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He passes the bottle to her and sits back She drinks

Your family, they’re just doin what they kno to do is all

Just like the slugs, right?

I reckon it ain’t the first tiain, and she can feel her skin go taut

Where exactly are you from, Sarah Mary Williams? And don’t tell host town

I’ve been down south for a while Found myself a nice little place, but the meatskins were fixin to move in Before that I did a lot of travelin Alabaot as far north as Kansas City

What about your parents?

What about theuess I ot dead before I got any recollection of em

What about--

He points doard the house

Is he really your brother? he asks

Him? Huh-uh He’s just a dummy I picked up a ways back He don’t talk ood Bet he could haul quite a load, big as he is Would be a good worker to have around if anybody had need of one

So you don’t have any fa her nose on the back of her hand

Not really There was a kid once Malcolm It could of been he was ot burned And there was Uncle Jackson, but we just called hi

What happened to theot bit

WHERE IT happened was up on the ridge where Uncle Jackson liked to hunt rabbits He was crouched down in a gully taking careful ai into the flesh of his forear at all That itjust waiting for so

She found hi back to the cabin

You’re gonna have to do soonna be pretty Are you ready to do it?

She nodded

He led her to a fallen tree and rolled up his sleeve and put his arht above the elboith his belt She did it Then he told her to use her gurkha and take it off

Just one quick stroke Do you think you can do it?

It’s gonna hurt you bad, ain’t it?

It’s not gonna hurt as o on Thirteen years old,arm on you the kind I’ve never seen before Can you do it?

She nodded

He put the loose end of the belt in his ht the blade down quick and firht her before

Afterward, he couldn’t walk so straight, so she got under his good arm and took him back to the cabin and laid him down on his cot

What happened to Uncle Jackson’s arazed around Te kind, Malcol when he got stirred up

He got in an accident

Was itme back some water

But where’s his arm?

Go on like I told you

They heated water on the woodstove and put daet hi back and forth, his good hand clutching at the space where his other arm should have been

Eventually he slept, and so did Malcollow of the firelight

He woke after ht, but he wasn’t the saiven up

How you doing, little bit?

I’ot ot it in tie

He shook his head

I can feel it, he said It’s in onna have to take Malcolm away froht not be that You could ht not be that

Listen to me, little bit You have to know this, it’s iht? Are you listening? When it happens you’ll know