Until the Sun Falls

Chapter 2

Jackie

After the crow vanished I stood frozen to the spot while my brain tried to rationalize what I'd just witnessed. I tried to think back to the last time I saw a crow. It wasn't long ago but crows mostly kept to the trees, and I couldn't remember if I'd ever seen any with red eyes. I suddenly wish that I had tried to follow it to get a better look, but I had been too surprised to move. Deciding to keep an eye out for it as I walk, I resume my pace.

The rain is coming down almost mist-like by the time I see the initial cluster of houses a short distance ahead. The residences stood clumped together in varying states of upkeep or decay. In Port Liberty, a nice home could be flanked on either side by structures on the verge of condemnation. Even the worst were occupied by someone, except for one house on the north side. It was the third of three houses on our road, and glimpses of it could be seen through the trees from my mother's garden if you knew what to look for. It stood tall and forgotten, hollow bones of what I'm sure was once a beautiful place. It was for sale to anyone who was interested, but no one ever was. Many people thought that the house was left abandoned because it was so far out of town, and so deep in the woods. It was more logical an explanation to me than the reasons other townsfolk offered up, like legends and ghosts. Though after this morning I am beginning to wonder if the less logical ideas make more sense than the contrary.

I decide to take the main road to get to school so I can walk by the restaurant where Eilene works. It will make her happy to see that I am wearing the dress she picked. By the time I make it to Sandy's Parlor the rain is coming down full force, and I have to put up my umbrella to keep from getting soaked. Three elderly men sitting outside the restaurant begin to curse as the heavy drops assault their balding heads. They abandon their white chairs placed around a white iron table, taking with them their coffees and a newspaper they seemed to be mulling over together. As they scurry inside I hear them grumbling about an unreliable weatherman. My family never watches the weather for that very same reason. The meteorologists never seem to get it right around here.

I stop in front and look through the glass, trying to see my sister. I watch as the old men walk in, their arms curved at their sides as if they were drenched instead of damp. I can't tell what is being said, but I finally see Eilene come out from the back with her hands full of napkins. She has a friendly smile on her face as always, and she helps the men dab themselves dry. I catch her eye with a big wave of my hand, and her face lights up even more. She glances from my face to the dress and back up again before giving me a thumbs up. I grin at her and wave as she turns back to the ruffled men.

I continue walking down the main road that leads both in and out of Port Liberty, passing another diner and a cluster of houses. I look all around for the crow, but I only see gray stillness. I must have spooked it as badly as it spooked me. 

Once I arrive at the metal bridge that's only a few houses down from my school, I stop a moment to watch the water rush by beneath me. The Blackfoot river, located just north-east of town, flowed westward out of town. I follow the river with my eyes until it fades into the woods south of where I am standing. Looking from the road no one would know there was a mill hiding in those trees, abandoned long ago.

The bright district sign greets me as I approach my school, making me shield my eyes in the darkness. The high school is closest to the road with the middle school and elementary structures behind it. All three buildings were made of brick, and each looked very similar in size. The only way to differentiate between them were the brick letters built into the exterior walls above the front doors, painted white to stand out against the red, declaring the building's purpose. I jog up to the entrance of the one claiming to be Liberty High School, with a banner underneath it that read, Home of the Grizzly Bears. I close my umbrella before stepping inside.