To Curious Heights



  www.ToCuriousHeights.com

  Copyright 2013 by Sean McGowan

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Departures

  Chapter 2: The Order of the Bull

  Chapter 3: Byron’s Old Gang

  Chapter 4: Winston’s Switch

  Chapter 5: Wolves of August

  Chapter 6: The Frying Pan

  Chapter 7: Paradise Gate

  Chapter 8: The Cat’s Meow

  Chapter 9: Sleepover

  Chapter 10: The Running of the Bulls

  Chapter 11: Two Meetings

  Chapter 12: Give it a Shot

  Chapter 13: Harold’s Fall

  Chapter 14: Harold’s Rise

  Chapter 15: To Curious Heights

  Chapter 1:

  Departures

  Harold looked forward to seeing Sally Livingstone at her house that day, but he would have preferred to stay with her in his dream. The two of them had just begun to race down a grassy mountain with the whole world ahead. He had fought an army of evil minotaurs and scaled a dark tower to save her, losing his fellow soldiers along the way. But now that was all for naught. He tripped on a rock and that life was gone in a flash.

  Now Harold had to shake himself from his unplanned afternoon nap and wrap the kite he had just assembled. He should have known better than to do this work on his bed. Regardless, this would be the best birthday present Sally ever received—Harold was certain. That fact would hopefully make up for his being late to the party.

  After a few unnecessary reminders from Mom of his tardiness, Harold scooped up the newly disguised gift, hopped in his shoes, and burst out to the front yard, where his family waited in the car. The maroon hooded sweatshirt he always wore would have been too warm for most kids on this evening in early June, but with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of shorts, he felt comfortable with his signature look. Harold’s younger brother James got out of the back seat to let him in, sandwiching him between James and James’s identical twin brother John.

  “Hey, why do I have to sit in the middle? I’m the biggest,” asked Harold as he bent forward to tie his shoes.

  “Let’s go. Shut the door!” Harold’s dad yelled from the driver’s seat as James reentered. Dad shared the same nearly black hair and general appearance as Harold, while mom had the lighter complexion of the twins.

  “Yeah, come on,” said Harold. “We don’t have all night.”

  As the car drove off, John eyed the colorful quadrilateral in Harold’s lap. “Hey, what’s that you got there?”

  “Present,” said Harold.

  “Well, duh. What kind of present?”

  “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

  “That’s fine,” said John. “So what kind of present?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s a surprise and I don’t want to risk you spoiling it.”

  “That’s dumb,” said James.

  “Yeah it is,” said John. “Dad, Harold’s being dumb!”

  “Harold, stop being dumb,” said Dad.

  Harold’s mom turned back. “Harold, how old is Sally turning again?”

  “She’s eleven,” said Harold. “Same as me.”

  Mom nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Yeah, we’re getting up there in years,” said Harold.

  After a short drive through the suburban town of Curious Heights, Harold’s family pulled up to the Livingstone abode, which sat on a street lined with cars on both sides.

  “Looks like there aren’t any spaces here,” said Dad. “Harold, why don’t you head in while we park?”

  Harold agreed and jumped out of the car. He felt a slight chill up his back as he approached the familiar home.

  The Livingstone house was at least a half-century old and while it wasn’t small, it wasn’t big considering the family of six who lived inside. The brick walls, colored a few shades of red and tan, gave the house a character which made it stand out among the other more modern homes on the street. A stone walkway led between a well-tended flower garden, welcoming visitors to the front door. Harold wouldn’t use this walkway, though, as the party was around back.

  As Harold turned the corner, he could see Sally’s mother and father, a healthy couple in their early forties, waiting by the wooden gate that led to the back yard.

  “Well look who decided to show up—Harold Hawkins,” Sally’s father shouted.

  “Hi Mister and Missus Livingstone,” said Harold as he approached sheepishly.

  The Livingstones returned the greeting. “I’d say it took you long enough to get here. How you been?” asked Mr. Livingstone through a thick, dark beard as he looked down through a pair of round spectacles. If Harold was not mistaken, Mr. Livingstone looked a bit like the leader of the minotaurs from his dream, but the memory of that adventure was quickly fading.

  “I’m good...” Harold twiddled his thumbs. “Hey, sorry I’m late. I was hard at work wrapping Sally’s present then I... Sort of nodded off.”

  “No worries.” Mr. Livingstone smiled. “Keeping odd hours these days?”

  “Well, sorta...” Harold replied. “Since school got out—“

  “—He’s been really busy trying to decide what to do with himself,” came the voice of Harold’s dad from behind.

  “Yeah Bob, that’s always tough,” said Mr. Livingstone. “It’s been a couple decades since I’ve had that problem, but I think I remember what it’s like... So how’s the Hawkins family this evening?”

  “We’re not too shabby,” said Harold’s dad, rubbing his hand through Harold’s dark hair as the rest of his family arrived at the gate. “Yourselves?”

  “Can’t complain,” said Mr. Livingstone.

  “So Sally’s eleven now...” remarked Harold’s mom. “Do you think she’ll be ready for middle school?”

  “Well...” Mr. Livingstone gave a half-hearted chuckle and looked at the ground. “Let me get back to you on that.”

  While the two families exchanged pleasantries, Mrs. Livingstone leaned down to Harold and pointed toward the party. “Harold, if you’d like, you can put your present on the table with the others.” She looked back. “In fact, Sally’s over there right now.”

  Harold looked to the back right corner of the yard where the fence met a row of pine trees, cradling two perpendicular tables. On the tree-side table was all of the food. The table by the fence held the drinks on one end, while most the rest of it was covered with presents. By the presents sat several framed pictures of Sally, highlighting key moments from her eleven years.

  Sally stood in front of the pictures, cradling her baby brother. Her long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, the way it had been the last few times Harold saw her. Like Harold, she also wore long sleeves, rolled up—not that that meant anything.

  Harold scanned the area as he made his way to the back. Roughly seventy people, mostly adults, covered the large grass lawn. In addition to the hum of conversation, the atmosphere was livened by several lit tiki torches and the flowing three-level circular stone fountain in the center of the yard. The area was closed in by the wooden fences on both sides and the row of trees in the back. Through the trees, one could faintly see the sun easing into the glimmering great Lake Ignotus, which sat just down the hill on the other side. Harold’s imagination often wandered across that lake, which was so big that it may as well have been the ocean to anyone looking on from the shore.

  As Harold got near, Sally pulled one of the pictures from the table and held it up to her brother. “Look Tommy, this is the first time we met! It’s from the day you were born!”

  “Speaking of birthdays...” came Harold’s voice from the side.

  “H
arold!” Sally jerked her head ninety degrees.

  “I hope you’re having a happy one.”

  “I am now,” said Sally as she placed the photo back on the table. “I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

  “Yeah, we should have been on time.” Harold kicked his feet through the grass. “I don’t know what happened. Been pretty busy packing for camp and stuff.”

  “That’s right, you leave tomorrow. Are you excited?”

  “Yeah, it should be all right.” Harold turned his attention to the drooling baby. “Hey, Tommy’s really been growing! Can he walk and talk yet?”

  Sally smirked. “Come on Harold, he’s not even a year old. Could you walk or talk at his age?”

  “I could read at his age!”

  “Well it’s a shame your love of reading didn’t last through school.”

  Harold paused. “I usually tire of things after I master them.”

  “Oh, I see,” Sally laughed.

  “If Tommy needs help in the next couple years, though, I’d be happy to teach him.”

  Sally looked at her feet. “Yeah...”

  “So I have this present for you.” Harold held out the wrapped kite.

  “Oh, thanks!” Sally scanned the gift up and down. “Do you want me to open it now?”

  “If that’s allowed.”

  Sally set her brother at her feet and took the present from Harold’s hands. A smile crept over her face as she examined it closely. She looked across the lawn toward her parents. “How upset can they get if I open one present early? It’s my birthday, after all.” She moved her hand over the wrapping paper, searching for a good spot to tear.

  “I hope you like it,” said Harold, heart thumping. “I put much more time and care into this than I usually put into people’s presents. Not that that’s saying much, but...“

  Suddenly, Sally’s attention shot a few yards over, where her two-year-old sister attempted to eat a pinecone. “Rebecca! Don’t eat that!” Sally shoved the kite back into Harold’s arms and sprinted to her sister, stealing the pinecone just in time. “Rebecca, you can’t eat pinecones. They’re not good for you.”

  “Ga-boom?” Rebecca jibbered back.

  “That’s right. Your tummy will go ‘ga-boom’ if you eat a pinecone,” Sally replied. After throwing the pinecone through the trees, Sally led her sister by the hand back towards Harold and picked up her brother with her other hand. “Sorry, Harold, I’ll open it later. I need to take Rebecca back to my parents before she tries to eat anything else. Siblings can be a real handful, you know?”

  “Yeah,” Harold agreed, though he couldn’t really relate. His brothers could be annoying, but they never required much care.

  Sally scanned the crowd. “Wayne’s here somewhere.”

  “Really?” Harold looked around. “I don’t see him.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’ll turn up. I’ll talk to you again in a bit.” Sally turned to go.

  “See ya,” said Harold, though she was already too far to hear him.

  Harold set the kite on the table, where it merely blended in with the rest of the presents. He grabbed one of the photos from the group and gazed at it closely. It was a picture of Sally and him, age four or five, playing with a kite. His eyes lingered for a minute before he let out a sigh and set it back on the table.

  All of a sudden, Harold heard rustling in the trees behind him. He turned to see his best friend Wayne emerging. Wayne was a peach-skinned boy who stood a few inches taller than Harold’s average height and wore a large pair of thick black glasses. Like Harold, he always wore a hooded sweatshirt, regardless of the weather—Wayne’s color of preference being grey. Though he had curly brown hair, most people never saw it because Wayne always kept his hood up. Unlike Harold, who wore his hoodie based on aesthetic preference, Wayne wore his in order to put one more layer between him and the world. In his mind, the perceived security was worth a few extra degrees Fahrenheit.

  “Hey, I never knew Lake Ignotus was behind Sally’s house,” said Wayne as he adjusted his waistband before placing his hands in the pouch of his hoodie.

  “Wayne?! What were you doing back there?”

  Wayne’s eyes darted left and right. “I was admiring the sunset...”

  Harold shook his head. “You know, you could ask the Livingstones to use their—“

  “Yeah, I don’t like doing that.” Wayne grabbed a hot dog off the table and looked around the crowd. “So where’d Sally go?”

  Harold pointed across the yard to where Sally was speaking with a dark-haired, tan-skinned girl with glasses. “She’s over there with Ruth Chavez.”

  “Oh.” Wayne turned away from the crowd. “She’s here?”

  “Yeah, of course. She’s Sally’s best friend.”

  After finishing his hot dog, Wayne grabbed a handful of cookies and started to walk with Harold towards the fountain.

  “I took a nap this afternoon and had a crazy dream,” said Harold.

  Wayne bit into a cookie. “You don’t say.”

  “You were in it.”

  “Oh yeah? What did I do?

  “You died.”

  “Well now...”

  “Yeah. We were fighting an army of minotaurs with Doug, Samson, and Winston. I must have had camp on my mind. Anyways, they all died too.”

  Wayne looked up at the clouds.

  “I was the only one that survived,” said Harold. “Well, me and Sally.”

  On arrival, Wayne took his seat on the edge of the fountain wall. “That’s great, Harold. I’m really happy for you.”

  Harold sat next to Wayne and looked at Sally and Ruth again. “I don’t know why Ruth’s parents aren’t here.”

  “Her dad’s a senator,” said Wayne. “This party probably isn’t fancy enough for them.”

  “Yeah, but Sally’s dad and him are good friends. Oh well. I guess it doesn’t matter.”

  “Maybe he’s afraid he’ll get shot,” said Wayne. “Especially now.”

  “What do you mean, now?”

  “I mean now since the Prodders stole the Colonel’s laptop a couple days ago.”

  “Wayne, nobody knows for sure that it was the Prodders... Anyways, this probably isn’t a great subject to talk about at a birthday party.”

  Wayne shrugged. “Okay then.” He followed Harold’s gaze toward Sally. “So do you still think you’re gonna tell her?”

  “Yeah,” Harold replied. “I mean, I want to at least give her the kite and see if she likes it first.”

  Wayne gave a faint wince.

  “Look, Wayne, I know you think it’s a bad idea to tell her the day before camp, but I think the time apart could be a good thing. Time for her to think, you know? I wouldn’t want to impose anything on her.”

  Wayne shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose.”

  “Let’s just see if an opportunity presents itself. Maybe once the party dies down and a bunch of people have left, it’ll be just like any other time we’re together.”

  Just then, Mr. Livingstone’s voice cut in over the crowd. “Pardon me, could we have everyone’s attention for a few moments?”

  Harold and Wayne looked to see what was going on. Sally, her parents, her younger sister, and two younger brothers all gathered together on the back porch. Harold and Wayne made their way to the crowd that surrounded the Livingstones.

  Mr. Livingstone turned to his wife. “Honey, would you like to say anything?”

  Mrs. Livingstone shook her head. “You’re fine, Eric. Go on.”

  “Alright.” Mr. Livingstone nodded. “Before we get to the cake, there’s something we’d like to share as a family.”

  Harold’s eyes narrowed.

  “This is a pretty big deal for us, which is why we wanted to gather as many friends and family as possible.” Mr. Livingstone put his hand on Sally’s shoulder. “We asked Sally if we could use her birthday party to make this announcement and she said it was all right. In fact, she encouraged it, so as to take the attention off of her!” />
  A few chuckles came from the crowd as Sally’s cheeks flushed red.

  Sally’s father cleared his throat. “If I am not mistaken, you’re all familiar with my history of mission work over the years. Well recently, through much prayer, Meghan and I have felt the call to reenter the mission field as a family. At the end of this summer, the six of us will be leaving to help share the Gospel of Christ with the people of Nepal.”

  Mutterings of surprise echoed through the crowd.

  Harold whispered over Wayne’s shoulder. “Nepal? Isn’t that somewhere in Florida?”

  Wayne turned his head. “It’s a country. It’s next to China.”

  Harold’s heart dropped into his stomach. He looked frantically left and right. “I need a drink.” Harold broke from the crowd and made for the drink table.

  Mr. Livingstone continued. “We’re sorry we had to wait until now to tell all of you. We were still working out our plan, and we’re supposed to keep a certain level of secrecy, so we can’t divulge many more details about the work we’ll be doing.”

  Harold grabbed a cup off the table.

  “Will you still be working at the plant?” asked a voice in the crowd.

  “That’s a good question.“ Mr. Livingstone shook his head. “No, I will not. I just put in my resignation yesterday.”

  Harold reached for the lemonade pitcher, but it was just out of reach of his right hand. He braced his left arm on the table, stood on his toes, and leaned in. “Stupid adults,” he muttered. “Why do they always have to put the drinks so far back?”

  “Your resignation?” came another voice. “How long will you be gone?”

  “This is a long term trip,” said Mr. Livingstone, “so we will be in Nepal for the next three years.”

  As he held the pitcher in his right hand, Harold’s support arm unbuckled, sending him crashing face-first into the table. The yard went silent as all eyes turned to watch Harold’s unconscious body slide off the lemonade-drenched table.

  Harold awoke with grass against his back and stars ahead. His mom and dad kneeled over his body, while Wayne sat by his side.

  “You’re finally awake!” said Harold’s dad. “You were out cold, pal.”

  “Huh?” Harold rubbed his eyes.

  Harold’s mom patted him on the shoulder. “We just wanted to make sure you were okay, Harold. We have to go help the Livingstones clean up now.” She and Dad rose from the ground and walked away.

  Harold sat up to find himself at the far back corner of the lawn.

  “You took quite a spill,” said Wayne. “No pun intended.”

  Harold shook his head. “I don’t get it. Why is there no pun intended?”

  “You knocked all the drinks over. They even took all the presents off the table because they were getting covered in beverages.”

  Harold gasped. “Did Sally open them yet?”

  “They just took them inside and said she’ll open them after the party.”

  Harold grabbed his forehead and stared through the ground. “So she’s gonna be on the other side of the world for the next three years?”

  “Apparently so.”

  “What will they do with their house?”

  “They said they’re going to rent it out for now. They’ll decide later if they’re coming back to Curious Heights or not.”

  Harold gulped. “They might not even come back?”

  “So yeah,” Wayne shrugged, “I guess that opportunity didn’t present itself, did it?”

  “Hey, Harold.” Dad approached. “It looks like we’re gonna get going, so come say your goodbyes.”

  “So be it...” Harold slowly picked himself up off the ground and began to head for the exit with Wayne.

  “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” said Wayne.

  “I guess so,” said Harold.

  “Are we gonna sit together on the bus?”

  “We always do. Why would this year be any different?”

  “Just checking,” said Wayne. “Well, see you tomorrow.”

  “Later.” Harold waved.

  Wayne split off to join his family as Harold stopped at the side gate where his own family stood speaking with the Livingstones.

  Harold struggled to look up. “Hey, I’m really sorry about what happened.”

  “It’s all right,” said Sally. “We know you wouldn’t do that on purpose. We’re just glad you’re okay.”

  Harold’s dad looked at the Livingstones. “You guys have given us a lot to pray about.”

  “Yeah, we’ll need all the prayers we can get.” Mr. Livingstone nodded. “I think we’ll do well, though. We just need to stay dedicated and focused as a family.” He squeezed Sally’s shoulder. “You’ll set a good example for your brothers and your sister, won’t you, Sally?”

  Sally looked up at her father. “I’ll try, Dad.” She turned to Harold. “You’ll come see me before we leave, won’t you, Harold?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Harold nodded. “What day do you leave?”

  “We’re leaving on August twenty-second,” said Sally.

  “Well, I come back on the seventeenth, so that gives us...” Harold counted with his hand. “Five days. Yeah, I’ll see you.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yes, Sally.” Harold tried not to choke from the lump in his throat. “I promise.”

  Sally smiled. “Have fun at camp, Harold.”

  Harold forced a smile. “I’ll do my best.”

  Mrs. Livingstone looked at Harold’s family. “It was so nice having you all here.”

  “We had a wonderful time,” said Harold’s mom. “You’ll be in our prayers.”

  The rest all said their goodbyes as Harold’s family walked out. When they were halfway across the front lawn, Mr. Livingstone shouted from behind. “Oh, Bob!”

  Harold’s dad turned around.

  “Keep an eye on Harold for me.” Mr. Livingstone winked. “He’ll need it.”

  Harold’s dad smiled and nodded. “Will do.”

  As they got to their car, James spoke up. “Hey Harold, why does Mr. Livingstone hate you so much?”

  “That’s a great question,” said Harold.

  “What?! He doesn’t hate you,” Harold’s dad scoffed. “He likes you a lot.”

  Harold shrugged as he opened the car door. “Whatever you say, Dad...”

  On the ride home, a question came to Harold’s mind. “Hey Mom and Dad...”

  “What?” asked Harold’s parents in unison.

  “How old where you guys when you got married?”

  “We were both twenty-four. We met about two years before that,” said Harold’s mom.

  “Twenty-four?!” Harold muttered. “Jesus will probably come back before I’m twenty-four!”

  Harold’s dad laughed. “Why is this such a concern for you?”

  “Just wondering,” said Harold. “Didn’t people used to get married when they were like fourteen?”

  “I don’t know,” said Dad, rolling his eyes. “But I think you’ve got enough other things to worry about right now. So do all the eligible young females your age, for that matter.”

  “Like what?” asked Harold.

  “Like going to summer camp tomorrow,” said Dad. “You’ll have plenty there to occupy you for the next two months. Try to live in the present, you know?”

  Harold shrugged. “Whatever you say, Dad...” He turned to stare longingly out the window and it wasn’t many hours later that he looked out another window to see Lake Ignotus passing by.

  “Hey Harold,” came Wayne’s voice from the right.

  Harold turned his head.

  “Check out this new book I got,” said Wayne, cradling a large tome in his lap. “It’s about Cryptozoology.”