The Hybrid by Lauren Shelton

she spoke. “Fine. I
think she needed that.” She handed Ben the cup.
Tru’s grandfather took the cup from her hands and set
it on the counter without taking a sip. “Did she say anything?”
“She just said ‘thank you.’”
“To you? Or to him?” Ben grabbed the cup on the
counter and began walking over to the kitchen table.
“To me.”
Ben looked at the front page of the newspaper sitting
on the table, and then turned to look back at Maggie.
“You don’t think she remembers anything do you?”
Maggie sighed, and then turned back to the sink. “She
hardly talks to me anymore. I used to know her so well,
Ben. I don’t know anything about her, now. I feel like
she’s slowly slipping away from us.”
“She’ll open up again, Maggie. Just give it some time.
Gail hasn’t even called once since the girl has been here.
That has to be tough on her.” Ben looked at Maggie before
giving her a quick hug. “She loves you. Just like she always has. We just need to give her some time.”
“I know, Ben. I just wish I knew more.”
Maggie looked up at the clock hanging on the wall as
she released her husband. Lunch was still a few short
hours away, but she decided it wouldn’t hurt to start preparing everything early. And as she turned to open the
refrigerator door, she could hear the faint sound of another door opening and closing. She turned her head toward the doorway between the hall and the kitchen, and
caught a glance of the back of Gertrude’s black jacket as
she quietly moved to the sliding glass door in the family
room.
“You’re not going to stop her?” Ben asked, looking at
his wife.
“Not today. Like you said, she needs time. If the meadow is the only place she feels comfortable right now, then
I don’t want to be the one to take that away from her.”
Maggie knew where her granddaughter was headed, but
she did nothing to stop her this time. She knew she wasn’t
going far, and if she needed her, she could find her easily.
    As Tru walked closer and closer to the forest, she began to have second thoughts.
What will happen to me if the myth is true? What if
the
voices
I heard
are
dangerous
people?
Will
I be
tricked into the forest? Will the fairies even be brave
enough to face me during the day?
Tru stopped. The trees were just inches from her, but
she couldn’t make her feet move. Her mind wanted to
continue, but her feet and legs wouldn’t budge. It was like
they were cemented to the ground.
“Do not move.” A young man’s voice rang out, echoing
through the treetops above her.
Tru wanted to look around, to see where the voice had
come from, but she resisted the urge, fearful of what
would happen if she did move.
“Who’s there?” she
whispered,
wondering
if
her
grandma happened to be watching her standing there ⎯
still as a statue⎯ from the window.
“I bind your feet to the earth where you stand. I cannot
be seen now, only heard.” There was a rustling in the
trees near Tru’s left side. She slowly turned her head,
barely an inch, but enough so she could look toward the
direction of the sound.
“What’s your name?” she asked quietly, remaining perfectly still.
No answer.
    “Who are you?” Tru waited, continuing to look up into
the trees.
Another rustling sound came from above her head. It
sounded as though something was jumping from branch
to branch, but it moved much too quickly for her to see
any part of it. And then after a few seconds, everything
went quiet.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she replied to the silence.
Tru almost thought she was imagining things again.
Is the voice I’m hearing just the thoughts of my mind
wandering? Was the rustling in the trees just the wind
sweeping through the leaves and branches? Maybe, I am
daydreaming, hoping for something better.
Suddenly, Gertrude could feel her feet move beneath
her, jerking awake as if they wanted to take a step forward, causing her to momentarily lose her balance. She
was no longer bound to the muddy