Highland Defiance - By Sky Purington Page 0,15

up in the house during the day?”

“Speaking of day…why aren’t you two at work?”

“We were. Left a little early is all,” Jim said.

“Tsk. Tsk. Good way to lose your jobs.”

Jim shrugged. “We can always find another.”

She rolled her eyes. Yes, Jim could but David, he was so responsible. Leaving work early must’ve been taxing on him. “Well thanks. But I’m fine, really.”

Neither responded but she sensed their concern. Mildred picked up her pace. “Let’s go to Mystery Hill.”

“Old man Pattee’s cave? Why?” Jim asked.

“Why not?”

“Because we’ve been there a million times.”

Mildred shrugged. But the gesture was more forced than she was willing to admit. Yes they’d gone there a lot as kids but they hadn’t been in several years. For some reason, the strange Stonehenge was a draw for her right now. Almost as if she needed to go there. Funny because the draw hadn’t been there until she’d exited the house.

“So what exactly happened to you today?” Jim asked as they navigated the sticks and stones of New England woodland.

“Must’ve had a touch of something,” Mildred said absently. “Whatever it was, I shook it.”

“Did you really? That fast?” David said.

“That fast.”

“She always did bounce back well,” Jim said, a wide smile breaking over his face. “Half her charm.”

“Her charm?” David frowned.

“Sure.”

“You always did see things the wrong way.”

“Now what do you mean by that?”

Mildred tuned out their chatter and slowed when the Stonehenge came into site. Was it her imagination or did the air suddenly feel cooler? Did all the sounds natural to a forest seem to quiet? Save her two arguing friends of course. But then, even they suddenly did. Perhaps they sensed it too?

Drawn, she continued to walk until she saw the first of the odd stone buildings. Though this place had been officially discovered in 1907 it’d clearly been around for tens of thousands of years. As kids they loved to play in the old ruins and pretend they’d been the ancient people who’d called this their home.

“I can’t imagine why you’d want to come here right now, Mildred,” Jim said.

Neither can I. But she did. “Memories, I suppose,” she whispered.

“Of our time here?” David asked.

No. Yes. Sort of. “I guess. A little.”

Somehow it was that but not at all. With a thick swallow she whispered, “Why did I never see it like this before?”

“Like what?” Jim gazed around. “Looks the same as it always did.”

“No.” She shook her head and continued walking. “Something’s different.”

As if her friends understood she needed some silence they said nothing as she headed through their old stomping grounds to a particular spear shaped stone that aligned with the sun during summer solstice.

“What’s the date today?” she asked.

“Your Birthday, silly. June twentieth,” David said.

Mildred ran her hand over the rock and murmured, “Summer solstice.”

“What’s the big deal?” Jim asked.

If only she knew. But somehow, inside, she knew it was a very big deal.

Jim leaned against the rock, his brow furrowed. “Mildred?”

“What?”

He shook his head. “What is the matter with you?”

“Nothing,” she replied automatically and stared beyond the rock.

“Interesting that you wanted to come to this rock today,” David said. Always the logical one he nodded toward the sun. “Were you interested in seeing the equinox?”

Jim rolled his eyes. “She’s seen it before. We all have.”

“Have we?” Mildred said, her gaze wandering to the sun. It was slowly sinking to the point where the rock would touch its belly. Yes, she’d watched this before but it’d never had sound.

“Sound? What do you mean?” David asked.

“Hmm?” Mildred looked from him to the sun. Had she said her thoughts aloud? No. Impossible.

Yet there was sound and it grew louder. Her attention turned to the rock and sun, she listened. She heard a strange wind and vibration. How was that possible?

“Listen to that,” she said. “Why didn’t we hear this before?”

“Hear what?” Jim asked and frowned. His eyes went from her to the rock and back. “I don’t hear anything.”

“I don’t either,” David said.

“Shhh.” Mildred felt the vibration in the rock. Or was it somehow the sun on the far off horizon? The wind increased, flipping the leaves. Any diehard New Englander knew that when the leaves flipped just so in the wind a storm was coming.

The minute she thought it the tip of the rock touched the bottom of the sun and black bellied clouds started to roll in, swiftly eliminating the sun’s rays. Breathing seemed impossible. When she looked at Jim he blurred. Panicked, she looked at David to find he’d all but