Fly ∆way Girl

|23|

|DOWN BY THE RIVER|

The first thing I noticed about the new place Josiah had taken me was the music. I recognized the song immediately, though I can't place it with a specific memory. I knew the lyrics word for word, so I obviously heard them often.

My eyes opened to a wide windshield in an old, red truck. It's engine was loud, but it didn't overpower the sound of the music. I sat in the middle of the backseat.

The driver was my father, the one I saw at the baseball field in my memory. I could see his face in the rearview mirror. His eyebrows were crinkled tight, and his brown eyes were squinted. Perhaps from the sunlight, or maybe he was worried about something.

The vehicle drove down an older road; one I, of course, didn't recognize.

The song ended, and my father turned the radio knob down to where the music was nearly inaudible.

"Daddy?"

I jumped at the sound of a tiny voice to my right. I hadn't had time to check out my full surroundings. The voice belonged to a small little girl in a booster seat. Her tiny legs swung from the seat, and her face was staring out the window at the passing trees. All I could see of her was her brown, curly hair that was tied back with a ribbon.

"Yes sweety?" My father answered.

"Why couldn't I stay at home with mommy?" She asked. Her attention still belonged to the window, so I couldn't read her face, but a slight pout was in her words.

My father sighed. "Because you need to be with me."

"But I wanted to play with my dollies at home."

"I know sweety, you'll have to wait until tonight. We have to pick up your brother from T-ball practice."

She didn't speak again, but she did turn to face me. Her bright green eyes were her largest feature, which is true for most kids. Her nose was tiny, along with rosy red lips below it. Her skin was porcelain, reminding me of a doll. One small hand reached down to my lap, grabbing a teddy bear that apparently had been there the entire time. She hugged it close to her chest.

I noticed a dangling bracelet with random beads placed on it around her wrist.

A gasp escaped my lips, and I quickly put my hands over my mouth. I'm not sure if they can hear me or not.

A warm hand was on my arm in seconds. I looked to my left where Josiah sat.

I removed my hands from my face and mouthed 'can they hear us?' to him.

"No Harley." He said with a small smile.

"Is that me?" I asked him aloud.

"Yes. We are in one of your memories from your childhood."

I looked back over to 'little me'. She didn't look anything like how I imagined her. I pictured a blond girl with blue eyes...

"This is the day you and your father played baseball at the park." Josiah added.

"Last time I was her..." I motioned to the young me. "In that body I mean."

"I figured it would be easier to get a perspective on things if you were an onlooker, rather than a part of the memory."

I glanced up into the rearview mirror again, noticing this time that mine and Josiah's reflection was not there, but the top of 'little me's' head was.

"We aren't really here, are we?" I asked.

"Not exactly. We can't alter the memory in any way, but we can relive it. You can look at it from any angle you'd like. In your other memories you were forced to act out the original motions."