THE SPIDER WEB

THE SPIDER WEB

Chapter One
　
Mercy’s fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. She spun around and started pounding her dad on his chest, her thirteen years not giving her the strength she wanted.

"I’m not," she cried, "I’m not, I’m not." Each word was punctuated with another thump. "I don’t want to be. Please tell me it’s not true." She dissolved in tears against her father’s chest.

"I’m sorry, darling," Matthew put his arms around his daughter, trying to comfort her. It was times like this he wished he had a wife, someone to be a mother to his daughter. "I thought you’d be pleased, and even excited when I told you that you are the Queen of the Wild Tribe."
Mercy pulled away from her father, wiped her eyes and stood facing away, looking at the scene before her with unseeing eyes. Her father had built this house for her and now she was beginning to understand why he had placed it in this particular spot. The second floor balcony overlooked the little village where the Wild Tribe lived, separated by a dusty road. And she was queen. She shuddered.

"It makes me feel all tied up as if I were caught in a spider web like an insect that can’t escape. I can’t go and do what I want now," Mercy said, sounding much older than her years. She let out a big sigh. "What will my duties be?"

"As queen? I really don’t know. The tribe hasn’t required much of me so perhaps not much of you either." Matthew answered her, as he came up to the balcony railing and stood beside his daughter.

"Are you the King?"

"Good heavens, no!" The words exploded from him. "They asked me to be their temporary leader until you were old enough to be queen. They’ve been asking for you for several years now and I keep putting them off." Matthew sighed, sounding like his daughter. "I’m sorry. I should have waited another year."

"It’s alright, Dad," Mercy’s tone was soft and low. "I’m sorry I reacted as I did. I know better. In fact, I knew Mother was queen so I should have known I would be also." She started smiling and added "When I was small, you called me princess. I wanted to grow up and be queen." Matthew smiled at his pretty daughter. Her dark eyes had been flashing in anger and now were shining in merriment.

"As queen, you may tell the tribe what you want them to do and not let them tell you what they want of you," Matthew told her. "If you want to go back to America to school, just tell them. They will understand." He hoped silently that was the truth.

"So what happens now?" Mercy asked, concerned only for the immediate things.

"It’s your thirteen birthday," Matthew tried to sound jovial but it saddened him to see his daughter growing up so fast. "You’re now entering those magical years called Teenage so we are going to have some cake with the hospital staff to celebrate. Then this evening we will have another cake and celebrate some more with the Wild Tribe." A celebration at the hospital meant cake, fruit punch and mints and was the same for the Wild Tribe.

"Sounds more like I’m being offered as a sacrifice on the altar to the Wild Ones." Mercy said, sounding bitter.

"Oh my darling," her father responded, "is it so bad? Are you that unhappy about being queen? I wish to God that I could save you from this."

"I’ll live. I may even get to like being queen." She stopped talking to think about the situation that she was in. "I could even chop off a few heads of those I don’t like."

"Careful now. Let’s not overdo it." Her father was sounding concerned but then saw that Mercy was in a teasing mood, so laughed with her. She had a way of changing from a happy mode to a sad or angry one and back again so fast he could hardly blink. He didn’t understand it nor could he possibly keep up with her moods but as long as she remained happy, he was also.

At the celebration with the hospital staff, Mercy greeted everyone, thanked them for coming and then cut the cake, seeing to it that everyone received some. She milled around the room talking to various ones. She knew them all by name so was asking about families and babies. She all ready acts regal, thought Matthew. She will make a good queen. His delight was in his daughter, never seeing any wrong in her.

Mercy had been living at this mission hospital in Guatemala for the last six years. Her dad was one of the two doctors, but as it was a small hospital he complained there wasn’t enough work for the two. Yet two doctors were needed to give each other a time off. Soon Matthew was taking trips out to the surrounding towns and villages that had no medical service. He held clinics, where he treated babies, children, and the infirm. A few times he would have to bring a very ill person back to the hospital. He felt that an hour’s drive was nothing compared to the time it would take a sick person to walk the distance. He knew from his own experience when he tried to reach the hospital to save his wife and her tribe. He had driven that stretch of road before in less than an hour but when he tried to walk it, his body ravaged with fever, it had taken all night and he still wasn’t at the hospital. If Doctor Charles hadn’t found him, the remnants of his body devoured by ants and wild animals would probably still be lying there beside the road.

Mercy was only two years old then and didn’t remember this or her mother. Only ten members of the tribe were saved. They had all accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and now were trying to keep their tribal identity and also be Christians. The one thing they wanted was their Queen, the only child of their former queen and Matthew had been loathed to give his daughter back to them. He thought that perhaps he was being selfish in not wanting to share Mercy. On the other hand, perhaps he was trying to protect her, knowing how this tribe had existed in the wild.

The staff members started leaving, going to their various responsibilities before Rhonda came in. Her long golden hair was placed in a knot on top of her head, making her look very professional. She was a pretty girl in her early twenties and a nurse at the hospital. At one time when she was yet in her early teens, she declared she was going to marry Matthew but ever since he had brought Marty down for a summer, she seemed to have cooled towards him. And even after six years, she remained aloof.

Mercy took a glass with punch and a piece of cake to Rhonda, meeting her halfway across the room.

"Can you sit awhile? I want to talk to you," Mercy told the nurse. Rhonda had given her a congratulatory kiss before accepting the punch and cake.

"Yes, Sweet, I always have time for you. What’s on your mind." Rhonda responded cheerfully.
"Dad says I’m queen of the Wild Tribe and must take up my duties now." Mercy’s eyes filled with tears, soon to spill over.

"And this makes you unhappy?" Rhonda asked, surprised. She put her glass down and put her arms around the girl. "You’ll make a wonderful queen," she said. "You have so much love to give them and you radiate happiness."

Mercy wiggled out of the embrace and smiled at her friend. "Thanks," she said smiling at her friend, "but I don’t know what I must do. Or even to say."

"Your very actions make you look like a queen," Rhonda told her, "and you know that you can rely on the Lord to give you wisdom. Just ask him." She saw doubt flitter across the girl’s face so added, "Why don’t you change the tribe’s name for starters and you could make your birthday a holiday and celebrate with a big cook-out. You could furnish the food and they do the work. You’d better talk to your Dad first when it comes to spending money though," she added.
"What’s this about spending money?" Matthew asked having joined them. The two girls laughed and told him their plans.

"Rhonda’s full of plans. She gave me great ideas," Mercy said smiling up at her dad. "Why don’t you marry her? She’ll make a wonderful mother."

"She turned me down," he answered, his face growing dark, "but this is not a discussion for little girls."

"Excuse me. I must go," Rhonda said, her voice sounding hard or was it angry? Mercy wasn’t sure, but her voice changed to happy as she wished good things upon the day to celebrate her birth and on becoming Queen.

Mercy looked up at her dad, noticing his dark scowl. "I’m sorry," she said, her voice quivering. "I’ve said the wrong thing again."

"Forget it. It’s not something we talk about." Matthew told her in his fatherly voice. But Mercy was determined to find out why her dad and Rhonda were not married or could not marry. She loved them both. They should love each other. It was as simple at that to her.

"Rhonda said I should change the name of the tribe, but I can’t think of a good name. Can you think of one?" Mercy asked her dad. She was adept at changing the subject, and often did.

"Why don’t you ask the tribe what they would like? I’m sure they have a name for themselves. It’s only in the rest of the country they are known as the Wild Tribe," he said.

"She also suggested I make my birthday a holiday and treat them to a cookout. That’s what we were talking about as it could cost too much. What do you think?"

"It’s too late to do anything this year but the idea is good. In fact, I like it but make it the nearest Saturday to your birthday. Most of them are off work then and we can make it special." Matthew began to sound enthused about his daughter’s queenship.

After the evening meal father and daughter walked together to the tribal meeting hall. Mercy had put on one of the tribal dresses and a crown of interlacing flowers and leaves. Matthew introduced her as Queen Mercy and she stood up to shouts and cheers. When the acclaim died down, Mercy spoke to the people in their own tribal language. She told them that she would come every Saturday night as their queen and they could tell her their grievances or desires. When she saw them other times, she did not want them to treat her as queen.

"We can’t do that," someone shouted from the group and more added to what was said until a great commotion was started.

Mercy turned and looked at her father, not knowing what she should do. Matthew stood up and the group quieted wanting to hear what he would tell them.

"If you keep up acting like this, I will put my daughter on a ‘big bird that flies’ and you will never see her again. She didn’t want to be your queen but is giving you one day a week of herself to be your queen. Accept it and be happy with it." Matthew angrily told them.

Total silence followed. Even Mercy had never seen her dad this angry. The only sound was the whimpering of a few babies. She addressed them again.

"I have a few things I want to say and then the meeting is open for questions, but please one at a time." She told them about plans for making her birthday a holiday and having a cookout the following year to celebrate. She told them she wanted to change the name of their tribe but needed their input then opened the meeting for questions.

"Why must we change the name of our tribe?" Papee asked. "We have always gone by the name of our queen. We are now the Mercy Tribe and we like that name.
"
A number of people agreed with him. But they were careful not to make a big commotion again not wanting to upset Mercy or her dad. Mercy tried to explain that others outside knew them as the Wild Tribe.

"We don’t care what others call us. We know who we are," Ree said and others echoed the sentiment.

"All right," Mercy said, "we’ll say no more about the name." She realized that she would have to change the name herself, as the tribe was not interested.

"Queen Mercy," Manilee stood up to speak. She held a small baby to her breast who was busily sucking in nourishment. "About your Birthday. Can we have a cookout next week? We will do the work if you will bring the food. We could celebrate you as queen also, if that’s all right?" She was one of the younger women and if any one could be called a friend, Mercy would have named her. Mercy turned for approval from her father for money for the food, but he stood up.
"Did you want to make that a coronation service?" He asked but they had never had such a service, even when he explained it to them. They looked at each other in wonderment. "A coronation happens only once not every year like a birthday. I think it a good idea to have one."
"Queen Mercy, if I may be so bold to speak again," Papee stood up and Mercy indicated for him to continue. "We don’t understand how we are to treat you. We have always treated you as our queen but you said only at the meetings. What can we do differently?"

"I – I" Mercy began ready to apologize but then wondered if queens apologized to their subjects. "You may treat me like you always have whenever you see me except when I’m wearing a crown. Then you show greater respect."

"Are we to bow down before you?" Hee-hee, who had a twin brother Hee, asked.

"No, no," Mercy laughed. "Jesus is our real king. We bow to him. I’m human. You just need to give me some respect."

"In that case, we would like the coronation next week." Manilee said. Her baby was asleep now but she had neglected to pull her dress closed across her breast.

"You should close your dress before speaking to me," Mercy told the girl, for she was still in her teens. "And you should stand when speaking, also. Your children that are in school must stand when talking to their teacher as a sign of respect. Although I’m young, I expect that same kind of respect as queen. I’m talking about when I’m wearing my crown. Other times, treat me like you always have." Mercy had spoken kindly as she didn’t want to upset the young mother whom she called her friend.

At home again, Matthew turned to his daughter. "I was so proud of you. You are a great queen."
"Thank you, Daddy," She sounded like a little girl again, making Mathew smile. He remembered the good times they had together at his parents’ home.

"This is my summer to be on leave. I thought we’d go to your Granny’s like before. It will give you a break from being queen although I’m not sure you need one. Not by your actions tonight anyway."

"I want to go," Mercy became excited. Going to her granny’s was always wonderful. "Must we tell my tribe now."

"Not yet. It’s our secret." Matthew had noticed her use of the personal pronoun ‘my’, but didn’t allude to it. "First we must plan the coronation. Let’s make a menu and I’ll start ordering."
They put their heads together over pen and paper. It wasn’t long before they had a list of things, steaks, chops, sausages, bread rolls, and all the condiments such as ketchup and salsa.
"I think we need a big pot of beans and I’d like to give them something special like Granny’s gelatin dessert. Could I e-mail Granny for it?" Mercy asked her dad.

"Good idea. Go ahead." Matthew was working out the cost of the meat and beans for the group. "Are we going to invite everyone or is this just for the tribe?"

Mercy shook her head as if her dad could hear it and then spoke saying that she thought it would be fun to invite everyone.

"Fine. I’ll order more food." He redid his calculations.

Mercy sent her e-mail, telling her grandmother of her planned coronation and the cookout. "I need to know your recipe for that delicious dessert you make with pineapples in lemon Jell-O. I want to do something special and that is always so good." The next morning she had an answer, congratulating her on the coronation.

"The recipe for the desert is as follows," Julie had written. "For every plastic container of 6x10 you will need two packets of Jell-O, one tin condensed milk, and one tin of crushed pineapple." She reminded Mercy that if she should use fresh pineapple, it had to be cooked first. She ended by saying that she would come to the coronation and bring the grahams for the crust.

Mercy ran to her dad. "She’s coming. Granny is coming to the coronation. I’m so happy." She was jumping up and down in her excitement. "But why did she ask if Charles would let her? Doesn’t he like her?"

Matthew went to read the e-mail before he answered. "I suppose it’s alright to tell you now but please don’t tell it around. It may be embarrassing to Charles and Brittany." He stopped and took a deep breath and then spoke in a rush. "Charles loved your grandmother for many years but after your grandfather died and she came down expecting to marry him, he sent her away and told her never to come to Guatemala again. That must have been about eight years ago and she hasn’t come here since. So I think you’d best go and ask him. Pretend you don’t know why she asked."

Mercy ran to the hospital, almost colliding with Rhonda as she hurried down the passage. She told her the news concerning the coronation and asked to see Doctor Charles, saying that her granny wanted to come but she must have the doctor’s permission first. She knocked on the office door and heard a voice inviting her in.

"Doctor Charles, please," Mercy began, not waiting for the doctor to ask what she wanted. "Can Granny come to my coronation? She said I had to ask you first." She saw the look of delighted surprise flash across his face before he calmly told her that her granny could come anytime she wanted.

"But what’s this about your coronation?" He asked.

"We’re having a party on Saturday to celebrate my becoming the queen of the tribe. Dad called it a coronation. You are all invited." Mercy happily told him.

"Are you happy becoming their queen?" Charles asked and then could have kicked himself for asking.

"I wasn’t at first but we had a meeting last night and I think I like being queen." Charles smiled at the girl amazed that one so young could sound so mature. "We’ll be glad to come, and be sure to tell your granny ‘Welcome’ back."

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