Redemption
The Copperhead

As promised, they went back out to the barn once their lunch had settled. Once there, the image once more faded as the small orb left his wrist and David explained its doing so to the adults. Upon the chair’s completion, the entity disappeared into the barn.

“Where is she going?” Grandpa asked the boy curiously.

“To replace something,” the boy replied uncertainly. Then he sat in silent conversation with his friend, after which he nodded. “She is coming back. She just remembered something that I had seen that she could use on this project.” When the small orb reappeared, a large, dirty looking, red velvet pillow floated behind her.

The pillow lighted on the worktable, and the orb hovered over it. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. A minute later, the thread holding these together began slowly to remove itself from the seams of the material. Once this was free from the material, the thread coiled itself into a tight loop, and lay down on the table near the closest foot of the chair. Then one of the velvet sides lifted slowly into the air, to lay flat on the bench’s surface. After that, the down filling formed itself into ball, and floated into the air. She then flew around it in shifting and repeated orbits.

“What’s she doing?” Grandma wondered. David took on a distant look, and then he looked over.

“She is cleaning it through extremely high sound waves.” Finally, the ball floated over to form a pile on the rear of the workbench. Then the orb lowered to pass slowly and methodically over the two pieces of velvet. As she did, the dirt smudging the fabric disappeared, and the material took on a bright appearance. When she finished, the pieces flipped themselves over, and she repeated her passing.

“Did you see how she clean that she got it?” Ma astounded as Click floated up to face the chairs backing.

“I wish that she could teach me to do that,” Mary laughed as the entity formed a part of its body into a tiny drill bit.

“She said that it would be easier for you just to wash it,” David replied as she began to drill small holes in a tight, square pattern in the wood there. Once she completed this, she repeated the process on the chair’s seat.

The pile of feathers began divided itself into two even piles as she floated down to hang over the closest patch of velvet. Then, a small spark appeared on the material’s surface, moving in a perfect square within its perimeter. Upon the completion of this, she floated over the second patch, and the spark appeared there, repeating its course. Once this was completed, the thread lifted into the air, uncoiling as it rose. When it was perfectly straight, it separated into two equal pieces. One drifted down to lay on the table, as a pile of feathers lifted to form itself into a small square in the air that drifted to press itself against the backing. With their doing so, a newly cut square of velvet rose to cover them. When this settled into place, the edges of the material folded themselves inward, under the square of feathers. Then the sphere drifted behind the backing, followed by the thread. There, the red string began to snake into a hole, and out of the following hole. Upon its traveling completely around the chair’s back, the two ends tied themselves into a tight knot.

“That is so amazing!” The old man gasped as the process restarted with the seat of the chair.

“She is having quite a good time,” the boy acknowledged.

With the chair’s completion, it floated to sit on the floor of the barn, and another skid took its place on the workbench. As it did, they gathered around the seat to marvel at it.

“If I had not seen it happen with my own eyes . . .” Mary declared. Looking over at the orb, which was dismantling the skid, David laughed.

“Grandma, she said to remind you that the bible says that to believe is to see!”

“And, we thought that she was a demon!” William scoffed as the nails from the skid rose into the air and straightened themselves.

Click’s next project was to be a curio cabinet. However, by then, the can of lacquer that she had been using had run empty. Grandma told her to wait, and she would go to fetch another, as Ma had bought three. While they waited, the sphere floated over to hang over David’s head, while Ellen and Grandpa quizzed him on the history of America. When the old woman returned, the older Planchets followed, having had arrived while she was inside.

“Pa! Grammy!” Cathy announced excitedly upon seeing them, “Look what Click just made!”

“Wow!” Dale gasped, looking at the piece. His wife, Thelma stared uncertainly at the orb floating over the boy.

“She says that you can sit in it,” he informed the old woman as the orb zipped over to the workbench, “Because you need to rest.” At first, the elder hesitated. Finally, she cautiously took a seat. When she had settled, she fell silent.

“It’s very comfortable,” she finally admitted in slight amazement.

“And,” the little girl added brightly as the entity began to work once more, “Click made you a wonderful gift!”

“It’s inside,” William explained. However, by then, the newcomers were watching the little alien in open amazement.

Once the frame of the cabinet was fashioned, the entity began to cut slots inside to hold shelves. After placing these inside the frame, she disappeared into back area the barn once more and was gone for some time. During this time, they could hear things moving around in the dark there. When she returned, an old, broken chest and a window frame floated after her.

“There is a lot of stuff back there,” David explained as these laid themselves on the bench, “She had to move some things to get to them.”

“The Tumults hated to throw things out,” Dale recalled distantly as the screws holding the hinges of the chest’s lid began to unscrew themselves from the wood. Once these were free, the hinges and screws floated over to lie to one side, as the chest’s remains lifted to sit in floor. Once she had accomplished this, the screws and hinges took turns floating up as the orb circled them. These then floated to the side, as she darted over to hover over the window. A soft whine rang out as the entity made passes over the glass’s surface. As it sounded, the grime covering the window began to vanish from it. Once the glass was clean, a spark appeared on the surface. With this forming a square in the glass, the traced section fell away and the orb shifted her location to start another. When she was halfway through dong this, she stopped suddenly.

“What?” David gasped. He had no more than said this, when the orb darted into the remains of the chest. There was a thud, and the alien returned to the glass.

“What happened?” Grandpa asked in slight amazement.

“A snake was hibernating in the chest,” the explained, “At first; she was content to let it stay. But, it began to wake up in the warmth here. When it did, she realized that it was poisonous. So, she had to kill it. I hated her doing it, but she explained that the thud was it trying to bite her. She killed it, as it would surely try to bite one of us.” Stepping over, Grandpa pulled the loose lid from the box, and peered in.

“It’s a copperhead!” He declared as he replaced the lid.

“This area is full of them,” Cathy’s grandfather nodded, “I nearly got bit by one myself, last year.”

“Well, come spring, I have a favor that I would ask of her,” Ma announced.

“Find them and kill them,” William predicted, knowing his daughter’s hatred of snakes. However, with his pausing to listen, David shook his head.

“She can’t kill all of them around the house,” he explained as the can of lacquer opened itself, “Because God had a reason to create them. That is to keep the numbers of pests such as rodents under control. But, she can devise a way to keep them from bothering us.”

“Well, tell her to devise one for us as well,” Thelma nodded from the chair, “As I hate the things too!”

“She says that that will not be a problem,” the boy laughed as a ball of lacquer rose from the can and began to spread itself over the cabinet’s door’s surface. With its doing so, Cathy looked around curiously.

“It is warm in here,” she observed, “Is she doing that?”

“She says that it is much too cold for us to sit out here otherwise,” the boy explained, “So, she has established an envelope of warmth over this section of the barn.”

“She is so amazing!” The little girl declared proudly.

“She says that she is nowhere as amazing as you are,” the boy countered brightly, bringing an astounded smile to her grandparents’ faces.