[This story needs a set up. A friend of mine created a series of “Little Clarkie” stories. In this alternate reality, Zor-El, Alura and their daughter Kara were released from the survival zone and set up a farm in Smallville. They live under the names Zoar, Laura and Kara Elton. The three have the same powers as Clark and Clark has all his powers since arriving on Earth. Chloe Sullivan also lives in Smallville as a child. This mystery story is set in that reality. Can you guess the reason behind Kara’s weird behavior before I reveal it?]
====
“Kara’s Weird Behavior”
Subtitle: “This Am Vewy Weird!”
Kara had returned from her play date with her friends and was quietly playing in the front yard. Laura Elton was preparing a fruit salad to put in the fridge to have with supper. She started to throw out some fruit peels in the big trash can and found that it was filled with Kara’s clothes. The trash bag had been changed before the clothes were put into it and the clothes were clean so she took them back to Kara’s room to put them away. In the closet only Kara’s two pink dresses remained. Suddenly Laura heard her daughter cry out. She ran down the stairs in a blur of motion and vibrated through the door rather than waste a nanosecond opening it. Anything that could hurt her daughter must be serious.
Kara was bawling, “WAH- haah, Wah-haah. Maaaw-MEE!”
Laura asked, “What is it, Sweetie?”
Kara pointed at a rose lying at her feet. She said, “Flower scratch me and then weft me! WAH-Haah!”
Laura grabbed her daughter’s hand and then the other. She looked them over with all her vision powers and couldn’t see a thing wrong. She asked, “Where, honey? Where does it hurt?”
Kara screamed, “ALL OVER! WAH-HAH!
Laura picked up her daughter and the rose and went into the house. An atom bomb MIGHT scratch her daughter but a simple rose couldn’t. Laura quickly examined the rose to see if it was in any way special and found that it wasn’t. There was no evidence that this rose had been raised in an area full of kryptonite. She was sure that Kara had gotten it from the rose bush near the front porch. Laura tried scratching herself with the rose’s thorn and couldn’t. She placed her daughter on the counter and took off her daughters muddy shoes and socks as she thought about what was going on.
Kara cried, “Wah-hah! My wittle toe has weft me!”
Laura said, “What?!” She quickly counted her daughter’s toes and found 5 toes on each foot. She said, “Honey. One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. They are all here.”
Kara said. “I had SIX and SIX. Tawoo toes weft!”
Laura reassured her, “No, Kara, you always had five toes on each foot.”
Kara asked, “Why?”
Laura said, “Because God made us that way … with ten toes.”
Kara asked, “Where?”
Laura said, “On our feet.”
Kara asked, “When?”
Laura answered, “Forever and ever.”
Kara asked, “How?”
Laura said, “That’s just the way it is, Sweetie.”
Kara said, “Me think you keeping secret!”
Laura said, “No, Honey.”
Kara said, “This am weird. This am very weird!”
Laura said, “Well, everything seems OK now. I’ll get you a bowl of your favorite cereal. Here’s the bowl. Here’s the cereal. OK! We’re all set. Let me sit you at the table. OK. I’ll get the milk.” Laura took two steps towards the refrigerator.
Kara cried, “Wah-aah! Mommy weft me! Wah-aah!”
Laura said, “I’m right here! You can see me from 10 miles away and I’m only three feet away!” Laura poured milk on the cereal and felt her daughter’s head before she reached for a spoon. Kara quickly grabbed the spoon from her Mom and put a big spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Then a strange expression comes over Kara’s face. She flung the spoon from her mouth and it flew through the wall and across the yard to imbed itself in the barn wall.
Kara cried, “Wah-AAAAAAH! Burnt my mouf bad! Milk waf too hot! Spoon weft me and went far, far away. Wah-aah!”
Laura didn’t know what to do. Kara had never been a temperamental or disobedient child – EVER. She had never had to deal with behavior like this before and knew that something must be terribly wrong for Kara to act this way. She felt helpless.
Kara shouted, “MY TUMMY HURTS. Me SICK. WAH-AAH!”
Laura carried her daughter up to bed. What could she do? The medicine cabinet was absolutely empty. She tucked her into bed and ran for the phone.
Kara cried, “Wah-aaah, Mommy weft me a-gain! Teddy weft me too! Covers weft me. Wah-aah.”
Laura returned to the room with the portable phone. Kara sat up and the tears stopped. Kara calmly asked, “What you do Mommy?”
Laura said, “I’m calling Martha Kent.”
Kara said, “Clarkie’s Mom! Can I go pway with Clarkie?”
Laura answered, “Not now, Honey.”
Kara asked, “Why you call Clarkie’s Mom?”
Laura answered, “To find out if Clark ever had a tummy ache and what she did about it.”
Kara asked, “When?”
Laura said, “When he had a tummy ache? I don’t know when or if he ever did.”
Kara asked, “Where?”
Laura sniffled a little and said, “Please, Honey! I can’t answer you right now, I’m on the phone.”
Kara said, “Me think you are keeping a secret from me! This am weird. This am vewy weird!”
Laura began to softly cry into the phone.
Kara asked, “Why you cwying? When you gonna stop? How are you going to stop? This am weird. This am vewy weird and me don’t like it!”
=====
Can you solve the mystery? What is wrong with Kara?
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
=====
Prequel: One Day earlier:
Dr. Zoar Elton was enjoying a quiet afternoon of yard work. He had gathered all the fallen twigs from the yard and had started a fire. Now he was busy raking leaves. He heard his daughter shout, “Goodie!” Then he saw Kara disappear in a blur into the house. Soon she was by the fire. Out of a bag by her side, she pulled a marshmallow. Then she broke off a piece of chocolate from a Hershey’s chocolate bar. She balled them up together in her fist and plunged her fist into the flames. After a minute she pulled her hand out of the fire, scraped the liquefied concoction off her hand with a graham cracker and gobbled down the cracker. She repeated this process a couple times before Zore walked up to stand beside her. He asked, “What are you doing, little lady?”
Kara answered, “Making some-mores. Want one?”
Zoar said, “No thank you.”
Kara stucke her first back into the flames again and said, “Them YUMMY!”
Zoar asked, “So where did you learn about this?”
Kara answered, “Elly gave me res sippy.”
Zoar asked, “Did Jo Elly tell you to stick your hand into fire?”
Kara said, “NO, silly. Suppose ta use stick but you puts all the sticks in fire. Theys all sooty and yucky now.”
Zoar asked, “Would you make some-mores for your friends if they came over?”
Kara said, “Yeah … if you get me more choc o lat.”
Zoar asked, “Would you stick your hand into the flame like this.”
Kara answered, “If they no sticks what can me do? They won’t put their hand in dere.”
Zoar asked, “Why not?”
Kara said, “They burn up like sticks.”
Zoar said, “Kara, honey. If they can’t do something, I don’t want you showing them that you can. We talked about this. They can’t know what we can do. That’s why we wear special clothes when we do special things.”
Kara asked, “Baby John next door can’t talk, so I have to not talk?”
Zoar said, “No. Hmmm. Let’s do this. Pick some girl friends about your age. Watch them real close. Learn to act like they do. If they run, don’t run any faster than they can. If they jump, don’t jump any higher than they can. If it hurts them to do something, don’t do those things yourself. But if you do – if you fall down or catch your hand in a door or someone pinches you or hits you, act the way your friends would. Don’t fight back like we know you can. Do you understand what I’m asking you to do?”
Kara said, “Yes, Dad-dy.”
Zoar asked, “Can you do this for your Daddy?”
Kara said, “Uh – h u h.”
Zoar asked, “So, if we don’t have sticks, would you make some-mores for your friends.”
Kara said, “No. Me have Mommy make em. And YOU get lots and lots of choc o lat for me! …………………………. Daddy?”
Zoar said, “What, Honey?”
Kara asked, “Can me make jus one more some more please?”
Zoar said, “No.” Kara frowned and looked at Zoar with sad eyes. Zoar continued, “Make TWO more. One for you and one for me!” Kara giggled. Zoar said, “And I get to lick your fingers clean!”
Kara said, “NO, SILLY! Thas the bes part!”
Later that day, Laura took Kara for a play date with Lana and Chloe at Nell’s house.