Read Online How I Came to Sparkle Again by Kaya McLaren - Free Book Online

brought him down on a sled two minutes ago.
    “Hey, Mike,” Tom said to one of the paramedics, and handed him a copy of his notes and the EKG tape while he and another paramedic loaded the man onto their stretcher.
    “Thanks,” Mike said. “Hey, Cassie ran away this morning and no one’s seen her since. I suspect she’s here. It’s getting late. Will you keep an eye out? I’ll let you know if she shows up.”
    Tom picked up his radio. “I’m on it.”
    “And if you know anyone who could use extra work, Cassie’s sitter quit because of this. Can’t blame her,” Mike added as he rushed to wheel the patient out the door and into the aid car.
    Tom radioed to everyone to look out for Cassie.
    *   *   *
     
    Cassie startled awake when Howard opened the door. After he saw her sleeping next to his copy of Siddhartha, he turned his head a little so his headlamp wouldn’t shine directly in her eyes and blind her. He picked up his radio, and said, “I found her.”
    That’s when Cassie realized she was in big trouble. She stood up. “I guess I fell asleep,” she said.
    Uncle Howard nodded as if it were no big deal. “Well, come on, kid. People are looking for you.”
    Cassie picked up the skis she had leaned against the wall in the corner. She stepped out of the shack, locked the door behind her, hung the key back on the nail, and put on her skis. Uncle Howard stepped into his skis as well. Cassie waited for him to scold her or judge her, but he didn’t seem to want to. He just looked off toward town and waited, and maybe because he didn’t ask for it, Cassie felt she should offer him an explanation. “I just wanted to spend Thanksgiving with my mom,” she said, barely louder than a whisper.
    “Of course you did,” Uncle Howard said. He paused for a moment. “Maybe there are some leftovers at the fire station,” he said. “We’ll go see. Ready?”
    Cassie nodded. She knew that what awaited her at the fire station was anger—not leftovers.
    Howard skied slowly in front with his headlamp and Cassie followed right behind. When they reached the bottom, they carried their skis back to Cassie’s house and then walked to town.
    At some point, Cassie broke the silence and asked, “If heaven is in the sky, why do people walk through a tunnel to the light instead of going up an elevator?” Howard had an ease for talking about these topics matter-of-factly that other adults did not. Cassie also had the sense or maybe the hope that Howard knew some things other people didn’t.
    He scratched his chin with his free hand. He was a blocky man with a face that was both stoic and peaceful. “Good question,” he said. “What do you think?”
    “I don’t know,” Cassie replied.
    “There are people who think the dimension of heaven isn’t up in the sky, but just a few feet above this dimension,” Howard offered.
    “How would that work?” Cassie asked.
    He shrugged. “There’s no such thing as a solid. Everything is in a state of movement.”
    Cassie gave him a skeptical look and let it drop.
    They walked in silence through downtown Sparkle, Cassie’s anxiety about facing her father building.
    At the station, the guys were only beginning to get to their dinner. They had been called out on several kitchen fires that day, most of which involved giant vats of oil that overflowed when people dropped their turkeys in and then ignited. The din of conversation quieted when Howard and Cassie entered. Cassie felt all their eyes on her accusingly, as if they all wanted to scold her but had to wait for her own father to do it first.
    She picked out her dad’s tired blue eyes. He stood up and shook Howard’s hand. “Thank you,” he said. “Please join us.” He did not look directly at Cassie. “Come on, Cassie,” he said, and walked out of the station.
    Outside, he leaned his back against the wall and looked up at the sky.
    “I’m sorry, Dad,” Cassie said.
    He took a big breath. “I just kept thinking,