The next day at 3:30, I met Grandpa at Eagle River. He said, "You wanted to see me." I said, "Yes, Grandpa, I did." He asked, "Have you come to terms with your sins, Erin?" I said, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He looked at me curiously. I continued, "You see, I don't appreciate your hypocrisy. You claim to be a Christian. I distinctly remember reading somewhere that the Bible says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' However, you have murdered my father and my friend, Barry. Why, Grandpa? Why?!" Grandpa replied, "Your father was an atheist. I decided to send him straight to Hell." I said, "Wait a minute! I thought God was the judge of Hell and the afterlife!" Grandpa smiled and said, "As for Barry, he had long hair. It's a shame for men to have long hair." My eyes widened. That's why Grandpa killed Barry, who was perhaps the sweetest person I knew?! Grandpa got out a branch and said, "And you're going to join them." I said, "Oh, no, I am not!" I quickly took the branch and broke it into pieces. I then ran off. He ran after me and shouted, "Come here, you little shit!" I got onto a fallen tree in the river. "Catch me if you can!" I teased. He got onto the fallen tree, and it broke beneath our weight. I was holding on for my life to a piece of the broken tree. Grandpa said some choice words, then went silent. I cried for help, hoping someone would hear me. The current was strong, and it threw me and the piece of the broken tree against a rock. I lost my grip. I resurfaced and coughed up some water. I managed to fight my way to shore. Exhausted, I could go no further. I wasn't sure how far the river had carried me. I wanted to yell for help, but I was so exhausted from fighting the current. I closed my eyes and thought, "No one's ever going to find me out here." A few moments later, I heard a familiar voice. It said, "Erin, my poor friend! How did you get out here?" I could feel my head being lifted. I thought, "I better wake up." I opened my eyes. I was happy to see a familiar face. It was my friend, Paul. He sounded relieved when he said, "Erin, you're alive." I said, "Yes, I am." He asked, "Are you okay?" I said, "I'm cold and wet." He asked, "What happened?" I told him everything. He said, "I better get you inside." He carried me up a hill to his home. Once inside, he dried me off. He then wrapped me in a blanket to keep me warm. I said, "Thanks, Paul." He said, "You're welcome." He could see that I was exhausted. He said, "Get some rest, Erin. I think you've earned it." I fell asleep on his shoulder. I was happy that I stood up to my grandfather and to be safe.
When I had entered the fifth grade, I was dreading it. I had heard rumors that the teacher was really mean. When I met her before school started, she seemed really nice. On the first day of school, I was wearing one of my Beatles t-shirts. She noticed it, and she said, "Darling, I love you already!" I said, "Okay, then." She would take up for me all the time. The other kids often called me glasses. She heard them and said, "She has a name, guys. Her name is not glasses. It's Winter." There was one day when another girl kept picking on me. I finally had enough and said, "I might look sweet and innocent, but that shit is for suckers, and I'm no lollipop." I looked at the teacher. She winked and said, "I heard nothing." I would have had her for the sixth grade, too, but unfortunately, I moved to Tennessee as soon as the school year was over. We both cried. We promised to keep in touch with each other, and we've kept in touch to this day.