Read Online Little Red Gem by D L Richardson - Free Book Online Page A

as if
sorting through my mental library and all I saw was the image of
Mom’s Jeep careening over the embankment. I choose to sing a tragic
ballad:
     
    “ I am a cross
    At the side of the
road
    Covered in
flowers
    Sweet roses of
gold
    No more can I see
them
    How that makes me
cry
    At the side of the
road
    Is forever where I
lie
    I am a memory
    Too painful for
some
    Now others bring
flowers
    I don’t know who they’re
from
    Would I could I’d say
thank you
    How that makes me
weep
    At the side of the
road
    Is forever where I
sleep
    I am with
angels
    In sweet heaven
above
    There are those who don’t
know this
    But I once found true
love
    And always I’ll be
waiting
    To again touch his
face
    At the side of the
road
    I found my resting
place.”
     
    After I’d finished, my
cheeks felt warm and I figured, throughout the night I’d swiped at
the tears, now I should let them cascade like a river. If they ran
for long enough maybe they’d wear down through my flesh and bone to
form a crater-like dam, which would come in handy; I doubted the
tears would ever stop and I’d need somewhere to store
them.
    The wind outside rattled
the shutters and I opened my eyes, hoping to view a different day
and feeling horrendously let down when I didn’t.
    “ Such a sad song,” Anne
whispered. “Yet…beautiful at the same time.”
    “ Thanks,” I said. “I got
an A+ in music. Teacher said I must be a reincarnation of John
Lennon.”
    Anne tilted her head. “Oh.
You did not write that song about your own demise?”
    “ No. Leo and I were
driving into Prospect, and on our way home the car hit an oily
patch on the road. We skidded. The car did a complete three-sixty.
Thankfully we didn’t crash into the oncoming cars, but we did end
up off the side of the road. We pulled over to let our heartbeats
return to normal, and there, staked into the ground was a wooden
cross with a bunch of flowers tied to it.”
    Anne’s eyes lit up. “How
intriguing.”
    “ It gets more so. There
was a newspaper clipping pinned to the cross. A young woman’s car
had run off the run and crashed into a tree. She’d died. The
flowers were from her lover.”
    “ This is turning into a
tragedy.”
    “ Agreed. But in a way it’s
also a very romantic story. The crash happened ten years ago and
the newspaper clipping said the lover vowed to return every year on
the anniversary of her death to replace the flowers. And every year
he’s returned, not only has he replaced the floral arrangement he’s
also carved the date into the cross. How’s that for true
love?”
    No sooner had the words
left my mouth than an agonizing grief rammed into my chest. My
throat unlatched and a sob escaped. “Oh Leo, I’m sorry I
died.”
    Anne rushed over to my
side and embraced me. We curled up on the couch, pressed up against
each other, and throughout the night my tears flowed. They
continued until light seeped in through the cracks.
    I had survived my first
twenty-four hours as a ghost.
     
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Now morning, Anne and I
had barely uncurled our feet from beneath our legs when Audrey
materialized through the closed doorway. She looked totally at home
wearing a black shift dress, leggings, gloves, and
beret.
    She was in her astral
projection state. She didn’t need to say a word. I knew why she was
here.
    “ I’ve been looking for you
everywhere,” she exclaimed. “I went to the hollow first and you
weren’t there. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. You ran off
yesterday and mom was calling for me so I couldn’t come after
you.”
    I rose from the couch.
“I’m good, considering the circumstances. And you’re wasting your
breath if you’ve come to tell me not to go to my funeral.” I
crossed my arms over my chest to bolster my confidence. “I’m going
to pay a visit to Leo and there is nothing you can say to stop
me.”
    Audrey drew her eyebrows
together and indicated to Anne with a lift of her chin. “Who’s your
friend?”
    I moved a