Now the weekly VOA Special English program "American Stories".
Our story today is called “Surviving Adverse Seasons”. It waswritten by Barry Targan. Here is Shep O'Neal to tell you the story.
Abel Halleck was 59 years old when his wife Estelle died. Her deathwas sudden and unexpected, the kind of death you cannot forget. AbelHalleck buried his wife, then he stopped doing anything.
His work, the world, life and all its possibilities were no longerimportant to him. He had learned quickly that the laws about life hehad trusted did not really exist after all. For a year, Abel Halleckdid nothing, but one morning, he decided to study Latin. He choseLatin because it was a dead language. It would never be important oreven useful to him in the years he had left to live. And so, AbelHalleck entered a Latin class taught by Silvia Warren on Mondayevenings.
Silvia Warren was thin and small; her long straight hair was silver-gray. She smiled easily at everything like a young person. She hadtaught Latin for 23 years at the local high school. When she was 53,the school stopped offering Latin. Latin was not useful in a worldexcited by technology and space travel. Silvia Warren retired, now shespent her time painting, taking pictures, playing the piano andvisiting with her friends. She also taught Latin to adults at thelocal high school in the evening. She had never married or even beenin love. She wondered about this more than anything else about herlife. Men had found her good-looking and still did, but no one hadcome along, ever.
During the first Latin class that night, a storm darkened the sky.
After class, Abel Halleck walked with Silvia Warren to the door nearthe school parking lot; they stood near the open door watching thestorm. "It’s a bad night to be out," he said. She nodded, “but itcan’t rain this hard for long,” she said. She held her books tightlyto her body and disappeared into the rain.
When Abel Halleck left the building a few minutes later, he saw herbending over the engine of her car. "It won't start,” she said. Helooked at the engine, after a moment, he found the problem. "It’s theradio static depressor," he said, "try it now." The car started atonce. "Wait,” he said, "you might still have problems before you gethome, stop at my house and I will fix it for you."He drove home slowly and put his car into the large garage connectedto his house. Silvia Warren drove in after him. Abel Halleck’s garagewas really a workshop. Here he had all the tools and equipment heneeded to create or repair any thing. In less than 5 minutes, he fixedher car. "There," he said, "better than new. Um, would you like a cupof coffee?"She walked with him to the door that connected the garage to thehouse. Abel Halleck moved his fingers over a metal square on the doorand it opened. "What are you, Mr. Halleck, a magician?” Silvia Warrenlaughed excitedly. "I'm retired," he said, "but I was an inventor. Iunderstood how things worked and I found ways to make them workbetter." He told her about the work he had done. He had not spoken somuch to someone for a long time.
The following Monday evening, Abel Halleck went back to SilviaWarren's Latin class and he returned every Monday night. They got toknow each other better. Silvia Warren introduced him to her closestfriend, Mildred Lethem who taught biology and collected rarebutterflies.
One afternoon, the 3 of them met for a coffee. "I think you'll beinterested in insects, Mr. Halleck." Mildred Lethem told him. "Theyare a lot like machines. They are fascinating because they areperfectly predictable. You always know what they will do." “I’m toobusy." Abel Halleck said sharply. "My head is too full of Latin."He finished his coffee, said goodbye and left. Halfway home fromMildred Lethem's house, he turned around and drove to the local publiclibrary. He wanted to find out if she was right when she said insectswere perfectly predictable. In one book called "The Life of Insects",he learned about diapause. He read “this condition is a means forsurviving adverse seasons. The insect enters a deep sleep, all growthstops and its body functions slow down. The state of diapause can lastfor 2 or 3 years or even longer, but finally it ends and the insectawakes to continue its normal life.” Abel Halleck closed the book.
His days filled up. He studied Latin, visited his daughter and herfamily once a week. He met with Silvia Warren and Mildred Lethem fordinner often, and when April came, he went with them into the country.
The experience was new to Abel Halleck. He knew about engines andmachines, but the woods and the river, the animals and the insects ofthe fields belonged to another world. He watched Mildred Lethem andSilvia Warren as they explored ahead of him. Silvia jumped up on awide, flat rock. Throwing open her arms to the sky, she began recitingLatin poetry to the wild flowers and the blue sky. Abel Halleck smiledand looked up the sky himself. When he looked down, she was gone.
Mildred Lethem was running to the rock. He stood up quickly andhurried down the side of the hill to them. Silvia was lying very stillon the ground when he reached her. Mildred Lethem was by her side,crying softly.
At the hospital, the doctor asked them, "Are you her family?" "No,"Mildred Lethem said, "there is no family, we are her friends." Theywere sitting in a small office where they had been waiting for hours.
"We don’t have all the tests back yet," the doctor continued, "but itlooks like a form of lupus erythematosus. "What is that?" Abel Halleckasked. The doctor explained. "It was a blood disease that caused thebody to attack its own tissues. In time, it killed. " "How much time?"Abel asked. "It’s not predictable," the doctor said, "the diseasesuddenly goes away and then just as it suddenly returns. With lupus,you never know."Abel Halleck did not sleep well. He woke up at 4 'o clock in themorning, got dressed and drove to the university, three hours away. Atthe university, he went to the library. He took the Latin that he knewand used it to make a gift for her. He wanted to say what he wantedher to know in language better than his own. So he worked his waythrough books of Latin poetry and stories. When he found a sentence hewanted, he wrote it down in Latin.
From Lucretius, he wrote, “Like children trembling in the dark, wesit and are afraid. And all our fears are empty like the thingschildren imagine in the dark.” From Horace, “The ice melts andspring comes, followed by summer soon to die. For after her comesautumn and then back to winter when nothing moves.” From Cattulus,her favorite poet, he copied, “If a wished-for thing and a thing pasthoping for should come to a man, will he not welcome it the more?
Therefore, it is more welcome to me than gold that Lesbia brings backmy desire of old.” Then, he picked up his pen to write to her in hisown words. “All of this means that we like the insects must die.
Death must come to all living creatures. If there is comfort anywhere,it is in the truth and in the act of these words.”
Mildred Lethem was with her when he came into the hospital room. Hehanded Silvia Warren the paper, she read it and cried then she driedher eyes. She looked up at him, smiling and nodded at once. Andtogether they settled down to wait for the long night soon to come.
You have just heard the story “Surviving Adverse Seasons" written byBarry Targan. It was adapted for Special English by Donald Discenctus.
Permission was given by the author for the adaptation. This story iscopyrighted, all rights reserved. Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal.
The director was Lawan Davis, for VOA Special English. This is ShirleyGriffith. |