Free Elixir by Eric Walters Page B

hoping to hear a bark, a meow, to have their face licked or to be rubbed against, but never to experience that.
    I felt my face getting red and my tongue getting thick. I hadn’t even thought about my Tabby for years, and now I was on the verge of tears.
    â€œWhat have you got there?”
    Startled out of my thoughts, I looked up at my mother. “It’s … it’s nothing.”
    â€œIt surely is something, unless my eyes aren’t working. Something that must be so fascinating you didn’t even hear me approach. Let me see it,” she said, holding out her hand.
    I hesitated for an instant and then handed it to her. I made a snuffling sound to try to draw back the tears. My mother took the pamphlet and studied it for a while. I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, as though I’d been caught doing something bad.
    â€œWhere did you get this?” Judging by her tone of voice I was in trouble.
    â€œI was given it.”
    â€œBy whom?”
    â€œA woman. Her name is Melis … Miss Jones. I met her when I was sitting outside—you said I could go outside, remember? I was just reading, minding my own business, and she came over and started talking to me.”
    â€œAbout this?” she asked, waving the pamphlet.
    â€œNot really. About the weather and how hot it was. And she asked about the book I was reading. She said what you always say about books being a good way to explore the world.”
    â€œAnd she didn’t say anything about the Anti-Vivisection Society?”
    I hesitated. “A bit. A little. She offered the pamphlet to me and I couldn’t really say no without being rude,” I explained, looking for an excuse. “She had lots of them.… She was going to be giving them out to lots of people. She was very nice.”
    â€œI’m sure she was. Generally speaking, people who are concerned about the well-being of animals are tender of heart.”
    That made me feel a little bit better.
    â€œThere are some very powerful and provocative statements in this pamphlet,” my mother said as she tapped it with a finger. “At least in what I’ve read so far.”
    â€œSome terrible things,” I said. “Did you read about how they took a pig and—”
    â€œI’ve read only part of the first page, but I’ll read all of it when I have time.”
    â€œIt’s just awful some of the things that are happening! They shouldn’t be allowed to do those things, because animals have feelings !”
    My mother furrowed her brow. “Animals have feelings?”
    â€œYes, just like people. I guess you didn’t read that far, but it says right there that they do have feelings.”
    â€œJust because it’s written down doesn’t make it the truth.”
    â€œBut they can’t just write something down if it isn’t true.”My mother shook her head. “Oh, to be twelve years old again. Ruth, just because somebody possesses a typewriter and an opinion doesn’t make what they have to say correct.”
    â€œBut there’s a doctor who agrees with them … right there … at the top of the page,” I said, pointing to his quote.
    â€œBeing a doctor is no guarantee of truthfulness either.”
    â€œAre you saying he’s wrong?” I asked. “That what they’ve written is wrong?”
    â€œI’m not saying it’s false or true. In fact, it may be both or neither.”
    â€œBut … but how can that be? Something has to be either true or false, right or wrong. It can’t be both or neither.”
    â€œIt can be,” my mother said.
    â€œI don’t understand.”
    My mother didn’t say anything for a few seconds. I could tell she was thinking. “As you get older, and hopefully wiser—and believe me those two things don’t necessarily go together—you’ll find out that something can be true and false at the