Summary:\u00a0 Adam\u2019s upcoming return from Boston affects his brothers in an unexpected way.<\/p>\n
Rated:\u00a0 K+<\/p>\n
Word Count:\u00a0 1,015<\/p>\n
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n
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The Return<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNo. I can\u2019t and I won\u2019t come back to a household with such an uneducated and lazy boy as you. Never. I will stay in Boston, where I belong. With my equals.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, Adam, please. Pa misses you, he is so happy about your return. He has been talking about you for weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf there were only Pa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlease. Hoss also is so happy, and even Hop Sing seems cheerful. I heard him singing in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, I can\u2019t disappoint them. But now I missed the wagon train. So I have to travel alone. Look at my horse. We don\u2019t have as fine horses here as we do in the West, but I could try it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, yes, do it. And I\u2019ll start with my homework and I will tell Pa about the bad history test. I promise. Look, I\u2019m working until you get here. Ugh, it\u2019s a very hard math problem, but I will not neglect my homework. I\u2019m working\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe \u2026 Joe, look, look at my horse, it lost a shoe. I\u2019m in the desert. There isn\u2019t a blacksmith in a thousand miles. I can never reach one, never. I can\u2019t walk anymore, it\u2019s too hot. I\u2019m exhausted. No water, my canteen is empty, so very empty, and I\u2019m so weak, so very weak.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, stand up, walk, please walk, Adam, don\u2019t die.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t. I\u2019m dying. Why did I agree to your request, why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo! No! Open your eyes! Open them\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n \u201cLi\u2019l Joe, what\u2019s wrong? Hey \u2013 Joe. Open your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, Adam is dead. His body lies in the desert. His horse lost a shoe, and then he had to walk, and he died. It\u2019s all my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? Joe, come on. Ya dreamed. Only a very bad dream.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re sure? But all seemed so real. Adam even wore that tasseled hat, you know, from his graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one from the picture he sent us?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Do you think he will remember me and would even like me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Joe. Haven\u2019t ya forgotten about his last letter, where he wrote that he is anxious to see you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes \u2013 Do you think I\u2026I will\u2026satisfy his standards?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYa will. I did and you will, too. He loved you from the day you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally, Hoss? Alright then. And tomorrow I will finish my math homework before Adam arrives. I think it\u2019s better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, maybe. Sleep well, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood n\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Adam, you are alive. How wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI booked a passage on the Wanderer<\/em>. You know, my grandfather\u2019s clipper ship, where Pa was also first mate. I will sail from Boston to San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t it very far?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh no. Not for this ship. It\u2019s very fast. If you like, I will even use a lot of extra sails.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, do it! Pa will be so happy, if you are here as early as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I\u2019m nearly flying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yes, the wind filled all the sails and the foam is splashing high. Watch out for your hat, Adam, in the wind. Watch out, Adam, watch out there is a reef in front of you! No \u2013 not your hat anymore \u2013 a reef!<\/p>\n \u201cOh no. I\u2019m too fast and too close. A ship has no reins or brakes. We\u2019re going to collide!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe ship is sinking! Adam, where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHere. I\u2019m swimming. But the ocean is so big and so cold, so very cold. I\u2019m exhausted. I\u2019m drowning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNooooooo!\u201d<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n \u201cLi\u2019l Joe. Dreamed that bad dream again?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes \u2013 no. This time there was a shipwreck. Adam died again. He waved a last time, then he sank standing up into the ocean. The last thing I saw was his forehead and that hat straight on his head. \u2026 It was my fault, I asked him to hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeems strange to me but in a dream \u2026 Ya know what? \u2013 How about you sleep with me in my bed. I know you are too big for that, but it\u2019s a real bad night, and we both need sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Hoss, I\u2019m coming with you.\u201d<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n \u201cHello, Adam. Where are you?<\/p>\n \u201cAt the railway station in Boston. I will take the train to Saint Louis and from there the stagecoach. It\u2019s fast and comfortable. At least more comfortable than when Pa and I made our way to the West. Did I tell you about our travels?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but maybe I forgot a lot of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will tell you again, when I\u2019m home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs the railroad safe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it\u2019s the safest way to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t hurry, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can only travel as fast as the train goes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s good. Pa would never\u2026Adam, look, what\u2019s that? There is a big mountain ahead of you! The railway ends in the mountain. It will smash your train. Adam \u2013 don\u2019t die. Don\u2019t die again! Please! \u2013 Pa\u2026 I… I love you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, little brother. I\u2019m an engineer; solving technical problems is my profession. Watch, I\u2019m constructing and digging a tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure you can do it in time? Isn\u2019t the stone too hard?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis obstacle isn\u2019t made from stone, not anymore. I can dig through it, and it melts like butter in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. You did it. But\u2026 when did you change? That hat is the one Pa gave to you at your last birthday at home. Hoss braided the hatband and I helped him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, it means a lot to me, Joe. And now sleep well. We will see each other tomorrow and I will help you with your math problems.\u201d<\/p>\n **********<\/p>\n Hoss turned to Joe because the wiggling and struggling had stopped, and in the early morning sun he saw a relaxed smile curl the boy\u2019s lips. He didn\u2019t know that this smile was a reflection of Adam\u2019s broad smile in Joe\u2019s dream, but it filled him with warmth, so he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep again with a smile himself. No, Adam would never avoid Joe or his family, <\/em>and he was glad that Joe knew it now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Written for the 2019 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament<\/p>\n The suits were:\u00a0 Location of story (clubs); object desired or coveted (diamonds); person to be avoided (hearts); calamity (spades)<\/p>\n The words dealt were:<\/p>\n Joe and blacksmith (to avoid) Summary: Adam\u2019s upcoming return from Boston affects his brothers in an unexpected way.
\nRailway station
\nTunnel
\nA ship is sinking<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nRated: K+
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