"Grab it, Allison! Grab it!" Earl Zefleh shouted to his younger sister.
Two of the Zefleh children were out in one of the many fields. They had two hounds with them, and were both going bird hunting. The dogs would grab the birds, jumping in the air, then, once they had got birds flying slower, the children grabbed them, then, not minding the squawking, they cut their throats with their pocket knives.
Six year old Allison was a cute little red-head with green eyes. Her attitude was one of playfulness and she was always full of adventure. At the moment, she was wearing a dark blue vest, white smock, and a dark brown skirt. Since their family was one of the poorer people, they didn't have much money for fancy outfits and clothes. They dressed simply, and didn't worry about fashion.
Earl was dressed like many of the young men and boys in those days. He wore brown breeches, a clean, starched shirt with sleeves that puffed out, a brown vest of lighter material, and a peasant's cap. His dark brown hair was quite a contrast compared to his little sister's red hair, but his blue eyes almost looked green at times. He had a handsome face with strong features, showing everything about him - his adventurousness, care, and tenderness.
Allison leapt into the air, reaching her hand out as far as it would go, but the effort was hopeless. The bird flew far out of her grasp, and Allison was left with only a few feathers in her tiny hand. She looked up at Earl, and frowned, but Earl just rubbed the top of her curly head.
"It's okay. You're not as old as I am. Maybe you'll be able to catch birds when you get taller," Earl comforted the little girl.
Allison nodded, then added, "But, you're only twenty. Six is very close to twenty, and I still don't know how to catch a bird!"
"Well, tomorrow, we can practice some more," Earl looked up at the dark storm clouds overhead, "It's going to rain soon. We had better get the birds we caught back to Mama. We still have yet to do our chores."
He whistled for the dogs to come, then, grabbing the two birds they had already killed, they both started off for home.
They lived in the small village of Woodbridge. Woodbridge was a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, not far from the coast. There, in the town, there was much to do. It lay along the River Deben, and was a common place for ships to be built and things to be traded. Earl had a job helping the dock workers unload and load things in the boats that passed by.
Woodbridge was a peaceful village this time of year. The weather was quite mild, and not much happened, although much to the chagrin of most of the townsfolk. Everyone there thrived on things to do or talk about. They were always very busy people, constantly wanting to get out in order to see the world. But, when someone was born in that town, they were there to stay. Only a few of the people could manage to buy their passage out of the village. In those days, the people were very poor. It was the middle of the Renaissance, and not only the people in small villages were poor, but even the people living in the cities were also not quite what you would call wealthy.
As the two children walked into the town square, they noticed not many villagers were out on the streets. It was getting near evening, and the women were busy cooking their suppers. In the yards of the houses, clothes were hung out to dry, but children rushed out of their homes to remove the clothing.
They had to walk for quite a while, because their house was on the other side of town, near the shore, but farther out from the village.
Earl and Allison were walking, hand in hand, when all of a sudden, Allison felt a big drop of water plop down on her face. Earl got the next two drops, and after that, the rain began sprinkling. Then, after a bit more sprinkling, the shower turned into a pouring thunder storm. Lighting flashed back and forth, across the sky, and thunder boomed in their ears. They pulled their cloak hoods over their already wet hair and pushed on.
In a little while, they were out of the village and making their way towards their own little home. Not soon after leaving the town, they caught sight of the clothes hanging on the line, and their sister, 16-year-old Tesannina, pulling them down. She put them in a brown basket, then made her way to their cabin.
Earl and Allison pushed open the door, and burst into the quiet kitchen. Their mother, Isemay, stood by the fireplace, stirring the soup and humming softly to herself when they walked in.
"Allison! Where were you?" she stooped down to look into her little daughter's face.
"We were out in the Partridge Field, catching birds, but I didn't catch any," Allison hung her head, "Earl caught all of them!"
Isemay Zefleh smiled and took Allison's little hand in her own. She led her to a big basin sitting on the table. A pitcher full of clear water was set next to it. Isemay dumped the water in the large bowl, then dipped the little girl's dirty palms in the water. The dirt had an amazing effect on the water. The dirt spread around the basin, coloring it a dark brown, and when she scrubbed harder on Allison's hands, the water became so dark it lapped at the sides of the basin and turned the porcelain a sandy color.
When they were finished cleaning Allison's hands, Isemay handed her a towel, and dumped the water out while Allison dried her hands.
This whole time, Earl was staring down at his own mud-caked palms and wondering if his mother would scrub his too, but he didn't have much time to think about that. He hurried out the door to do his evening chores. In the barn, the animals were making their various sounds, and the wood smelled of freshly-cut hay.
His quick stride took him all the way across the barn to the cows. He picked up a bale of hay, but noticed, just then, that the cows' trough was already quite full. He dumped the hay back where it was, and scanned the barn.
"Hey, Earl!" Tesannina came into the barn, her hands holding two buckets of water, "There you are! I was going to wait for you to come and feed the cows, but I decided to do it myself. I hope you don't mind!"
"No, Tes! Thank you for doing that! You're not going to make me do something for you, are you?"
Tessy smiled, "Well... I guess I won't this time."
Earl grinned back at his sister. Even though she was only sixteen, Earl treated her like she was tons older than him. She had definitely taken after their mother, and was growing into a beautiful young woman, willing to work and take care of her dear family.
"Tessy, you had better go inside. Mama probably wants you. I'll finish the chores out here," Earl turned to the horse stalls.
Tesannina nodded and walked into the cold rain.
Even though it was freezing cold outside, the inside of the house was warm and quite cozy. The kitchen's fire was going at full blast, and a pot of hot soup sat on the table. Allison was setting the table when Tessy entered. Isemay, their mother, was sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth.
Isemay was pregnant with their fourth child, and was tired most of the time.
"Mama, do you need any help with dinner?" Tessy looked at her mother.
Isemay sat upright, "No, I do believe we have got everything, but I do need you to get Father, and your dear brother. Father is in the shed. Hurry now, or supper will get cold!"
Tessy slipped back into the pouring rain, cloak in hand. Running first to the barn, she told her brother that supper was served. Then, she skipped to the shed, and opened the door.
The shed was like a small barn, but, whenever it rained, it leaked a lot more than the barn did. They kept it for storage, but couldn't put animals in it, or the animals would have a very uncomfortable sleep on a night like this. Their father also worked in the shed. He was quite good at making things out of wood, and the small building was perfect for doing just that.
When Tesannina entered the shack, she felt a large drop of water fall on her freckled nose. She lifted her blue eyes to the ceiling, and peered at the holes and cracks, covering the roof. Tesannina wiped the water off, and walked forward. In the middle of the small room, a table was standing there. The only thing on the table was a small, glowing lantern. But, those weren't the first things she noticed. The one thing she did notice, however, was that her father wasn't there. Her eyebrows shot up in alarm, and she wondered where her father would be at such a strange time. It was evening, and he never went out in the even time!
Tessy backed out of the shed, and slammed the door behind her. She squinted her eyes and stared out into the rain, calling her father's name, but not a single sound did she hear. The wind howled and the thunder boomed, as lightning flashed, and all Tessy could think about, was that it wasn't a very good night to be out and about...
