The Scarlet Sweater

15. Trainwreck

Nic approached Daniel’s grave, which was now vacated. All that remained of his best friend (visibly anyway) was a mound of dirt and a small gravestone to mark his place. Nic, upon reaching his destination, fell to his knees and wailed. He didn’t care if any of his manly friends were around to hear. He cried his heart out and fell upon the dirt that Daniel was now buried under. He tore at the earth, trying to reach his best friend. His clothes went from a white purity to an ugly brown color. Finally, exhausted, he fell to the ground and laid upon the barrier that kept them so far apart.

“I’m sorry,” Nic said quietly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Silence met him.

“I should’ve been a better friend! You always trusted me and I never repaid anything you did for me! I’m so selfish! I wish you were alive again so you could hear me tell you this. But that’s just how it goes. I cannot ask for impossible things.”

Nic caressed the dirt he lay on. He felt crummy and awful and sad. There was no way Daniel was going to hear him (he was dead). There was only one thing he could do now. He scanned the area around Daniel’s grave and spotted the one thing that could bring him happiness.

Meanwhile, Jeni was searching along the treeline that surrounded the cemetery. It was ridiculous that whenever Juliearl had a problem, she would run off and keep her feelings to herself. It wasn’t healthy for a 16-year-old third grader to keep her emotions inside. But nonetheless, Jeni fueled her habit and Juliearl continued to act out.

Jeni observed a hole in the fence that looked recently traveled. She ducked under the chain links and followed a worn path down a steep hill. It was muddy, as the dew was strong enough to create mud. Jeni slipped and fell a few times, but she kept getting up.

I feel perserverent! Jeni thought. If only I could motivate my child to feel this way…

Jeni continued down the path and the elevation eventually leveled out. The trees were thicker here, and the canopy practically blocked out the sun, except for a few rays of light shining down from the cloudy sky.

Where is Juliearl? Jeni thought. She couldn’t have gone this far in such a short amount of time.

Jeni was so busy in thought that she didn’t notice when she stepped—hard—into a puddle. The cold water traveled up her leg. She cried out and lifted her foot from the water and shook off the dirty water. Jeni looked around her and saw that she hadn’t stepped in a puddle, but a small lake surrounded by dank trees and moss.

“Juliearl!” Jeni cried. There was no answer. “Juliearl!”

Her voice echoed through the small space, but still, a sound was reverberated. Jeni continued to walk around the lake, careful not to slip and fall into the water. She grabbed a rock and threw it into the water. She didn’t see it after it hit the surface. The muddy water was just too thick.

I hope she didn’t come here, Jeni thought. This would just depress her.

Suddenly, Jeni saw a flash of a colorful garment, floating just below the surface. She ran over to the piece of cloth and fished it out with a stick. The cloth belonged to Juliearl!

“JULIEARL!” Jeni cried again. Again, silence.

A bubble popped just inches away. Jeni looked for the source. The bubble had emerged from a white mass close the shore. Jeni took off her shoes and waded toward the object. The water was up to her chest when she reached it. She poked the white with her finger. It felt fleshy.

Jeni’s eye grew wide and she gulped with horror. The white mass slowly turned over and it revealed the face of Juliearl!

Jeni screamed and ran as fast as she could (in water) back to the shore. She fell into the mud, frightened. But then, her fright turned to sorrow. Her poor little girl! Now dead! At the hands of fate! This certainly was God’s way of punishing her! She thought back of all the times she had been wrong and a cheat. This made her feel worse. But then, realizing she had another dead soul on her hands, decided to run off and tell Nic about this horrible tragedy!