The Incident | Book 3 | Winter of Darkness
Page 13
Stan heard the underlying meaning. Save the gas for one more trip, further afield, looking for a teenage girl with red hair. He had been delaying the attempt, not sure he could handle another disappointment.
Miriam stood up. “I’ll go now,” she said. “We don’t have to plant for another couple of weeks. I’ll go by the hospital too and see if anybody still needs help.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” He couldn’t keep the hopeful tone out of his voice.
“It’s okay.” She answered and his shoulders slumped.
She was reaching for her coat when they heard a knock on the front door. She froze, a look of panic on her face. Nobody ever came to the front door these days. That they did was like getting a phone call at five in the morning. It could only mean bad news.
Stan strode through the living room and opened the door. An Indigenous man stood on the porch. His face was set and angry, eyes slits and jaw tight. Long braids hung to his waist and he wore a heavy canvas coat.
“Yes?” Stan resisted the urge to step back.
“Are you Stan?”
“Yes,” Stan said warily.
“I have something for you.” The man thrust an envelope towards him and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Miriam stepped from behind her husband. “What is it?”
The man glanced back and his expression softened. “It’s a letter.”
“Well, come in,” Miriam said, a note of desperation in her voice. “Do you want something to eat? Do you know who it’s from?”
Stan was turning the envelope over in his hands. “I think it's from Tara.” He whispered. He looked up and echoed his wife’s invitation. “Come in. Can we send an answer? Where did you get it?”
The man’s voice was a rumble. “I got it from a friend. I don’t need food, but do you have any gas?” He pointed to an old Ford that was pulled up to the curb. “I’m trying to get south.”
“Are you coming back?” Stan asked.
“I dunno. It depends on what I find. Listen, do you have gas or not?”
“I do.” Stan handed the envelope to his wife. “I’ll show you where.” He grabbed Miriam’s hand before she could rip the letter open. “Don’t open it until we can do it together.”
Miriam raised her eyes to his and he could see the hope and the desperation in them. He probably had the same expression, but he felt obligated to help this stranger. “Please, Miriam.”
“Be careful,” she whispered as he slipped into his coat. “He looks kind of dodgy.”
“If he knows where Tara is, I’ll give him anything he wants,” Stan whispered back. “Just wait for me, okay?”
She nodded, even though her hands shook with the desire to rip into the envelope.
Within fifteen minutes Stan was sitting across from her at the table. They were both shivering even though the kitchen was warm. Mariam stroked the envelope, almost afraid to open it. It was addressed to Stan and Miriam Morrisson, 15 Fir Street, Mores Lake B.C. The handwriting looked like Tara’s, but they had seldom seen her writing since the advent of computers. Everything was typed.
“Come on!” Stan reached for the letter, ready to grab it out of her hand.
“Okay.” Miriam tore the flap open and began to read.
“Dear Mom and Dad and Danny,” she read aloud. A lump came into her throat and she couldn’t go any further. She handed the sheet of paper to her husband. It wasn’t regular stationery, he saw but appeared to be the flyleaf torn out of a book.
He continued where his wife had stopped.
“First of all, I am so sorry for running away. I thought I was all grown up and didn’t need you telling me what to do anymore. Instead, I let Will convince me to go with him. I was in love, I guess. I didn’t know that he was leading a whole gang into the bush. They had this great idea of living off the land, but mostly they stole from empty houses and people’s gardens. I wanted to come home after a day, but he wouldn’t tell me the way and they stole my bike. Then he decided I should be his girlfriend for real. I ran away and now I am staying with an old man and his sister out in the bush. His name is Joe and he saved my life. I don’t really know where I am, but they tell me that they will take me home in the spring. You see, I’m going to have a baby and Anna (that’s Joe’s sister) doesn’t think I should try to travel. I am so sorry, I hope you don’t hate me for running away and getting pregnant. When I get home, I promise I will be good and will look after it. Tell Danny I miss him so much. Love Tara.
“She’s coming home.” There was wonder in Miriam’s voice.
“Yes.” Stan smoothed the paper with his rough hand. “She’s coming home with a baby.”
“She thinks we’ll be mad.” Miriam laughed. “She has no idea how much we love her.”
Stan wiped his eyes. They were overflowing with salty tears. When he could speak, his voice was full of fury. “It’s a good thing that kid is already dead,” he said through gritted teeth. “Him and his no-good father.”
“Where is the man that brought the letter?” Miriam jumped up. “We have to find out where he came from and where our daughter is.”
“He’s gone. I gave him a can of gas and told him to stop if he came back this way. He thinks if he goes far enough, the power will be on and he can get a job.”
“So, he might not come back?” Miriam said in dismay.
“He’ll be back.” Stan stood up and put his arms around her. “I’ve been out there. Nobody has power and they certainly won’t be hiring anybody. We just have to wait and when he comes back we’ll find out where she is.”
“And we’ll go get her?” She was still shaking.
“We’ll go get her.” He pulled her closer. “We’ll find her and her baby and bring them home.”
The end
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.M. Johnson is the author of “They Called it the Incident”, and “What Happened to Tara.” Both are available on Amazon. She writes from her home office in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She has recently adopted two very energetic kittens, Sadie and Sally, who do their best to keep her attention away from her writing.
You can contact Ms. Johnson on Facebook or twitter @jmauthor1.
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