Poisonous

Chapter 1

***

“Oy lass! We’re nearly there!”

I’m not sure when I had fallen asleep or for how long I had been asleep, but my eyes fluttered open when I felt someone nudging my leg. Wataru was looking at me from over his shoulder, frowning as I grabbed the sunglasses that had fallen and looked around. Ahead of us, breaking up the endless blue, were rock formations that I had seen in various pictures, but something was off. Wrong. The rocks appeared to have large pointed growths covering them from base to tip. The same growths that seemed to be inching up the docks and beach.

“This looks nothing like what my aunt and grandmother showed me.”

“‘Ay… I would assume not. After the oil spill last year those damned weeds popped up.”

I stretched my arm out as we passed between the rocks, feeling the cool, smooth, ink black vines. They felt slimy, but it wasn’t quite bad enough to recoil in disgust. Something felt weird about these vines, but I wasn’t able to put a finger on that unnerved feeling I got. The boat stopped, and Wataru turned to me with a huff, his hand extended after he tethered us to the dock. I struggled even with his help, but I was on solid ground. Wataru sank back into the chicken boat and grabbed my suitcase, then my backpack, tossing them onto the dock beside me.

“ Welcome home, Kiera!”

I turned when I heard a familiar voice and tilted my head. The big bellied man smiled and checked his watch. I watched the man in confusion, taking in the green vest covering a peach palm tree button-up and khaki pants. A familiar ensemble, but I couldn’t place it.

“It’s been a long time. It’s good to see you again. Last time I saw you, you weren’t more than four feet tall stealing cookies off of my window sill.”

“Mr. Connor?”

He nodded with a large smile on his face, and suddenly my body moved on its own. I had thrown myself at the older man and squeezed him in a tight hug. Mr. Connor had been a good friend of my grandfather, and his wife often gave me sweets while I stayed in town. His wife had always made something for the kids, and if my grandfather was far too busy for me, she would talk her husband into taking me to the beach while she watched the General store. I could feel his laughter when he wrapped his arms around me. He pushed me out to arms length and smiled slightly, examining me like a father who had not seen his daughter in years.

“Where is Ms. Carol? Is she still making those delicious cookies?”

Connor rubbed his neck, looked down, and I knew I had missed something. Wataru stepped closer and nudged me, grabbing my attention almost instantly. He gave a strained chuckle with an obviously forced smile plastered on his face. A smile that didn’t come anywhere near his eyes. I knew it when I saw it, and I felt my heart drop almost instantly.

“I’m so sorry… I had no idea…”

“That’s quite alright, kiddo. I trust you had a good trip with Mr. Wataru.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad considering I felt safe enough to sleep,” I said and smiled, suddenly realizing that I was likely in over my head. “I’m still not sure what I’m gonna do here. I mean, I don’t know the first thing about farming…”

Connor smiled slightly and rested his hand on my shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. I could feel my anxiety starting to get the best of me, and my heart slammed against my chest. I didn’t have anything to offer the community and I knew that, but when I saw the reassurance on Connors’ face, I couldn't help but relax.

“When you spent summers here with your grandfather, he used to talk about how you’d help him. Used to brag that any crop you had a hand in was always the best of any season. Just remember what he taught you, and you’ll do just fine.”

“That was a lifetime ago…”

“You’re just tired from the journey. Let me show you to the lot.”

I picked up my suitcase and smiled when Connor took my backpack and led me down the dock. Despite the oil and the vines, the beach was still pretty, though there was more trash than I remembered. Another cause from the oil spill no doubt. Connor was rambling softly both to me, and I believe to himself, listing people to see, places to be, and complaints about ‘Pufferfish’. I felt my jaw tighten when I heard that familiar company name, but I couldn’t question it before hearing footsteps following behind Connor and I. We turned and saw two blonde haired women calling out for us. They stopped on the landing and stared at me like I was some sort of alien.

A beat of my heart.

Two beats.

Three beats.

On the fourth beat of my heart, I had dropped my suitcase with a grunt and felt myself struggling to keep my balance. I wrapped an arm around the girl, clinging to me and shifting, the sunglasses falling from my face for a second time. The other blonde, the one with the purple gradient at the ends of her hair, bent down and picked the glasses up, freezing when she looked up at me. I kept my arm around the one twin and took the glasses from the other, putting them back on and pushing the woman away gently. The girls stood side by side and crossed their arms with a pout.

“Uh…”

“Kiera. It’s us… We used to bury Mr. Connor in the sand and build sand castles during the summer.”

“Alice and Suki?”

“You do remember!

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m moving into my grandfather's old cottage.”

“Really?! That’s awesome! Stop by the Inn when you have a chance.”

With a final hug from each twin, they turned and ran down the steps chattering with one another until they were completely down the steps. I didn’t realize how tired I was until after that social interaction, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. With that one desire, I scooped up my suitcase and continued following Connor through the town, taking a turn to the left before hitting a building with a large clock. I could see a run-down building just over the bridges, a memory of my grandfather and I fishing on said bridges flickered in my thoughts. A pleasant memory that faded into shock when we finally got to the lot.