Erin Liberty’s Mostly True Story

Exhausted from her life in the trees Erin Liberty falls fast asleep. She dreams of ways to slip away from Mother, Father, her sister Julia Grace, and ballet classes.

Her hair flies out from under broken red goggles. Her clothing shows rips and tears from tree-climbing. She wears a cape made from one of Mother’s worn tablecloths. Erin Liberty’s world at eight years old is rich. She imagines she can save the whole world from high above the southern seaside neighborhood.

Erin Liberty’s mother sings the “Dinner Song”, smiling to herself as she watches her daughter shinny up then down the backyard tree without a scratch. She pleads with her to come down out of the trees. Her mother reminds her that she can take a bath, do a bit of homework, or read a book!

As Erin Liberty races through the kitchen Father calls out.  “Mon petite Chérie! My cherished one!” He says this in his best pretend-French-accent, even though he is Irish. “How was your ballet lesson today with Madame Bertozzi (bear-TOTE-zee) from Italy, huh…huh, huh?” he teases as he smiles down at her. He taps her tiny chin. He pats her goggled head.

Tomorrow comes and, guess what?  Erin Liberty leaps out of bed to discover that it is a NO HOMESCHOOL DAY! “Yippee! Watch out world! Here I come! Me, me, me-me-me!” rejoices Erin Liberty.

She skips and hops around her bedroom in her favorite camouflage pajamas. She then grabs her goggles and cape from her headboard.

Mother pokes her head around the corner of Erin Liberty’s bedroom door, pausing to announce, “Erin Liberty, I hope you don’t mind, Sweetheart . . . you are going to the beach with Madame Bertozzi (bear-TOTE-zee) and her son, Baby Gianni (gee-AH-knee). This will be such a help to Madame Bertozzi and I promised her that . . . that . . . ”

Her mother slowly lowers herself to Erin Liberty’s bedside as her words trail off. Erin Liberty’s joy grows silent. She stops singing and dancing around her bedroom. She stares into her mother’s soft face, then down at the floor.

“Erin Liberty,” her mother continues quietly, taking Erin Liberty’s hands, “I can see your disappointment. I know your trees are very important to you. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first. I should have.” Her mother sounds tired and far away as her voice grows softer and softer.

Erin Liberty’s anger melts. She does not want to go to the beach yet she does not want to cause her mother’s weariness. This all happens way too fast for Erin Liberty’s taste, and well before she can slip away to her newly built tree fort.

Erin Liberty is so disappointed she cannot make her bed, or brush her teeth, or comb her knotted hair. She can’t even pet her little black dog, Daphne-Renee, who follows Erin Liberty around, standing on her hind legs and whimpering for attention.

She yanks on her swimsuit and grabs her goggles and her cape. She glowers darkly as she walks to the front door with lower lip trembling. Mother sighs while Father wrinkles his forehead from behind his writing desk. Sister Julia Grace clears her throat and pushes her glasses back just a bit, pretending to be studying.

Later at the beach, Madame Bertozzi, Baby Gianni, and Erin Liberty gingerly wade out into the water, holding Baby Gianni between them on a tiny blue float. Madame Bertozzi chatters to her son in Italian. She speaks to Erin Liberty in English and French because, as many people know, ballet words were originally in French.

The sun dances on the reflecting water like pieces of shiny jewelry while birds sing in search of their breakfast. For a while, Erin Liberty forgets about her secret fort. She even forgets to be angry with her mother.

Gentle swells of waves form and Erin Liberty takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh ocean air. She wonders if there might be some scary creatures in the waves.

As each swell comes, the ballet teacher, the little girl in her tablecloth cape and red goggles, and the laughing baby with the tiny blue float lazily ride the short quiet journey over the small swells of water. With each small wave, Erin Liberty’s feet lift off the bottom of the ocean and then lightly touch back down.

Suddenly and without warning, a groundswell becomes an enormous wave and crashes down on the threesome. Erin Liberty’s head jerks backward and feels as though it has been hit with a sledgehammer. It knocks her off her feet and forces her body to twist upside-down. Her head bounces off the floor of the ocean. She turns around and around under the water.

She cannot breathe or see, and the saltwater burns her eyes. The undertow pulls like giant long arms around her body. It will not release her. When Erin Liberty finally gets her feet under her she stands up. She turns to see a very pale Madame Bertozzi, screaming and crying, and reaching her arms out to the sea as blood streams down the left side of her face.

Erin Liberty cannot understand a word Madame Bertozzi cries. Then, losing consciousness, Madame Bertozzi sinks to her knees as a small crowd of onlookers run into the water to help her.

Erin Liberty’s head throbs uncontrollably. Her stomach boils up into her throat. People on the beach are jumping and yelling, sirens are sounding, and people are sprinting to assist. Lifeguards and beach police surge toward Madame Bertozzi.

Erin Liberty looks toward the sea, and there, right there…is the tiny blue float bobbing further and further out to sea . . . with no Baby Gianni anywhere to be seen.

Erin Liberty takes a deep breath and dives headfirst into the dark waters. She reaches and reaches and swims and swims and kicks and kicks. Still holding her breath deep down under the sea, she can see nothing but darkness below and sunlight above.

Feeling as though she may explode Erin Liberty keeps swimming under the water searching for Baby Gianni. Her heart beats the seconds inside her little head as she surfaces for air only to dive again under the sea. The waters churn with lifeguards and police boats. There is more yelling, sirens, police radios, and now, the sound of emergency helicopters.

Suddenly her arms brush against something! Erin Liberty lunges toward a mass of whiteness in the water, wraps her arms around it, and pushes with all her might off the floor of the ocean.

She prays it is Baby Gianni. Bursting out of the water like a cannon-shot comes Erin Liberty clutching Baby Gianni! Oh, glory! Running toward the children, the lifeguards form a human net with their arms, surrounding them. They cradle and carry the gasping little girl and lifeless baby to the shore. There is silence as the crowd looks at Baby Gianni, blue and lifeless in Erin Liberty’s arms.

Erin Liberty looks down at Baby Gianni’s body lying so still. She lets out a sob, burying her wet face in the tiny baby. She squeezes him as the medics work to peel her clenched arms from around him.

“No!” she screams, “Do not take him from me!”

All of a sudden, everyone freezes. Baby Gianni picks up his head, burps up seawater, and chortles and pulls at Erin Liberty’s hair and goggles.

Erin Liberty hugs and hugs Baby Gianni! Madame Bertozzi hears her baby’s laughter and jumps up from the sand, reaching for her son. The three dance and hug, jumping for joy while laughing and singing.

The teams of lifeguards, police, pilots, and onlookers stare at the little girl in broken goggles holding the laughing baby boy while his mother holds them both.

That night, exhausted from her day at the beach, Corky-Belle McHazzard goes to bed with elaborate plans to slip away. She begins to sing to Daphne-Renee, “You are my sunshine…my only sunshine…”

Tomorrow. She will save her family and play with her little black dog, Daphne-Renee.

For now, she rolls over, pulls her dog up close, and buries her face in the sweet-smelling black fur.

 

 

Vocabulary:

exhausted ~ without energy

shinny ~ another word for “shimmy”; using one’s inner thigh muscles to climb up or down a tree

glowers ~ a mean-spirited look with one’s eyes

chortles ~ laughing with throat sounds

elaborate ~ fancy

Illustrations & Story by FawnRisingLace2018©
Le Lac du mon Père
Crystal Lake Florida USA Earth
Word Count 1376