He chuckles. We continue to sit around the fire, enjoying each other’s company. A gust of wind reaches us, and we both scoot closer together to brace the cold. But the wind brings with it a familiar scent, and we both pause.
“Is she here?” he asks.
I scan our area, and I see nothing. I don’t feel her either, which means one thing. I grab Julian’s wrist. “I think we’re close, Jules.”
He understands me and gathers himself to check our clothes. The Lady of the Night is in full swing, emitting its scent into the night air. Each breeze, thereafter, brings the smell of gardenia and citrus, eliciting renewed excitement in both of us. We can’t be too far from Alexa’s gravesite.
Julian chucks my clothes at me, and we get dressed. In five minutes, we’re ready to continue on our quest, until I remember that I no longer have my backpack. “So, I have no flashlight, cellphone or anything that could help us.”
“It’s ok,” he said, clapping me on my shoulder. “I have everything we need.”
“You do your Boy Scout troop proud,” I said, patting him on the back. “And I now have a renewed respect for waterproof backpacks.”
“Do I ever tell you how much I adore your bullshit?”
“Not nearly enough.”
He chuckles as he looks at his map, his headlamp illuminating the paper. After a few minutes of deliberating, he closes the map, punches something on his hiking GPS and hands me a flashlight. “You’re ready, Godzilla Breath?”
I nod. “Ready as I’ll ever be, Fartface.”
“Let’s do this.”
***
The second trek of our journey feels harder than the first. Not because it’s a strenuous hike, but that each step brings us closer to the reality of Alexa’s death and the fact that we’re suffering from fatigue from escaping two harrowing experiences, makes the journey more daunting. But we move forward, from one beaten path to the next, for although we know that this road is more taxing, our hearts want to honor Alexa and bring her home.
As we veer to the right, a warm breeze envelopes us. Julian and I pause for a minute to enjoy the air. The scent is stronger now, so we know this message belongs to our friend, as if she’s giving us that last encouragement. I close my eyes until Julian’s fingers interlace with mine.
“Are you ready for this, Jo?” he asks. “Open your eyes.”
I do as I’m told and open mine. My breath hitches at the undeniable familiarity of the image that stretches before me. We’re surrounded by gigantic Sequoia trees, and I know that if I look up, there will be a gaping hole in between the canopy of thick leaves that allows the moon to illuminate our path. My heart beats as I peer ahead. I know that a few feet from us will be that tree covered with white orchids that had become the ill-fated flowers to honor Alexa’s makeshift grave.
“I see it,” I hear Julian whisper. “Straight ahead.”
I don’t have to look, for I know it’s there. But I take a step forward. “Let’s go.”
We walk in silence as if we’ve stepped into hallowed ground. I wonder what Julian is thinking as this scenario is new to him, but I don’t ask because I already know. We are walking into a tragedy, and Julian is emotional. I grip his hand tighter, and he squeezes mine—a sign of support and solidarity.
Julian takes a quick inhale as he pauses. I look up and see the tree before us, covered in beautiful Brassavola Nodosa. A long unassuming patch of dirt covers the ground. An unsuspecting hiker wouldn’t think twice about it—except, Julian and I aren’t just any hiker. Although I’m seeing grass sprouting in certain areas, I can see that this patch is bare compared to the grassy bed that covers the rest of the forest.
The telltale signs of spirits communing among us appear on my body. Alexa, standing at the foot of the tree, is watching us. She looks the same. But there’s a change in her countenance. I see serenity. and an ache fills me as I wish I had gotten to know her when she was alive. The irony is that, in death, she had become a constant companion.
“So this is where you are?” I ask.
She nods.
“Well, you’re going home, my friend.”
Julian squeezes my hand, leaves my side and walks towards her grave. He stops at the foot and places his hands in his pockets. I hear him exhale.
Then he bows his head in silent prayer. My heart aches for him as this mound is a tangible evidence of his friend’s death. I walk over to him and place my hand on his quivering shoulder. Then I rub his back as he grieves for his friend.
“I’m sorry, Lexie,” I hear him say. “I wish I was a better friend for you.” He stops and breathes.
“You were, Jules. Especially, now. You’ve been amazing and if it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have found her.”
“You should be a good friend when they’re still alive.”
A warm breeze moves us, and I hear Julian gasp. I look up and Alexa is standing next to him. Julian is facing her. Then he sobs.
He’s bathed in light and then after one last farewell, she’s gone along with the light. Julian turns to me. “I-I-I saw her. How did that happen?”
“That was her gift to you.” I give his arm a squeeze. “You’ll be ok, Jules.”
He nods, still facing where Alexa had been. “Thanks for letting me work with you. This means a lot.”
“No, she wanted us to work together.” Then I nudge him in the ribs. “Our work here is done. It’s time to go home.”
Chapter 46
Julian
Lexie stands in front of me with her shiny black hair illuminated by the moon. She’s bathed in white light and shows up before me like a hologram. A memory flashes as I study her in awe. It was a moment I captured between her and Brandon when we were lounging in her bedroom. He was playing a song for her on his ukulele, and she was looking up at him with pure love and admiration. I felt jealous at the time as I had wished I had the same adoration from my girlfriend.
I can’t recall when my tears had fallen. But when the salty liquid reaches my lips, I return to this present moment, where I am crying over those stolen glances they will no longer share. And then she’s gone, and I’m left with nothing but the sounds of the rustling leaves and the howling wind.
***
I spend the last fifteen minutes in a daze with my head as foggy as a wintry Wakefield morning. We are back on the trail after rerouting our hike to avoid crossing the river. Jo takes the lead this time with her head lamp and my hiking GPS. I get the sense that she’s mindful of my sluggish, brain-dead state. In the past few hours, I aged ten years. I’ve gone from full-fledged panic after she plunged into the icy river to complete shell shock from seeing Alexa’s apparition.
" Are you ok, Jules?”
I give her a reassuring smile. “Yeah.”
But she remains worried, looking at me with those brown eyes and furrowed brows. I reach over and caress her cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
She nods and turns away, but she stops suddenly. “What the hell?”
I direct my gaze ahead of us where an old log cabin stands, rugged and bare bones. An unfortunate target of vandalism, beer bottles on the porch and dusty smashed windows characterize the dilapidated structure.
“What’s this doing here?” she asks.
“Some people build cabins in the middle of forests if they get a permit,” I respond. “But I’m sure this shack has stayed empty for years.”
“Oh man!” she exclaims.
I stare at her, wondering what had caught her attention.
“There’s a road right there, Jules!”
Her finger directs me to a narrow street a few feet from our spot. I place my hands behind my head in frustration. We trekked through treacherous paths when we could’ve driven straight here and saved us three hours of dangerous hiking.
“Shit.” I smack my hand on my forehead. “That was a stupid mistake. I’m fucking sorry, Jo.”
She looks at me with a blank stare. Then she bursts out laughing. I furrow my
brows at her, irritated at her for howling at my blunder. But her giggles got the better of me, and I join her. What an ironic ending to such a dramatic journey.
“We, literally, could’ve driven here, Jules,” she said wiping her eyes. “But, it’s not your fault. The guy from the Orchid Society wasn’t even aware of this road. Otherwise, he would have tipped you to drive the shortcut.”
I continue laughing. “Fuck. I’m embarrassed.”
She shakes her head. “You got us here. I wouldn’t have gotten this far.”
I smile at her loyalty. Never mind that she laughed at me first. Then her grin falters, and I pick up her change in mood. “What’s wrong?”
“Could this have been Alexa’s route?” she asks. “I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Think about it, her killer drove her all the way here. She fled and ran straight to the area where they killed her.”
I nod. Of course, it’s logical. It is the best explanation of how she ended up here at night. “Jo, could they have housed her in there before she escaped?”
She gulps. “Possibly, or the killer intended to keep her there until that person gets bored with her and murders her.”
The decrepit cabin and the dark, foreboding interior give me the chills. Was Lexie chained and locked up in that shithole? “Did she ever give you some kind of hint when she died?”
She shakes her head. “I blacked out between the time she escaped and when she ran from her killer.” Then her eyes light up as she faces me. “But I smelled her scent that following Wednesday after she disappeared.”
“She was first noted to be missing on Saturday noon. In your dream, you saw her leaving in the evening, so we can safely assume she left Friday night. So she died somewhere between Friday night and Wednesday,” I said. “God, I hope she didn’t spend anytime in there. I wouldn’t wish that on people I hate.”
Then I get an idea. “Hey, listen. Let’s go look inside. There might be clues to her killer.”
She bites her lip. “Let’s leave that to the police to investigate.”
“But we’re already here.” I make my way to the cabin. But her grip on my arm stops me from moving further. I turn to her, noting the fear in her eyes. “Jo, it’s going to be ok.”
She avoids my gaze and turns away from me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Before I fell into the water, I thought I saw someone watching from ashore,” she said. “That was how I got diverted and missed my footing.”
My heart stops. Well, this puts a sinister spin to things. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was kinda distracted, Jules, trying to survive and all.” She rolls her eyes while I chuckle. “I’m not exactly sure if it was a spirit or a live body. If it’s the second, they may be lurking. We should get going.”
A chill runs through my spine as a crazy thought enters my head. If Alexa’s killer is here, what if that person comes here to visit her grave? That whoever murdered her, cared for her in an obsessive, possessive way? Then it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for that individual to revisit her burial site to honor her. I glance at Jo who turns to me with wide eyes. I get the sense that she has made the same conclusion.
And we fought too hard to survive tonight to end up getting killed by a deranged human. “Ok, you got me. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
***
Jo stirs as she sleeps, her knees bent in a fetal position. After reaching our car, she knocked out within ten minutes of sitting, and she hasn’t woken up since then. Her chest rises and falls after each breath. The low hum she makes is meditation, and it calms me. I sneak glances at her as I drive back to Wakefield, noting her pink cheeks, her bee-stung lips and her long dark lashes that touch the soft skin underneath her eyes. When I do, I shift in my seat and return my gaze to the road.
An hour later, we arrive home, and I’m parking in front of her driveway. I don’t want to wake the perfect angel sleeping in my car. But it’s 3 am, so I reach for her and shake her arm. “Jo, wake up.”
She remains still at first. Then her eyes flutter until they open. She pushes herself up to sit straighter and scrunches her face until she realizes she’s staring at her house. She relaxes and leans against the seat, stretching her arms up and arching her back. My mind goes somewhere inappropriate—one that will scare her if she ever finds out about that fantasy. And I stare at the road and think of laundry and dirty socks.
She clears her throat. “Uh, I guess we’re home. So, I’ll see you around.”
I say nothing, and I grip the steering wheel. She sighs as her hand moves to the door handle, but something inside me stirs. I grab her arm. “Jo, wait.”
She stops and searches my face.
“Did you really mean it when you said we should go our separate ways after we’re done with Alexa?”
She exhales and avoids my gaze. Then, she lifts her head and sets her eyes on the street ahead. “Jules, my parents are coming home on Monday,” she mumbled. “Knowing her intentions to ruin you, I think it’s best that we don’t risk it.”
I lay my head on the headrest. This makes little sense. “I get how we shouldn’t interact with each other when we’re here. But at school? How would she know?”
She bites her lip and shakes her head. “You don’t know my mom…”
I lift her chin, so her eyes meet mine. “Jo, I just got you back. I don’t want to lose you again.” I stare straight into her chocolate brown eyes. “This doesn’t have to be romantic. But can we, at least, be friends?”
She gives me a resigned sigh. “Fine. But listen, be careful with this. Your carelessness can cause us our futures.”
“I got this. Don’t even worry about it.”
She shakes her head. I know she’s worried, but I have no intention of jeopardizing our friendship and our plans. She opens the door and steps outside my car. She doesn’t look back, but that’s ok. This was a harrowing night, and we’re both exhausted. Meanwhile, I grab my phone from my backpack. I dial the police department’s anonymous tip line and listen to the sound of ringing on the other end.
You’re coming home, Lexie.
Chapter 47
Josephine
I’m staring at the Golden Gate Bridge, and I imagine myself scaling the beams of this iconic tourist attraction. After a minute of gawking, I roll down my window, stick out my arm and let the San Francisco fog kiss my hand. The moisture dampens my skin, but I don’t mind. Surviving a near-death experience makes these moments precious. Alexa enters my thoughts, but my dreamless sleep is a favorable sign that our girl is finding her light.
“Honey, you’ll catch a cold. That freezing air can’t be good for you.” My aunt drives with her right hand on the steering wheel and her left elbow leaning against the window. As her fingers play with her hair, she’s a picture of pure calm and ease. She senses my gaze, turns to me and smiles. I sigh and lean back in my seat. The dread of being separated from her returns with a vengeance.
“How are you, honey? You seem exhausted.”
I am. Auntie Helen had a hard time waking me up this morning, so we started late. After I left Julian, I went straight to my room, plopped onto my bed and didn’t wake up until nine. We planned on leaving at seven.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you having fun?”
I nod. Despite my fatigue, spending the day with my Aunty had been outstanding. We’ve been exploring the city, eating at foodie restaurants, drinking coffee at the cute cafes and watching the seals at Pier 39. This was a perfect Sunday, and I don’t want it to end.
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