You Satisfy The Hungry Heart
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“What are you doing?”
I turned to find a young girl staring at me with wide eyes. She was probably no more than seven or eight years old, but she had the face of someone much older. Her hair was short and black, cut in a boyish style that made her look older than she was.
I didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, but my attention was drawn away from her as another child came up behind her. A little boy who looked like he was about three or four years old. He was dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair was jet black and he was missing one of his front teeth.
The children were looking at me with curiosity and wonder, but they both held back. They seemed hesitant to approach me. It wasn’t fear. It was something else. As if they knew it would be too difficult for them to do so.
“Do you have a problem?” I asked.
The girl looked confused. “No.” She shook her head slowly. “But we can’t come over here.”
She glanced nervously at the boy, then back at me. “We’re not allowed.”
I was wearing my signature black suit and bow tie. My hair was slicked back and my beard was neatly trimmed. It was an expensive-looking outfit, but it wasn’t anything fancy. And yet, the kids had to be wondering why they weren’t allowed to approach me.
I frowned. “Why aren’t you allowed to approach me?”
The girl looked down at her feet. “It’s not safe.”
I turned to the boy. “How about you?”
He hesitated before answering. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
I glanced at the girl again. “Not even this stranger?”
She shook her head. “This is the only one I’m allowed to talk to.”
“Ah,” I said. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Ted.”
The girl nodded. “My name is Kaitlyn.”
“Kaitlyn,” I repeated. “That’s a pretty name.”
She smiled, but her eyes were still wary. “It’s my mother’s.”
I nodded. “Nice to meet you, Kaitlyn.”
“And this is my brother, Henry.”
Henry was staring at me with wide eyes. He didn’t say anything, but his lips were moving as he spoke to himself.
“You can talk?” I asked.
“He can’t hear us,” Kaitlyn explained. “He can’t hear any of us.”
“Is he deaf?”
The girl nodded. “Like the movie.”
I’d seen the movie, but I didn’t know what she was talking about. “What movie?”
She shrugged. “It’s a cartoon. He’s a little boy who can’t hear. The bad guys are trying to kill him and his mom. We’re supposed to protect him.”
“Oh,” I said. “I think I’ve seen that one. Is your brother being attacked now?”
She nodded. “He’s in trouble.”
I looked at the girl. “You don’t look like you’re old enough to be a guardian angel.”
She shook her head. “We’re not angels. We’re just kids who have been chosen to help our brothers and sisters.”
“Are you supposed to protect them from the bad guys?”
She nodded. “We’re supposed to protect him until his mom comes home.”
“Who’s his mom?”
She hesitated for a moment, then answered. “His dad.”
“A single parent,” I said. “And he’s already gone?”
“No,” she replied. “But we’re worried about him.”
“Worried about his father,” I said. “That must be hard for you.”
She nodded. “It is.”
I looked at Henry. “Can you hear me?”
He looked at me, then back at Kaitlyn. “Yes.”
I nodded. “Good. Can you understand me?”
Henry nodded.
“Then why are you worrying about his dad? Shouldn’t you be worried about your own brother?”
Henry nodded again.
“And how come you’re allowed to talk to this stranger when you’re not supposed to talk to anyone else?”
Another nod.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Do you think it would be too difficult for you to approach me?”
The girl hesitated. “No.” She took a deep breath. “But it’s not safe.”
“I know,” I said. “But if you want to help your brother, you’ll have to face your fears. Otherwise, you won’t be able to protect him.”
“And what will happen to him?” the girl asked.
“If you don’t help him, he’ll die.”
“Death?” Henry asked.
I nodded. “Not necessarily physical death. But he’ll lose everything. His dad will lose his job. The family will be evicted from their apartment. They’ll lose all of their possessions. And eventually, they’ll lose each other. He’ll be alone in a world where he can’t hear.”
The girl and her brother both looked confused.
“How did you know?” Henry asked.
“I’ve seen it before,” I said. “But there’s no need to worry. You won’t have to do anything special. All you need to do is keep your distance.”
“Can you do that?” Kaitlyn asked.
I nodded. “Of course. But I’m not going to be able to do it for long. Once you get close enough, you’ll be able to touch me. Then we can start helping your brother.”
The girl smiled. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” I said. “Now let’s go.”
I turned to the boy. “You ready?”
He nodded.
“Then follow me.”
***
Kaitlyn led us across the street and up the sidewalk. We moved quickly, but with some care. People were walking past, staring at us as we passed. One man stopped and stared at the girl, then pointed at her.
“Stop,” I said.
The man stopped. “What?”
“We’re not supposed to talk to strangers,” I explained. “Don’t you know that?”
“But—”
“Please,” I said. “Just stop.”
The man shrugged and moved on.
“Good,” I said. “Keep moving.”
We walked for about five minutes until we reached the entrance of a park. There was a playground with swings and slides and monkey bars. Kaitlyn’s brother was sitting on one of the swings, swinging back and forth. He looked like he was crying.
“Hey!” Kaitlyn shouted.
Her brother stopped swinging and turned around. Kaitlyn ran over to him.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “I’m not.”
Kaitlyn held out her hand. “Come here.”
The boy hesitated. “Why?”
“Because I need to hold your hand,” she said. “That’s why.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the swing. She put his hand in mine. “Okay,” she said. “Now what?”
“Now you look at me and tell me when I stop.”
“I don’t know,” Kaitlyn said. “You just stopped.”
“Exactly,” I said. “So you’ll have to count.”
“Count?”
“Yes. One, two, three…”
Kaitlyn counted with me. “One, two, three… one, two, three…”
We repeated the process until we had walked ten blocks. Then I told her to take us back.
“But it’s so far,” she said.
“That’s why we have to go slowly,” I said. “We’ll get there in time.”
We walked for another ten blocks before we stopped.
“Do you want to try again?” I asked.
Kaitlyn nodded.
“Then let’s walk.”
We started walking, and within a few minutes, I felt the girl’s hand relax. The fingers became limp. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” I said.
“You really are magic,” Kaitlyn said.
“Magic?” I asked.
“Yeah. You’re magic. I’ve never met anyone else who can do things like that.”
“Well, I’m not going to be able to do it for long,” I said. “Once we get back home, I’ll lose my power.”
“But—”
“I have to go now,” I said. “And I don’t want to leave you alone. So you need to stay here. Can you do that?”
Kaitlyn nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. Then we should probably find a place where we can sit down.”
Kaitlyn’s brother was sitting on the monkey bars, swinging back and forth. He looked like he was about to fall over.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Kaitlyn grabbed her brother by the shoulders and pulled him off the monkey bars. We sat down on the grass.
“Thank you,” Kaitlyn said. “For helping us.”
“My pleasure,” I replied.
“I wish I could help,” she said. “But I’m not strong enough.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve done more than most people would have been willing to do.”
“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” she asked.
“Yes. Now I just need to go and talk to my friends. Then we can all work together.”
Kaitlyn nodded. She looked up at me. “Will you come back someday?”
“I hope so,” I said. “But I’m not sure when that will be.”
“Okay,” Kaitlyn said. “I understand.”
“Good,” I said. “Now I need to go.”
“Are you coming back?”
“I hope so,” I said. “I don’t know when that will be, though.”
“Okay,” Kaitlyn said. “Can I come with you?”
“No,” I said. “I’m sorry. But this is dangerous. We need to keep our distance from each other.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I said. “Please. Just trust me on this one. You need to stay here and take care of your brother.”
“Okay,” Kaitlyn said. “I’ll see you again soon, then.”
“Yes,” I said. “I hope so.”
“Then I’ll count,” Kaitlyn said. “One… two…”
She counted with me, until we were back at the playground. I took her hand in mine and let her go. “That’s it,” I said. “Now you need to stay here.”
“Okay,” Kaitlyn said.
I walked back to the alleyway where I’d found myself. I pulled out my phone and called my friend. “Hey, Z,” I said. “I need your help.”
***
I drove to a little town outside of St. Louis. It was about three hours away from where I lived. I had never been there before, but I had seen pictures of it.
The town was called Leesburg.
It wasn’t much to look at. The buildings were old and run-down. Some of them had been boarded up. I saw several businesses that were closed for good. I wondered how many of them had once been prosperous.
I parked my car behind a deserted gas station and walked up to the front door. There was no bell, so I knocked.
A moment later, the door opened. A man looked down at me. He wore a wrinkled white shirt and faded jeans. His hair was long and greasy. He looked like he hadn’t washed it in weeks.
“You need to leave,” the man said.
“I need your help,” I replied. “I’m looking for someone.”
“Go away,” the man said.
“I need to find someone,” I said. “Her name is Margo. She has a brother named Michael. They live somewhere in this town.”
“Then why are you bothering me?” the man asked.
“I need to get into their house,” I said. “To search it for clues as to where they’ve gone. Do you know where I can find them?”
“No,” the man said. “And I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Then I’ll just have to break in,” I said. “That’s all there is to it. So I’d appreciate it if you could tell me where to find them.”
“They’re not here,” the man said. “So you can go ahead and break in. But I’d advise against it. You don’t want to mess with them. They’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?” I asked.
“Don’t ask me,” the man said. “I’m just a gas station clerk. I don’t know anything.”
“What did you say your name was?” I asked.
“John,” he said. “And I really don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you for your time.”
“I’m glad we had this chance to talk,” John said. “You’ve been a big help.”
I nodded and then turned around. I walked back to my car. Then I drove off toward the outskirts of town.
The first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t deserted. I saw a few people walking down the street. I looked around, but none of them seemed to be looking at me. I couldn’t see them clearly enough to make out faces.
I kept driving until I came to the outskirts of town. The houses were older and smaller than what I’d seen on the main drag. There weren’t many people around. I saw a couple of kids playing in the middle of the road. A dog barked from inside one of the houses.
“Hello?” I called out. “Is anyone home?”
But no one answered.
I pulled up to the first house I found. It was a little one-story structure. I got out and walked up to the front door. I tried to open it, but it was locked. I looked around, wondering if there might be another way in.
There was. I could see a small window above the door. I reached up and pulled the latch. The window slid open. I climbed inside.
I’d only been in a few basements before, but this one was bigger than most. I wondered how much they had paid for it.
I found myself standing in a hallway. I looked left and right. The place was dark and musty. It smelled like old dust. I couldn’t see very far ahead. There was a light switch on the wall, so I flicked it on.
The lights didn’t come on. I tried again. Still nothing.
I glanced at my watch. It was past midnight. I guess I should have expected that.
I sighed and then turned around. I went back the way I’d come.
I took the stairs up to the second floor. There were two doors in front of me. I chose the one on the left. I knocked.
“Hello?” I called. “Anyone home?”
No answer.
I knocked again. This time I heard something inside. I waited, but nobody opened the door.
So I tried the handle. It was unlocked. I pushed the door open.
I found myself standing in a bedroom. The curtains were drawn, but I could see a faint glow coming from the other side of them. I moved closer to the window and saw a candle burning on a nightstand.
I stepped through the curtain. Then I closed the door behind me.
The room was big and bare. It seemed empty. I walked over to the bed. I sat down on it. The sheets were black. They’d probably been washed so many times they were almost gray.
I looked at my watch again. It was ten minutes after midnight.
I was beginning to wonder if Margo’s parents had ever even lived here.
Then I remembered what the man at the gas station had said about the couple being dangerous. He hadn’t been kidding.
I stood up and started to walk out of the room. But something made me turn back toward the bed.
I thought I saw a figure moving on the other side of the curtains. I blinked, but it was gone.
It wasn’t until I got outside that I realized what I’d seen. I looked back into the room and saw the curtains slowly move back. I caught a glimpse of pale skin and then the curtains were pulled shut again.
I knew what I’d seen. I knew I’d be able to see the ghost if I stayed. So I hurried away.
I climbed back out the window and walked across the yard. I didn’t look back.
I walked through the woods and the cemetery and finally came to the road. I kept walking. I didn’t know where I was going, but I had to get out of there.
I crossed the highway and walked down the other side. I stopped at the next street and looked around. I was still in the same neighborhood, but the houses were different. I could tell right away that they were newer.
There was a house on the corner with a for sale sign out front. I wondered if Margo’s parents might have sold their old place.
I crossed the street and knocked on the door. There was no answer.
I went around to the back and tried the gate. It was locked. I glanced at my watch again. It was just past midnight.
I pulled out my lock-picking kit. I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick this one, but I needed to try.
I took a deep breath and began working on the padlock. It didn’t take long. When I opened the gate, I found myself standing in the backyard.
I moved through the trees and grass. I stepped out onto the patio. The door was open. I walked inside.
I was in a living room. There was a fireplace on the wall. A fire burned in it. I couldn’t see anyone. I walked over to the kitchen and looked around. I was looking for the light switch when I heard a noise behind me.
I spun around.
The ghost was standing there. He was holding a knife. His eyes were wide.
He raised the knife high above his head. I threw myself back, but the blade sliced through the air and cut into my shoulder.
The End