Ashes and Flames

Chapter Two

"I'm dead," was all the boy said.

"Oh. Well...how?" I naively asked.

The boy smiled at me before patting my hand and looking out at the lake. Inwardly, I pouted. I had hoped he would at least tell me his name. We sat by the lake for a while until my nanny yelled out from the back door.

"Mae Lynn! Lunch time," she hollered.

"I have to go eat now. Would you like to come with me?" I asked the boy next to me.

He smiled at me before standing and offering me his hand. I readily took it and hauled him towards the door. I smiled at my nanny and proceeded to pull the boy to the kitchen table.

I sat in my usual chair near the head of the table and dragged my new friend to the seat next to mine. My nanny had set a sandwich sliced diagonally in half in front of me. I offered the boy half of my sandwich, but all he did was smile and shake his head.

After lunch I dragged my new friend up to my room to play. My nanny didn't even acknowledge him, which I thought was rude, but he didn't seem to mind. My room was nothing special. It had plain white walls and boxes, which I had yet to unpack, in the corner. I grabbed my Checkers board and sat down on my twin sized bed and patted the spot next to me.

"What's your name?" I asked the boy when he sat down.

"I...I don't remember," he replied.

"Well, what do you remember then?" I questioned as I set up the pieces on the board.

"I lived here. I don't know how long ago, though," he answered as he made his first move.

After a few moments of silence, I finally asked, "Why are you dead then?"

"There was...there was a fire...I...we...we were all in it. The whole house was on fire...That's all I remember..."

"I'm sorry."

After our heart to heart there was no more talking. We sat there in silence until my nanny yelled up to me for dinner. When I looked towards my new friend, he was gone. He had just disappeared with no trace that he had left, or been there, at all.

It wasn't until later that night-after I had gotten into bed-that he had appeared again.

My mom had to work a double shift that night, so my nanny had to stay until she got home. She didn't seem to mind by the sound of her snores. I had gotten into my pajamas and just gotten under the covers when he had appeared at the foot of my bed. He looked just the same as before; even his clothes were the same.

"You said you don't know your name, right?" I asked after he settled down to sit.

The response I got was a curt nod of his head.

"Can I call you Ash? I mean, if you don't mind. I just figured that you'd like to have a name. Everyone likes to have a name. There's no reason you shouldn't have one, too. You don't have to say yes, it's entirely up to you-" my ramblings were cut short by his chuckle.

"It's okay, Mae. I like it. Ash-it seems fitting," he said between chuckles.

"Mae, let's go outside! The lake is so peaceful right now!" Ash exclaimed as he opened up my windows.

"Okay Ash, just let me get my shoes!"

I pushed away from the desk that had been added to my room in my absence. I slipped the sandals that were near the doorway on and left down the stairs towards the back door in the kitchen. My mom was washing dishes at the sink when she noticed my entrance.

"Oh, hi Mae flower! Where are you going?" My mom asked.

"We-well I'm going out to the lake to swing."

"Oh, okay, sweet heart."

I was lucky I had caught myself before I said we. My mother was put under the impression that I no longer saw or spoke to Ash. I hate keeping my best friend a secret, but it's for the best.

I exited through the backdoor and walked at a steady pace while Ash ran ahead to the swing. He could be such a child sometimes.

"Mae, do you have to go to school this year?" Ash questioned when I got close enough.

"Sadly, yes. Mom wants me to be able to be a regular teen and go to high school. I'm dreading it!" I over exaggerated.

"I'll be right there with you. I pinkie promise," Ash held out his pinkie to me as he swore.

I wrapped my pinkie around the offered appendage to seal the deal. Ash has been doing pinkie promises with me since grade 5, when I was too scared to go alone. I wasn't very good at making friends back then, and to tell the truth, I'm still not good at it. I hate the thought of being the new kid.

"Hey Mae, can we go to the library tomorrow? I wanna get a look at the archives and find out about the fire," Ash murmured after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, we'll go."

I patted his knee from my position on the ground near the swing. I had made a promise long ago when I was in the psych ward that I would help Ash find out who he was when we were let out. I intend to keep that promise. My best friend deserved to know who he is, who his parents are. That's what I'd love more than anything to be able to give Ash. He deserved it for being there for me all these years.

We stayed that way until the moon was high in the sky and all that could be heard was the sound of the crickets playing their sweet songs. Soon enough I could hear my mother calling for me to come inside. I stood and brushed off my back side and lead the way back to the house. Ash wasn't far behind me. He never was.

Entering in through the kitchen door, I said my good nights to mom before heading towards the stairs to go to my room. When I finally made it, I plopped face down in my bed.

"Good night, Ash."

"Night, Mae."