The Forgotten Girl

by India Hill Brown

  She took another step, until she was right in front of Avery.

  “Do you remember me?”

  Avery looked at Suga, unmoving. Iris was nervous. She hoped this worked. She hoped Avery wouldn’t try to hurt Suga.

  “I remember light …” Avery whispered. “And snowball fights … ice cream shops … Popsicles on the front porch …”

  “Yes,” Suga said. “What else?”

  “Parents who loved me … swimming in the pond … nice boys who bagged our groceries …”

  “One turned out to be my husband and Daniel’s grandfather,” Suga said, a smile on her lips. “Go on.”

  “Learning in school despite the odds … my best friend … Oh, Emma!” Avery’s voice trembled. “Is it really you?”

  “Yes. It’s me!” A tiny laugh escaped Suga’s mouth. “It’s me. Daniel is my grandson, and Iris is his best friend.”

  She turned back to Suga, suddenly taking in the age difference between them.

  “Who did you marry?”

  “I married Lamar Stone. Fifty of the best years of my life.”

  “Lamar Stone? No wonder he always stuck something sweet in your grocery bag!” Daniel’s granddad was the same age as Suga but used to help out in the grocery store with his father on weekends.

  The two of them chuckled. Iris just stared at them. Vashti clung to Iris, squeezing her legs tighter.

  Daniel was frowning.

  The laughter hung in the air, Suga’s smile fading.

  “She almost drowned Iris.” Daniel spoke up, and everyone looked at him.

  “Yeah,” Iris added, anger welling up inside her. “And left me in the clearing, trying to make me die in a snowstorm like she did, and kidnapped Vashti.”

  “Avery?” Suga asked, looking uncomfortable again, shaking her head.

  “I wanted to get justice. Vashti was more than willing to play and be my friend … and I knew that if Iris or Vashti was missing … it would lead people back to me and my grave.”

  Suga shook her head. “That’s not you.”

  “Avery didn’t care if anyone died so she could be recognized!” Daniel said. “She tried to kill them herself! That’s a terrible thing to do!”

  “Danny’s right, Avery,” Suga said solemnly. “The children are already working hard to make your grave known.”

  Daniel just crossed his arms.

  Avery looked at Suga.

  “Emma?” Avery said quietly. “I am sorry for our argument. I don’t even remember what we were arguing about. But I died trying to tell you, and I wanted to finally tell you that I truly apologize.”

  “You’re sorry? I’m sorry! I blamed myself!” Suga said, tears falling down her cheeks. “It was all my fault that you died. We should’ve never argued. Your parents hated me after that!” She wiped her eyes. “I forgive you, Avery, but it’s not only me you have to apologize to. You’ve had these children worried sick about each other and Vashti. What you’re doing is disgraceful.”

  Avery turned and glided toward Iris. Iris backed away, still not entirely convinced.

  “Iris Rose, I’m sorry for everything. I understand that I shouldn’t have played with Vashti … although we did have fun playing with dolls, did we not?” she added, and Vashti giggled. “Emma Mae is right, I have grown cold.”

  Iris sighed a long heavy sigh, releasing the anger she felt toward Avery. Trying to understand that though her tactics were reckless, and she was lost in her anger, guilt, and bitterness for being forgotten, she was trying to find her way out. “I forgive you, too, Avery.”

  Avery turned to Daniel. “Daniel, I—”

  “NO!”

  Everyone jumped as Daniel’s voice rang through the clearing.

  “You almost killed my best friend! And her little sister! Do you understand?” Daniel exclaimed. “I lost my dad. I didn’t want to lose anybody else. I understand you wanting to be remembered. But you put us all in danger. If we weren’t quick enough, we could’ve lost them both tonight.”

  “Daniel, you have a right to be angry,” Avery said.

  Daniel closed his eyes and breathed in and out.

  “I do apologize, Daniel,” Avery said. “You don’t have to forgive me.”

  The clearing was silent for a while as they looked at one another, at Daniel.

  Iris had never known Daniel to hold a grudge for too long, but …

  “I’m not over it.” He looked at Avery. “I was also a little … jealous.”

  “Jealous?” Avery, Iris, and Suga asked in unison.

  “Of what?” asked Iris.

  “I dunno. I guess … well, Avery came back to talk to Iris, but why can’t my dad come back to talk to me? Except for—” He stopped, probably thinking about the bouncing ball of light that led them back to safety. Or his dreams.

  “Danny, you know we don’t call on the dead.” Suga looked at Daniel pointedly, then at Avery. “Well, after this we won’t. Cecil is at peace. Avery is a spirit not at rest.”

  “At peace,” Daniel said thoughtfully.

  “I want that for you, Avery,” Suga said as she looked at the ghost. “It’s been too long! We’ve apologized to each other. Go. Please. Rest. We’ll have your love. And you’ll have ours.”

  “And … you have my forgiveness,” Daniel said.

  Everyone looked at him.

  Daniel peered at all of them and adjusted his glasses. “There’s no point of being mad anymore if Avery’s leaving us alone. Suga seems to trust her … and everyone’s safe.”

  Avery beamed. It seemed as if light was coming out of her, instead of darkness.

  Avery turned to Suga again. “So … they call you Suga? That’s lovely.”

  “Everybody does,” said Suga. “When my son was a baby, I would always call him Sugar and he’d always say it back to me. It just stuck.”

  Avery looked back and forth between Daniel and Suga. “I know you miss him.”

  They both nodded.

  “I think about him every day,” Suga said.

  “So do I,” said Daniel.

  “Think about him being at peace,” Avery said.

  Everyone nodded and stood in silence again. Vashti was getting fidgety.

  “Emma Mae, you’ll always be my best friend,” said Avery. “I can feel your love.” She gave Suga a slow smile. “I have what I need.”

  If Iris wasn’t mistaken, she could see the gray tint leaving Avery’s skin, the dark cast leaving her eyes.

  “Goodbye,” Suga said, smiling through her tears.

  “So long,” Avery said, and with a gust of wind and a twinkle of light, she vanished.

  For a long moment, the four of them stood there, looking down, up, around, saying nothing. The heavy snow let up, and the wind had stopped blowing. The clouds opened up, and Iris could see the stars twinkling high above in the cold night sky. The little clearing was lit with the light of a glowing moon.

  “This is my first time feeling snow on my skin in years,” Suga said, holding her hand out and touching the snow.

  “Well, we might as well go all out, right?” Iris said. She scooped up a big handful of snow and started making a snowball.

  “Yeah!” Vashti said, following suit.

  “Suga?” Daniel held out snow in his hand to give to Suga. She took it.

  “Oh, why not?” she said, shaping the snowball …

  And throwing it at Daniel.

  As the four of them ran into the street, throwing snowballs at one another, Avery’s grave twinkled, ever so slightly.

  “Are you nervous?” Daniel asked.

  Today was the day they presented their project. The project they’d worked so hard for, literally risked their lives for, was finally about to come to life.

  It was the last full day before winter break, and since the project was kind of a big deal, Mr. Hammond said they could invite their family members. So, sitting in class, along with everyone else’s parents, were Mama, Daddy, and Vashti, Mrs. Stone and Suga.

  Las
t week, when Suga came into Iris’s house after they talked to Avery, covered in snow … the Roses and the Stones didn’t know what to think. But they were happy. And Suga vowed to come watch Iris and Daniel present their project.

  “Not really,” Iris answered Daniel. “I’m more ready to get this story out … and get this over with.”

  “Same here,” Daniel said, nodding. “Let’s do it.”

  Iris sniffled, glad that she was getting over the lingering cold she’d gotten from way too much cold water and air. She plugged in her flash drive and pulled up the file, showing the title slide of the project:

  The class murmured, oohed, and aahed when they read it. Heather had just presented her project on the Confederate soldiers of Easaw and passed the sword, her family’s heirloom, around the class.

  They each took out the index cards they were reading off of, to prevent them from having to look back at the slides so much.

  “Today, we are talking about the segregated graveyards in Easaw,” Iris started. “Although segregated cemeteries were already around before this, the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 made it legal to bury people separately according to race. This became North Carolina law in 1947, as legislation enacted ‘Use of cemeteries for burial of dead, according to race.’ This happened, particularly in the South, until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 took effect. Even in Easaw.”

  “Because of this,” Daniel continued, “when the original caretakers of these cemeteries fled North, a lot of these cemeteries were forgotten about and disturbed as people built buildings and highways on top of them. Here in Easaw, there is one in particular that Iris and I found while doing our research. And it was very literally right in our backyard.”

  Iris picked up. “Right down the street, there was an abandoned cemetery, blocks away from Sampson’s Perpetual Care, which was originally for Whites only. Although Sampson’s Perpetual Care has been desegregated for decades, the unnamed Black cemetery down the street was left to be forgotten about.”

  “My father is buried in Sampson’s Perpetual Care,” said Daniel, a little quietly. Then, clearing his throat, speaking louder, “Had he been born and died a few decades earlier, he wouldn’t have been allowed to.”

  Iris clicked to the next slide, showing a black-and-white picture of nine students.

  “These children are the Nelson Nine, or the first Black students to attend Nelson’s Pond Middle in 1955,” said Daniel. He slowly named them, one by one. “Before them, this school that all of us attend right now was for White students only. The desegregation of this school was not well received by many, and because of this, there isn’t much mention of the Nelson Nine anywhere. If you noticed, they aren’t even on the Hall of Fame wall. On the internet, there is nothing that Iris and I found. This picture is from a book in our library.”

  “Avery Moore is the fourth girl in the first row,” Iris said, the name bringing back so many memories. “Although she made history by desegregating this school, she died tragically in a snowstorm when she was eleven years old. Almost our age! She was buried in the unnamed cemetery down the street. Her grave was eventually lost to the woods.”

  Some of the classmates gasped.

  “We have talked to someone who was very close to Avery, and we learned that she was not the type of girl who’d want to be forgotten, especially after what she’d accomplished,” Daniel said. “Namely, that person is my grandmother Emma Mae Stone, who’s here today.”

  The class turned around in their seats to look at Suga, who merely smiled and nodded her head.

  “Daniel and I are very passionate about cleaning up this cemetery and honoring those who were laid to rest there. And because of this, we have submitted the idea of a cemetery cleanup to the Cleanup Club to start an ongoing project of restoring the cemetery,” Iris said, grinning. “The information meeting will be today, after school is out. We have flyers about the club and what we want to accomplish, so pass it along to your friends.”

  Iris and Daniel walked around the class, passing out the flyers to students and parents.

  “We know that this isn’t the only abandoned and segregated cemetery in Easaw,” Daniel said, “but we hope that it starts a change—restoring these cemeteries and bringing them to your knowledge. We hope that our project serves as a way to never forget those who have paved the way before us, and encourages everyone to always strive to make a difference.”

  The class applauded, as did Mr. Hammond. Iris and Daniel walked to where their families were sitting and sat down.

  “How did we do?” Iris asked her parents as Vashti jumped in her lap to give her a hug and kiss.

  “Amazing,” Mrs. Rose said. “Iris, I am so proud of you.”

  “My girl,” Mr. Rose said, kissing her on the cheek. “You did so well. Y’all were the best,” he added in a whisper, and Iris giggled.

  “Daniel, your father would’ve been so proud,” Mrs. Stone said. Daniel blushed, fidgeting with his glasses.

  “I just want to say thank you both. For everything,” Suga said. She winked. Only the kids really knew what she meant.

  “All in favor?”

  Everyone raised their hands, except Heather.

  “It’s settled. Our first cleanup at the cemetery will be this Saturday for the kids who are still in town during winter break. Then we’ll go every Saturday afternoon at four p.m. until it’s completed. The information and update meetings will start on a new day and time next semester, ensuring that it doesn’t conflict with any other after-school activities. There will be more to come during the morning announcements.”

  Iris and Daniel looked at each other and beamed. Not only did their project get picked up, the meetings were no longer happening during step practice.

  It was after school, and the Cleanup Club meeting had just wrapped up. A few kids showed up to join the club, including the entire step team. Even Daniel’s friends Jamal and Derek came, and Daniel was in the corner of the classroom with them, talking and catching up.

  “I hope you’re pleased with yourself,” Iris heard someone grumbling in her ear. She turned around to find Heather, sneering at her.

  “As a matter of fact, I am,” Iris said, raising her eyebrows. “How could you possibly be unhappy about this? A grave getting restored? Someone who did something amazing for the school getting recognized?”

  “My father says this must be political. Is your father running for mayor or something?”

  “Huh? I—no?”

  “Chelsea probably felt pressured to vote for your project because everyone else did. Y’all just come bombard your way into this club—”

  “Isn’t the club for anyone who wants to join, at any time?” Iris said, not feeling as riled up as she normally would’ve. Her mom was right—you just couldn’t please everyone.

  Speaking of, Iris saw her parents walk into the classroom with a woman holding a microphone and a man holding a camera. When they saw her, they waved her over.

  “Hold that thought,” Iris said, leaving Heather and walking to her parents. What were they doing here? Iris and Daniel usually walked home after school.

  “What’s going on?” Iris said, walking toward them.

  “I’ll grab Daniel,” Daddy said to Mama, and came back in a few seconds with him.

  “I’m Samantha Evans,” the woman with the microphone said. “We’re with WEAS Nightly News, and we wanted to talk to you kids about the cleanup you two organized.”

  Iris’s eyes opened so wide, they almost popped out of her head. “Us? Really?”

  “Yes,” the woman said, her smile warm and friendly. “It’s so nice what you’re doing for the community. We want to spotlight that, and document the progress of the cleanup. Is that something you’d be interested in? We just want to talk with you on where you got the idea and what you see for the future of the cleanup.”

  Iris didn’t know what to say. It was happening! It was really happening! She was actually getting recognition for something she did.

&nbs
p; “We’d love to!” Iris said, and Daniel nodded, fixing his glasses.

  The reporter smiled again. “Awesome. Let me just grab the mics for you.” She walked off.

  Mrs. Rose looked at Iris. “I told you, in due time, sweetie,” she said. “For you and Avery.”

  Iris smiled.

  Mrs. Rose furrowed her brow. “I meant to ask the two of you, but … what made you so invested in this project in the first place?”

  Iris opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

  The truth.

  “Mama, would you believe me if I told you Avery visited me herself and told me? But now she’s happy and at peace?”

  Mrs. Rose looked at her daughter and smiled. “I wouldn’t doubt you. I’ve had a ghostly encounter before when I was younger.”

  Iris’s eyes spread wide. “Really?”

  Mrs. Rose winked. “Iris Michelle Rose, that’s a story for another day.”

  Iris loved Christmas dinner—after waking up that morning to presents in matching plaid Christmas pajamas with her family, it was time for Daniel and his family to come over for one of her favorite meals of the year. Her parents did this together: fried turkey, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, mashed potatoes, green beans, and that wasn’t even including the Christmas desserts, and a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies (if her dad didn’t eat them all).

  It was snowing very lightly, not the kind that would stick, but the perfect backdrop for a Christmas evening.

  The doorbell rang. “That’s probably Mrs. Stone and Daniel,” Mrs. Rose said, walking to the front door.

  “Oh my—what a lovely surprise!”

  Iris didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she did anyway, and grinned. She knew Suga would come. Sure enough, she walked in behind Daniel and Mrs. Stone.

  “Suga!” Mr. Rose said. “We’re so glad you could join us!”

  “Of course I’d come! Why waste any more time being afraid? There’s a whole world out there.” Suga winked at Iris, Daniel, and Vashti. They giggled.

  “And I couldn’t pass up Christmas dinner!” she added. “I hope y’all have enough food for me.”