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Authors: Kimberly Derting
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fiber in her body felt bundled and tight.
âIâm sorry, baby,â Greg Ambrose said, his voice sounding strained. âI would do anything in the world to protect you from seeing things like that, your mother and I both. We never wanted you to go through anything like this again.â He pulled her away from him so that he could look at her. His eyes were red.
âWhen you were little, we were worried when you first started finding dead animals in the woods. That was when we knew youâd inherited Grandma Louiseâs special skill. We were afraid of what that would do to you, how it would make you feel to be drawn to so much death. We knew there was nothing we could do to stop you from sensing them there, but we used to try to discourage you from digging them upâwe would try to distract you with diversions and bribes. We offered you gum and candy; we would even ask if you wanted to go for ice cream instead of digging up one of those animals. You were so little, but even then you were determinedâ¦you were so stubborn. And you would go out of your way to get to them, not satisfied until theyâd had a proper burial. It seemed to give you a sense of⦠serenity , I guess, to know that they were taken care of. You even used to make up funny stories about those poor little lost creatures of yours. Remember Bob, the squirrel banker who forgot to pay his electric bill so he froze to death?â He laughed and wiped her cheek with histhumb. âI was always afraid we were going to get a call from the school psychologist. But your teachers just thought you were creative. â
What Violet remembered was that her dad was the one who helped her when the local animalsâdogs mostlyâdiscovered the shallow graves of her cemetery and began to dig up the little bodies. He was the one who taught her to dig deeper and to cover the graves with heavy stones to prevent the scavengers from getting through to the animals buried below.
And when the dogs remained persistent, he even helped her build a small fence from chicken wire.
âWhen you found that girl, the one in the woods, I thought it would be your undoing. Your mom and I worried that it was too much for such a little girl to deal with. But you did it. You cried at first, and you even had some nightmares, but you didnât fall apart. And as soon as that poor girl was buried, safe and sound in her own proper resting place, you seemed to justââhe shruggedââ move on .â
He lifted her chin with his finger. âYouâll do it again. I know you, Violet. You will be okay. Better than okay. Trust me.â He smiled at her then.
Violet tried to smile back, but she still felt miserable. She couldnât explain it entirely, but it was similar to the way she would feel before sheâd buried one of her animalsâshe felt restless and unsettled. Only this was worseâ¦much, much worse. She felt like she was buried beneath a stiflingly heavy cloak of darkness that was suffocating her, and she desperately needed to claw her way out from underneath it. She didnâtshare her dadâs optimism. To her it felt like she might never break free. But somehow, even if she didnât entirely buy into it, it made her feel better just to hear him saying the words. She would be okay.
âWe should get home,â she reminded him, suddenly wanting to shift the focus away from her. âMomâs probably getting pissed that weâre taking so long.â
âYep, Iâm sure Iâm going to get an earful about it.â He patted her leg and then started the car.
Violet couldnât shake the melancholy feelings that clung to her, infiltrating every pore of her body. She leaned back and closed her eyes, wondering if the nightmares from her childhood were about to return, to haunt her sleep once more.
WATCHING
THE CHAOS OF THE SCENE WAS DELICIOUS. IT created the perfect amount of disorder so that he
âIâm sorry, baby,â Greg Ambrose said, his voice sounding strained. âI would do anything in the world to protect you from seeing things like that, your mother and I both. We never wanted you to go through anything like this again.â He pulled her away from him so that he could look at her. His eyes were red.
âWhen you were little, we were worried when you first started finding dead animals in the woods. That was when we knew youâd inherited Grandma Louiseâs special skill. We were afraid of what that would do to you, how it would make you feel to be drawn to so much death. We knew there was nothing we could do to stop you from sensing them there, but we used to try to discourage you from digging them upâwe would try to distract you with diversions and bribes. We offered you gum and candy; we would even ask if you wanted to go for ice cream instead of digging up one of those animals. You were so little, but even then you were determinedâ¦you were so stubborn. And you would go out of your way to get to them, not satisfied until theyâd had a proper burial. It seemed to give you a sense of⦠serenity , I guess, to know that they were taken care of. You even used to make up funny stories about those poor little lost creatures of yours. Remember Bob, the squirrel banker who forgot to pay his electric bill so he froze to death?â He laughed and wiped her cheek with histhumb. âI was always afraid we were going to get a call from the school psychologist. But your teachers just thought you were creative. â
What Violet remembered was that her dad was the one who helped her when the local animalsâdogs mostlyâdiscovered the shallow graves of her cemetery and began to dig up the little bodies. He was the one who taught her to dig deeper and to cover the graves with heavy stones to prevent the scavengers from getting through to the animals buried below.
And when the dogs remained persistent, he even helped her build a small fence from chicken wire.
âWhen you found that girl, the one in the woods, I thought it would be your undoing. Your mom and I worried that it was too much for such a little girl to deal with. But you did it. You cried at first, and you even had some nightmares, but you didnât fall apart. And as soon as that poor girl was buried, safe and sound in her own proper resting place, you seemed to justââhe shruggedââ move on .â
He lifted her chin with his finger. âYouâll do it again. I know you, Violet. You will be okay. Better than okay. Trust me.â He smiled at her then.
Violet tried to smile back, but she still felt miserable. She couldnât explain it entirely, but it was similar to the way she would feel before sheâd buried one of her animalsâshe felt restless and unsettled. Only this was worseâ¦much, much worse. She felt like she was buried beneath a stiflingly heavy cloak of darkness that was suffocating her, and she desperately needed to claw her way out from underneath it. She didnâtshare her dadâs optimism. To her it felt like she might never break free. But somehow, even if she didnât entirely buy into it, it made her feel better just to hear him saying the words. She would be okay.
âWe should get home,â she reminded him, suddenly wanting to shift the focus away from her. âMomâs probably getting pissed that weâre taking so long.â
âYep, Iâm sure Iâm going to get an earful about it.â He patted her leg and then started the car.
Violet couldnât shake the melancholy feelings that clung to her, infiltrating every pore of her body. She leaned back and closed her eyes, wondering if the nightmares from her childhood were about to return, to haunt her sleep once more.
WATCHING
THE CHAOS OF THE SCENE WAS DELICIOUS. IT created the perfect amount of disorder so that he
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