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

there for a second and so faint I could
have been mistaking but I’d still say now that sharing that first
meal was the moment Sarah new she would be my life partner. I’m not
quite sure I knew at that point but she did. I was just a silly boy
and didn’t have a lot of thoughts about the future other than
getting away from my parents but I think even now Sarah had been
planning what she wanted out of life since her parents had died and
she had been sent to live with her auntie and uncle who owned the
local tavern. She had never liked it there but I wouldn’t find out
much about this until later and even then she didn’t share a lot of
the details.
     
    Now although I
met this skinny girl in the woods eating a rat obviously due to her
lack of feeding at home she still shared it bite for bite with me
until it was done. She may have had a cold exterior but she seemed
to have a warm heart. I felt like I wanted to speak to her more, to
ask her questions and tell her stuff about myself but I just sat
there saying nothing which she seemed happy with. I kept steeling
glances at her and although she was so frail there was intensity
behind her eyes even when her mind seemed to be somewhere else.
     
    Just as I was
trying to look her over without being too obvious she jumped up
from the fallen tree she was leaning against, jumped over it and
started heading back towards the town.
     
    “I have to be
back now,” she said her face expressionless. “I’ll be here
tomorrow” she added disappearing into the trees.

Chapter 2
     
    As I took my
time walking home having no where I really needed to be and knowing
my parents wouldn’t notice if I came home or not I thought about my
meeting with Sarah. She was from memory the first girl I had ever
spoken to. I had had girls call me names before and pick on me but
never actually speak to me in a conversational manner. I suppose
that’s why I don’t say much. Why try and talk to someone who hates
you for no good reason at all.
     
    Sarah was
different from all those girls. She might not have said much to me
but she wasn’t mean and seemed to need a friend as much as I did.
She was probably prettier than any other girls in town too but
because she often looked so worried and stressed all the time
people didn’t pay her the same attention as some of the other
girls.
     
    Everyone though
she was weird but I knew there was more too it than that. People
who have an easier route in life often think everything is straight
forward or as it seems on the surface but I knew better.
     
    When I got home
my mum was in the bedroom with one of dads friends. She couldn’t
charge any more but her old trade certainly kept her and my father
in alcohol. I went straight to my room as he mumbled something at
me but it was rare at that point for him to get up from where he
sat. I spent the night thinking about Sarah and caught myself a few
times smiling. I fell asleep thinking about meeting her in the
woods tomorrow and hoping she would show.
     
    The next day I
got up and knew I had a good few hours until it was time to go and
meet Sarah. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself but thought I
would like to do something nice to show her I liked her but had no
idea what I should do. I wandered around town for a while lost for
ideas when I suddenly remembered the caves my grandfather used to
take me too. I had only been there a few times but it was my
favourite place to go. He would always tell me not to tell my
parents he had took me there or they would kill him but it was our
place anyway so I never said a word.
     
    The caves were
secluded and pretty high up but when the high tide came in it
reached the caves and filled the entrance. The caves went up into
the cliff wall so you could just go deeper in but grandfather would
always tell me the importance of never getting stuck there too late
and getting trapped. Not that I was ever allowed to go on my own
but I was older now, my grandfather was dead and my