MARIEL

14~ Miss Caravan ~

Monday, February 10th, 2020

"Are you serious?"

Blankly, Esther stared at the dissatisfied customer, her hands clenching and un-clenching behind the privacy of the bookstore counter. "About...?"

It was cooler today. Darker. The wind whistled. In the bookstore, standing before the counter, the middle-aged woman with fading blonde hair returned Esther's stare. The paperback hung loosely in her grip, still stretched out towards Esther. Her dark eyes were wide with expectation. "I ordered a hard cover."

Esther did not blink. The dryness stung her eyes. In her memories of the prior night, her father's face was in front of her now, his eyes bloodshot. He looked so pale. So ill. His lips were chapped as he spoke.

'Honey, Hawk was in another accident. 3rd degree burns, they don't know what happened.'

Esther sucked in a breath. "I will check to see who placed the order, but this is what came in." Gritting her teeth, her fingers flew across the keyboard. Her forefinger clicked the button on the mouse with frustrated speed. "What date did you order it?" Her phone lit up and, as she scrolled through the past orders on the computer, Esther looked at the phone. Her dad was calling. Had Hawk died? No, they said he was stable, just severely burned.

"I don't remember, can't you just look up my name?" The woman rolled her eyes.

"One moment, and I will." Esther wished the book was hardcover, so she could hit the woman with it like she'd done to Mariel. The phone continued to buzz. "But I have to take this first, my brother's in the hospital."

The woman let out an exasperated sigh and turned on her heel. "Never mind, I'll just take it. Whatever." She stormed off. The door rattled as she slammed it open and left the store.

Holding up her middle finger, Esther answered the call. "Dad?"

"He's fine, honey. It was Phil. Phil came to heal him again."

Wind screamed.

Esther leaned against the counter, her eyes shifting, her lips parted in quiet shock.

"Squirt? Are you there?"

"Yeah... yeah I'm just... processing. Wait, Dad, is Phil in town?" Panic rose in her chest. She thought of Gabe, thought of his grave, thought of her desperate idea in Tira's apartment to find Phil and beg him to bring her friend back to life. A feeling of hope and dread intertwined and crawled through her innards. Her body began to shake. Would she see Gabe again? Would he be the same? Or would he be off-

-evil-

-like Mariel Nadier?

"I don't know. I don't think so, honey, I think he left again."

"What do you mean he left again? You can't just have that... gift and leave people who need it." Her eyes stung with tears. Fuck, she'd been doing so well not crying.

"I don't know. All I know is that Hawk and the other injured swimmers were healed. Phil healed all of them and that's all I know. Your brother's home now." Even while delivering the good news, his voice sounded so weary over the phone.

Phil could have healed him too.

"Ok... I don't get any of this. I don't, but I guess I'll have to accept it because that's all I've only been able to do lately." Esther's voice went flat. She'd accepted that the world had gone mad and so had she.

"Don't sound so defeated. This is good news! Are you still at the store? I'm still planning to come at three."

"Yes, Dad, I'm at the store, why would I leave?"