        The dark feelings were so powerful that Carter and I threw up. Then something happened that lifted the gloom in our hearts. The Guardian appeared. Just seeing him filled us with hope and joy, but it didn’t last. When The Guardian told us that our quest was over, Carter began to suspect that the Adversary was trying to trick us into abandoning our quest by appearing as The Guardian. Carter tripped him up by saying he was going to miss the pancakes he served us for breakfast. Carter asked him if he used buttermilk in the pancakes, and he said yes. Well The Guardian never served us pancakes, only waffles. We had him cold.
        That’s how the forces of darkness work. When we are at our most vulnerable, when things are so bad we don’t know if we can carry on, evil strikes. We must be on our guard because when we hurt so bad we don’t know if we can bear the pain one more second, evil will come with a pleasant face and an attractive offer of easy escape.
        When we confronted the Adversary, he revealed his identity. He was angry because he had failed. Not only did he fail to convince us that he was The Guardian, he gave us the key to making it through the valley of shadows (not that he planned to). When we thought The Guardian had come to help us, we felt hope and joy. Even though it wasn’t really him, we realized that when our focus changed from our horrible circumstances to something positive, we gained strength to overcome. That’s how we were able to push on. We focused on our friendship, on things that made us laugh, and things that made us feel glad to be alive. It’s okay to go on with your life even when you lose someone you care about.
        Okay, now I feel better. I guess it was a good thing that I did the blog even though I didn’t want to. Thanks for listening.

The Avoidable Tragedy

        Something terrible happened two weeks ago. That’s why this blog is two weeks late. I just couldn’t deal with the blog until now. I told Pastor Steve all about it, and he wrote it down as a story. It’s okay with me and Carter if you want to share it with your class or friends online. If it helps someone then it won’t be a total loss. Here’s what happened.
                                                    *****
        At their last meeting Kat suggested to Carter, “I think there’s someone we should visit.”
        “Who’s that?”
        “Old Bet.”
        Carter looked surprised. “Why should we visit her? She doesn’t like anybody, and nobody likes her. People say she’s a witch.”
        “Do you really think she’s a witch, Carter? I think she’s just a lonely old woman who doesn’t have anyone in her life who cares about her. I was thinking about Dark Beard whom we met in Dearth. He was a pretty nasty individual, but look how he changed when someone that he hated showed him kindness. I think of Dark Beard as a nice guy just waiting to be set free.”
        Carter said, “That’s true, but before he changed, Dark Beard was just selfish and mean spirited. Old Bet looks like she could be dangerous.”
        “Looks can be deceiving, you know. I’m going to give it a try,” Kat said. “You want to come along?”
        “Not necessarily, but I’m not letting you have an adventure without me. We are partners, after all.”
        “Good, I knew you wouldn’t pass up a good adventure, especially when we might be able to help someone.”
        Old Bet lived in a broken down shack about two miles past a river in a dense forested area. She had lived there for as long as anyone could remember. Whenever people talked about her they would say, “That crazy old hag is dangerous. It wouldn’t be wise to get too close to her.” Up until now, the two twelve-year-olds had heeded that advice. The kids had seen her on a few occasions skulking around scrounging in garbage cans and trash bins. They had also come across her shack while exploring, but they always kept their distance.
        “You know, Carter, I have always found the strange creations Bet makes and puts around her shack, very interesting. The pieces of colored glass she hangs on strings to make wind chimes, the strange shapes she makes out of junk, the way she works shiny pieces of metal into the walls of her shack is very creative and fanciful. The fact that she is creative is a good thing.”
        As the children approached the shack, they saw Bet on her porch hanging a wind chime made of broken pieces of porcelain. Her wild gray hair, deeply wrinkled face, and shabby gray dress made her look very witchy. Upon seeing Carter and Kat, she broke into a wide smile. “Visitors! I do not believe it; I haven’t had visitors in so very long.”
        “That isn’t the greeting I expected,” Carter whispered.
        Kat waved and called out, “I hope we are not disturbing you. We wanted to come and introduce ourselves.”
        “Introduce yourselves to me? Why, I am nobody. Why would you care to waste your time with me?” Before the children could answer, Bet said, “Please come and sit on the porch. I will go inside and make tea for us. Make yourselves comfortable, and I will return shortly.”
        “Carter, she seems nice. She isn’t at all like--”
        Kat wasn’t able to finish her sentence because a very angry Bet came running from behind the shack, shouting, “Who do you think you are coming to my home and sitting on my porch! You will be very sorry you ever dared to come out here!”
        The woman was terrifying to look at. Never had Kat seen anyone so outraged over nothing. The partners stood up and Kat said, “Bet, we’re sorry. You told us to sit on your porch while you made tea. Did we do something to upset you?”
        “Upset me? Upset me? You invade my privacy. You trespass on my property, sit on my porch, and expect me to bring you tea! Stay right here. I am going to get something that will settle this right now!” she screamed and stomped off back around the shack.
        “Kat, she is not sane. We need to get out of here.”
        “I’m with you, let’s run.”
        But just as they stepped off the porch, Bet appeared in the doorway with a tray of tea and cookies. “Where are you going? You are not leaving so soon are you? We haven’t had our tea and refreshments yet.” Bet smiled warmly.
        The partners shared a confused look. “But,” Kat said, “you just told us we were trespassing and that we were bothering you.”
        “Nonsense, I am so pleased and excited to have company. Now before we have our refreshments, you said that you were going to introduce yourselves to me.”
        Warily Carter said, “I am Carter and this is my partner in adventure, Kat.”
        “I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Susan Bet.”
        “Oh, I thought your first name was Bet. I thought that’s why everyone refers to you as Bet,” Carter said.
        Bet just smiled and poured the tea. When she was done pouring she said, “Oh goodness, I forgot the sugar. I will be right back.”
        As Bet went into the shack, Kat called out, “I don’t need sugar, I like mine plain.”
        “NO!” came a loud scream from the shack, and Bet came running back out with a bat in her hand. She was a wild woman. She began hitting the tray of tea cups, smashing everything, all the while screaming, “Don’t drink the tea! I thought you would be gone by now, but here you are still trespassing on my property! What does it take to get rid of you meddling kids!”
        Carter and Kat jumped up in terror. They were convinced that they were dealing with someone who had lost their mind. “Come on Kat,” Carter shouted. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do for Bet.”
        Backing away from the screaming, bat wielding woman, Kat said, “We’re sorry, Bet. We only wanted to let you know that someone cares.” Just then, something totally unexpected happened. A second Bet stepped out of the door of the shack. She looked shocked at what she saw and said, “Bet, what are you doing to our guests. We were having a nice tea party and you have ruined everything! You are a horrible person. You never let me have any fun.”
        “I don’t believe it,” Carter gasped. “You’re twins. There are two of you.”
        “Yes, there are two of us. I am Jane Bet and you have met my sister, Susan. I have to apologies for my sister,” the woman with the bat said. “She has poisoned your tea.”
        Susan Bet pouted. “Jane never lets me have any fun.”
        “Oh, I see now,” Kat said as if she were coming out of a dream. “You were trying to protect us. You were trying to scare us away so that your sister would not trick us into believing that we could trust her. She is the troubled one, not you. Oh Miss Bet, what a lonely life you must live keeping your sister safe and keeping others safe from her. You really should get her some help. This is no way for either of you to live.”
        Jane put the bat down and sat exhausted on a chair. “Yes, I am lonely. Life has been hard for us. Maybe I’m not doing my sister any favors keeping her out here in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know what to do. Thank you, children, for caring enough to come out here, but you should go. It really isn’t safe for you here.”
        Before they left, Carter asked Jane, “What about Susan? Will you get her some help?”
        Jane shrugged, smiled, and said, “Goodbye children. It was nice meeting you.”
        About a month later, Kat asked Carter, “Do you think Jane got Susan some help with her problem?”
        “I don’t know. We should check on them,” Carter said.
        “Okay, this weekend we pay them another visit and see if anything has been done,” Kat said.
        Carter and Kat arrived at the Bet’s shack around one o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. Things were very quiet.
        “Looks like maybe they’re gone,” said Kat.
        Carter called out, “Hello is anyone home?”
        Getting no response, the partners moved up on the porch. “Oh, what an awful smell,” Kat gagged and held her nose.
        “It smells like something died,” Carter observed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
        Stepping into the one room shack, the children found one of the sisters dead on a cot. It looked as if she had been hit several times with a bat while she slept. On her chest there was a note. Carter picked it up and read it aloud. “Now I can have lots of fun. No more Jane to get in my way. If anyone finds this, don’t bother looking for me. I am going far, far away where no one will know me.”
        Carter and Kat told the sheriff what they found and all that they knew from their previous visit. After that they never heard any more about Susan Bet.
                                                          *****
        There are a lot of things that can be learned from this tragic event. Expect the unexpected. Looks can be deceiving. Don’t accept things from strangers. But the most important lesson is that problems do not just go away. Jane Bet thought she was helping her sister by keeping her away from people. That only makes things worse. Why is it that friends and family think it is better to not get the help their loved ones need? Problems need to be dealt with. Ignoring them makes them worse. I shudder to think what damage Susan will wreak before she is caught. I’m going to bed, and I am going to make sure my door is locked. Be safe, all.