In the Palm of His Hand
"It may seem hard to grow the way I've grown. I'm like this little tree, you see? It looks like it's growing right out of the rock. This one here, the lowest to the water, in the palm of the hand. You may think the rock makes it hard for the tree, because, like, where do the roots go? But if you knew that little tree like me, you'd know it's doing fine. In fact, being held in that palm of granite makes it feel safe. Being held in his palm. That's it. That's all my story for today. That's all I want to show. That's all I want to tell."
A hand shot up. "Held in whose palm? God's?"
Noah looked at his classmate. Betty was pretty. He liked the way her blonde hair curled under her chin, giving her a heart-shaped face. He liked the way she asked the questions no one else would ask. But he didn't intend to answer. Not in front of everybody. Not today.
Later on, she plopped down by him on the bus. "So, Mr. Mystery! What's all that talk about a tree and you? What makes you like that tree?" She had her backpack in her lap. She was fishing in it as she spoke. "Never mind. Who cares? Look what I've got! A drone! I can fly it. It takes pictures from up high. I want you to take me in your little boat so I can fly it on the ocean. I'll get pictures no one else can get. So when are we going?"
That night he wrote in his diary, "I can't believe I said I would. She'll want to know everything. She'll probably want a kiss too. Why didn't I just talk about the picture? Now I'll have to tell her it was not God's hand but Daddy Mac's. And I'll have to explain. I'm so excited. Am I going to fall in love? Daddy Mac fell in love. Ma Bertie was his ocean. He was so full of love. And he held me. I remember how it was when he held me. Right in the palm of his hand. That's what it felt like, anyway."
The next morning was Saturday and Noah was out on his boat before breakfast, scrubbing the seats and floorboards. It was quite a task. There was stuff there that had been there for ages. But he would not be made fun of by someone with a heart-shaped face. So he kept scrubbing away, at the same time singing a song with no words, just a melody made out of random syllables he supposed must be Martian, the bubbly feeling inside him was so alien.
9 May 2024
Texas Jim
Hearn Island, Nova Scotia
www.granitecoast.ca