Rebecka

Children's fiction by Robin Lindh

     Rebecka was not like most young girls her age growing up in Stockholm, she was different.  She hardly ever spoke, due to a stutter she had developed at the age of five, she could never keep up with the rest of her class, and so was sent to a remedial room where she stayed until she was twelve, and she spent most of her evenings outside, playing in the forest that surrounded her home.  

     Rebecka was tall for her sixteen years and never worried much about the extra ten pounds she always carried.  

     One morning, after taking her hot shower, she looked into the mirror at her long, curly hair, dreading the torturous comb out.
I must do something about my hair, she thought, but what?  So she took a pair of scissor and removed her black, long locks.
“That’s b-b-better,” she turned her head to the side, “m-m-much better.”
Rebecka could never remember to do her chores.  Everyday, after school, she would run out the back kitchen door and into the forest.  Deep in the forest, Rebecka lost track of time.  She would play for hours, in the rain when it thundered overhead, and long after the sun had set.  This, of course, did not sit well with Rebecka’s step-mother Elak, an overweight Russian immigrant whom Rebecka avoided as much as possible.       
Rebecka was happiest playing in the forest, and she had an uncomfortably strange way with animals.  So, it was no surprise to her father Johan, a thin and frail electrician who was away most of the time working in old buildings located in Norway, when she was found sitting under a Spruce tree playing with her newly found friend whom she aptly named Stark.

     “Rebecka,” her father said calmly, trying to hold back a cough, “where did you find that animal?” 
“Här,” she answered.
”Put it down, baby, and come to me.”
“N-nej, pappa!  Han är min vän.”
”I know he is your friend, but you must do as I say.  Put him down and slowly walk toward me.”
Rebecka placed Stark down on the ground, stood up, and walked to her father.     
He reached out his hand and shoved her behind his back, slowly walking backwards.  Even in the light of dusk, he could see the animal’s glowing, yellow eyes.
“Don’t say a word,” he whispered, “just head for the house.” 
When they reached the back steps, Rebecka turned away from the house and refused to go in.
“Varför?”  She asked.
“Why?  You’re asking me why?  Did you not know what you were holding?”
“Ja, en hundvalp.”
“Nej, Rebecka, nej.  It was not a puppy, it was a wolf pup!
“Han är min vän,” she cried.
”Nej, he is not your friend.  A wolf can never be your friend, ever!” 
Rebecka opened the back door to the kitchen and ran into the house, crying.  Johan followed and found Elak sitting in the kitchen.

“How could you let her go out alone like that?”  Johan asked Elak, “You know this area is surrounded by forest and wildlife.”
“Well, she never listens to me, so why should I bother?  Look, I cooked dinner over an hour ago, and now it’s cold.  She never eats my cooking, and she’s always giving food away to those creatures she calls pets. 
“But that’s just it...” Johan began to cough repeatedly, bracing himself against the kitchen table.  Elak watched on, unaffected.  She walked over to the window, and rearranged the flowers that were on the sill.  “She is a child,” he continued, “she’s not aware of the dangers out there like you and I.  That’s why you’re here...”    
“I beg your pardon?  Elak turned and stiffened.  “I did not sign on to raise some abnormal--“
“Rebecka is not abnormal!” Johan snapped.  She’s just...different, that’s all.  Now look, that was our agreement; you agreed to take care of her if I married you.”
“Yes, well, I was wrong.  Now that I’ve met her, perhaps it would be best if she lived with other children that are more similar to...herself.”
“What?!”  Johan shouted, “The agreement stands, and if anyone leaves this house it will be you!
Silence filled the kitchen, and then penetrated the entire wooden house.  Elak turned and walked out into the hallway, she paused to adjust a picture hanging on the wall, wiping the dust from its edge.
“I’ve made a grave mistake,” Johan thought, and then he slid down into the chair beside him, coughing up red sputum.

     While in her room, Rebecka pulled out a metal box from underneath her bed.  It housed her mother’s picture, her savings of ninety-eight cents, and a small, cloth pouch where she kept her mother’s wedding ring.  She fastened the box with a combination lock the day before Elak and her father married.  She curled up under the blanket with her mother’s picture, and then cried herself to sleep.

     Later that night, Rebecka quietly opened her window.      
“Kom hit Stark!”  She called in a whisper.  Stark came walking with his head lowered and his tail wagging.  Rebecka saw that the kitchen was dark and empty.  She slipped Stark in through the back door, and then into her bedroom.  She foraged food and milk from the refrigerator and shared it with him, and then he slept at the foot of her bed.
***

     The following week, instead of going back to Norway, Johan drove to town to meet with his jurist at the bank, and then to his doctor’s office.  When he returned home, he had lost his appetite and continued to cough, so he took the medicine that was ordered by the doctor. 
“Rebecka,” he called out in a weak voice.
“Ja, pappa?”
“Tomorrow, I must go to the hospital for some tests.  Be on your best behaviour with Elak, and try to eat what she prepares for you, okay?
“Ja, pappa,” she answered.
***

     After arriving at the hospital, Johan did not return home that evening.  He called Rebecka from the hospital.
“Pappa, var är du?  She asked.
“I’m still here at the hospital;” his voice sounded muffled, “they want me to stay over night, nothing to worry about.  How’s it going with you and Elak?”
“Okej,” she answered.
“Just okay?”
“Ja,” she said.
“Well, eat your food and do your chores.  Call me if you have any problems.”
“Okej, pappa,”
“Good bye, baby.”
”Hej då,” she said.

     That was the last time Rebecka would hear her father’s voice, for that night at the hospital he died in his sleep before waking up.
*** 

     The next day, Elak was more than happy to deliver the news of Johan’s death to Rebecka.
“Va?” Rebecka asked.
“Are you deaf, child?  I said your father is dead.”
“Nej!”  Rebecka said.
“Yes!”  Elak shouted.
“Nej!  Nej!  Nej!”  Rebecka shrilled, and then she ran out of the house, and into the forest.  She ran and ran, not knowing where she was headed.  Finally, she stopped beside a bush covered in berries.  Rebecka dropped to the ground and cried.
***

     A few days later, the phone rang, it was Johan’s jurist.
-“What?!”  Elak shouted, “There must be some mistake.” 
-“Everything goes to Rebecka: the house, the car, and all the money in his accounts, everything?” 
-“When did he change his Will?” 
-“So what did he leave me? 
-“Nothing, nothing at all?” 
-“Yes, I’m sorry too.  Good bye.”
Elak lowered herself onto the living room sofa and stared out the front window. 
“That child will not get what rightfully should be mine!”
***

     While out in the forest with Stark, Rebecka felt a little famish.  She saw a berry bush, and begin to pluck the bright red berries.   By the time she and Stark had finished eating, the bush was bare.  It was at that time she heard Elak calling out to her from the back steps. 
“Rebecka, time for dinner!” 
Elak had prepared Rebecka’s favourite, pasta and meatballs with a small glass of milk.    
“Take out the trash when you finish,” Elak said, and then she walked out of the kitchen and into her bedroom.
Rebecka did not want to upset Elak, but she was not hungry, not even for her favorite meal.  Her stomach was over filled with berry juice.  She took the food out to Stark. 
“Är du hungrig?”  Stark sniffed the pasta, turned his head, and then walked away.  So, she placed the milk and food in the refrigerator, and went to bed, but she forgot to empty the trash. 
Not long after, Rebecka developed a sharp pain in her stomach from eating so many berries.  The pain was so sharp that if forced her to knock on Elak’s door.  To Rebecka’s surprise, Elak was very sympathetic and helped Rebecka back into bed.  Rebecka laid in bed, bent over in a fetal position.  Elak sat at Rebecka’s bedside all night, patiently waiting.
The next morning, Rebecka opened her eyes and saw Elak asleep in the chair.  Rebecka felt much better and so decided to make Elak a hot cup of strong coffee with milk and sugar, just the way she liked it.
“Elak,” Rebecka shook her shoulder, “kaffe,” Elak had stayed awake all night, and she was drowsy and could barely open her eyes.  Elak took the cup from Rebecka’s hand and sipped the coffee until it was all gone.
Feeling a little bit more awake, Elak stared at Rebecka, her memory slowing starting to dawn. 
“Rebecka, you’re still here?”
“Ja,” she answered.
“But you shouldn’t be,” Elak said, starting to feel drowsy again.
“Varför inte?”  Rebecka asked.
“Why not?”  Elak tried hard to focus her vision, but everything was a blur.  Didn’t you eat your dinner last night?  Didn’t you drink your milk?
“Nej,” Rebecka said.
“Nej?”  Elak shouted.  She began to slur her words.  “What did you do with your dinner and milk?”
“Jag satte i--”
”English, child, speak English!”
”It’s okay, I didn’t waste it.  I placed everything in the refrigerator, and I poured the milk in your coffee, I will warm the pasta later, for lunch.”
“You did what?  Quick, dial 112.”  And then Elak’s head fell to the side. 
Rebecka ran to the phone and dialled 112.  When she tried to explain that her step-mother had fallen asleep, they said they would send someone over to check on her.  An hour passed, before the district nurse called asking for directions, and then another hour before the nurse actually arrived.  After the nurse assessed the situation, she called for an ambulance.   
The ambulance finally arrived and carried Elak to the hospital.  Elak stayed at the hospital for a week, and was then transferred to an elderly care centre.    The doctor said Elak was fine, and that she could return home soon, but that she would need lots of care for she seemed to have had some brain damage from decreased oxygen uptake.  Elak could not remember her name, and when she finally did return home, she did not know her way around the house.  The doctor had instructed Rebecka to write everything down for Elak due to her memory loss.
“I will help you,” Rebecka said, “Here is a list of things to do: cook the food, clean the house, feed Stark, and take him to the vet for shots.
Elak obeyed, and after a while, she became very good at her job as the maid; she kept everything tidy and always made sure there was plenty of food for Stark and all of Rebecka’s other pets.

A story by Robin Lindh from Sweden