Eldrick's Spark

Eldrick crouched low and shuffled as quietly as he could throw the tangle of wild grape vine and thorn bush that lined the fence row of his father’s farm. In one hand he clutched a short bow tightly against his rail thin body to keep it from snagging on the dense underbrush and with the other he steadied the quiver clasped to his wide belt. Dead leaves decorated his sandy hair and red welts were rising where the razorvine and quillweed had caressed his sun-browned skin. Ahead of him the trees grew tall and wide apart and the brush grew less dense. Behind him stretched miles of tilled earth and green clad pasture. The sun beat down mercilessly on Eldrick as he shuffled forward. Despite the shade the dense undergrowth seemed to amplify the heat rather than dispel it. The pungent smell of crushed greenery and sweet pollen filled his nose as sweat leapt from his tousled hair and slick arms to spatter the dusty ground.

Flies buzzed loudly ahead of him and through the itchy green tangle another sound made Eldrick’s heart skip a beat for fear. It was a menacing rumbling sound, a sound man had feared since the world was new. A vicious snarl followed, then the sound of tearing flesh and the crack of bone. Eldrick’s feet froze in place. His heart beat like a kettle drum in his ears and he was sure his breathing could be heard from several miles away. Fear gripped him. Fear of being rent and crushed and eaten, primal fear.

Eldrick slowed his breathing as his father had taught him. Slowly he raised his hand and gently brushed aside the thick strands of viper grass that blocked his view. Inch by inch a massive tawny shape materialized before him. Neck muscles bulged as the lion tore hungrily at the belly of the dead bull. Blood smeared the muzzle of the beast as it ripped great chunks of flesh from the bull. To Eldrick the lion was the most wonderful and terrible thing he had ever seen. The great cat was all muscle and power and beauty. A creature created to rule over all others. He looked nervously at the suddenly pathetic weapons in his hands, the curved stick that Men had named “bow” and the sharp feathered sticks in his quiver. He looked at again at the lion which had stopped feeding and turned its great golden eyes on him. Eldrick wanted to run, he wanted to scream and throw down his puny weapons and run, but he could not move. Mastery was in the lion’s eyes a knowing of the order of the world, of its place in the order of things. The lion was undisputed in this place as surely as an Eastern King on his throne.

A guttural rumble sounded from the lion’s bloody maws and reverberated through the trees and across the fields. Eldrick put a trembling hand to the quiver at his side and drew a goose fletched shaft from among its brethren. The lion growled blood curdling thunder and rushed. Eldrick’s arrow never found the bowstring as he was crushed to the ground by the powerful predator. Heat washed over him in waves, heat that made the sun seem cool, heat that stole his breath and replaced it with sulfur and brimstone. Then darkness came, cool and quiet and he was alone.

January 20

Things have been hectic up until today. Along with school, basketball, home remodeling, baby planning and cleaning I have been trying to get a little writing in (little being the key word).

The Cambridge Christian School Lady Lancers are currently 11-8 with districs coming up at the end of the month. You can check the team out here http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/Team.mxp/AreaID-7bcaf5fa-f8bd-4fe8-a970-f05012cd05b2/SchoolID-c4c227a5-9602-4a5c-9c01-956ff6d738a0/Girls_Varsity_Basketball_Winter_07-08/Florida

Our baby is due February 22nd so once basketball is over a whole new game begins. Today we have to run errands in the afternoon, go to Babies-R-Us, Target and a few other stops. I hope everyone enjoys MLK day tomorrow, hopefully you have some time off.