“The Squirrel that Set Me Free”

“Where are you going, Where have you been?” By Joyce Carol Oates

As told by Morgan Manning

After agreeing to leave with Arnold, Connie’s mind begins to go all over the place. She thinks about

all the sassing she did to her mother. “Was it all worth it?” Connie thinks. She felt so helpless with no

way out. As they proceed down the road in the gold jalopy, Connie has to come up with an escape plan.

She never imagined her life like this. As soon as Arnold makes a stop on Old Town Road, Connie makes a

run for it into the woods. Arnold jumps out the car and takes off after her. Connie is terrified that

Arnold Friend has found her and starts to hide deeper in the woods. She realizes she is too far away

from any civilization for anyone to hear her scream. She feels hopeless about her situation, but there are

sparks of strength inside her that keep her from giving up hope. She then hears a voice from one of the

trees. The voice tells Connie to come close to the tree, but Connie is scared of what might happen if she

does so. But still, the voice urges Connie to come closer and reminds her that she can protect herself if

need be by utilizing some of the skills she has learned in martial arts classes. So Connie walks up to the

tree and discovers that the voice is coming from a small, talking squirrel who has been living inside it for

years. The squirrel takes her by surprise by hugging her tight, not unlike a parent would when they see

their child in distress. "What do you want me to do?" Connie asks him, unsure if he will respond. The

squirrel looks at her with wide eyes before saying something Connie doesn't quite understand. "Sorry, I

can't understand squirrel. “She says in response to his look of disappointment, though she isn't entirely

sure if it was really disappointed or if the squirrel had just said something different. "Do you mind

repeating yourself?" She tries again. The squirrel points towards her, telling her that his name is Hank.

He then proceeds to say something she doesn't understand once more. Can you speak English?" Connie

asks, now even less confident than before because of the squirrel's strange language. She isn't sure why

this squirrel doesn't speak English, but whatever it is he doesn't know how, so she hopes that she hasn't
made a grave mistake asking him to talk to her in an unknown language. Hank shakes his head no. Then,

he motions to his left and Connie notices a large rock lying against the ground that looks like it could

provide shelter if the squirrel needed it. She thinks it over, debating whether or not she should go along

with it. If Hank is telling the truth, if he is a dangerous enemy trying to lure her in so she may get hurt.

He also told her to trust him and that she didn't have to worry about him hurting her. She sighs and

decides not to argue. He did save her life and maybe he'll explain things if she listens to what he's trying

to tell her. Okay then. Let's take shelter there and find out how the hell to make use of your little rock."

Connie agrees to his terms. As soon as she agrees to help him, she sees his smile and can tell he knows

everything has gone smoothly. "Good luck." Hank tells her in his special language. Connie somehow

understands and says “Thanks, but I don' need luck. Just smart thinking. Okay, I guess I better start

moving my stuff into your cave. What do we call you by the way?" Connie asks, knowing Hank can't

understand her anyway but still curious about what he'd want her to call him. They begin carrying their

things back and forth between the bushes until they reach Hank's hiding spot, which thankfully seems

relatively safe. She sets down her backpack on the ground where Hank sits looking at her expectantly.

"Here you go buddy," Connie hands Hank her backpack. After a second, he nods, takes the backpack and

disappears behind the tree. Connie turns around to look at the forest and wonders what he's doing right

now. It's only 10:30 at night, but the sun is still visible in the horizon and if anything were to attack her

during the night there would definitely be danger. The thought makes Connie shiver. She doesn't like the

idea of being alone in a forest while all of her family members are away. Maybe if she stays here until

morning the danger of nighttime will pass? Hopefully so... An hour passes before Hank comes back out,

carrying some rocks and leaves. He sits them on the ground next to Connie, who looks at the materials

with confusion. "So uh… what are these?" Connie asks the squirrel who just grins wider than ever

before, seemingly proud of what he's done. Connie's jaw drops open when she reads what's written on

the rocks. He taps it twice, as if he is trying to give her some sort of sign. Connie picks the rock up and
reads the message: "I've always liked rocks. They're pretty and nice to hold. They remind me of home.

“Connie doesn't hesitate in reading the rest of the message.”So that means that if we sit with it, it'll lead

us home?" Connie asks. She looks at Hank, waiting for his answer to confirm that it's true, but the

squirrel continues smiling. She looks at him, confused. Um, Hank? Do you think that the rock will take us

home?" She asks. She's afraid to wait for an answer, especially since Hank seems excited about the

prospect of taking her there. It takes Hank a few minutes to reply to Connie, almost like he's having

trouble getting through to her Connie is beginning to lose hope that he'll even get the message across

when Hank finally speaks: "Yes, that's what I'm trying to tell you." Connie's heart flutters when she hears

Hank's confirmation that his plan is working. He looks excited, like he knows that she trusts him with this

information and won't let her fall into any dangers when going home. Connie is so excited that it catches

Hank off guard because he hadn't expected her to jump up and down. She gives the squirrel a huge hug

and thanks him for his help. Hank returns the hug with ease and gives her one last nuzzle, then goes

back into hiding. He then begins to sing softly so she can hear him when she heads home. As she goes

back to her tent she keeps humming "Rock Lobster, Rock Lobster, and Rock Lobster." She falls asleep

with tears of joy running down her cheeks.