{"id":2229,"date":"2016-10-23T14:02:19","date_gmt":"2016-10-23T22:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/?p=2229"},"modified":"2016-10-23T14:02:19","modified_gmt":"2016-10-23T22:02:19","slug":"tea-leaf-deceived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/?p=2229","title":{"rendered":"Tea Leaf Deceived"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Tea Leaf Deceived<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He was a guy who drifted around.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

One day he drifted into our town.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t one who looked for trouble.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to be one to burst his bubble.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

But, when he arrived, his fate was sealed.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You might say he got a rotten deal.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Right away he attracted attention.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mostly from girls. Not to mention.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He was a real good looking guy.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

That is why he caught their eye.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The town bully had a girl.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The newcomer gave her a thrill.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

She started giving him a lot of her time.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The bully found out and said \u2018She\u2019s mine.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He took a swing at the newcomer.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The result was a real bummer.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The new guy moped up the floor with him.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Then,—- he said with a grin.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not here to steal your girl.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI am looking for Jeffery Till.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe lives just outside town.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you want with him?\u201d he frowned.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my business and none of yours.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cStay out of it or do you want some more?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The bully cowered and scooted away.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He would settle this another day.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The new comer found his way to Till\u2019s place.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He had a grim look on his face.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMr Till, I want to talk to you.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI have things to tell you that are true.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d Till said with a sneer.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll find out. Have no fear.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew your daughter before she died.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe missed you. She cried and cried.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe was raped and beaten badly\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cDied from her injuries.\u201d \u00a0He said sadly.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore she died she asked me to find you.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTo tell you she missed you and loved you to.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me how you threw her out.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t even know what it was all about.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you throw her out on her ear Mr Till?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYelling that you didn\u2019t forgive her and never will.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe had no knowledge of why you were mad.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that you made her miserable and sad.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Till said \u00a0\u201cI have nothing to say to you.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cRun along now and find something else to do.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI loved your daughter and I\u2019m not leaving.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI could beat your ass, the way I\u2019m feeling.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Till backed up, all color leaving his face.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou better talk or I won\u2019t leave this place.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cO.K., o.k. I found out she was pregnant.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe thought you wanted her to pay rent.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe was NOT pregnant. You made an error.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cDr\u2019s checked her after her rape affair.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did you get the idea she was?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI read it in tea leaves.\u201d He said in a rush.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, you stupid old fart.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYour ignorant superstitions tore you two apart.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cShe died of injuries and a broken heart.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cAll she wanted in life was for you to be a part.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Till broke down in tears.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat have I done? All these years.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI have always lived by the tea leaf readings.\u201d
\n\u201cNow, you bring me terrible greetings.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI will never read tea leaves again.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cSo be it.\u201d Said the new guy. Then,<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

the bully and some friends arrived.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cGrab him boys. We\u2019ll skin him alive.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A hell of a fight broke out then.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Till helped the new guy to win.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The bully and friends were knocked out.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cGet off my property\u201d Mr Till did shout.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The bully and friends took off.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Till gave a slight cough.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Mr. Till said \u201cI didn\u2019t catch your name.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The new guy said \u201cThat\u2019s o.k., just the same.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be going now. Thanks for your help.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI am sorry. I don\u2019t know if it will help.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt does Mr Till. I pray that she knows.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

With that, he was gone down the road.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

———————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2016)<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tea Leaf Deceived He was a guy who drifted around. One day he drifted into our town. He wasn\u2019t one who looked for trouble. I don\u2019t want to be one to burst his bubble. But, when he arrived, his fate was sealed. You might say he got a rotten deal. Right away he attracted … Continue reading Tea Leaf Deceived<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,16,29,12,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-free-bird-poetry","category-life-lessons","category-random","category-tragedy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2230,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229\/revisions\/2230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}