What was it, just a moment ago that
she had on her mind? She closed her eyes to the bright sun and tried
to think of it, to no avail. Her thoughts as of late were will-o' the
wisps, flaming up only to disappear once recognized. It wasn't the
first time today, or was it the first time today? And what exactly
was today? Maybe it was just yesterday and she didn't realise it.
Could it be that she was in the future of today because she was in
yesterday, and that tomorrow was just a work of fiction that never
really did show up. After all she thought, tomorrow was an elusive
thing. Did it ever really get here as it is today once it starts,
thus rendering 'tomorrow' a mythos in our minds.
She smiled. She was rambling again
wasn't she? And still the thought she lost was just that, lost. She
opened her eyes watching the clouds roll by under the azure sky. It
was warm today, unlike yesterday which was cold and still
winter-like. It was finally spring, or so she hoped. She could
distinguish certain fragrances that began to emerge from the earth,
violet, daffodils and Lily of the Valley were abundant in the meadow
this time of year. The various flowers was what brought her to this
part to begin with, cutting them in the late part of spring, and
early part of summer. She loved fresh flowers, and would replace them
around the house once a week. Her mother had taught her to add an
aspirin to the water, or baking soda in order to prolong their life.
The thought made her giggle. Too bad you couldn't to that to humans,
but then again didn't people take an aspirin a day in order to
prevent heart attacks? So, she guessed in essence, they actually did
add aspirin to live longer. She sighed. Her thoughts were a train
wreck. They derailed every so often, crashing into a random school
bus that stalled on the tracks.
She heard a noise. A low hum that got
louder by the moment. She closed her eyes and started praying. That
sound, it was back which meant they were back. If they were back,
then that meant her peace would be disturbed once again. It was
annoying, let alone redundant. Out of all the places anyone could go
why did it have to be where she was? Couldn't it be any other place
in this God forsaken county? DID it have to be here? Wasn't there a
stand of trees just over the small hill to the North of here? Yes,
yes there was and that's where they really needed to be instead of
where she was. How many times had they visited since she'd been
there? Four? Five? Truth be told, she couldn't remember that either.
She sighed once again, lying still and waiting for them to leave. It
wouldn't take long, they never took long. Thirty minutes at the most
if that.
She heard the motor shut off, doors
open and shut, trunk open and shut. She held her breath waiting for
the sounds to start. They always did. She tried blocking them out,
but there were times she would hear them in her sleep. She didn't
know why, but there they were in the middle of the night, the noises
waking her from her dreams.
“You ready?” she heard the man
say. “Yeah, hold on, let me get these off.” the woman spoke soft
and seductively. She often imagined him in a white under shirt and
faded jeans, while the woman would be smoothing down the wrinkles of
her yellow poplin a-line dress. He would have a ball cap on,
Brooklyn Dodgers and she would have a white silk cloche covering
beautiful shiny brown hair. Her gloves would be short ones, white
lace to match the shawl around her pale shoulders.
As she thought, it didn't take them
long. She heard them laughing as the doors opened to the car. Once
again, the car started with a roar, and she heard them drive off. How
many times this past month or so had they been there? She couldn't
remember.
The sun had returned from out behind
the clouds. It was getting hot. It was also getting late. It would be
dark soon. She didn't like the dark. Well, that wasn't a very true
statement, because without the dark there would not be any stars. She
loved the stars. She didn't like what was in the dark. Noises, night
sounds. Animals creeping about. She didn't mind the crickets and
frogs. She did mind the chattering of the raccoons and the opossums
scattering when the wind blew. At first, it scared her. Not so much
anymore, but she still didn't have to like it. She didn't like the
smells either, other than the flowers. The flowers masked the other
smells. That was something she couldn't get used to. And it would
start soon again, with the leaving of the man and woman. A day, maybe
two. It always did. After a week when the body exploded from the
gases that would be trapped, it would be noxious to breathe.
She didn't do that anymore. Breathe.
She had been there for a while now. A month? Two? She lost count. Her
fluids had long been soaked up by the earth under her. Her flesh
eaten away by the raccoon and opossums. There had been carrion as
well, but more four legged creatures than anything. Her bones had
been bleached out from the same sun that was still hot upon them.
But her soul remained. Tethered to its' earthly realm by the act of
violence that had killed her body. She wondered if the same happened
to the others. She wondered at times when she could form a whole
thought, if they were lying next to her thinking the same thing she
was.
What was that thought again? She
couldn't remember. It was lost in that great void that was her mind.
She smiled. The clouds were rolling in again. She loved watching the
clouds.
