Song of Angels - Chapter 15
Written for Steemit: A love story occurs during a time anomaly. A woman from today somehow steps into an anomaly and meets a cowboy asleep on his ranch, in his bed, in the 1850's. ©Jeff Kubitz 2016 - All Rights Reserved.
Song of Angels - Chapter 15
Mindy Woczlewski courtesy of Nastya Muratokova
Sitting in the outhouse, Mindy looked for the toilet paper and because it was the year 1856, there was none. What was in there was a wall box of corn cobs and a few dirty rags, "This is what they used?" Mindy leaned over and looked into the open topped container up against the wall to her right. Just three boards about a foot deep and a foot wide about half way full of corn cobs. She reached in and took one out and looked at it with most of its kernels gone and said, "Uh- uh." She put it back and picked up a rag. Filthy, it would have to do.
The rumble she heard did not sound like a vehicle after all, or if it was a vehicle it was very loud and growing louder. Quickly she wiped herself and heard the gallop of a horse's hooves, then shouts, "Mindy! Mindy!" They grew louder and she was sure it was Cyrus riding up to the house, "I am in the outhouse!" She yelled at the top of her lungs but Cyrus could not hear her because he kept yelling Mindy at the top of his lungs and heard Cutter race by toward the barn.
She dressed and while belting her slacks ran out the door and yelled to Cyrus as he and Cutter started to descend toward the barn. "I am over here."
Cyrus slowed Cutter below her vision, must have turned him back toward the house and trotted up. The rumble grew louder. "Run toward the house!" Cyrus yelled from the back of Cutter as he approached. Mindy did as she was told and took off. Her shoes were vinyl boots, the ankle high, zip up the inside style they did not work well on icy ground and she almost fell several times but made it to the front door as Cyrus stopped Cutter and jumped to the ground. He stepped fast and hugged her, "Thank God you're safe!"
"What is happening? What is that rumble?"
"Ice damns breaking up the creek one by one. A flash flood is coming our way. You don't know about this?"
"No, what is happening?"
"Enough snow has melted higher up for the water to flow and there are frozen dams made by drifts in the creek that are snapping under the flow of the water. I was afraid you might be down by the barn or exploring when I heard the rumble or worse in the creek."
"I am fine." Mindy replied. "I was in the outhouse Cyrus."
And just then, the rumble grew loudest, with boulders rolling and ice chunks churning, and in front of the woods, a wall of water mud, ice and frozen plants came churning across the whole width of the creek wash. "You can see why I was worried." Cyrus said as water-flow churned in a curve around the wood, in its channel, went over the lip of the depression and flowed down toward the barn.
"Yes, is it safe, or is this just the beginning of the flood?" Mindy asked, held in his strong, sinewy arms.
"No real way to know for certain," Cyrus answered while he looked at the flow. "The creek usually runs from now on for six or seven months. Sometimes more if there are good rains." Then he turned his head to Mindy and kissed her willing mouth, passionately. When they parted, "Don't know what I would do without you."
Mindy smiled and pulled the hair out of her face first the left, then the right strands while she looked into the dark green eyes of Cyrus. She hugged him with her head to his chest, the top of her head under his chin, "Are we safe yet?"
"I have seen worse than that since I have been here and think we are most likely safe. There may be another wave or two but they should not be as big as that. There is something else I need to tell you about. I have to put up Cutter first."
"Okay, should I wait inside the house or go with you?"
"Inside will be fine and I will be back in few."
"Okay." They turned from each other and Mindy went into the house. Cyrus turned toward the barn took Cutter's reins and walked him away. Mindy closed the door behind her. The first thing she noticed was the coffee pot had moved off the stove and fell on the floor.
She opened the door so she could see better in the house. All the chairs were upright but the stove looked like it had moved a bit and the butter churn had fallen of the table. Other things fell off the cupboard counter. Thankfully, nothing had fallen out of the cabinets on the wall. She quickly picked everything up. Mindy cleaned up the spilled butter. Wiped and replaced everything. Thankfully, the coffee pot had only a cup or two in it. Strange how what was spilled did not sink into the dirt floor. While she busied herself and was very nearly done, Cyrus came in the door. "Looks like the flash flood caused a small earthquake."
"Got it cleaned up?" Cyrus marveled.
"Almost done, but there is no coffee and only a little butter left."
"Yes, time to make new and as soon as you are done, we need to sit at the table and talk." He bent over to check the ash pan under the wood stove and it was full. He opened the burner cover saw the stove needed more wood and put two logs in. "Should restart."
Cyrus pulled the ash pan out and took it outside. Mindy finished cleanup and sat in one of the chairs at the table. In just a few moments, Cyrus came back inside, closed the door, and put the ash pan back in its slot. He hung up his coat and hat. He sat down across from Mindy in the other chair.
"Yesterday I took our road out to the main road." He addressed Mindy.
"Yes?"
"Today, once I traveled about a quarter of a mile away from the house toward the main road, our road disappeared." Cyrus said matter of fact.
"Disappeared?"
"Not disappeared exactly but the center of the road, or what was the road, is filled with sage about a foot high and there are two pathways that run one on each side of the sage. I have never seen anything quite like it." Cyrus explained.
"Are you sure you were on our road?"
"Of course I am certain. I know what my own road looks like and where it is at and it has all changed since yesterday."
"Could you show it to me?" Mindy asked.
"We could walk over there from here with no difficulty. A quarter mile ain't that far."
"Let's go then."
Cyrus and Mindy rose up. Cyrus naturally checked the stove to see if the wood caught. "Good, it'll be warm in here when we get back. Set some more coffee on the stove before we leave?" He asked Mindy.
"Sure thing Dear, while you get your coat on I'll get it ready." Mindy moved to stove and took the pot with a rag while Cyrus readied himself. She instinctively knew where everything was now. Her first real hint that she really was in another world other than 2012 was the coffee bean bag. "Marshall's Coffee Company, est. 1837" was printed on the bag, a burlap bag. She scooped out the beans into a grinder and turned the handle. "This is modern, this grinder, isn't it Cyrus?"
"Why yes it is. I bought that grinder with the beans last fall."
"I thought so." Quickly she had the beans ground and in the strainer. She replaced the lid and set it on the stove.
"Might be best to remove the lid Dear and set it directly on a burner."
"Yes." Mindy took the little tool and removed the burner cover and slid it to the side like she had done this a thousand times already when this was her second. She placed the pot over the burner. "We're ready to go darling." She smiled doubted Cyrus could see her smile in the dark.
"Cyrus moved toward the door opened it. He looked outside first to see that all was clear as was his habit. He held the door open for Mindy and she stepped through, "Chivalry on the frontier is much appreciated."
"Yes, my dear." Cyrus followed her out and closed the door behind him. He scanned as he walked and was beside her in two steps and pointed, "This way dear."
Together, side by side they wheeled in the correct direction. Mindy was on his right side, "Could we hold hands while we walk?"
"I suppose it is all right Madam Mindy, but I would prefer it if you walked on my left."
"It is still Miss Mindy," she giggled as she quickly maneuvered around behind him to his left side and held out her right. He took her hand gently, "Until there is a ring on my finger."
"Yes Dear Mindy." Cyrus mused at the thought, "Ring for you shall be certain."
"And for you, Mister Cyrus Weeks." she giggled as they walked.
"And yes for me too." Cyrus smiled but kept up his watch all about them as they talked. Shortly, in just a few minutes, they were at the place where "The road disappeared."
They both looked at it and Mindy said, "I think these are tire tracks."
"What are tire tracks?" Cyrus asked.
"Like what the jeep would make with its wheels if it drove on the open desert."
"Hmmm. That makes sense. That jeep felt really heavy when I tried to move it. It would crush everything under its wheels."
"It is heavy. Really heavy and more than a ton but I don't know how heavy exactly. And you say it wasn't like this yesterday?"
"No. Not at all. Yesterday it was my regular road with no sage brush in it except maybe a few small sprouts. Nothing more."
"And it did this overnight?"
"Yes." Cyrus said confused at what he saw.
"Maybe my time is catching up somehow?"
"2012? Catching up?"
"What will happen?"
"I don't know." Mindy looked.
Cyrus pointed ahead of them, "Look, Cutter's tracks are disappearing toward us."
"Run back to the house Cyrus!" And they both turned and ran as fast as they could.
Please Follow me: @jeff-kubitz
This is even greater it is getting really intense
Thank you very much