The Rock Witch

Chapter One

Though the sun was behind the clouds, the humidity remained high.   

Elias Galloway lived on the edge of the elm tree grove in Claremore, Oklahoma.  The hills around were the gentle rolling sort. The song of the cicadas filled the heavy air, white clouds suspended in place, and the wind whispered a language long gone from the memory of mankind.   These hills were just high and low enough to see who's a coming over from the nearest town, or the next batch of new kids that had signed up for his carpentry classes.  Elias was known most strongly for his carpentry skills.  He took pride in the quality of his workmanship and often had to turn away young men folk wanting to learn from a master craftsman like himself.  

Inside the house, Lexi was singing.  She loved all birds and woodland creatures and was a renowned sculptress.  Where she managed to find the time to make her life-like creatures was hard to say.  Lexi and Elias were married years ago, no one knew where they came from.  Most folks accepted the two artists into their small community.  Elias worked from dawn until dusk, and Lexi worked from dusk until well past the witching hour.  Each worked on their craft and paused only for food and quiet moments with each other.  Such was their way, until they heard of a new highway which started in Chicago and ended someplace in California.  It was called Route 66.  

Excitement filled the air, womenfolk chattered amongst themselves.  Folks from all over would need to eat, and the women sized each other up, who could serve the best pies, fried chicken and provide fresh produce.  Meanwhile, the menfolk surveyed the best locations along the proposed routes.  Cars would need to be fixed, people might need a place to stay, and a place to eat.  Everyone had ideas on how to make extra money.  Lexie had an idea.

"What if we built something, an attraction so that we could sell our stuff," Lexie wondered out loud.  Lexie loved Claremore, Oklahoma; the land was fertile, trees went to the horizon, and the breeze cooled off the hot summer days.  Like a true artist, Lexie was happiest making her art alongside of her devoted husband and best friend.  What if we made a huge teepee?  It would be so grand and tall, and painted brightly of the creatures that Lexie loved.  She began to daydream of people from Chicago stopping by and looking for a special necklace or have a homemade slice of apple pie.  They would need a place to sit, shade from the heat, and a safe place for the children to play.  

Heavy supplies were soon delivered, huge boulders were removed, and folk from around stood by talking about what should be painted on the sides.  

She began to notice something was not quite right with her sculptures.  She couldn't quite put her finger on it.  This question nagged the back of her mind.