Mily Junegrass Womack-Yoder wanted to be a Jack when she grew up. She dreamed about the day she would earn her Face and decide her life's trade before the Aces. But she was only eight, so she had well over a decade to figure all that out. Dog, Mily'...
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A DEER—A DOE! Mily saw it standing in the sun, a magnificent, massive fawn—but how could it have been? She had white spots speckled across her brassy back but stood half as tall as the basketball hoop—Where had she come from? Deer were very fast, Mily knew, but the yard had been vacant when she stepped inside the garage—only—barely—a moment ago, hadn't it been? She was sure of it!
Oh, how the doe shone in the late afternoon light. They stared at each other, and while Mily was quite stunned, the deer showed no signs of fear at all: she was proud and tall, radiant gold, full of purpose...
" !" Mily gasped and stumbled a step backward. Her sketchers scraped the concrete drive, and the noise gave her goosebumps. She kicked off her shoes and lost her socks too. The doe was unperturbed, but turned her head curiously at the little kid in short lime-green overalls, who was clutching an old tennis ball like a stone.
"Wh—What are you—" Mily spurted as she searched for her voice. You're not afraid? she wanted to ask the doe, but didn't. Should I be afraid? she asked herself even as the hairs on her arms and neck relaxed. Then, Mily grinned with wide wonder because the deer lowered her head and smiled—Look at that! Spinning toward the garage door, Mily leapt back inside to fetch her mother in the kitchen, just on the other side of the wall. "Mom—come see! Come see!"
"What is it! I'm coming! Mily—what is it!"
"Shh! Shh! Come see! Be quiet, there's a girl—a deer—out here!"
Mily blinked. She dropped her mother's hand having just dragged her outside. She swung this way and that, her head spinning round the yard—but the magical fawn was gone.
"I saw it! Right here!" Little Mily bounded a few steps into the yard, dry grass crackling underfoot, her bare callouses hardly feeling a thing. The grass had been sunbaked brown since around Mily's birthday at the end of July, but hadn't the whole thing looked green, not but a few seconds ago...
"You saw a deer in our yard?" her mother Bird said from the driveway. "So cool! That's a really good sign!"
Mily's mind was whirling. Her mother didn't understand. The deer—she had been just here—not even a minute ago! The late summer grass stretched out around her in all directions—flat plains, wide-open, like most of the lands in Diana. Mily could look a good mile every which way, which was why she couldn't understand where the stupid deer went.
"It's gone! It was right here, Mom." She stamped the spot with her right heel, splaying her fingers and stretching her arms out wide to indicate the huge space the doe had occupied.
"Are you sure? I've never heard of a deer getting so close to a person before."
That made Mily silly with rage. "Yes, I'm sure! It was standing right. Here."
"No need to shout at me, Mildred Junegrass."
"Don't call me that!" Mily spat. She was on the verge of tears, but Mily hated crying—especially in front of her mother. Instead, she loosed her energy by whirling about, not really looking for the doe at all, but rather ruthlessly hoping she would appear suddenly again to prove she was telling the truth.
Bird's feet were bare as well, and the crunch of her steps sounded almost like walking on fresh fallen snow. Mily stopped thrashing around and stared down at the tops of her mother's copper-toned toes, feeling a crushing wave of disappointment break over her. Bird crouched down to her daughter's eye level and said, "Right here! Wow! She must have seemed really big, so up close. You're so lucky to have seen her."
So her mother believed her—but the doe hadn't just seemed big. She'd been huge! "She was big, taller than you! Taller than Dad!"
"She must have been startled. You know, they don't like loud sounds, or things moving too quickly."
"She wasn't afraid! She smiled right at me!"
A brilliant grin filled Bird's face, pretty summer freckles lifted up on her high cheekbones. "Wow. I wish I'd seen her. Was it magical?"
"I think it might have been," Mily admitted, a little less defensive now that she and her mother seemed to be getting on the same page. Miraculous. The word must have come to Mily out of some Sunday morning message—she wasn't sure what it meant, but it felt like it fit. "A miracle, maybe."
Bird's entire face changed strangely when she heard her daughter speak those words. Mily would never forget it because she couldn't tell if the words had made her mother happy or sad.
"Well, maybe I'll get to see her next time," Bird said a little dreamily, after a time. She stood up straight and offered her hand, which Mily knew meant that it was time to go inside.
Putting her hand squarely in her mother's, Mily asked, "Mom, did I say something wrong?"
