as he moved toward me. He picked up the rags. I stared at the bald spot on his head. He wiped my cheek gently, but I grabbed the rags away from him. He would not touch me again.
His eyes shrunk into tiny pits of blackness. "Get in the car."
I looked back at the empty space where my tree had been. It had been my only shelter on nights when my uncle visited my bedroom. I hid myself then under its bowed arms and leaves, terrified he would find me. Summer had been my savior from him when the leaves grew. And then one night he did find me.
I watched him get in the driver's side but I didn't move. I turned and ran. Back to that empty space. I scrambled over the rock wall and ran through the orchard.
"Hilary!" I heard a car door slam.
I felt like my heart would leap out of my chest to quiver and die right there upon the earth. My heart had nearly died in that house. It never blossomed again, but lay dormant and shriveled within me all these years.
"I hate you!" Ragged branches tugged at me. I stumbled then and fell. I was wet and cold but didn't get up. I suffered on the muddy earthen floor. I had suffered for so long.
Finally, I stood.
I didn't want to suffer anymore.
"Hilary."
I saw my uncle's head move closer. And then in my dark world I saw beauty. White crocuses poked their heads up in a joyful burst next to me. I picked them and held them to my face, breathing in their sweetness. I wet them with my tears and spread their softness on my cheeks. Next to them I saw wood and wire. An old farm fence. A reminder that we needed to be walled in. That there were places that had boundaries. I wished for a place like that now.
I grasped one of the rotted stakes from that fallen fence. I tugged at it. It was sharp at the top, like an arrow.
"Hilary! You can't run from me, dear."
I didn't answer.
"I know how you feel. Don't you think I miss my brother?"
Liar. He had me all to himself now. Like he had always wanted. I tugged harder and the stake loosened. My uncle crunched on dead branches and leaves. Barbed wire wrapped around the stake like the prickly necklace of a wrinkled woman seeking to be beautiful once again. It looked beautiful to me.
It came free and I slipped behind a tree. I saw him. His head bent, picking his way around muddy spots. He hated getting dirty. He hated me getting dirty. But he was the one who made me dirty.
I shrunk behind the tree and waited. Held that stake like a sword. The barbed wire cut into my hands. I held it tighter. I was ready to claim my heart again. My uncle's boots snapped on a twig. It echoed loud in the lonely woods. He was so close I could hear him breathing.
And it was then that I decided I would hide no more.
The Beginning
After They Left
Adrian
The silent dark hung under a star-filled sky. Adrian picked up his bag and scanned his crew across the field, counting quickly. Seventy-five. They understood their duty and accepted it. They were chosen by him in secret. None would return. There was nothing to go back to except death.
His son, Caleb, stood across from him, waiting as the others did. Their pale faces glowed like orbs within their gray hooded robes. It was too dark to see if his son's face held scorn or doubt. It was usually one or the other. Especially since he had deceived Caleb about this mission–and his own intentions.
The group waited for his instruction. "We head toward town."
Caleb opened his mouth as if to say something. His black hair, like his face, was a constant reminder of his mother. Adrian frowned and his son shut his mouth and nodded, stepping in behind him. Rain fell soft, cold and lifeless.
The dark deepened as they headed into the forest. Ancient conifers towered over them, blocking out the moon. Adrian allowed his senses to guide him. The nearest town of Benevolence was five miles northwest. He smiled to himself. It was the perfect town for a stolen new beginning.
He stopped after a while and opened his mind's eye for
His eyes shrunk into tiny pits of blackness. "Get in the car."
I looked back at the empty space where my tree had been. It had been my only shelter on nights when my uncle visited my bedroom. I hid myself then under its bowed arms and leaves, terrified he would find me. Summer had been my savior from him when the leaves grew. And then one night he did find me.
I watched him get in the driver's side but I didn't move. I turned and ran. Back to that empty space. I scrambled over the rock wall and ran through the orchard.
"Hilary!" I heard a car door slam.
I felt like my heart would leap out of my chest to quiver and die right there upon the earth. My heart had nearly died in that house. It never blossomed again, but lay dormant and shriveled within me all these years.
"I hate you!" Ragged branches tugged at me. I stumbled then and fell. I was wet and cold but didn't get up. I suffered on the muddy earthen floor. I had suffered for so long.
Finally, I stood.
I didn't want to suffer anymore.
"Hilary."
I saw my uncle's head move closer. And then in my dark world I saw beauty. White crocuses poked their heads up in a joyful burst next to me. I picked them and held them to my face, breathing in their sweetness. I wet them with my tears and spread their softness on my cheeks. Next to them I saw wood and wire. An old farm fence. A reminder that we needed to be walled in. That there were places that had boundaries. I wished for a place like that now.
I grasped one of the rotted stakes from that fallen fence. I tugged at it. It was sharp at the top, like an arrow.
"Hilary! You can't run from me, dear."
I didn't answer.
"I know how you feel. Don't you think I miss my brother?"
Liar. He had me all to himself now. Like he had always wanted. I tugged harder and the stake loosened. My uncle crunched on dead branches and leaves. Barbed wire wrapped around the stake like the prickly necklace of a wrinkled woman seeking to be beautiful once again. It looked beautiful to me.
It came free and I slipped behind a tree. I saw him. His head bent, picking his way around muddy spots. He hated getting dirty. He hated me getting dirty. But he was the one who made me dirty.
I shrunk behind the tree and waited. Held that stake like a sword. The barbed wire cut into my hands. I held it tighter. I was ready to claim my heart again. My uncle's boots snapped on a twig. It echoed loud in the lonely woods. He was so close I could hear him breathing.
And it was then that I decided I would hide no more.
The Beginning
After They Left
Adrian
The silent dark hung under a star-filled sky. Adrian picked up his bag and scanned his crew across the field, counting quickly. Seventy-five. They understood their duty and accepted it. They were chosen by him in secret. None would return. There was nothing to go back to except death.
His son, Caleb, stood across from him, waiting as the others did. Their pale faces glowed like orbs within their gray hooded robes. It was too dark to see if his son's face held scorn or doubt. It was usually one or the other. Especially since he had deceived Caleb about this mission–and his own intentions.
The group waited for his instruction. "We head toward town."
Caleb opened his mouth as if to say something. His black hair, like his face, was a constant reminder of his mother. Adrian frowned and his son shut his mouth and nodded, stepping in behind him. Rain fell soft, cold and lifeless.
The dark deepened as they headed into the forest. Ancient conifers towered over them, blocking out the moon. Adrian allowed his senses to guide him. The nearest town of Benevolence was five miles northwest. He smiled to himself. It was the perfect town for a stolen new beginning.
He stopped after a while and opened his mind's eye for
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