Ep. 1 Nightly Release | Scarecrow (The Redemption of Doros)

Cracker Jack stretched as he felt the vines loosen for his nightly release. A bright moonlit night bathed the garden and the surrounding pasture in a soft blue glow.

He stood in front of the cross he had just jumped down from, appreciating the serene beauty of the landscape. He loved the bite of the winter's night air across his face. In his present form, he was capable of sensation, though perhaps not as sensitive as in his previous human form. Much like having a phantom limb, the mind plays tricks on the body—Cracker Jack had a phantom body. Winter's light, frigid breeze was his favorite sensation to savor—he was incapable of freezing to death.

As he descended from his eternal station into the overgrown grass, three crows flew off with a caw. Their beautiful dark silvery blue feathers, with hints of purple and blue, caught the moonlight. These crows were recurring characters in his nightly routine, and tonight, their caws irritated him. He was halfway shooing them as they flew off from their perch on his field cross.

Field mice scurried away from Jack's every step as if being shooed with a broom. Frost was already forming on the tall grass. Jack took a long, deep inhale; there was just enough humidity in the air to carry the scent of dying tall grass on the breeze. Faint whiffs signaled another season running its course, preparing the natural world to give way to the next...

Sienna was on his mind.

Few souls knew about him or paid him any attention. Who would? He was only a scarecrow.“Only a scarecrow,” he muttered, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “If they only knew.”

Sienna saw him, though. She pierced his heart with something he had long forgotten: empathy, compassion?

These feelings were foreign to him now, remnants of a distant past.

Sienna confided in him, sharing the torment she endured from the townsfolk’s cruelty. They hated her family with a passion, their malice as old as the town itself. Sienna came from a small town where her family was not well-liked. Her father, a shrewd negotiator and an honest man, never minced words and was very direct in his dealings. He refused to agree to unscrupulous terms behind closed doors after town meetings, which kept some community members irritated. He was not the type of person to take advantage of others, nor did he allow others to take advantage of people easily. Physically, Sienna was tall and willowy, with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. Her graceful presence often contrasted with the harsh treatment she received from the townsfolk. Cracker Jack had seen such cruelty countless times. Stories changed, but the outcome was always the same. He had been around long enough to witness the best and the worst in humans and to reflect on his past. He remembered the low points, the times he treated others offensively, never taking the time to get to know people but instead inclined his ear to hearsay and speculations.

One of those people was an early ancestor of Sienna's.

Now, here he was, a scarecrow in their garden for ages, paying penance for his sins.

Long ago, after a period of reflection, he learned the value of acknowledging his mistakes and the harm he had caused. This period of growth, though accompanied by deep regret, had changed him. It was during this time that the vines began to grow around him each night, binding him yet also becoming a strange source of comfort.

Sienna had a quiet fire about her. Her kindness and resilience touched him deeply. It grieved his soul to see the townsfolk treat her and her family with such malice. He had learned long ago not to question the Fates, but his thoughts often wandered to Sienna, and he found himself questioning his purpose.

He saw her as a guiding light, a beacon on his path to eventual freedom. Sienna’s warm presence always reminded Cracker Jack of a hearth fire, something he hadn’t felt in ages. Much like the goddess Hestia, Sienna embodied warmth, stability, and the primal fire that sustains life. It was as if her very name, Sienna, evoked the color of a hearth’s glow, grounding him in moments of despair.

Cracker Jack sat down on a rock and soaked in the night views of the sky and landscape with a stream nearby. Jack could sit and listen for the rest of his conceivable days. He thought about how it took him so long to realize there is beauty in the dark as well as light- and wished he would have learned it while he was still human. Now, sadness, anger, and regret were constant nighttime companions to him.

Every time he looked Sienna in the eye, he felt remorse for how he had treated her ancestor. She had no idea of the part he played in her family history, long forgotten by modern people. The grief over reliving his own actions around the event that led to his current duty as field guardian eternal was one thing- he did not see Sienna coming in all of this. He will have to tell her someday...just not today. Owls hooted in the background, their calls a melancholic symphony to his thoughts.

Just then, he heard the soft crunch of footsteps approaching. He turned to see Sienna making her way towards him, a warm smile on her face despite the chill in the air.

"Good evening, Jack. It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?" Sienna leaned over and picked up some pebbles, rolling them in her palm.

Cracker Jack looked up, his expression softening at the sight of her.

"Indeed, it is. The night holds a beauty that often goes unnoticed." He inwardly sighed, wishing he could smile at her.

Sienna sat down beside him, her breath visible in the cold air.

She glanced at him, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Leaning in towards him, she asks "Do you ever wonder what happens after all this? After being a scarecrow for so long?"

Cracker Jack sighed, a wistful look crossing his face as he stared at the nearby stream.

Finally, he responded-

"I've wondered myself. I've even pondered if the consciousness that is us ever truly dies. Sometimes, I feel as if this form is just another step in a journey."

Sienna frowned, sensing the weight of his words. "Do you ever miss it? Being human, I mean."

Cracker Jack looked away, his voice tinged with regret continues-

"Every day. I miss the warmth of the sun on my skin, the taste of food, the simple joys of life. Smiling. I do wish I could smile at you, I never wished to in all this time until we met." They both laughed, then silence. Softly he leans in and says, "But more than that, I regret the harm I caused to another living being in my time as a human. Something I've not shared with you, and I'm not quite ready to yet. I've had a lot of time to ponder my human life. How I lived it, treated other people, family, everything. The event! It has been easier for me to see every mistake and transgression than to find the good I did. I can see a million and one ways I could have done better but missed it- leading to my punishment as a scarecrow. In light of all this though, I am so humbled. The Fates didn't have to intervene and I would have gone to what awaits a man who enters the afterlife by transgression. Yet they did and here I am. Here you are. For that, I am grateful and ever so humble."

Sienna reached out, her hand gently touching his arm. "I'm grateful for you too, Jack. You’re different now, Jack. I see the kindness in you. Maybe... maybe there’s a way to make amends."

Cracker Jack turned to her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Maybe." He chuckled. "I would love to move on to whatever comes next. However, I would miss your company sorely."

© June 28, 2024 | baccusbee 

Jack & Sienna's story was first published on Kindle Vella. It had regular readers. Since the site is no more, he's finding a new home on baccus bee story tree. Image for Scarecrow created with Grok Imagine a collaborative process called sythography. I plan on sharing character along the way. Thanks for reading.