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Authors: Stacey Marie Brown
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dressed in a long, green skirt and a white blouse. Her brown hair hung next to her face in two thick braids, and on her head was a tall pointed green cap. She tilted her head and frowned at me, then turned, and hustled out of the shed, towards the forest.
Without a thought I started after it. I wasn’t sure why. It was a knee-jerk reaction since I knew the rat-woman was just a hallucination. I needed to go back on medication.
I continued after her, and for as small and stocky as she was, she was insanely fast. “Wait!” I called out.
Adrenaline pumped through me as I ran after her, barreling through the old, dried-up garden. She stopped, and I came to a sudden halt as she turned and faced me. Her hands were on her hips, her stocky little frame all puffed up and angry. I could see her face more clearly now. She was younger than I had first thought, but she still looked weathered and tough. Her eyes were squinty and her lips were thin and pinched. Her hands were burly and thick, her patchy skin coarse and cracked. She looked like she had worked extremely hard her whole life.
“Get out of my garden,” her little, but strong, voice rung in my ears like sharp bells.
“Oh Jesus,” I mumbled to myself as I stared at the small woman.
The tiny, homely woman stomped her foot. “Did you hear me? Get your tall, scrawny ass out of my garden.”
“Em?”
My head jerked up to see Josh and the rest of the class standing behind him, looking at me like I had grown two heads. I continued to stare at him dumbfounded. Didn’t they see the small person standing in front of me?
“Em, are you okay?” Josh’s tone was full of wariness. I looked to where my hallucination had been, but the tiny woman was gone.
I closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath. “Yeah. Just terrific.”
When I reopened them, Eli’s piercing eyes drew my attention. I couldn’t make out the expression on his face, but it was intense and made me want to hide behind Josh.
Samantha walked up to the group, her gaze fixed on me. Something about her stare made me shift uncomfortably. “Let’s leave the wildlife alone, shall we?” She smiled thinly, and then turned around to face the rest of the students. “Come on, let’s get to work. Grab some gloves and a hammer.” She gathered up the group, who continued to observe me with wary expressions, but she soon distracted them with tools and plans for the new garden.
Eli maintained his stance, his scrutiny still focused on me. I looked down, trying to ignore the burning sensation his gaze sent into my skin.
My mind was reeling with the embarrassment of letting people see me splinter from reality. Hallucinations weren’t new to me, but it had been awhile since I had been caught by other people while having one. No one knew that right before my school in Monterey burned down, I had thought I’d seen my awful math teacher turn into a troll, with a huge, thick nose protruding from its hairy, ugly face. Dark, beady eyes had gleamed as it watched me. It had felt so real, more real than anyone else in the room. It was a secret I kept locked up deep down. When I was younger it was easier to brush these off. My mom would laugh, telling the neighbors that I had an overactive imagination and abundance of imaginary friends. I couldn’t do that so easily now.
Eli turned away. “Today we will be building the planter box frames. We only have two hours so we better get started,” he said, motioning towards the stacks of thick boards. He rambled on, but after a while I tuned out.
“That also means you .” Eli stepped up to me. It took me a moment to realize everyone else had moved on and was starting to work, but I still stood there, staring at the spot where the tiny woman had disappeared. “Hey, girl , do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?”
My gaze snapped to his. “This girl has a name, you know?” I shot back. I was irritated by the way he had said “girl,” like I
Without a thought I started after it. I wasn’t sure why. It was a knee-jerk reaction since I knew the rat-woman was just a hallucination. I needed to go back on medication.
I continued after her, and for as small and stocky as she was, she was insanely fast. “Wait!” I called out.
Adrenaline pumped through me as I ran after her, barreling through the old, dried-up garden. She stopped, and I came to a sudden halt as she turned and faced me. Her hands were on her hips, her stocky little frame all puffed up and angry. I could see her face more clearly now. She was younger than I had first thought, but she still looked weathered and tough. Her eyes were squinty and her lips were thin and pinched. Her hands were burly and thick, her patchy skin coarse and cracked. She looked like she had worked extremely hard her whole life.
“Get out of my garden,” her little, but strong, voice rung in my ears like sharp bells.
“Oh Jesus,” I mumbled to myself as I stared at the small woman.
The tiny, homely woman stomped her foot. “Did you hear me? Get your tall, scrawny ass out of my garden.”
“Em?”
My head jerked up to see Josh and the rest of the class standing behind him, looking at me like I had grown two heads. I continued to stare at him dumbfounded. Didn’t they see the small person standing in front of me?
“Em, are you okay?” Josh’s tone was full of wariness. I looked to where my hallucination had been, but the tiny woman was gone.
I closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath. “Yeah. Just terrific.”
When I reopened them, Eli’s piercing eyes drew my attention. I couldn’t make out the expression on his face, but it was intense and made me want to hide behind Josh.
Samantha walked up to the group, her gaze fixed on me. Something about her stare made me shift uncomfortably. “Let’s leave the wildlife alone, shall we?” She smiled thinly, and then turned around to face the rest of the students. “Come on, let’s get to work. Grab some gloves and a hammer.” She gathered up the group, who continued to observe me with wary expressions, but she soon distracted them with tools and plans for the new garden.
Eli maintained his stance, his scrutiny still focused on me. I looked down, trying to ignore the burning sensation his gaze sent into my skin.
My mind was reeling with the embarrassment of letting people see me splinter from reality. Hallucinations weren’t new to me, but it had been awhile since I had been caught by other people while having one. No one knew that right before my school in Monterey burned down, I had thought I’d seen my awful math teacher turn into a troll, with a huge, thick nose protruding from its hairy, ugly face. Dark, beady eyes had gleamed as it watched me. It had felt so real, more real than anyone else in the room. It was a secret I kept locked up deep down. When I was younger it was easier to brush these off. My mom would laugh, telling the neighbors that I had an overactive imagination and abundance of imaginary friends. I couldn’t do that so easily now.
Eli turned away. “Today we will be building the planter box frames. We only have two hours so we better get started,” he said, motioning towards the stacks of thick boards. He rambled on, but after a while I tuned out.
“That also means you .” Eli stepped up to me. It took me a moment to realize everyone else had moved on and was starting to work, but I still stood there, staring at the spot where the tiny woman had disappeared. “Hey, girl , do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?”
My gaze snapped to his. “This girl has a name, you know?” I shot back. I was irritated by the way he had said “girl,” like I
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