Chapter 6: The Tree

The following morning, Adeline did not come to breakfast. Her parents searched for her everywhere in the house. They finally found her outside in the backyard under the acorn tree, digging in the dirt in nothing but her pajamas and bare feet. Her doll had dirt in her hair and smudged on her face and on her clothes. Adeline's fingernails were bloody and caked with dirt. Any time she brushed her hair away or touched her face, she left streaks of dark red and black behind.

And she had that stony look in her eye again.

Adeline’s father swooped her up quickly, ran her into the house and drew a bath. She was rigid with cold. But when her mother placed Adeline's feet into the warm bathtub, she simply melted, went limp, and turned catatonic. While they waited for the ambulance, they kept her in the tub and hovered over her every move. They had not even taken the time to strip her down. She remained in her pajamas. Her father placed his hands underneath her to keep her from sinking beneath the water while her mother stroked her scalp and her face and carefully poured water over her to keep her warm. She had a peaceful look about her that resembled lady Ophelia, as she softly lay in the water. Her hair spiraled delicately behind her and gently floated onto the surface.

After being inspected by medics and taken to the hospital, they determined she was in shock. Her vitals were fine, her systems were in check. She was given leave to return home with the special exception of having a doctor follow up daily. The pediatrician was a friend of theirs and made house calls to check on his patient. They would also send a psychiatrist the next day.

Adeline remained in a state of trance for over a week. She did not speak. She did not eat. She hardly moved. But she was "awake" -- her eyes were open. And she did occasionally play with her doll, drink tea, use the bathroom. Her parents feared the worst. She was otherwise unresponsive to any stimulus. The doctors did hearing tests where they monitored her brain activity to see if she was registering any sound or speech patterns. They found that she was not registering anything. She was, for all intents and purposes, deaf. They assured her this was a temporary result of shock, and not to worry.

But they worried.

They brought her to the hospital every day and had an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a nurse, and a child psychiatrist evaluating her for any change or progress. No change. No prognosis. No sign of improvement.

One day, after about two weeks, she could walk and eat with some encouragement. She could even get dressed with a little prodding and help. She seemed to be able to hear and understand things. But she was still just...not really there. She kept trying to go outside and dig. Her parents would not allow her this.

So instead, she repeatedly wandered into the dining room, curled up on the floor between the cabinet and the table, where she had built her fort, and sucked her thumb. If she did speak, the only thing she would say was “I want to stay with my friend Sarah, in the floor.” Her parents had taken the fort down at one point, to persuade her to stay in her own bed, but she just put the fort back up again and would go nowhere else. She wanted to stay with Sarah. So her parents allowed her the luxury of pillows and blankets and other comforting things while she came out of her trance.

At times they would catch her staring out the window, at her hole in the ground, with some sort of worried look on her face. This was the first time they had seen any real emotion expressed since the incident. It felt encouraging somehow, but they would still not allow her to go outside for the time being, as that was how it had all started. And they did not understand what had happened.

The neighbor’s dog had been digging at the fence near the acorn tree. He had clawed at the wood and dug at the dry, hard dirt for days, making a scratching sound with his claws. It was uncharacteristic of him to be outside much at all, let alone digging and whimpering at someone’s fence. His owners would catch him, bring him in, and attempt to fill the holes he was carving underneath the fence. But any chance he got, he would find a way outside and start over. He dug, whimpered and whined, and pushed his snout at the fence to get through. It had all started on that first day when Adeline had begun playing in the dirt. He had taken to some kind of urge to force through the fence.

His owners thought it might be squirrels or birds. But it was not.

Finally, after about a week, he made enough progress in a hole at the base of the fence that he was able to slip through. No one in Adeline’s family noticed because they were all so focused on her. Once he made it through the fence, he went straight for the hole in the ground that Adeline had dug, and he began to dig it too.

At this precise point, a bird flew into the kitchen window and hit it with a hard thud. Adeline’s mother heard the noise and raced over to see what had happened. She stepped outside to see a dead robin lying there on the patio. It was then she noticed the neighbor’s dog digging beneath the tree in her yard in the same spot. She took the dog home and the neighbors apologized in complete embarrassment. They promised to keep their dog away from the fence and to mend the fence.

Adeline’s parents didn’t mind too much. It was not their biggest concern. They were more worried about the state of their little girl, who had suddenly perked up when she had heard her mother open the back sliding door. She had walked over to watch from the window, and began to speak.

"That poor bird. It's not his fault."

Adeline's parents were so pleased with this response, they decided to bring her outside with them to bury the bluebird in the hole she had dug, as a therapeutic effort to engage her senses. And it worked. Adeline was suddenly quite awake and alive. She found the little shovel next to the tree where she had left it, and she began digging. She kept asking where her doll was. “Where's Penny! I need to find Penny!”

Her parents scurried to find the doll. They were so happy to see their daughter playing and talking, they didn’t care what the activity was. They retrieved her doll from inside and gave it to Adeline.

“NO! She NEEDS the RED DRESS!!” Adeline shouted. “The RED DRESS!! RED DRESS!!! RED DRESS!!”

Her father got the psychiatrist on the phone while her mother clambered to dress the doll. They had never seen Adeline in such a state of urgency before, even when she was well. It worried them, but they were happy to see her interacting and speaking again. So they did her bidding.

“Sarah doesn’t want me to find Penny,” Adeline said. “She’s locked in the floor. And she is trying to make it so I can’t find Penny. But I am going to find her. I’m going to find you, Penny. I already know where you are. I just need to go a little further.”

Her father looked at his wife. He finally gave up and rolled up his sleeves, bent down in the dirt, and began tearing clumps of soil and rock away to help his daughter.

“What’s the worst that could happen, honey. We find a dead body? Why don’t you go grab me another little shovel. We might as well find out what this is about. Honey, this is going to be fine. Our daughter is back! Let’s help her while we have her!”

So the two dug for another hour. The acorn tree now had a gaping crater in front of it about 4 x 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep.

The psychiatrist had arrived to watch the strange digging.

Adeline’s mother had given in and had begun helping as well. Within the hour, the psychologist jumped in. Her intent was to observe the child, and standing on the edges while everyone else did the work made no sense. The therapist showed up and pitched in. They dug and dug and dug. For three more hours, the entire yard was turned upside down and riddled with gaping craters. Adeline seemed to have more energy now than she had in her life. She never stopped. Her parents had to force her to take breaks and eat and drink and stay out of the sun.

Nobody knew what they were after. There was simply nothing to be found. Digging any deeper seemed senseless (as if it wasn’t already). They were exhausted.

“Listen, folks. Thanks for coming out here and helping,” said Adeline’s father. “We know you probably think this is crazy, but we believe in our daughter. She’s been ill this week, but she has never been wrong about things like this. We think she knows something. We just don’t know what it is. Sorry it ended up being nothing. You can all head home. Sorry to bother you.”

A long silence passed as everyone looked at each other somewhat defeated.

“The tree!”

Shouted the therapist.

“It’s the tree. We haven’t dug under the tree!”

Everyone turned toward the tree. It stood there peacefully, nobly, tauntingly.

The neighbor had been peering over the fence. He chimed in, “Wait a minute. You know, that tree was only yeah-high when we moved in about 13 years ago. What if something was buried there and a tree planted on top of it. I mean. I dunno. It could be a box of gold or something. Who knows? Probably crazy. But I know your little girl ain’t crazy. Let’s dig up that damn tree.”

The neighbor headed over with a shovel, stuck it under the tree, and got to work.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Join STEEMTOPIA for free steemit coaching