Rosa & Thief

The Ol' Homestead

A/N

{lots of poorly translated Spanish in this chapter courtesy of years of not using what I learned in school and google translate to fill in gaps.}

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Jesse stopped short, the spurs on his boots clinking with the movement, the dark sky grumbled with thunder as [Y/N] kept walking and soon passed him, when she realized he wasn't walking with her she looked back at him.

"What did you say?" Jesse asked, sticking a finger in his left ear and twisting.

"Thief." [Y/N] said louder and more clearly. "If only you knew the story behind that name." She laughed, and Jesse felt his heart beat hard with the sound. "But I won't bore you with that old story." She turned on her heel and stopped short. "Oh no!"

"Whats wrong?" Jesse asked, catching up to her, looking for a threat.

"The church!" she pointed to the distance where a church laid in ruins, sections of the wall crumbling down, the stain glass windows destroyed in several spots, the large wooden doors destroyed and pulled from their hinges to reveal the barren inside. "It's falling apart...I went there once to experience worship, it was beautiful." She walked closer to it, and Jesse followed a bit behind her, overseeing her as she approached the building. "Things really have changed over the years."

"Was this place near the one you wanted to visit?" Jesse asked, tilting his hat up to see the bell hanging lopsided in the tower above.

"Sorta, it was within walking distance of it," [Y/N] explained as she picked up a small rock that had once been part of the wall and turned it over in her hand's as she closed her eyes. "I remember leaving the house," she turned slightly and gripped the stone in her hands. "And walking for a while, when I saw the tower from a small hill." she opened her eyes and walked several feet to the left, looking behind the church to a hill in the distance. "I think that's it." She pointed and looked over her shoulder to Jesse who was also looking up the hill. "Do you know what's past there?"

"A couple run down places, an old hotel and my little shack," Jesse explained as he walked closer. "Other than that, it's just woods and brush, well besides the—"

"The field with the lone tree." She finished for him, eyes distant as her mind wandered back to another time. "Behind the hotel, there was a large field with nothing within eyesight but a large tree. I loved that tree." A smile crossed her lips as she took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Sorry to keep spacing out, I keep seeing ghosts from my time here, and they fascinate me."

"Ghosts?" Jesse said, sounding uncertain. "What do you mean ghosts?"

"Not actual spirits," [Y/N] laughed, sensing his unease, stepping over to the stone steps of the church and placing the rock on a dusty spot that was still intact. "Just memories so vivid I can see them." She stepped back from the steps and gestured to the door. "I remember the father of this church, he was a kind man, always had sweets for the kids who played around here." She kept stepping backward, "There was a little brown haired girl who always wore a bright green ribbon in her hair, she would sing in Spanish and dance around me when she saw me."

Jesse watched as she wrapped her arms around herself, her leather jacket rubbing together from the movement. She was looking up the hill again, a look of soft determination on her face as she rested her weight on her heels, one hip slightly dipped. Jesse took the cigar from his lips and crushed it under his boot, stomping out the small smoldering flame. Noticing his movement [Y/N] looked at him, and he turned his gaze upward to the sky, seeing the moon trying desperately to shine through the dark blanket of clouds above.