The Red Hat

The wind whipped through the cornstalks creating a melancholy chorus of fall music. Samantha curled her small, seven-year-old frame and buried her face into her jeans. He would find her. He always did.

“Samantha.” Tommy’s voice cut through the bitter fall air.

Samantha’s body tightened deeper into a ball, hoping her brown jacket would blend with the drying stalks. Nothing could be done about the bright red cap her mother insisted Samantha wear after their last hide-and-seek game ended with a frantic search party. Her family had combed the fields until nightfall after Samantha had wandered deeper into the cornfield than she had ever ventured. After a desperate search, they found her crying in the back corner. The hat would stay, or their game would not happen.

“Samantha.”

Tommy’s voice grew closer. Relief rushed over her.

“There you are.” Tommy glanced at his stopwatch. “Not bad. Ten minutes.” Ten-year-old Tommy plopped down on the ground next to his sister. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her.

“You’re freezing.” He rubbed her shoulder. “Do you still want to play?”

Samantha nodded. Her teeth chattered louder than the wind.

Tommy looked down at his baby sister. “Are you sure?”

Samantha gazed up at his face as he breathed heavily from his run. A cloud formed as each warm breath met the frigid air. Crimson scrapes covered his face marking the places the corn leaves had ripped at his skin. Samantha’s cheeks itched, assuring her she had not avoided their clutches either.

“I’m sure.” Her voice lacked confidence.

“Your turn to search then,” Tommy said, his breaths calming.

Samantha’s heartbeat drummed against her chest. She hated when he hid from her much more than when she hid from him.

Tommy stood and offered her a hand up. She stood, and as she did, she noticed something shoot across the row twenty feet away.

“Did you see that?” Her voice sounded small, even to her.

“See what?”

Samantha lifted a shaky finger and pointed down the row. “Something just ran across the cornrow.” A cry threatened to escape.

“Samantha, you said you wanted to take your turn searching.”

“But I’m serious. Something is there.”

Tommy laughed. “Samantha, you’re seeing things.” He took two steps. “Start counting and don’t…”

Tommy froze.

“Tommy,” Samantha whispered.

Tommy didn’t respond.

“Tommy,” she whispered again, “did you see it too?”

“Samantha,” Tommy grabbed her hand, “we’re not alone.” Tommy’s hand squeezed hers. “We should run.”

Another figure stepped onto the path as his hand pulled her rigid body forward. The creature moved slowly, unafraid of their human presence. The yellow eyes set on the siblings. Samantha stared up at her brother as if he had the answer. Silence.

Seconds ticked by, and then the creature growled and stepped toward them. Samantha cried out.

“Tommy. Samantha. Dinner time,” their mother called.

They were close to home. So close.

“Shh…,” Tommy whispered. “Don’t yell. We need to back up slowly.”

“But the house is right there.”

“And so is that thing.”

Tommy pulled Samantha back, and the humungous wolf took a step toward them. A low growl showed his jagged teeth. Samantha whimpered.

“I’ll keep you safe. Don’t cry.” Tommy’s hand tightened on hers. “Follow me. Slowly.”

Tommy stepped between the cornstalks into the next row. The animal's gaze followed them, but this time, it stood still. Tommy pulled them through another row. The sticky long leaf grabbed the red hat and ripped it off Samantha’s head. She began to bend for it.

“Leave it.” Samantha looked up at her brother. “It’s okay. We’ll find it another time.” Tommy spoke as he pulled her through another row. The view of the creature grew more blurred with each layer of corn between them. “Keep moving. Slowly.”

They put between them layer after layer of corn until the creature was not visible.

“Run,” Tommy whispered. Samantha immediately felt the tug of his arm as they darted through the rows. The light was beginning to show through the stocks. The edge of the cornfield was drawing close. “We’re heading for the big tree. You know the one.”

Samantha didn’t answer. Her breaths were coming fast and hard. They were in a sprint, but behind them came the sound of corn being pushed to the side. They burst through the last row of stalks and found the giant tree looming over them. The low branches reaching out to them like their mother’s arms.

“Run as hard as you can.” Tommy stayed beside her despite his ability to outrun her by a mile. “You have it.”

Paws pounded on the ground behind the siblings. They didn’t look back, but they knew the pack was following the leader now, hungry for a fight they knew they would win.

The first branch was only four feet above them but too high for Samantha to grasp. In one fluid motion, Tommy made a step in his hand and flung Samantha upon it. He jumped up, grabbed the branch, and swung one leg to safety. The other one dangled as Tommy found his balance. The jaws of the leader closed on his paint leg, and he struggled with his hold.

“Tommy,” Samantha screamed.

Her voice breathed extra strength into his young body, and he tore the jeans from the animal’s mouth. The leader let out a loud howl, and the pack followed suit. Would their mom hear their calls? Would she know they needed help?

“Samantha,” Tommy said, “we need to climb higher.”

Samantha’s body visibly shook. “I can’t let go. I’ll fall.”

“We’re not high enough.” As if to prove his point, the leader leaped again for Tommy’s pant leg missing by inches. “I need to go first, or I’ll be in your way. I’ll give you a hand from the next branch.”

Samantha squeaked, “Okay.”

“Here I go.” Tommy eased his way to the tree trunk to better reach the next branch. “You have to scoot this way too.”

Samantha whimpered.

“You’ve got this, Samantha. Focus on the tree and not the wolf. You’ve climbed this tree a million times.”

Tommy reached the trunk, put a hand on the higher branch, and pulled himself to a standing position, all under the watchful gaze of the wolf’s yellow eyes. He watched Samantha edging her way toward him, her hands shaking. He couldn’t help her. She had to do this part on her own. He hauled himself up to the next branch only a few feet above them and held his breath as his sister reached the trunk.

“Reach up. I’ve got you.” Samantha let go of the branch with one hand. Her heart raced as she repeated to herself what Tommy had told her. Samantha had climbed this tree a million times. Not once had she fallen. Their hands locked. “Now stand.”

Samantha held back the cry building in the back of her throat. She placed one hand on the trunk and got her legs beneath her.

“I did it,” she said, a slight laugh behind her words.

The large male wolf that Tommy could now estimate as almost 180 pounds lunged at his sister.

“Samantha!”

Samantha lost her balance, and one hand flailed as her body tipped backward. Tommy tightened his legs around the branch and pulled his sister’s hand to him with everything he had. Samantha grabbed the tree again and found her balance.

“Tommy.”

“You’re okay. Now put your hands on the branch and pull yourself up. Remember, you can do this.”

Samantha glanced backward at the creature and the pack. She nodded to her brother, or maybe herself, swallowed hard, and lifted herself onto the branch.

“We’re safe now, Samantha. They can’t get us up here.”

Samantha glanced out over the horizon. The sun was settling beyond the barn. It would be dark soon. Tommy's gaze followed hers.

“Mom and Dad will be looking for us. It’s okay.”

The wolves began to howl, and a sad, melancholy sound thickened the air.

“It’s almost dark, though.”

The leader put his paws on the tree trunk and reached up to them. The pure mass of him terrified both children. They didn’t admit out loud that even their parents were no match for these animals.

Only a sliver of sun remained above the barn roof. The two looked at each other as if the answer would be found in each other’s gazes.

“I think we’re in trouble, Tommy.”

In answer, the wolves howled again. A sound cut through the air. The sound of a gunshot. So close. An image appeared on the cornfield edge, and their father emerged, gun ready. Another shot, a warning. The leader stared back at their father momentarily, and then they saw the weapon take aim. They heard the click of the rifle preparing to shoot.

“I wouldn’t try me,” their dad told the animal. In defeat, the animal turned and sauntered into the fields, his pack following.

The children remained frozen on the branch until their father reached the base. He swung the rifle onto his back and pulled a red hat from his pocket.

“I think you lost something.”

Samantha and Tommy scrambled from the tree and into the waiting arms of their father. They didn’t fully let go of him until they entered the door of their warm kitchen and smelled the aromas of their dinner waiting for them on the table.