The Ghosts of Varner Creek by Michael Weems Read Free Book Online

yada, yada, and something about a grinning cat, but Miss Thomas didn’t have much of an audience. Mama nodded like it was all very interesting but most of it was flying in one ear and out the other. Her nails were suffering a terrible punishment from whatever had Mama so preoccupied.
    As for me I was nearly bursting with impatience. I still had my gift to give. "And look what I made for you, Sarah, just look!" I popped in the kitchen and was out again with the paper crown and wand. "Now you can really play princess! You got a crown and everything." I put the crown on her head and gave her the decorated straw with the spinning top. I was never really sure whether it was a royal scepter or magic wand, but I figured it could be whichever Sarah wanted it to be. That is, assuming it made it past the birthday party. When Sarah got a hold of it she started waving it so hard it the star on top nearly fell off.
    "Wait! Wait, Sarah!” I yelled, “Don't shake it. Look, it spins when you blow on it, see?" and I blew on the star and around it went just like a miniature windmill covered in gems. "And it has sparkles, too, just like jewels and things on it. You can't see it so good in here but under the sun they really shine."
    She bounced out of her chair and ran over to where the front room window was letting in a few rays of afternoon sun. She put it in the light and blew on the star. It lit up with reflections and Sarah’s eyes danced with the light. I felt good seeing her so happy with my gift. She held her new princess wand with reverence. You would have thought that paper was gold and those colored rock salt sparklers real precious gems the way she looked at it. She stammered a little bit, "P-pretty, Sol. Pretty." It's all she said as she admired the sparkling star spinning under the sun’s rays, but it was more than enough. I knew that after Mama had explained what a prince was in Snow White and all about princes and princesses, kings and queens, and Sarah just in awe of it all, that this would make the perfect gift.
    Watching Sarah at that moment filled me with happiness for her, and hope, but it also kind of made my heart hurt, too, though, because Sarah knew she didn't look like her two cousins who had come to visit her today. She knew she was different. Some of the other kids in church wouldn't play with her and made fun of her saying that she was so stupid you could see it on her face and about how she couldn't talk quite right. Amber and Francine weren't mean like that, but they were a bit embarrassed that they were related to Sarah, so they pretended like they weren‘t whenever she was around them. It was hard on Sarah being excluded and cut off like that. But today was different. Today she felt like the most beautiful girl in the world. Sarah took a step back to make sure I got a good look at her new dress. "I pretty, t-too, right? Right, Sol?"
    I stood there looking at her in her faux princess dress and paper royal jewels and admired who she was. She might have been made different but she had a heart of solid gold. She loved everyone without a thought to it. She was as sweet and giving as a person could be and I always thought it was a bad choice from above that she should be made like she was, so nice but so slow. "Yeah, you look really pretty, Sarah. As pretty as I ever seen."
    "You is a pretty little princess, girl," said Pap from the table.
    "You sure are," agreed Aunt Emma "Isn't she girls?" she asked her daughters.
    "Yes, ma'am," they said automatically.
    “ I wonder if Pap got anything for his little princess?” asked Pap. He had a drunken smile that almost made him look affable. He put down his glass and disappeared to his room for a moment, re-emerging with something small and lumpy wrapped in plain brown paper in his hands. He sat back down and motioned for Sarah to come over to him. He lifted her up on his lap and handed her the gift. We all watched as she unwrapped it, particularly Mama who seemed to be