Statues Underground

Lily Mathews

I walked into chemistry, only a few minutes late, as soon as I walked in I looked at the back table hoping to see Lily, my stomach sank when I saw she wasn't there. The rest of the day I couldn't focus on any of my classes, the stages of mitosis seemed irrelevant compared to the fact Lily was missing. I was determined to find her.
After school got out I headed down to the cemetery hoping Lily was there. That had been our meeting spot since I was six and she was five. Our first encounter took me a little off guard to say the least. It was 3 days after my parents and little sister's burial and I was sitting up against the large oak tree that shaded their new forever resting spot when a little girl with a dainty yellow dress and a determined look on her face walked up to me and asked, "What are you doing here?" I looked up at her with a tear streaked face and tried to talk or apologize or make any noise for that matter but my voice just cracked. I was so embarrassed that I just buried my head in my knees and decided I would never look up. Whoever that girl was I loathed her for embarrassing me while I was already at such a low.
After what felt like hours I looked up expecting her to be long gone. To my surprise she was sitting right in front of me holding a bouquet of dandelions and various wild flowers (some of which she had put in her hair) "I'm sorry I made you sad" she said as she reached out to hand me the flowers. "This just used to be my special place but" she hesitated for a moment "I guess we can share it." I reluctantly grabbed the flowers and let my mouth curve into a small grin. "Thank you".
"My name is Lily Mathews and I am five years old" she very proudly proclaimed to me. "What is your name?" "I'm Daxton" I felt my voice steady out a little bit, "Daxton Grey"
"Well hello Daxton Grey, I have decided that we are best friends now and no matter what we will always be best friends." After that we sat quietly and watched as the wind gently blew the leaves. After a while I built up the courage and asked her "What do you like so much about this place?" she quickly but calmly responded with "When I get scared I run here and lay down by the base of the tree and the wind whispers to me that everything is going to be alright" it was then that I noticed the bruises on her arms and the little cut on her eye that was slightly swollen.
"Doesn't it scare you more to be at a cemetery with all of the graves?" I asked her. She looked at me with a confused face "Do you mean the statues underground?"
"The statues underground?" I asked her, she acted as if everyone should know this term.
"Yeah, don't they look at peace.... Sometimes I wish that was me."
I was a little startled by her response and as a six year old I didn't realize the complexity of her answer. I didn't understand that this five year old girl has been through more than most people will in their entire lives. That was the first time I saw how much pain she was in. From that moment on I knew what was hidden beneath her deep brown eyes. Before the sun started to set she ran back through the corn field that separated a small house that must have been hers. I took the pink and purple flowers and laid them on Payson's headstone and put the dandelion on Mom and Dad's. I sat, underneath the oak tree until my Aunt Laney, who was only 17 at the time, came and picked me up.

I waited until it was almost 11:30 before I gave up and headed back home. As I laid in my bed I felt the familiar pain inside my chest. It's like someone is squeezing your heart and ripping it out of your chest. I may not have been able to save my family but I was going to save Lily.