The Secrets of Lake Road - Karen Katchur Page 0,39

Billy. Maybe if she learned the secret of Billy, she could end whatever it was that haunted her mother. What she wanted most and longed to know was what made her mother run. But her mother wasn’t running, not in the dream. She was swimming, farther and farther away, all while Caroline was drowning in the lake.

Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up in bed. A cool breeze pulled the curtains against the window screen. Light from the moon cut across the floor and the far wall. She could hear her father snoring in the room next door, the sound comforting. She had been dreaming. It was only a dream. But it wasn’t.

She leaned back against the pillow, too afraid to close her eyes, fearing the images that swam behind them in the dark. She wasn’t going to get any more sleep tonight. Willow’s branches scratched against the side of the cabin, beckoning her to come out and play.

She tossed the covers aside. After making sure her bedroom door was closed tight, she lifted the screen and climbed out. She crawled into the crook of the trunk between two big branches about a third of the way up the tree. It was big enough for her to fit comfortably, stretching her legs on the thick branch in front of her and maintaining her balance in the pocket. It was better than any deer stand that had been constructed in the woods on the other side of the colony in the open field far from the cabins.

In summers past she and Megan, the twins, and Adam would hike to the field and play games in the deer stands. They’d use sticks for guns and knives, pretend to track animals, play King of the Mountain. Other times they’d hike farther into the woods where a tree had fallen across the creek that fed the lake. They’d swing on vines, balance on the fallen tree, and hang out far away from the jeering of Johnny and Chris’s gang and where the grown-ups could never find them. They’d catch crawfish and salamanders and frogs. They’d make mud pies and build stick huts.

Caroline wished they were doing those things again this summer. What she wouldn’t give to go back to the way things were between her and Megan, before Megan went all girly and goofy over boys.

She thought about Chris and felt funny inside, warm and icky at the same time. The way he looked at her when she caught the line drive down the third baseline made her heart flutter. It was as though he were seeing her for the first time, and it made her cheeks burn.

She willed herself to think of something else and pulled her legs to her chest, resting her chin on top of her knees. The willow’s long fingerlike branches rocked in the breeze. The leaves rustled softly, gently lulling her. She leaned back against the trunk. Her thoughts settled. Her eyelids grew heavy. She fought to keep them open for a moment or two before giving in. What could it hurt to rest her eyes for a few minutes?

She was unaware of time passing. The wind picked up and the swinging branches roused her. She wondered how long she was asleep when she heard the sound of footsteps.

Who’s there? she asked.

A twig snapped.

Hello? she said, squinting into the shadows below.

A little girl appeared underneath the tree. She was wearing the same yellow-and-pink polka dot bathing suit as Sara had worn that day on the beach. Water dripped from her braids down the front of her chest. Bits and pieces of her arms and legs were missing as though someone had taken an eraser to her limbs. Sara?

Caroline rubbed her eyes. She must be dreaming. Her spine pressed into the cold hard trunk. Her right leg tingled from sleep. The wind blew her hair across her face, the strands sticking to her lips. She swiped them away from her mouth.

What are you doing here? Everyone is looking for you.

Don’t let them find me, Sara said in a whispery voice that seemed to blow with the wind.

Who don’t you want to find you?

I want my mommy.

Caroline’s body shivered from the breeze. She was confused. Was she dreaming? Wake up, she told herself. You need to wake up.

Sara, she said, hearing her voice inside her chest just before she felt herself falling, the kind of falling that happens in dreams. She hit the ground with a thud. The air in