Kristopher Reisz - The Drowned Forest

I kick the covers off and get up. The dresser drawer slips its track when I yank it open, almost hitting my foot. I spit angry words and grab some jean shorts from the mess, leaving the rest on the floor.

Dang it, we should be looking for your pa-paw by now! I set my alarm, but I must have slept through it. It’s the Tenex, Holly. I sleepwalk. Dad swears I’ve had whole conversations with him I don’t remember.

In the bathroom, I brush my teeth while stepping into my Yellow Box sandals, then wrangle my hair into a ponytail. Maybe it’s not about your ring. Maybe Mom called Bo because of the fight I had with her last night.

I head downstairs. I have to tell them how sorry I am. And remember to smile. Just smile, sprinkle them with a little sugar, and don’t argue about anything. As long as they let me leave with Tyler today, that’s the only important thing.

On the living room floor, Yuri plays with his Legos, building them up into a tilting tower. Bo sits on the couch, and Mom talks to him softly. Dad hovers nearby. It confuses me why he’s not at work, but then I remember it’s Labor Day.

When they see me, Mom goes quiet. Bo stands up grinning. “Hey there, Jane. Sorry about waking you up for all this.”

“It’s okay.” What does he mean by “all this”?

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty good.”

Bo sits down at the end of the couch now, so I can sit between him and Mom. Close up, he smells like Hugo Boss mixed with dust and cut grass.

“So … what’s up?” I ask.

“Well, Pastor Wesley wanted me to stop by.”

“Oh.”

“You and Tyler talked to him yesterday. And you said some things that … worried him.”

“Oh.” My lips are suddenly dry, sticking to my gums.

Dad asks, “Honey, what’s this about a ring? About Holly’s ring?”

“Some—” I lick my lips. I have to make them hear the truth. Please Lord, let them hear the truth. “Something happened at Rivercall, with that catfish. It had Holly’s promise ring in its mouth. She wrote HELP across it. She’s trapped in the forest at the bottom of the lake and … listen! Please, we have to help Holly!”

Mom squeezes my hand. “Honey, no. Holly had an accident. She’s at peace now. She’s not—Yuri, not now. Let us talk.” Yuri wants to show her his Lego tower. She turns him away, turns back to me. “Holly’s in Heaven with her mom and dad. She’s not trapped—”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.” If I could show them the ring, maybe they’d believe me, but Tyler has it. Stupid, stupid—why didn’t I keep it? “The catfish … hold on.” I get up to get my Bible, but Mom grabs my arm.

“Jane, please.”

“Listen, listen. In Matthew 17, the apostles find a coin inside a fish’s mouth, just like we found Holly’s ring. See? And in that same chapter, Jesus tells them they—”

Crow’s feet crinkle around her eyes. I’m making her old.

“Jane, I’m going to call Dr. Haq,” Dad says. “We’re going to get you some help, okay?”

“No! Listen! I’m trying to explain to you, but you won’t listen. I can’t talk to Dr. Haq. I have stuff to do.”

“What stuff?”

I hesitate. “Just stuff, okay? I just have to go, okay?”

“Jane, no. You’re not going anywhere,” Mom says.

“Mom, please, I … I’m sorry about the fight, but I can’t talk to Dr. Haq right now. Please. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no … ” She pulls me close, holds me against her heartbeat like a baby. “This isn’t punishment. I’m not mad about the fight. Nobody’s mad, nobody’s mad.”

I’ve put her through so much. I start to sob. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was an accident. I’m sorry—”

“Just help you move on. Just so I get my angel back—”

“Sorry I got mad. I love you, okay? I love you.”

“We should pray. Let’s pray.” Bo gently pries my fingers from Mom’s arm. “Hey, Yuri? Yuri, can you come here?”

Yuri’s fingers lie in mine, soft and slightly damp. Mom still has one arm around me. Her other hand clutches Dad’s hand, which grasps Bo’s. I’m sniffling. So is Mom. We shut our eyes and bow our heads to the darkness.

Bo leads us. “Dear Lord, we ask you to watch over Jane. And watch over all of us, Lord. We place ourselves in your care. Lord, give us the wisdom and courage to do what’s right, even when it’s hard. Help us find the path, Lord. Your path.”

Why won’t God help me this one tiny bit? I put my family through so much—I’m a terrible kid—but I have to put them through some more.

While Bo asks His blessing, I open my eyes. Whipping my hand free, I twist Yuri’s ear. He jerks back, but I hold on, twisting harder. He bellows and takes a swing. I dodge. Bo catches a meaty smack in the mouth. “We pray—ow!”

Mom goes to calm Yuri down. Wailing, cupping his hurt ear, Yuri punches her in the chest. Dad pulls Bo back, stumbling. Bo bit his tongue when Yuri hit him, and blood stains his teeth pink.

I take the stairs two at a time. Faye and Tim watch from the top.

“What happened?”

“Just stay here.”

My pulse beats against my temples so hard it hurts, but my thoughts run smooth. Ducking into my room, I grab my phone from the dresser. The twenty-dollar bill Mom gave me yesterday lies folded up underneath. I meant to give it back to her since Tyler and I never got any coffee. Grabbing it, I stuff it in my front pocket, just in case.

Back into the hall, back past Faye and Tim, back downstairs. Mom has the afghan around Yuri’s shoulders. He moans, rocking back and forth. Dad is apologizing to Bo, who’s holding a paper towel to his split lip. Nobody notices as I step out the kitchen door.

I cut through backyards and Mrs. Peterson’s flower garden. Colored-glass witch balls watch me pass. I shove, tug, and stomp through the windbreak of lilac and plum, then cut catty-corner across the cotton field on the other side. Each step breaks the dry crust of topsoil, my feet sinking into darker, moist earth. My calves brush through the rows of plants, making them whisper to one another as I pass.

Tyler answers his phone while eating something. “Hey, w’sup?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t—?”

“Bo hasn’t been by your house yet?”

“Nuh-uh.” He swallows. “What’s going on?”

“Bo came to my house. He told Mom about the ring, about everything.”

“Oh no.”

“But listen, I think I might know where Mr. Alton is. Sorta. But we have to go now . Come pick me up at the Texaco on Reservation Road.”

“Okay. I’m coming. I’m looking for my keys now.”

“Hurry. But be careful. But hurry. And bring the ring.”

I slip my phone into my purse. In the heat-shimmering distance, a tractor pulls a sprayer across the dusty cotton plants. Their leaves are withered brown, and their bolls are fixing to split open. Some already have, revealing the clean whiteness inside. The farmer watches me crossing his field without a wave or nod.

There’s a dull pain in my solar plexus. I force some deep breaths and let myself feel bad for hurting Yuri, for making him hurt Bo and Mom. I’m in trouble. I don’t even know what Mom and Dad will do now. But I promised I was coming, Holly. Me and Tyler will find your pa-paw and figure out what’s going on and how we can help you. We’re coming.

I plod along the field, then quick-step it across four lanes of hot asphalt to the gas station. If I’d known I was running away from home today, I wouldn’t have worn flip-flops.

“Okay. So you had a dream about Mr. Alton, and he was down somewhere by the river?”

“I don’t … I mean … ” The dream has fled. It seemed so vivid when I woke up, but now all I can remember is the impression it left, like following deer tracks in mud. “It was about the river, but I don’t think Mr. Alton was in it.”