Saving My Last Refuge

I sat on the bank of the Ohio River listening to a small waterfall rolling and splashing, chattering, to me as it ran into its mother’s mouth. It came from somewhere north, just a small stream merging and becoming one with Mother Ohio, racing with her to the mighty Mississippi, father of all Eastern American rivers. Birds called to one another in happy surprise over the wonder of the day and a woodpecker tap, tap, tapped in discordant delight.
I so needed this restful rhapsody to lull me and restore me to what mattered most, but I knew trouble was just a step away when I heard the bay of his dog Buster. Buster, the bully had found some small animal to harass just as his master had found me yesterday.
Jumping to my feet, I ran up the bank of the little stream fearing I was being chased by the Demon, James Branham. He’d come to my house yesterday when my parents were away. I’d known the danger of his lecherous stare but not how to deal with him.
“How old are you,” he asked.
“I’ll be 12 next month,” I said shyly.
That’s when he went to check the door to be sure my parents weren’t returning. That’s when I bolted out the other door racing through briars that cut my hands and legs, to hide trembling in the ditch behind the house. He called for me, but didn’t find me. Now he was violating my last refuge of peace.
Climbing the hill above him, I watched as he and Buster blustered down the path. When they were directly below me, I pushed a number of loose rocks and dirt over the hill and then sprinted in the opposite direction without waiting to see the results.
I saw him the next day when he visited my parents. He had a huge bruise on his left forearm and a big knot on his head. Buster wasn’t with him. He told my parents that he’d been caught in a landslide yesterday and had been hurt by falling rocks.
Pleased that my efforts had what I interpreted as positive results, I decided that if this didn’t work I’d have to tell his daughter what he’d done. After all they were my age and I saw them in school every day.