Mary's Bones

TWENTY-SEVEN

Grass swayed with the light breeze that brisk through the air. The trees barely stood on their own as they leaned to the side, spread throughout the field like the Earth's personal barrier. It was strange. Something about this—it felt oddly similar to the dream I had not too long ago.

"Eighteen . . . nineteen . . . twenty . . . ready or not, here I come!" I removed my hands from my face, eyes sweeping over the area. I couldn't remember how I got here or why I was here. Wherever here was.

"Hmm, where are you?" My voice was as quiet as my footsteps. I tip-toed forward, careful not to step on any of the branches in my path.

Alongside me, was a narrow stream that flowed in one direction down the middle of the field. It crossed over stones that buried themselves under the water. Flowers budded from the stems of the naked branches. It was like a calling for spring.

I tried my best not to make any more noise. Maybe I'd hear her if I controlled my own sounds. Too bad the bees and the birds were the only things that latched onto the soft whispers of nature. Their loud buzzing and soft chirps merged with the wind.

"Rosemary. . ." I whispered. When I heard a giggle, I paused and looked both ways.

The giggle sounded again and I was sure I was on the right track. A patch of brown hair bounced behind the trees ahead. I found you, was all I could think. Her hair hadn't changed a bit from the first time I laid eyes on her. And her giggles weren't fooling anyone. They were as precious as John's laugh. She was just like her daddy in every way.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," I said with a smile. "Shit! What the hell?" As I leaped over a large root in the soil, something caught onto my boots. I lifted my foot and yanked at the thin material. It was coated in black. And it felt smooth pressed between my fingertips.

"Where the heck did you come from?" I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth as I stared at the bow in my hands. When I looked closer at the ground, several deep, child-like footsteps set a path to a nearby tree. That had to be Rosemary.

I sucked in a breath and tightened the bow in my hands. I could feel my patience thinning as my fingers twitched and the bottom of my feet throbbed. The footsteps took me around the tree, where I expected to find Rosemary. But she wasn't what I saw at all. Rather, there was a party hat that sat upright on the ground with the words happy birthday written across it.

That wasn't what caught my attention though. It was the blue butterfly sitting still above the point of the hat.

My stomach quenched. I balled my hands into a fist and carefully circled around in my spot. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have been able to grasp the words that were traced into the dirt in front of the hat.

"You finally found me. . ." I whispered the words.

It felt as if the world had suddenly slowed its pace. The butterfly took its leave. A gust of wind brushed past me, knocking the party hat onto its side. It rolled slightly until it came to an abrupt stop on the word me. I inhaled a sharp intake of breath and took a step back. I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't alone. It was as if a pair eyes were watching me in the distance.

I glanced back over my shoulders twice. There was nothing that could have been feeding into the feeling. Another draft hit me from above.

Look up, my mind urged me. I didn't want to. But I did anyway. And when I did, a pair of feet dangled above my head. It took everything in me not to scream. I looked further up, squinting at the shadow sitting on the branch that hung over me.

Those were the eyes.

Only they were now looking at the stream. I watched her crook her little finger to point towards the stream. I didn't understand.