i remember the first time i ever met aunt verna. i was attempting an escape from our summer vacation home. i had planned my route to run flush with any hold ups. my scooter was gunna take me straight on till the sun rose enough to be seen, and there id start my new life, just past the baker’s ranch on the north bank of chester creek. i planned it out real good, the day before. and i was hot to go. id been ready for what felt like a whole week. ever since louie found out little missy was all bright eyed about him. well, thats not the only reason. also pa had left on account of business, and well, i felt rightly inclined to take care of some of my own business. i was nine years old after all, and the only fish i ever caught myself was fake. found that out when sis showed up with two, and they was made a' plastic. looked into my bucket and saw the same thing. at the time of the catch i was so excited i let pa do the unhookin', and never looked twice at the damn toy. i knew right then and there that somethin tricky was goin on ‘neath the surface ‘a things. and i knew too, that i was gunna have to start diggin’ if i was gunna find out what. and by diggin i mean workin things out on my own, pullin the pieces apart a little, lettin the truths reveal themselves without sucha thing as spoon feedin or, fake fish.

well it was two days before the day of escape when i was at the corner store choosing apples based on their survival skills (which you can tell by the number of bruises they got, which make the apple sweeter anyway, and stronger cuz they withstood) and i overheard mrs. baker tell my friend bet’s mom about the creek just north of their ranch, where the fish were scarce these days, but good when grilled with a pinch of mint and a half squeezed lemon. well thats when i knew where id be goin', and soon. i paid for my apples, pocketed a lemon for rebel status, and ran straight home. in my sock drawer i found the compass i had won at a birthday party after cheaten my way through a spelling contest. why we was spellin’ at a party, ill never know. in any case, the compass felt like the best thing id ever been given, on account of my plans to someday start a life of my own.

which, as it turns out, was the day i met aunt verna. i hadnt planned on goin out the back, since everyone was sleepin anyway. but i had left my hat on the back porch the night before. i was real quiet gettin through the house, but once i slid the back door shut i eased up a little. i was not exactly payin attention to where my feet was landin, and i stumbled over a heap of what i soon learned to be aunt verna. of the two of us, i was most surprised. in fact, to this day i dont know if aunt verna even felt my nine year old body flop over hers. i was quick to jump back, at first thinking i had met my match in our pup chipper, who had also been perfecting the art of escape. but, through the still silence that wove between us, i could see it was a person. a woman, sitting cross legged and staring up to the sky. i knew there were family members around that i hadnt met yet, and i figured this was one of ‘em. i stood frozen in the fear of my plans shattered. She turned her gaze to meet me, and the softest smile spread across her eyes. “hello child, come to bask in the beauty of sunrise?” it was a sprinkle of words that fell upon me like a light rain. “...uh.....no....not.....not really.....” i think is what i said. something in her voice, and the smile in her eyes, plus the adrenaline of the fall not to mention the escape, left me mostly wordless. “well all right then,” she said, “.....you must be sandy....are you sandy?” “...uh, yes ma’am i am...” I managed. “hi sandy, glad to meet your acquaintance. im verna. your mamma’s sister. you look just like her, anyone ever tell you that? most beautiful woman i know, your mamma......” at that point i felt my cheeks redden. “well” said aunt verna, “i look forward to becoming your friend, if you’ll have me that is,” she said with a wink. it seemed like a strange thing for someone her age to say to me, but something in her eyes lent a hand of trust. and i took it. “.....uh.....i’ll have you....” i said. “ok then, have a beautiful morning my friend, ill see you when the sun comes high enough to give us our colors back.” she said with a laugh that seemed to come from her eyebrows, and then looked back up at the sky.

i, on the other hand, couldnt move an inch. my feet were planted in their place, and my arms hung motionless at my sides. finally, after what felt like hours, a little voice pried itself loose in my head, and said “go, now.” i turned, grabbed my hat, raced to my scooter, and fled to chester creek. but i knew i’d be back. aunt verna would be waiting.