Redemption

The four adults sat talking for a couple of hours. During this time, Dale revealed that he had served on several of the same ships that William had, but they had never sailed on any at the same time. More, they had similar stories of various faraway ports. Before the three left, they were open friends, and Ma had extracted a promise from them to come to dinner the next evening.

As they were leaving, Cathy made a point of thanking Click again, and saying goodnight to the entity. This made the image smile broadly, but not as much as what William did as they were preparing to walk out. Pausing at the door of the front room, he looked around.

“Now, Dale,” he said with concerned sternness, “We haven’t got all that much, but I want you to know that if you three need anything-anything at all-I want you to sing out. There is not any shame in it, because as I say, we are in the same mess. But, if I so much as suspect that you are going without eating, or medicine, I will kick your tail from bow to stern!”

“Alright,” Cathy’s grandfather laughed humbly, “I’ll do it, Will.”

Stepping outside, the three were once more sheltered from the elements by the little alien on the boy’s wrist. Most of the way home, Ma and Grandpa talked about the Planchet family’s problems. In response, David came to a decision.

“I think that she needs paper and pencils for school,” he decided, “I have plenty, so I will give her some of mine.”

“But do it gently,” Ma cautioned, “Do it in private, and do not make a fuss about doing it.”

Reaching the house, they sat in the front room, admiring the two tables. During this time, they talked about David and William going to get more skids the next day.

Later, he lay on his bed as Click sorted through the box of books. This time, to his befuddlement, she was seeking books on clothing and fabrics.

“I will need to learn about materials if we are going to upholster furniture,” the image explained as the books arranged themselves on his floor, “Also, I am thinking that Grandma may be happier making clothes rather than ordering materials for Grandpa’s business.”

That night, he had a dream that he was a king, who wore a crown.

The next morning, Click woke him up, telling him that she had a surprise for him. When he asked what it was, she explained that she had to show him rather than tell him. Once he was dressed, they went downstairs to breakfast. However, when they walked into the kitchen, everyone was amazed.

“Who is that?” Ma asked uncertainly, looking at the image.

“You see her?” The boy astounded.

“And how!” Grandpa gasped in happy shock.

“That’s my surprise,” the entity told the boy. Now, when the image spoke, he heard her with his ears, rather than in his mind.

“That’s Click?” Mary astounded.

“Yes Grandma,” the facade assured, “I am Click.” Since they could see her now, the adults had many questions for the alien. She could answer some, but not all of these.

“So, you do not know where you come from?” Ma asked curiously.

“No. The first thing that I remember is David looking down at me in the crater.”

“So you have no idea of what you are?” Grandma asked uncertainly.

“No-.”

“I’ll tell you what she is,” the old man offered playfully, “She is dang pretty-that’s what she is!”

“But, just remember Grandpa, this is only an image that I am projecting,” the illusion reminded with a slight laugh. Then she pointed to herself, “This is not me.” Pointing to the bracelet on the boy’s wrist, she added “That is.”

“Well, facade or no, you are nice to look at,” the elder argued slightly, drawing a scolding look from Mary.

“Still, as this is just an image, it can look like anything.” With that, she blurred to become the genie from the boy’s dream. Then she blurred to become the image of Miss Thatcher, then Ma. Then Cathy’s grandmother. Finally, she became herself once more. “This, incidentally, is why you can’t touch me,” she revealed, waving her arm to pass through the table.

“Even then, at least this way, we can talk to you,” Ma accepted.

“Yes,” Click affirmed, then she added “And speaking of talking, I would like to see what you think of the idea that I have.” Grandma was ecstatic at the end of her revelation.

“Making clothes?” She gasped.

“Yes,” the image assured, “As I am coming to understand it, You, Ellen, and Cathy’s grandmother could work the entire operation yourselves with the right amount of automation.”

“The right amount of what?” William asked vaguely.

“Machines,” the image explained, “After all, we will need some materials already if we are going to upholster our furniture, so why not go all the way?”

“Well, we’ll need a loom,” Ma mused thoughtfully.

“Which I can make,” Click assured, “In fact, I can auto- . . . make machines to weave materials automatically.

“But, where will we set up shop?” Mary wondered.

“We only got seven acres of land with the house,” The old man scoffed gently.

“Exactly!” The entity agreed, “When the furniture making business is up and going we can turn our attention to that. If the men are too busy to build you a shop, I can. Moreover, I have already started to learn about the subject, so I will be able to help you through any rough spots. As well, by my estimations, we can double the families’ income though two business, rather than one.” At the end of the alien’s words, the adults sat thinking. Finally, Ma looked at her in warm suspicion.

“Are you sure that you are not an angel?” She challenged playfully.

“No!” The image laughed. Then, pointing to the boy, she explained, “But, as I have told David, he is the source of my life. Therefore, understandably, I love him. If you love someone, you love what they love. He loves you all very, very much. So, as he loves you, I love you.” Once more, the room fell silent. Finally, Grandma broke this by looking over at her husband.

“And, to think that we wanted to go to the sheriff about her,” she scoffed.

A couple of hours later, David and Grandpa put on their coats to go and get skids. Still, they did not bundle up, despite it being bitterly cold outside, as Click assured them that she would keep them warm. When they stepped outside, the sled was already waiting by the road, as the little entity had already pulled it around front.

“Like I said,” William nodded as they started, “it isn’t going to be all that bad having you around!”

They brought back a big stack of skids, and then they went back and got more. As they did, they laughed at the way that people in the houses looked out at them strangely as they passed. This was because the cold did not affect them, as William explained.

“We should be either shivering, or bundled up more.”

As they passed the Planchet house the second time, they were joined by little Cathy. When she reached them, she looked at the image of the beautiful woman that walked with them in amazement.

“This is Click,” David explained.

“Hi Cathy!” The illusion smiled.

“I thought that she was your mom,” the little girl admitted, eying at the image in admiration.

“No, it is Click as she has always appeared to me.”

“I wanted to ask,” the old man recalled as he started to pull the sled once more, “When did you figure out how to appear to all of us?”

“Last night,” she replied, “After I read the few books that you have on fabrics and tailoring, I read David’s bible-.”

“You read the entire bible?” The boy asked in amazement.

“Yes. In fact, I loved it so much that I read it twice. Then, I decided to buckle down and address the problem of appearing to all of you. I knew that this was going to require a lot of power for me to do, so I wrapped myself around David’s head. Because I also knew that his thoughts were not going to be as strong as when he is awake, so I had to get close. Finally, I devised a means of projecting this image.”

“That’s why I dreamed of being a king, because you were on my head like a crown!” The boy recognized.

“Yes,” the image affirmed with a smile, “And, you would make a good king!”

When they reached the house, they took the skids into the barn. Click had asked that they be kept in the barn, as she could work faster if they were stored there, instead of outside beside the door. Then they walked into the house.

Predictably, Ma and Grandma were happy to see the little girl. More, they were insistent that she sit down and have a plate of eggs, biscuits and gravy. Once she had eaten, the older woman surprised her with a gift.

“Now, come with me, and try it on,” she said as the child excitedly admired the dress that she held, “And if it fits, I will make you a couple more.”

“That was fast,” Grandpa declared in slight astonishment.

“Well, there isn’t that much of the poor dear,” Mary explained, “So it took no time at all to put it together.” When she came back a couple of minutes later, she was proudly wearing the new garment.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” She asked David, excitedly displaying the dress.

“It sure is,” he replied, openly stunned.

“You look very pretty,” Click’s image approved, “And I am sure that your grandparents will be surprised.”

“They will be down a little later,” the child recalled brightly, “Pa said that he is hoping that William and he can pull it off.”

“They will,” the illusion promised, “Because they are good men.”

“But, I think that Grammy is a little afraid of you.”

“That’s understandable,” the entity accepted.

“We were terrified of her,” William admitted frankly, “But now, I am even more afraid that she might leave us!”

“That isn’t going to happen,” her image assured him, “I can’t live without David, and he can’t live without you. So, you are stuck with me.”

“And happily so,” the old man nodded frankly.

After a while, the children walked out to the barn so that Click could do some work. Sadly, as she explained, she was not strong enough to maintain the illusion of her image while she labored. This prompted the boy to start a game of Challenge with his friend, who did not mind at all.

After a while, Grandpa and Ma came out to join them. By then, she had finished her first project, which was an exquisite jewelry box. This, the boy relayed, was a gift to Cathy’s grandmother.

“She will love it!” Cathy predicted, breathlessly admiring her work.

Sitting this aside, she began her next project, an ornately carved breadbox. Once this was completed, she started on a bureau. This took a lot of wood, and time, as it was the biggest piece that she had made so far. Nevertheless, it was all the more beautiful. Finally, as lunch grew near, she was through.

“Can we do some more after lunch?” She asked silently as the bureau floated to sit on the ground.

“Sure!” David thought happily, as the old man picked up the jewelry box, and started towards the house. The image appeared next to him as he started to follow the old man.

“I really enjoy making things,” she explained.

“So I see!” William elated, looking at the intricate carvings in the wood of the box.

“But surely, that must make you tired,” Ma astounded.

“Actually, it gets easier the more that I do it,” the entity replied, “Also, as David told you; I find it to be fun. And, as I do it now, I think about a carpenter that I’ve read about.”

“She read the entire bible last night,” David informed his mother in response to her uncertain look, “Not only once, but twice!”

“Wow!” Ellen gasped.

“She’s very smart,” Cathy informed Ma proudly.

“But then, so are you!” The image countered with a smile.

Come lunch, they had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. To be polite, the image disappeared as they ate. Still, the orb hovered over David’s left shoulder, feeding off the energy of his thoughts. When they were through cleaning the dishes, they walked in the sitting room, to let their lunch digest. With their sitting down, the image appeared on the couch, sitting between Ma and Cathy.

“I am thinking that it might be efficacious for me to learn glass working as well,” she announced thoughtfully.

“It might be what?” Grandpa asked uncertainly.

“Effective,” she explained, much to the delight of the children.

“Hmph! I’m going to need a dictionary if I am going to work with you!” The elder lamented playfully.

“There’s an idea!” Click elated excitedly, “I think that I will read that next!”

“Please don’t!” William begged in mock chagrin, “Because you will be using all sorts of fifty dollar words, and I will go loony trying to understand you!”

“She loves learning,” David explained as soon as the laughter died down.

“So do I,” Cathy said, smiling at the image.

“Well, I suppose that when you are as small as I actually am, there is little more for you to do,” Click mused.

“That, and shock the crud out of us,” the old man added humorously, stabbing a thumb towards the corner table.

“But, I am hoping that my doing so will also show you that anything is possible,” she replied.

“For you, it is,” Grandma countered thoughtfully.

“Just as it is for you,” the image insisted, “In fact, humans are quite capable beings-more so than they comprehend.”

“But, we can’t fly like you,” Grandpa argued gently.

“No, but you can walk, or ride a horse, or a train. Or, if you really want to fly, you can ride a dirigible, or one of the new Wright fliers.”

“Still,” Ma persisted, “You can shape your body into any tool that you need.”

“Tools that already exist,” Click countered, “You just have to know what process they perform, and how to use them.”

“But you can move things with a thought,” Mary denied.

“Just as you can,” she replied, displaying her illusionary hands. Looking around, she explained, “The biggest thing that I took from reading the Bible is that we have a creator who loves us beyond our comprehension. The second is that that creator wants us to enjoy life, and gives us what we need to explore its possibilities.” Pointing to David, she continued, “Through his memories, I recall people acting as if God were a policeman, waiting to punish them for the wrongs that they did in breaking his laws. In such, they obviously saw his laws as things that they could not do. However, as I now understand things, the law is not that at all. God is not telling us ‘If you do this, I am going to get you!’ Rather, he is telling us ‘Don’t do this, because if you do, I can’t have you with me.’”

“Then, why is there a hell?” William countered thoughtfully.

“Hell is a place of punishment,” Click allowed, “But, the greatest torment and punishment there is the eternal separation from God. Which he does not want us to suffer, rather, we choose for ourselves.”

“You can see in all of these different ways,” Ellen reminded, “Can you see God?”

“Just as you can: through his works,” the image replied, “You see a mountain, but how did that mountain get there? How did it form-through natural events? Okay. So, who arranged those events? They were natural reactions? Okay, so who designed those reactions? If David throws a ball into the air, it will fall. They say that is gravity. All right. So, who decided that a planet would have gravity? They will say, ‘That is a natural consequence of existence.’ So, who decided that?”

“But, you can see-.” William started.

“A great multitude of things,” the image allowed, “I can see events that you cannot. In fact, I can see orders and processes by which even the microscopic occurs. Who established them? Who founded them?” Looking around, she affirmed “God!” Then, lowering her voice into a tone betraying awe, “This is why I find the story of Jesus so thrilling-so uplifting. To think of a being powerful enough to create all of it-everything, every law, every particle, every action and every reaction; then, because his most favored creation had fallen away from him, to become one of them to mend the relations. To humiliate himself by taking on their physical limitations, so to show them the way back. To suffer their just punishment for the wrongs that they arrogantly committed against him.-To be capable of that great a love . . .” When she resumed, her voice was nearly a whisper. “That is awesome! That is worthy of praise!”

A stunned silence fell over the room as they considered her words. Finally, Grandma looked at her image in happy amazement.

“Are you really sure that you are not an angel?”