The Boom-Boom-Caw

“Fred!” Bang, bang, bang. “Fred, you home?!” The startling noise of a ten-year-old's balled up fists beating down a friend's front door is a very impressive display. When he adds his young, impatient voice into the commotion, it would be a wonder if someone didn’t hear him.  

“Golly, Sam. Quiet down!” Fred hollers down from the second-floor window. “I’m coming, geesh!” He loudly shuts the window and Sam, upon hearing his friend's response, begins pacing on the porch as if he’d waited a lifetime. 

When Fred finally opens the front door, he is decorated with a backpack too big for his small shoulders, a baseball cap, and the only boots he could find on the way to the door. His face has been hastily smeared with sunscreen that’s not completely rubbed in.  

“Gosh, Fred. You look like you put sour cream on your face with a streaky paintbrush.” 

Fred frowns and rubs his face a little harder than necessary until he feels satisfied that his appearance looks less like the bathroom ceiling and more like a regular face. “That better?” He asks. 

“Much better,” Sam answers. “You got your sleepin’ bag in there?” He investigates and shakes Fred’s backpack excitedly. 

“Sure do!” Fred replies, pulling away from his friends grasp. “I got everything I need. You?” 

Sam is also donning a very similar getup to that of his friend, and he grins confidently when Fred forwards the question. “’Course I do! Sleeping bag, tent, food, water. I feel like fifty pounds and a million bucks! This is gonna’ be the best day of the summer.” 

“Where are you two headed?” Ivan, the man who poses the question, is standing in the doorway, grinning good-naturedly down at the two boys. 

“Oh, hey Dad,” Fred says as he puts on nonchalant air, “Sam and I are goin’ campin’.” He tells his father proudly. 

“Camping, eh? Well, good for you. Where are you going?” 

“All the way out to the back clearing in the woods.” Fred states bravely. 

“Well, son, that’s a perfect place to camp. In fact, I camped out in that very clearing with your uncle when I was about your age.” He sits down on the porch swing with a smile. “In fact, that field is the first place that we heard the Boom-Boom-Caw.” 

The boys look at each other with amusement and confusion. “The Boom what?” Sam asks, holding back a giggle. 

“Well, the Boom-Boom-Caw, of course. Haven’t you heard of it?” Fred’s dad is leaning forward on his knees and he suddenly turns very serious. “You will want to know about it, if you are going camping in the clearing.” 

Seeing the change in his demeanor, both boys stop smiling and turn their lips down. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, I’ll tell ya. Come here, sit down.” He leans back and turns his head to the sky as if to remember something. “I first heard it when I was with your Uncle E.J., and we were camping on a day not much different from today...” 

••• 

Ivan and E.J., brothers of eight and ten years old, are working busily to secure the finishing touches onto their home-made tent. They have gathered a variety of fallen logs and then placed them in a slanted position so that they are leaning against each other, forming a triangle hut of sorts. When this task has been accomplished, they take turns holding two logs together while the other ties them with a thin rope. Their final step is to drape a large tarp over top of the triangle-shaped construction. When this is complete, they stand back and have a look.  

“Well, it isn’t perfect but I think it will work,” Ivan decides, tilting his head and observing the project. 

E.J. shrugs, picks up a stick and starts to thrash it around enthusiastically, “I think it’s fine. I think it’s about time we play something.” 

Ivan, who is the older of the two and much more particular about doing things the right way, ignores E.J.’s comment and does one last inspection. Once he has finished this, he nods decidedly and turns to his little brother. “We should go get our sleeping bags and set them up. It’s better to do that when there is still light outside.” 

E.J. sighs but he knows Ivan is right and he also knows that he does not want to get caught setting up the sleeping arrangements after nightfall. As the two walk briskly to the house to grab their camping gear, Ivan takes in the scenery while E.J. whacks his stick on anything daring to cross his path. 

Mom is in the kitchen when the two walk into the house, preparing a meal for them to take on their camping adventure. “Are you boys excited?” She asks with a smile as she puts hotdogs, buns, s’more fixings and two water bottles into a small cooler. 

Ivan nods enthusiastically and E.J, stick still in hand, says, “You otta’ see our tent, Mom. It’s real cool.” 

“I would love to see it. I’ll help you carry the food out and get a fire going, that way I can take a look,” she tells them happily. 

It is not long before the three of them walk the short distance to the clearing in the woods. Once they arrive, mom observes their work and is very impressed. “You boys sure know how to make a tent. I know I won’t have to worry about you out here with a job like this!” She is very pleased as she watches the boys finish setting up a tarp on the ground in the tent and laying down their sleeping bags and pillows.  

When they have finished, mom helps her sons start a fire and the three of them are soon roasting their hotdogs and creating s’mores.  

“Ivan did most of the figuring-out stuff,” E.J. is saying as he begins to eat his first hotdog. “He came up with the idea to make the logs slant like that.” 

The older brother is pleased at the recognition and grins, revealing a mouthful of hotdog and bun. 

When the hotdogs and s’mores have all been eaten and the fire has started to burn down, Ivan and E.J.’s mom heads back to the house. “Sleep well, boys! I love you and I hope you have fun camping out.” 

“Thanks, Mom!” Ivan and E.J. say and watch as she turns on her flashlight and begins walking back to the house. When she has disappeared and the two boys are alone, it suddenly seems very dark out. 

“Ivan?” E.J. whispers, feeling the need to speak quietly because the night has a certain hush to it at the moment. 

“Yeah?” Ivan whispers back. 

“Are you scared?” E.J. asks timidly. 

“’Course not,” Ivan is not whispering anymore and he shines his flashlight toward the tent. “Are you?” 

“No,” E.J. mumbles, but he is very close to his brother's side when they walk to the tent together. 

The two brothers clamber inside and close the tarp flap before climbing deep into their sleeping bags. Though Ivan is not afraid, he doesn’t mind that E.J. has sidled up close to him. “Just a little cold, that’s all,” E.J. had whispered. 

The two lay with their eyes wide open for a time as they listen to the night come to life. Night bugs chirping, nocturnal rodents rustling, and evening birds calling made their noises known, leaving Ivan and E.J. restless at first. But as the sounds soon blend together and begin to generate a soothing melody, the boys close their eyes and fall asleep. Both Ivan and E.J. slumber peacefully for a time, but it is cut short when the darkness is filled with an unrecognizable sound. 

BOOM. 

BOOM. 

CAW!

Ivan’s eyes dart open and he lays still.

   BOOM. 

BOOM. 

CAW! 

When he hears the noise again, Ivan does not dare move. He can feel the ground vibrating with every loud declaration of the “boom,” and he is dreading the eerie sound that accompanies it; a sound that resembles a very intense, birdlike call and sends unwanted shivers up Ivan’s spine. 

BOOM. 

BOOM. 

CAW! 

E.J. is now stirring, and he turns his head slowly to look at Ivan, only to see that his brother is staring right back at him. “What is that?” E.J. speaks in barely a whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Ivan mouths the words back to him. 

BOOM. 

BOOM. 

CAW! 

The noise is closer now and Ivan swears that whatever it is, it is almost right next their tent. E.J. goes pale, turns his head toward the ceiling, and squeezes his eyes shut. Terrified, Ivan swallows his fear and peaks out the entrance. He holds his breath, and watches. 

BOOM. 

Ivan can’t believe his eyes. 

BOOM. 

He wants desperately to turn away now. 

CAW! 

His eyes squeeze shut and he lays as still as he possibly can, holding his breath in fear. 

BOOM. 

BOOM. 

CAW! 

The noise continues for a time, but soon it fades away and Ivan breaths out when all he can hear is a faint “boom-boom-caw" disappearing into the night. He turns to face his brother, who is still laying rigid on his back with his eyes closed. 

“E.J.” Ivan whispers, making his younger brother jump. “I think it’s gone now.” 

E.J. does not open his eyes or move his head. “What was it?” His voice is shaky and his breath intense. 

“I have no idea.” Ivan stated. 

“Did you look?” E.J. asks, maintaining his closed eyes and tense demeanor. 

Ivan doesn’t answer at first and then nods slowly, “Yeah... yeah, I saw it. Sort of.” 

“Well?” E.J. questions intently. 

“I don’t know, E.J. All I saw were its feet. The loud booming noise was the thing taking steps. It only had two feet. But, E.J?” 

“Yeah?” E.J. whispers in fear. 

“It’s feet? They looked like two giant crow feet. I mean giant. Bigger than my head, I swear to God.” He curls deep into his sleeping bag and scoots himself closer to E.J. “My gosh, E.J. If you hadn't heard it too, I’d think I imagined the whole thing.” 

“I kind of wish you did,” E.J. whispers back, shuddering under the covers. 

The brothers snuggle close to one another, too afraid to admit to the other that they are frightened to leave their tent. They soon fall into a fitful sleep until the morning light shines through their tent tarp, and the regular singing of birds fills their uneasy ears. 

••• 

Fred and Sam are staring wide-eyed at Ivan as he finishes his story, and they are slow to shake themselves out of imaginations. 

“Well, what happened next?” Sam finally exclaims, standing up quickly and pacing again. 

“Nothing,” Dad responds, smiling calmly. 

“Nothing?” Sam sounds incredulous. “What about prints, or signs in the morning? Didn’t you look?” 

Ivan pats Fred on the knee and stands up from the porch swing. “I’m afraid we did look, but we didn’t see anything. No prints, no bird droppings, no nothing.” 

Fred, who has been silently processing the adventurous tale, says slowly, “Maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe you imagined it all.” 

Ivan’s eyes sparkle and he leans against the front doorway, “Nope, it was real alright. You ask your Uncle E.J., and he’ll tell you so, too.” 

Sam’s growing more skeptical, “That’s crazy. There is no such thing as a boom-boom-caw, and that’s that. Besides, Fred and I are going camping, crazy bird or not.” 

Fred, who is having mixed feelings over the whole thing, does not speak right away. On one hand, he wants to believe in his father, but on the other, he does not want to believe that such a thing as the boom-boom-caw exists. To top that all off, he doesn’t want Sam to think he is a sissy, so at last he says in a fit of false bravery, “That’s right, Dad. We’re camping tonight and that’s that.” 

Ivan smiles again, “I know you will, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It will be fun!” He pauses before going inside, “And, who knows, maybe we did imagine the whole thing.” Winking, Ivan disappears behind the door. 

Fred and Sam stand still for a moment before finally laughing. 

“He made that whole story up just to scare us, didn’t he?” Sam says. 

Fred chuckles, “Yeah, that’s my dad for you. He makes silly stories up all the time.” 

“Come on, let’s go get this tent set up!” Sam whoops and hollers as he jogs towards the woods, grabbing a stick along the way and waving it wildly. 

“Wait for me!” Fred calls after him and takes off. He doesn’t bother to grab a stick, but he does observe the scenery as they make their way to the campsite.  

Ivan watches them from the window as they head for the forest. He smiles a good-natured smile and reminisces about being a boy. What he wouldn’t give to live those days again and, yes, even hear the boom-boom-caw once more. Because in truth he and E.J. hadn’t made it up. The boom-boom-caw was as real as the stick in Sam’s hand, and camping in the clearing was just a rite of passage for ambitious boys looking for adventure.  

Post Script 

I know what you may be thinking: “What the heck is the Boom-Boom-Caw?!” I would be lying if I told you that I know what it is. The story of Ivan and E.J. is based on true events that happened to my brothers when they were about ten and eight years old. True to the story, all they saw were two giant bird feet outside of their tent. To this day, I do not know if they were pulling my leg or not, and they still won’t say for sure. So, to yours and my dismay, the mystery of the Boom-Boom-Caw remains. -Danielle