The Communing Tree
by
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The next morning, I get up and dress as soon as it’s light enough to see. I take the shotgun and head out to check on the animals. Fret is at his post, but looks guiltily at me when I approach. He’s been gnawing on a bone. I inspect it. It’s the leg bone of a deer. Where on earth did he get that? Alarmed, I look around to see if I can find the source. I don’t see anything or anyone around the buildings, or any footprints. I check on the animals and they all seem fine. All seems in order. I decide to check the woodshed. As I step under its roof, I am jolted to a stop. Fear floods through my whole being. There, hanging from a support beam, is the skinned half-carcass of a small deer. I whirl around, gun at the ready, searching the clearing and the edge of the woods and brush for any sign of the intruder. No one is there. I rush back to the cabin, run inside and slam the door, bolting it behind me. Leaning against it, trembling I’m running scenarios through my mind. Someone must be watching us. But who’s out there and what does he want? Who would know that we are here? Why sneak around? What’s going on? Could it be the killers, back to find us? Not possible. They would have just shot us. If not, why didn’t whoever it was knock on the door and introduce himself to us? I’m totally bewildered and afraid.
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About the Book
It is 1979 and sixteen-year-old Judith’s survivalist father has never been so relaxed and cheerful since he returned from Vietnam with a debilitating case of PTSD. The eight years he and his family have spent hidden deep in the Kalmiopsis wilderness of Oregon have been good for him. Unfortunately none of them have any idea that disaster is about to strike. While camping away from their cabin, Judith and her younger sister, Kali, witness the murder of their parents and older brother.Afraid of being tracked down by the killers, the girls escape to their family’s isolated cabin, occupied by their grandmother. As Judith cares for a now mute Kali, the girls struggle to survive, especially after their Gramma dies. Throughout their trials, they often find comfort under the special tree that shelters their grandmother’s grave. But when a secretive visitor brings them aid, only time will tell if they will uncover the identity of their guardian angel and find a way to return to the outside world—or be alone forever. The Communing Tree is a novel about courage, persistence, and survival as two sisters are forced to face a perilous new life alone in the wilderness.
About the Author
Theresa Verboort was born in Coos Bay, Oregon, and grew up in the southwestern coast during the fifties. She worked in forest fire lookouts to earn her way through college to achieve a bachelor of arts in English. Her first novel, The Communing Tree, is inspired by the great Kalmiopsis wilderness of Oregon.