Kat

Alexa, Chapter Ten

 The rains finally seemed to have passed. The mid afternoon sun was just starting to sink, and the air was warm. Alexa looked to Kat as they drove down the small two lane road, through thickets of trees and bushes and flowers. Kat still hadn't said much, not even today, simply remaining quiet with a ghostly thousand yard stare on her face at most times. Alexa had left her alone for most of the day, and Kat had spent most of it in her room.

Now, only the hum of the engine filled the air between them as Alexa drove onward. The trip to the cemetery was short; it was close to home, maybe twenty minutes away, in a private grove. They drove in silence, but Kat at least was looking a little better today, Alexa thought. Last night the girl hadn't wanted to eat at all, and at breakfast this morning, she'd tried to avoid eating too much. But lunch seemed to go down smoother, and some color was returning to her cheeks.

Soon, they were upon the cemetery. Alexa pulled off the road and onto a gravel path that cut into the treeline. Down the shady road she went, the trees rustling in the breeze outside, birds flying overhead. It was serene, she thought as the car came up to a fence covered in ivy. She parked just outside of it, setting the car in first, and sitting back. They were here.

Before them, enclosed in the old chain link fence, were headstones of white and gray, twenty or thirty in total. Alexa unbuckled and turned the car off, motioning for Kat to do the same, before stepping out of her car and wordlessly looking upon the graves. Kat got out of the car, and did the same, and the two stood there for a moment, quiet.

Alexa turned to Kat, and tried to read her face. She couldn't. It was blank, like an empty canvas. She watched Kat for a moment, before walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, before turning to face the shaded cemetery once more.

"Well," she said, "she's waiting."

She'd told Kat they were going to visit Sarah, but that was all she'd told her. When Alexa mentioned it, Kat's eyes lit up with curiosity, the first spark of emotion she'd seen since Kat had come home. Kat wanted to know. Needed to know. And Alexa didn't blame her. It was time. But Kat remained silent, staring out at the quiet grounds.

Alexa sighed and looked away. The sun was setting into twilight now, and the wind had died down. The Earth itself seemed to be holding its breath, watching, waiting. Alexa breathed in deeply, and let it out as if she'd been holding it in forever. This was the first time she'd see Sarah in so long. It felt like a reunion. A visit. Here and gone, in remembrance. In memoriam.

"Come, Kat."

She stepped up to the fence, where a gate sat, and pulled it open. Its hinges whined as she opened it, as if crying out in sorrow. She motioned for Kat to follow her, and the girl did so without a word. Together, they stepped into the cemetery, and Alexa felt like she was stepping on hallowed grounds. She tread lightly.

She closed the gate behind Kat, and then scanned the graves. There was Sarah's, by the far left corner of the cemetery. A small block of marble sat on the ground, a plaque to remember her by. That was all there was left of her. Alexa's jaw clenched as she looked down, waiting for a moment, hesitating, before finally heading toward the grave. Kat was watching her carefully, she noticed, but when she looked back, Kat turned away.

"This way sweetie," she said, waving Kat on.

Kat followed her through the headstones and mausoleums, some ancient, some fresh. They worked their way through the graves, to the far left corner, where the plaque sat on the ground. Alexa looked down at it, and sighed. Sarah Ingles, 1995-2018, it read. Underneath it, Loved by all, Forgotten by none. Short, simple, sweet in a way. Longing filled Alexa's chest as pictures of Sarah floated through her mind. Her smile, her laugh, the way she would twirl her hair when she was nervous and the way she bounced around when she was excited. It all came back to her.