Emerald Eyes

by Alicia Danielle Voss-Guillén

  This time was different, much different. Tucker’s lips and tongue were warm and gentle on mine, and his hands slid slowly up along my back until his fingers felt my ponytail and he began stroking my hair. I held him more tightly, and didn’t even care that people were undoubtedly stopping in their tracks to watch us kissing, smack in the middle of downtown Indian Falls!

  When at last we drew apart, I felt deliriously happy and rather dazed, and these emotions were mirrored in Tucker’s eyes. “Yeah,” he whispered to me. “I’d say you’re pretty dang sweet, Molly.”

  I leaned forward and kissed him again, this time on the tip of his nose. “I’m so happy!” I chirped candidly. “I didn’t think this would ever…be.” I gestured helplessly, but Tucker knew exactly what I meant.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Why not?” he asked. “Why didn’t you think so?”

  I shrugged then, feeling silly. “I guess,” I said slowly, “I guess I thought you’d think I was…too young; you know, a little kid.”

  Tucker laughed. “Crazy girl,” he said affectionately, and then he turned me around in his lap once more and kissed the top of my head. “Sure, sixteen’s younger than nineteen, but when it comes to a catch like you….” He trailed off and gave my ponytail a playful tug.

  “I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you say those words,” I told him, and he dipped his head down and kissed me all over again.

  Fireworks

  A while later, as Tucker and I were again meandering around downtown (this time holding hands!), a car suddenly skidded past us on the road, then stopped abruptly in a puff of dusty gravel. It was a sleek Corvette, the kind this one rich kid at my school owns, and when the driver’s window rolled down, none other than Nicky Goldberg poked his head out and waved at us!

  “Well, well, well!” he said dramatically, putting the car in park. “If it isn’t my two favorite lovebirds! How’s the date?”

  Tucker laughed, a little self-consciously, and replied, “You’ll have to ask Molly here.”

  I giggled and turned to Nicky. “I’d say it’s just about perfect,” I told him.

  Nicky laughed this time, turned off the engine, and climbed out of the Corvette, jingling his car keys in his hand. “I’m not even going to ask what that means,” he returned, the devilish flicker of a smile on his face, and I shoved him playfully and advised him to shut up.

  “So,” Tucker ventured then, changing the subject, “where have you been all evening?” He jerked his head toward Nicky’s car.

  “Oh, just doing this and that,” said Nicky cryptically.

  “That’s a really nice car you’ve got,” I remarked, and then, curiosity getting the better of me, per usual, I had to ask, “What’s ‘this and that’ supposed to mean?”

  Nicky beamed broadly. “It’s supposed to mean fireworks shopping, that’s what,” he replied. “I decided to get in the ‘Vette and take a little spin, being as you two abandoned me and I was getting bored all by myself,” he teased us. “And where did I end up? At the discount warehouse on Twenty-Seventh Street, that’s where! They were having this big blowout sale on fireworks. I couldn’t believe it! I mean, prices like that before the Fourth of July…” his voice trailed off as if in wonderment. “Anyway, I’ve got a lot of ammo—enough to spare, actually! You two kissyfaces up to following me back to my place and puttin’ some of it off, or do you want to keep the date romantic and continue to chill by yourselves? I’m used to being alone, you know.” He issued an enormous artificial sniffle, and Tucker and I laughed.

  “It’s up to you, Molly,” Tucker told me.

  “Well….” I hesitated. “It is getting kinda late. Maybe we should start heading up that way. Besides, I’d like to watch a few fireworks; I’ve never really seen them up close and in person.” To tell the truth, I actually would have preferred to continue “chilling” alone with Tucker, but I could tell by his expression that he was intrigued and excited by the idea of fireworks, and I didn’t want to disappoint him.

  “All right, then,” said Tucker. “We’ll head back to my car right now and meet you in a few, Nick.”

  By the time we’d arrived at the Goldbergs’ summer house (every bit as grand and impressive as the Andersons’, but still less pretentious than Chet’s), the sky above was a draping black canopy, speckled here and there with silver pinpricks of light that were stars.

  Nicky’s car was parked beside the four-car garage on an elegant ribbon of brick driveway, and he was standing beside it, unloading his purchases, as Tucker and I got out of the BMW.

  “Luckily,” said Nicky, upon our approach, “my parents aren’t home tonight and my brother’s out with his buddies. That means no one’s around to complain about too much noise, or to take over the ammo that is rightfully mine.” He regarded his armload of boxes and bags with an expression of near-reverence that made me giggle.

  Tucker bent to pick up the remaining bundles on the ground, and together the three of us headed across the side yard, through a gate, and around to the back of the Goldbergs’ lakeside mansion, where Secret Lake shimmered almost menacingly in the descended darkness. I shivered in spite of myself, and clutched my bolero tightly against me.

  “You wanna help me set these babies off, Tuck?” Nicky asked, oblivious. “I figured we’d take ‘em out on the dock like we usually do and put on a show for Molly, a waterfront spectacular!”

  I glanced nervously out at the lake, and Tucker followed my gaze, guessing what was running through my mind. He set down the fireworks he’d been carrying and put an arm around my shoulder. “It’s all right, Molly,” he said. “As long as you stay on the beach…” He didn’t finish, but it didn’t matter. I knew all too well what he meant: “As long as you stay on the beach, you’ll be safe from Vanessa.”

  The thought of Vanessa sent hard, cold chills down my spine, and I leaned in close to Tucker and tried to compose myself. “I’m okay,” I said unsteadily. Then I followed the guys past the Goldbergs’ pool area, down to the sandy beach. The Goldbergs’ stretch of beach, unlike Chet’s, was comfortably cluttered, suggesting much use. What with outdoor furniture scattered here and there, empty cans of beer and pop pressed down into the wet sand and forgotten, and a discarded pair of rumpled and faded blue jeans that I didn’t even want to ask about, the place possessed somewhat of a homey warmth. It struck me with a momentary pang of homesickness, of longing for Pinewood and our condo and family and friends.

  Nicky saw me staring at the blue jeans and laughed. “My family goes skinny-dipping at midnight,” he said, and I was almost sure he was kidding me—but not quite. With Nicky, you never can tell!

  He picked up a toppled beach chair, a heavy-duty wooden slatted one, and positioned it facing the dock so that I would have a good view of the fireworks show the guys planned to put on. “Don’t worry, Molly,” Nicky said kindly as I settled down into it. “It’s not like we’re not taking you into the lake or anything. You’re perfectly safe here, so just enjoy yourself, okay?”

  I nodded, but still my heart thudded and my throat felt parched. I clutched my purse in my lap and sat tensely, trying in vain to push my fears aside. I watched as Nicky hurried down the dock with the first firework, an enormous black mortar, positioned it carefully at the end, and lit a punk with a cigarette lighter. Holding the punk to the firework’s fuse, Nicky waited until the fuse was lit, then turned and bolted back to the sandy shore, where Tucker waited eagerly. The guys hollered wildly and jumped in unison, high-fiving each other as they landed in a cloud of sand.

  “Get a load of this, Molly!” Nicky yelped excitedly.

  “There she goes!” Tucker added, as a tiny stream of screaming light rocketed skyward, crackled and popped noisily, then finally exploded into a raining shower of copper and silver and gold, ever widening until at last it dissipated and dropped away into nothingness.

  “That was beautiful!” I called, clutching the armrests of my chair. Maybe the guys were right, after all. There was no need to worry about
Vanessa Hollingsworth from where I sat. I should just sit back and enjoy myself, as Nicky had encouraged me to do. Feeling better, I eagerly awaited the next firework, which Tucker set off.

  Just as it was shrieking and screaming into the sky, however, I saw the little boy. Oblivious to the brilliant burst of rainbow colors shimmering through the dark of the night, I stood and ran like mad to the water’s edge.

  Deceived

  Immediately, Tucker sprinted after me, reaching out to grab my arm. “Molly!” he cried. “Where are you going?”

  I pointed far out over the water. “The little boy!” I shrieked. “See the little boy out there?” My voice was high-pitched, urgent, and my whole body trembled violently. There he was, right before my eyes, a towhead not much older than five or six, crying out and thrashing vainly against the claiming dark depths of Secret Lake. I didn’t know who he was or where he had come from, but one thing was clear in my mind: he was drowning and I needed to save him!

  Kicking off my pumps and tossing aside my purse, I took a flying leap and catapulted myself into the deep, cool water. It was time to put aside my own fears and do what I had to do.

  “Molly!” Tucker screamed, and then I heard Nicky’s echoing shout, “Molly!”

  I paid them no mind, pressing rapidly onward through the water toward the boy. I was, of course, drenched from head to foot, and my sundress and bolero were sodden and heavy, holding me back like brick weights, the dress twisting about my ankles and the jacket sliding backward off my shoulders.

  Still the little boy screamed and shouted and sobbed; in the bright moonlight, I could now see tears dashing down his cheeks, dropping off his face and merging with the lake. They were anguished sounds he uttered, and breathless, as though he were very nearly spent and knew that he could not hold out much longer.

  “I’m coming!” I called to him, my own voice panicked and breathless.

  “Molly, no!” Tucker shrieked from behind me, and then I heard a splash and knew that he had jumped into the lake after me. “Stop, Molly, don’t!”

  “She’s going to get you, Molly! Take you and drown you!” Nicky was protesting now. Another splash, and he too had landed in the deep, dark water. “Drown you, Molly! Don’t you understand?”

  Continuing to ignore both of them, I swam on with all my might, passing the end of the Goldbergs’ dock, from which I kicked off and acquired a welcome burst of speed that propelled me closer to the drowning child. Though thoughts were spiraling madly through my head, I did possess the clarity of mind to feel frustrated and angry with Tucker and Nicky. Of course I understood that I was in danger, grave danger very probably, and that I was running the risk of being caught, even killed, by the ghost of Vanessa Hollingsworth. It was not a pleasant thing to consider. But this little boy was in danger of dying, as well! And right now, nothing mattered to me more than doing my best to rescue him, to give him the chance to live. He was somebody’s beloved little kid; how could they go possibly go on without him? Why didn’t Tucker and Nicky seem to care?

  I was there at last, within arm’s length of the struggling, panting little boy, whose once restless arms had now fallen hopeless and limp beneath the surface of the water. And yet breath remained in him, and he lifted his face ever so slightly at the sight of me. Lake water bubbled out over his rosy lips, and his eyes, fringed by thick dark eyelashes, both pleaded with me and filled with great relief because he knew that I would save him.

  “Molly!” Tucker screamed, even more urgently this time, and as his voice drew nearer I could tell that he was gaining on me. “Come back, Molly! Now!”

  “Now!” Nicky repeated, also drawing closer to me. “Before it’s too late!”

  What in the world were they talking about? I pretended not to hear them and reached for the drowning boy, adrenaline coursing through my veins, blood roaring in my ears. “I’ve got you!” I told him, panting and gasping. My arms cinched tight about his waist and I dragged him upward, out of the clutches of the water. “Hold on to my neck,” I instructed, “and I’ll piggy-back you over to shore!”

  It was then that the little boy lifted his head even further, and I saw, for the first time, by the light of the moon on the water, the color of his eyes. They were great and clear and green, exactly like mine, exactly like…emeralds!

  Slowly, strangely, the little boy smiled, and then he tossed back his head and laughed. His hair was no longer bowl-cut and tow, but long and black and wavy. His childish laughter dissolved into a throaty, sophisticated snarl, and he himself was no longer a little boy of five or six, but a ghostly pale girl of about sixteen! Vanessa! The realization nearly stopped my heart. A great fear consumed me, and I gasped, my eyes round and wild. She’d gotten me! She’d lured me by assuming the likeness of a flailing little boy in need of rescue, and now she had me!

  “You’ll piggy-back me, you say?” she repeated, and laughed again, her long, low sneer, and grabbed at me, pressing me slowly downward toward the surface of the water. Her hands no longer possessed the human warmth of a live little boy, but were icy and chill like death, just exactly as I remembered.

  Life and Death

  “I sure fooled you, didn’t I, Molly Hanover?” she went on. “I tell you, I know your type! You bubbly little happy-go-luckies are all alike: caring and helpful, always ready and willing to lend a hand, wouldn’t ever dream of leaving a poor helpless child to drown by himself in a deep, dark lake! Well, I hope you’re pleased with yourself, because no good deed goes unpunished!” She tossed her head again, in horrible, high-pitched hysterics. I screamed and kicked and flailed against her, but her icy grip was stronger than steel, and I couldn’t get free, I couldn’t!

  I sobbed and struggled. “Help me!” I screamed. “Help me!”

  “Molly! Molly!” Tucker and Nicky were close now, very close, I could tell, and now I understood them. They hadn’t seen a little boy at all, only Vanessa, waiting, luring me…and she had me at last.

  I fell back limply in the water. The seconds passed like hours. Oddly, I could feel Vanessa’s hands suddenly growing warmer against my skin as she pushed me beneath the surface of the lake, and I felt drowsy and weaker than I’ve ever been, as though all the strength were ebbing out of me. I sensed then that Nicky and Tucker wouldn’t make it in time. They wouldn’t save me; they wouldn’t be able to.

  But as my strength ebbed, so did my fear. This was it; this was death, yet it was warm and murky and dream-like, not at all painful, but rather comfortable. Through my fluttering eyelids and my underwater surroundings, I could make out Vanessa’s wavering form. She was no longer so pale, so sallow and milky and death-like; instead, her complexion glowed almost peaches and cream, as though she were alive, and her hands on my skin were warmer still.

  I closed my emerald eyes for the last time, and as I thought it, I felt a pain shoot through my heart. The last time. This was my final farewell to all I knew and loved. My friends…my family…Tucker…Mom….I started crying, garbled and muffled and incoherent. “I want Mommy!” I screamed, but my voice carried nowhere. “I want Mommy!” I begged and pleaded like a frightened little girl, as I had done when I was small, when I was sick or sad or lost in the supermarket. “I want Mommy!” And my head lolled back as I slipped off into darkness.

  The Whole Story

  “Molly? Molly? Molly?” Someone was saying my name, over and over again. “Molly, sweetie, wake up, baby. You’re all right!”

  I fluttered my eyelids, finding myself in a bright white room, clean and impersonal, lit by fluorescents and reeking of too-strong antiseptic. I was lying in a narrow bed, covered with white sheets and a lightweight blue blanket, the kind they stack in the closets at mediocre motels. Two silver guardrails banked the bed, and at one side was some strange contraption for raising and lowering the head and foot rests.

  I was dressed in a long, paper-thin smock-like thing that tied at the back, my head was propped on a rather hard, flat pillow, and I realized with a jolt that I was alive and in a h
ospital somewhere, rather than lying dead at the bottom of Secret Lake! Mom was at my side, holding my hand, and as I looked at her through sleep-bleary vision, her eyes filled with tears, and she lifted my hand to her face and kissed it.

  “Oh, Molly!” she whispered. “Thank God you’re all right!”

  I clutched her fingers tightly. “Mom….” I trailed, still groggy. “Mommy. I thought I would never see you again.”

  “Oh, my baby!” said Mom, and she brushed a tear from her cheek. “You’re okay now, honey. Everything’s going to be all right.” That was what Tucker had told me, what I had told Mom. I suspected now that we had both been correct. But there were so many questions.

  “What happened?” I asked, my voice sounding tired and weirdly husky. “She had me, Mom—Vanessa did, and I was weak, so weak, and she was drowning me. Tucker and Nicky weren’t going to make it in time; I was dying, Mom. What happened?” Something wet and warm and salty slipped down my face and trickled over my mouth; I realized with surprise that I was crying.

  Gently, Mom rubbed her hand across my cheek, wiping away the tears. “Tucker and Nicky did save you in time, Molly, and not a moment too soon! I don’t know how they did it—you’ll have to talk to them—but they managed to wrestle you away from that horrible…creature, and they got you back to the dock and called 911. You were unconscious and unresponsive; you weren’t breathing, and they could barely get a pulse!”

  Mom’s voice was coming fast and trembly now, choked with emotion, and her eyes refilled with a fresh set of tears. “The boys gave you a bit of CPR, got you breathing shallowly, and by the time the paramedics came and took over, Chet and I had just arrived at the Goldbergs’—Nicky’d called us—and by then your breathing was pretty normal. You were still unconscious, and the paramedics wanted to get you to the emergency room for a quick examination. It’s all over now, Molly darling; you’re perfectly fine, and they say they’ll release you in the morning, once you’re rested. It’s past midnight right now….” Her voice trailed, and her face clouded with fatigue.