She looked up.
Up there, beneath a canopy of low, grey clouds, the wind plucked
scarlet leaves from the outermost twigs on the trees, and touseled her
hair as it descended to the ground with its catch. Up there, half obscured
by the muted roar of the trees, she heard the voice she hadn't heard for
nearly seven years. Deliberately, she drew a long, deep breath, and dropped
it in a sigh as her eyes dropped down again to the carved stone nestled in
faded grass and low cropped weeds near her feet. Seasons change and all
things die; this she knew, and the promise of new life in the spring has
hitherto never been broken. But that mattered little now. She could not
break the final tie she felt. That is why both she and the stone stood there.
Was memory so much more precious than the present moment? Perhaps it was
time to leave. The wind was getting colder and the the sun was now painting
the undersides of the clouds pale pink and purple from the only place it
could pierce them--the horizon.
She turned to descend the hill.
As she descended the hill the wind picked up speed, and by the time she
reached the foot of the hill it was practically pushing her across the old
field toward her car. With difficulty she opened the door of the old, blue
Ford, and clambered in as the wind slammed it shut behind her. It was time
to go home.
But the car would not start. She turned the ignition key again, but the
car remained motionless and silent, save for the gentle rocking and whistling
caused by the gale outside. She turned the key again.
"Dead battery?", she mused, and frowned. She would have to spend the night
there, then. It was twighlight, a storm was approaching, and it would take
at least five hours to reach the main road on foot. She shrugged, then climbed
into the backseat and unfolded a wool blanket she kept there for such occasions.
Eyes closed, she listened to the storm bluster without for hours. She was
about to fumble for her watch to check the time when there was a horrific
crack of thunder. Her whole body tautened and her eyes snapped open. Where
was the blanket? She scrambled to upright herself and nearly fell back into
the front seat, as the car had tilted so far forward it felt as if it were
balanced on its front wheels and fender. Nausea slapped her across the stomach.
The stench filling her nose was much too familiar. Another flash of lightening
revealed that the car was at rest on a very steep incline, the front end
crumpled against the trunk of a huge, old tree, and slumped against the steering
wheel was...
"Jeremy!", she cried.
She fell into the front seat and excitedly grabbed his right arm.
"Jeremy! We have to get out! The tank split and we have to get out! Can
you smell it?! Wake up! Wake up!!"
She shook him.
"Come on! We have to leave!"
She shook him harder.
"Come ON!" She jerked him away from the wheel. And the corpse stared back
at her with cold, glazed eyes.
She screamed.
And lightening struck the tree.
She woke up crying. Sweat trickling down her face, she kicked the
blanket away and sat up. Heavy rain continued to drum on the roof and stream
down the windows, while lightening continued to crack the black sky. That
dream had returned. For months it repeated itself, and then for the past few
months she had been free of it, but now it had returned. She would never
sleep in peace again. She was sure of it.
It surprised her, then, to open her eyes to a clear, pale blue sky.
Not so much as a whisp of cloud could be seen. The field was a sodden mass of
scarlet and orange leaves tangled in pale weeds, and a couple of small, broken
branches rested on the hood, but otherwise the field was unchanged. And
suddenly she noticed the air in the car was unbearably dead and musty.
So she climbed out and stretched, and felt as though a hundred bugs
were gnawing her away from the inside. More than anything she wanted eggs
for breakfast, but she knew it would be afternoon before she reached the
main road and even then the nearest place she could breakfast would be four
miles away. Every moment of delay would keep breakfast that much farther
away. So she turned to where the field melted into a beaten, dirt path and
walked.
She tried to not think of anything as she passed along the path through
the woods. She looked up to the sky and bare branches, but her mind slipped
back. She concentrated on the air's tang and a faint, persistent, murmuring
breeze. But her mind slipped back. She shifted her attention to the
fallen leaves, piled so deep on the path that the hem of her trenchcoat grazed
them. And she stopped short. Something was wrong. Straining to hear, she
looked around, but nothing seemed amiss. Cautiously she stepped forward, and
the leaves crackled beneath her foot. But had it not rained last night?
Had it not rained *hard*? Wide-eyed she
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