by Corie Weaver
My knees suddenly became really interesting and I looked at them closely for a while. I'm not sure how I feel about a boy I've met once deciding there's a bond or something between us without even talking to me about it. But you can't just look at your knees forever. Besides, Jack thought the boy was okay, and Jack is usually a good judge of character. Except squirrels and rabbits maybe. He's a little biased there.
I decided to try to start over again. "I haven't even told you my name." I stuck out my hand. "I'm Maggie. Nice to meet you." He looked at my hand, and put his on mine awkwardly.
"My name is Ash."
For the life of me I couldn't figure out his accent. It didn't sound like Spanish. I've spent my whole life hearing people speak Spanish. I didn't think French or Italian was right either. Mom and Dad have opera records, and while I'm sure those languages sound somewhat different spoken from sung, I didn't think the accent matched up.
"What were you doing with that mud the other day? Does it make clay for pots and things?" I hate those weird silences where people just sit there looking and feeling awkward. Though, come to think of it, Ash didn't look uncomfortable, simply quiet.
"No. Not a pot. I needed it for something else."
"Oh. Well," I cast around in my head for anything else to say, and pushed Jack away from the backpack. The sandwiches. "Do you want a cheese sandwich? Jack tells me it's lunchtime."
Ash looked doubtful, but I went ahead and pulled them out and handed him one. He watched me unwrap mine and Jack's before he did the same to his own. I choked a little, and tried not to laugh when he pulled apart the bread and the cheese and poked it with a finger. I've never been much of a fussy eater, but kids who are make me laugh.
He saw me eating my sandwich, and Jack wolfing down his pieces, and blushed a little.
"Don't worry about it. Everyone has a food they don't like."
"It is not that I do not like it. It is that I have not had this before."
"You've never had a cheese sandwich?" I stopped eating. The first thing I learned how to make in the kitchen was a cheese sandwich and I can't imagine not having one for lunch most days. The folks keep saying I'm going to get sick of them, but that hasn't happened yet.
He put the sandwich back together, and took a small bite. He didn't look like he enjoyed it, but he kept going, and finished before me.
"Thank you for the meal."
"Not a problem. I thought I might see you."
No answer.
"Are you from around here?" I still hoped to place his accent.
"Yes."
Well, that didn't help.
"I just moved here from California. Here is nice, but I miss the ocean. Water and waves as far as you can see . . . it's beautiful."
"I have never seen that. The ocean sounds nice."
No cheese sandwiches, never seen the ocean. Poor kid! I didn't know what to say, so we just sat for a while in silence.
I noticed a small spider on the log next to me. I hate spiders. Really, really hate them. I know they do good things for the environment, and eat other bugs, but I still can't stand them near me. I moved to flick it away when Ash caught my hand.
"You should not disturb Grandmother's children." He very carefully cupped his hands around the spider, and it crawled into them. I shuddered while he put it down on the ground, and the spider scurried off.
I couldn't imagine how to answer that. Another long silence came, and finally I felt like I had to say something to fill the emptiness.
"I miss everyone from home. I guess I'm just lonely."
I looked down at the ground. I hadn't meant to blurt that out loud, but being with Ash felt comfortable. Certainly strange, but easy to relax around.
"I understand. I have a problem as well, and I am unsure what to do about it."
"Can your mother or father help?" I shook my head at myself. He had me speaking in the same formal tones he used.
"I cannot speak with them. They have already gone."
"Oh, I'm sorry." I had never thought what it would be like to have lost both my parents. I reached over and patted his hand. "Where do you live?"
"That way." He pointed down the Bosque a bit, and off to an angle.
As I looked, I noticed the sun had moved further than I expected and checked my watch. Time for me to be getting back and start my afternoon chores.
"Ash, I'm sorry, but I need to go home now. Will you be here another day?"
"Yes." He leaned forward and touched the necklace. "You should wear that always, it will bring good luck and protect you."
I took a small step backwards, startled at his touch. "Thank you. I will. I have to go now. 'bye!"
I clipped Jack back to his leash, and we headed for home at a fast walk. I didn't look back over my shoulder. I didn't know if I'd be glad to find Ash still there, watching us leave, or relieved if he disappeared again.
* * *
As Jack and I came out of the canal path and back onto our street, we saw Mark and Amy and some of their friends walking by. Mark flashed that stunning smile at me, and went back to talking with a group of boys. Amy waved. I went over to talk for a few moments.
"Hi, Mary," Amy said.
"It's Maggie, actually."
"Maggie, right, I'm sorry. Anyhow, I forgot to get the coach's number for you. Can you come by and get it from my mom sometime? I'm sure she'll have it."
She had forgotten my name. That's how little she had been paying attention. I felt too stunned to make an issue of it. "Sure, I'll do that."
For a moment, Amy looked embarrassed about being so absentminded, and sort of waved at the group with her. "It's just all sort of crazy, you know?"
I didn't feel like making life easier for her, but she tried, I guess. "Sure. I need to go now." I started to turn away and turned back. If I planned to have any friends at school, I should make an effort, no matter how hurt I felt. "Really. Thanks."
She gave a little wave and turned back to her friends waiting behind her.
I thought about it as we went into the house. I had a lot in common with Mark and Amy: swim team, science, and I'd soon be going to the same school. Certainly more than with a boy who didn't know about the ocean or cheese sandwiches. But I felt a lot more comfortable with Ash than the twins or their friends. They made me feel lonelier. Ash didn't. When I talked to him, he actually listened. Even when I didn't say anything, he paid attention.
Dinner could have gone better. About two bites into the salad, Mom looked up and asked, "What's that you're wearing?"
I'd been trying to figure out how to explain the necklace all evening, and hadn't come up with anything. I didn't want them to say I couldn't have it, and I knew this would be the risk of wearing it around the house, but Ash had seemed so serious about it, and I hated to hide anything from them.
"Just a necklace."
Dad put his fork down. "Yes, Miss Maggie, we can see that. Where did it come from?"
I took a deep breath and spilled it all out. "A boy gave it to me as a good-luck token and thank-you present. He got stuck in this thing the other day, and I helped untangle it, and he gave me the necklace as a thank-you gift, and he says it'll be good luck. And that's it."
I looked down at my plate. I didn't have to see them to know they looked at each other, silently discussing what to do about the necklace. For the millionth time I wondered if they hand out telepathy when you get married, or if it just seemed like it.
I kept going, in a small voice. "If I did something wrong, something to be worried or ashamed of, don't you think I could have hidden it, only worn it in private?"
I looked up, and Dad raised his eyebrow. "Maggie, at some point you'll realize doing one thing out in the open isn't a guarantee that there's nothing else to hide." He looked at Mom, who tightened her lips a little, but nodded. "You promise there's nothing we would worry about?"
I nodded my head.
"Alright, tell us about him, and we'll decide."
"His name is Ash. At le
ast, I'm pretty sure that's his name, but he has an accent, so I'm not sure. He's my age, or a little younger. He lives close to the Bosque, but I'm not sure where. I don't see him every day, just a couple of times now. Jack likes him. Oh, and I'm not sure if he likes cheese sandwiches."
At this last point my parents broke out laughing.
"Okay, okay. You can keep it. But be careful. I don't want you going into his house, or going any place you don't know how to get back from." Mom leaned over and touched my arm. "I know it seems like we're being awful, but we just worry."
I forced a smile. I knew they loved me. It just seemed hard, not to be able to go where I wanted, when I wanted, when they just seemed to worry all the time.
The rest of the evening rolled on, quiet and peaceful. As I got ready for bed, a noise like I'd never heard rang through the house. I ran to the living room where my folks sat reading. They looked curious, but not worried, so I calmed down.
"What was that?"
And then the sound washed through the house again. Like a dog's howl, but different. Jack didn't think much of the sound either.
Dad put down his book. "That's a coyote singing. At night they probably use the same trails you take on your walks."
"They're here in the city?" I thought of the sheep I had seen in those backyards, and shivered.
"Honey, coyotes live in most Western cities. Even San Diego has them; you just never heard or saw them there. Here there's a lot more open ground for them."
I pulled Jack closer to me and rubbed his ears. "Is it just one?"
Mom shrugged. "I'm not sure. The couple of times I've heard a pack they sort of toss the song back and forth, like singing a round."
I thought of coyotes singing "Row, row, row your boat" with different ones coming in at different points, and giggled. The next time the howl started, it didn't seem so bad.
"Hon, you're going to have to get used to it. We're close enough to the canal and the Bosque that you're going to hear them from time to time." Dad stopped, and put on his concerned face. "Is this going to scare you?"
I thought for a moment. The howl didn't seem so bad now that I knew what caused it.
"No, I'm okay. But I'd be worried about leaving Jack out overnight, that's for sure."
Jack head-butted my leg, in protest to this insult of his doggie courage.
My parents laughed. "All right. If you're sure you can sleep, it's time for bed."
I read for a bit, and dozed off with the book in my hand. I woke up when Dad came in to turn off the nightstand light and put the book away.
"Thanks, Dad," I mumbled. He patted my hair. "Go back to sleep, Miss Maggie."
I rolled over onto my side, and my hand curled around the beads of Ash's necklace, and I hoped it would keep away dreams of that strange face from the window.
* * *
Strange dreams waited for me anyway. I walked through our neighborhood, but I couldn't see any people. The trees had lost all of their leaves, and their branches made stark lacework against the sky. Large black birds hopped across the ground and filled the trees. I kept walking, but never found anyone but the birds. A cool breeze made me wrap my arms tight around my body.
A coyote's howl rolled over the empty street, then echoed from the other side, and again, and again, until the sound surrounded me. The birds jumped and squawked and flew away, cawing.
I ran to our house, and stumbled through the gate into the courtyard. Leaves lay thick on the ground, gold and copper, and I felt them crunch under my feet. An old woman stood in front of me, framed by the blue of our door. She had long black hair shot through with silver, and wore a long, black, sleeveless dress with a wide white belt. She looked elegant and cold. She stood there, and I stood there, looking at her.
She smiled and held out her hand. I didn't know if I wanted to take it. I felt like she offered me . . . something, a choice, but I didn't know what. I took a step toward her, and another step. I wanted to say something, ask her why she was in my dreams, who she was, but couldn't make my voice work.
The crunch of leaves sounded behind my back and I whirled to look. A brown-and-gray dog stood in the arch of the gate, the biggest dog I'd ever seen. Large, pointed ears, sandy fur, sleek to the point of looking lanky, a bushy tail . . . Each feature on its own wouldn't have looked out of place on any dog, but all together, they said something else. Then I saw the way he glided over the bricks, and even in my dream, I knew in my heart this was no dog, but a coyote.
The woman saw the coyote at the same time and stopped smiling. She threw her hands in the air in exasperation. The coyote took a small step toward me, and I tried to back away, but that would bring me closer to the strange woman. I put my hands to Ash's necklace. Right then seemed a fine time for some extra luck and protection.
The woman and the coyote froze when they saw my hand touch the beads, as if they hadn't noticed the necklace before. The coyote sat down on his haunches, and tilted his head to the side, as if considering it. The old woman took advantage of his distraction and strode forward to smack him on the nose with her hand. Not hard, but enough to startle him.
"Foolish old man, see what you've done?" her crisp voice cut like a breath of winter. "You have gone and scared her with your tricks."
The coyote looked back at her with a clear "Who, me?" expression in his eyes.
Then I woke up with Jack's cold nose pressed against my hand and I lay in bed for a moment to catch my breath too confused to be scared, but sure I should be.
Chapter Four
After Mom and Dad left for work I trudged around the house, put away a few things from boxes, tried to read a book, but all in all didn't get much done.
Jack found me and grunted and whined like he does when he wants out. I stood by the back door, but he ran out, then ran right back to me to be let back in.
"You want to go for a walk, don't you?" I said, and rubbed his ears. He pranced around at the mention of a walk, so I figured I had it right. I packed his harness bags and my pack, and made another three sandwiches. Just in case. Even if Ash didn't seem to like them. But I didn't hope to see him or anything, really.
We walked up the canal toward the Bosque, but met no one on the way. I had a hard time keeping Jack from chasing after the ducks that swam in the water. He looked at me as I dragged him away, and clearly thought I never let him have any fun.
When we got to the spot where we had met Ash before, I found him already perched on the log, as if he waited for us. My stomach fluttered a little when I saw him.
"You are wearing the necklace again. Good."
I touched the smooth cool beads. "Yeah. My parents aren't sure about me wearing a gift from a boy, but they came around when I explained."
He looked puzzled for a moment, then his face cleared, as if he had decided his question could wait.
"Yesterday you asked where I lived. Would you like to see that place?"
"Um." Mom's warning at dinner last night had been pretty clear, but I still wanted to go. I decided on a compromise. "Yes, but I can't go inside the house. Is that okay?"
A tiny smile flickered across his face. He had a nice smile; I wished he would show it more often. "Yes, of course, that will be fine. I thought you would like to see it."
Jack had been running through the shrubs that grew thickly under the trees, probably chasing rabbits. I called him back to us and snapped the leash onto his pack, then Ash started off. He led me back to the same canal, but after a short distance Ash turned to the left, and then stepped through a wide split in an old cottonwood. The tree divided into two trunks low down to the ground, then grew out and up, framing an upside-down arch. I followed him, and Jack tried to dash back and forth between us.
The air grew cooler, though I couldn't see any clouds in the sky. Ash moved along silently, and I saw with a shock that he wore no shoes, but kept my mouth shut.
"How far is it?" I asked after we had walked in silence for about five minutes.
"Not far at all. W
e are nearly there."
His idea of "nearly there" isn't quite the same as mine, and I started to get a little nervous. Another fifteen minutes of following the side path passed. The uneasy feeling in my stomach grew, and I only continued because I knew I could get back home by just turning around and running back the path.
While we walked, I thought it strange, finding such open fields in the middle of the city. The ground became less green, more scrubby-looking. Short, twisted pines dotted the landscape. A rabbit ran across the trail in front of Ash, and Jack lunged for the poor thing. I barely held him still, and Ash had to stop and help me.
"Stay on the path. It is very important." After Jack calmed down, I wondered about that. It seemed that no one lived near enough to take offense at some accidental trespassing. Actually, I hadn't seen any people at all since we left the main path.
Without warning, Ash said, "We are here." The trail opened up to a wide flat plain with a scattering of houses. They looked like the ones I had seen at the museum: flat, featureless walls with a few scattered windows and ladders going from roof to roof. I had no doubt that more ladders connected the inside of the buildings to the roofs.
No people stirred. I heard nothing other than the crying of birds and the wind in the trees.
Although Ash continued on, Jack refused to go further. His legs quivered and his tail wrapped all the way under his tummy. I stroked his ears and he relaxed, trusting me to take care of him.
The largest cottonwood tree I had seen yet grew in an open space between the buildings. Ash led us toward it. Clumps of little tufts of long wild grasses poked through the hard-packed ground beneath its branches.
"This is where I live." He waved his arm to include all the buildings of the village.
I looked around. "Ash. This can't be where you live. Where are all the people? And nobody lives in houses like this any more."
