Free The Tale of Sawney Bean (Complete Novella) by Kevin J. Kennedy

Chapter 1
     
    When I met
Sarah I was only twelve years old and she was fourteen. I was
playing deep in the woods. We were both pretty startled as it was
rare to see anyone that deep in the woods. There was a moment of
trepidation but I decided to approach her and see what she was
doing. I didn't speak a lot so I didn't have a lot of friends and I
had seen Sarah around and assumed she was in the same boat as me.
As I got closer I could see what she was trying to do was cook a
rat over a tiny fire that she had somehow managed to build. She
would have struggled to heat anything over the tiny fire but what
was more shocking was that she was trying to cook a rat that she
had obviously skinned herself judging by the blood on her
arms. 
     
    "What are you
doing?" I asked her.
     
    "They don't
feed me." She answered in return.
     
    "Who doesn't
feed you?"
     
    "My aunt and
uncle, they said when I can act like a woman I'll get a woman's
meal."
    I didn't really
know what she meant. She had always been skinny and frail but I
always just though she was a skinny girl but here she was in the
woods trying to cook a rat, seemingly to eat. 
     
    She nodded for
me to sit next to her. Before sitting I looked around and grabbed
some kindling and twigs and set about getting the fire going a
little better for her. 
    "What exactly
do you mean by act like a woman and do you often eat rats?" I asked
her trying not too sound judgemental. 
     
    "I eat what I
can she said." She offered no further comment. 
     
    With the fire
now gong strong the rat started to cook. I have to admit the smell
coming of it was not unpleasant and not having ate myself for a
good few hours my mouth started to water. I didn't really have a
problem with the fact it was rat meat that was causing the smell. I
knew from my grandfather that rats were supposed to be dirty
animals but I didn't quite see why. They seemed no different from
any other animal to me and the meat certainly had a nice aroma to
it. 
     
    We sat together
while Sarah slowly turned the rat over the fire on a stick she had
speared through it. She took her time and kept it far enough above
the fire that it wouldn't just cremate the outside of the meat. It
was quiet in the woods and other than a very slight breeze rustling
the tree's there was no other sound. I realised that this was
probably the first time I had sat with someone without feeling
uncomfortable.
     
    Although Sarah
didn't say much at all she didn't seem uncomfortable at my being
there either. Maybe she was just indifferent to me being there or
maybe she felt comfortable around me too but didn't know why
either. 
     
    We sat in
silence for a long time, the smell of the meat making my stomach
growl. Sarah seemed to stare off into space a lot but I didn't
mind. It was just nice to sit with someone without being picked on
for being poor or scrawny. I had always been poor. My dad had
worked in a tavern but as his drinking had gotten worse no one
would hire him as he drank more than he sold and my mum had worked
in a brothel until one customer hadn't had a good time with her and
permanently disfigured her so she could never work again. Both of
my parents had drank more and more as the years went on and now we
barely even acknowledge each other.
     
    Just as I was
daydreaming about my life Sarah stuck the stick with the cooked rat
in my face and nodded to it indicating I should take a bite. I
could smell the cooked meat just under my nostrils and the meaty
aroma smelled amazing. Without a second thought I leaned forward
and sank my teeth in. As I bit down I could feel the moisture in my
mouth. She had cooked it perfectly. This definitely wasn’t Sarah’s
first time cooking meat outdoors and I wondered if her parents had
taught her before they died or if it was self taught from a need
for scavenging. As I chewed on the meat I looked over at Sarah and
I’m sure I seen the slightest flicker of a smile touching the edges
of her mouth. It was only