A Teaser for Raising Mother Nature, written by Everett R. Mane & Marjorie Wise Sedlacek, authors at WriteRight4Life, LLC

Calhoun Mane had a mischievous streak rooted in his sense of humor, but he had rarely done anything so destructive. When his mother, Chloe Le Coureur, disappeared from the house for two weeks, he had a gut feeling she had abandoned him once again. The pattern of her coming and going weighed heavily on a mind already burdened with grief. He believed she must have had reasons to leave her children repeatedly. Whenever she returned, Calhoun and his siblings, Meridith and Gerry, always felt obligated to accept her as their mother. She had carried them full term to birth, after all. His siblings ended up in different homes across Ohio.

Now, Calhoun’s plan to run away late into the night pushed his feelings even deeper inside. The warm summer evening was the perfect setting for him to prove he could act responsibly. At fourteen, he believed that doing chores around the house meant he was mature enough to go out on his own. His stepfather, Bob Burba, worked long shifts at a steel mill and was often away from Calhoun most evenings. They had spent the previous week hunting rabbits and organizing items in the garage. He heard Bob snoring loudly in his room, and Calhoun slipped out the back door. 

The road stretched beyond his understanding of Cedarville, Ohio’s farming community. The town sat out in the middle of nowhere, and every gas station, store, and merchant had closed just before most citizens went to sleep in the early evening. Rows of corn, soybeans, and wheat hid the country roads just outside larger cities like Xenia, which was Calhoun’s intended destination. He believed that if he arrived at his grandma's, whom he learned to call "Grandma Fatso," she would take him in. Support had been his main motivation since his mother left for wherever she had gone. His friend, Paul Short, who also had family issues, decided to run away with him. Calhoun had told Paul that his grandma would welcome them into her home. 

The boys began walking down Wilmington Road, heading toward what Calhoun believed was the right direction. He still lacked a real sense of routes to travel. Whether north, south, east, or west, the road they took led somewhere beyond Cedarville. They discussed big dreams and detailed plans to find their own housing. Neither had a work permit yet, even though they were both close to turning fifteen. Their naivety filled them with ambitious plans—many ideas far beyond what they could actually accomplish. Calhoun especially talked about his ambitions to become a successful artist, even though he knew his silly sketches would hardly attract much attention.

Minutes felt like hours, prompting Calhoun to question himself. If he convinced Paul to leave with him and something went wrong, he knew regret would weigh heavily on him. Paul’s father worked overtime to support his son, and although he was away often, he loved Paul deeply. Now, Calhoun discussed his home-life situation with Paul. He wanted to make the least troublesome decision for a man who had raised him for over five years. Bob had treated Calhoun as his son. Paul kept a stoic expression, knowing that whichever choice they made could lead to more challenging conditions. When Paul mentioned that fact, Calhoun nodded in agreement.

When Calhoun saw headlights approaching, he grabbed Paul by the arm and pulled him into a ditch. The cattails had grown tall enough to conceal them. After the van pulled up nearby, the boys panicked and ran into a barbed-wire fence. Calhoun quickly helped Paul free himself, and they darted through the corn rows. Voices sounded from the road, and loud heavy metal music echoed in Calhoun’s ears. He recognized the Dio song as one he loved. Suddenly, the night air settled into an eerie silence, and the boys’ imaginations ran wild with fear. When they stopped running to hide, they found themselves in the middle of a rectangular clearing, with what looked like tall, concrete monoliths at each corner.

I bet you’re eager to find out what happened to Calhoun next. I promise that my narrative nonfiction book, “Raising Mother Nature,” delivers truths that truly capture interest. He had to learn things the hard way, but I guess you’ll need to read about him.