Out in the Garden

Chapter 2 - The Bravest Girl I Know

For most people it would have been a lazy Summer afternoon, but not for the two children running down the hill to the lake. Alex ran a lot faster than Carrie, so he was always looking over his shoulder with a huge grin on his face to make sure she was still right behind him. The little girl was laughing, her wavy hair flying behind her as she followed Alex. 

They stopped short just before they got to the large rocks that created a sharp drop from the edge from the start of the forest to the water. Alex held out his hand to make sure his friend didn't topple over the  bank, but Carrie would be a lot faster to come to a safe stop than he would. 

"I have to tell you something," Alex said as they tried to catch their breaths, both of them breathing heavily. For whatever reason, as soon as they were allowed back outside, they took it upon themselves to run out of view from Carrie's house as possible, as if their parents were going to call them back in at any time. 

"What?" said Carrie, strolling to an edge in the rock that she and Alex often sat on before and after their adventures into the woods. A large tree sat a few feet away from the rock, where Alex had carved 'Alex and Carrie's spot' last Summer with the swiss army knife he 'borrowed' from his father. 

The seven year old boy turned serious and moved to sit next to his friend, looking out over the lake. "My parents were talking about leaving again last night," he said without looking at her. "I think they were looking at houses this time." 

Carrie didn't quite understand the concept of moving. She just knew that it meant her best friend since before she could remember would be leaving her soon and they didn't know if they would ever see each other again. "Why would they wanna do that?" she asked. 

"I guess they wanna move to some dumb city somewhere. It's stupid if you ask me. I don't wanna leave, Carrie," Alex whimpered. "I wanna be here to go apple picking in the fall. I bet I'm tall enough to reach the highest apples if I climb!" 

The little girl stared at her scabbed knees. A lump swelled in her throat, but this one hurt more than when you fell off your bike onto hot pavement. This was a whole new kind of hurt and she didn't like it one bit. 

"Hey, don't cry," said Alex, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe I'll come back and visit!" 

"But who am I gonna play with? You're the best adventurer. I'm too scared to go all the way around the lake by myself. I'm a scaredy cat and you know it," Carrie admitted, a tear rolling down her cheek. 

The boy frowned, looking back at the water for a moment, and then turning back to her. "Nuh uh. You're plenty brave. You wanna know a secret? I'm too scared to do it without you, too." 

"No you're not," Carry challenged, but a small smile made its way onto her face. 

Alex nodded, "There it is," he said. "Carrie - no, Caroline - you're the bravest person I know." He used her full name, the one that had been too hard for him to say when they were three and playing with firetrucks. The nickname had stuck since then, but he called her Caroline like her mother did when she wanted her to act like a "big girl". 

"You're the best, Alex," Carrie said, reaching over to wrap her arms around her friend in a hug. 

----

"Carrie." 

Alex looked at her with confidence and unease unlike his typical out-going, class-clown demeanor. Caroline stared back with wide eyes. 

"...Alex?" she said after a moment, her voice cracking from the defensive tone she once had to something much softer. "Oh my God." 

"Carrie," he said again, as if saying her name was like taking a cool drink of water. "Wow. I didn't even realize at school."