Cole didn’t hesitate at all. His deep chuckle lifted her heart so much that she joined in. They laughed together. The strong carefree kind that hurts the sides, the one that only those you are comfortable with ever get to hear.
Then Madgie woke in a fit. Amanda had never seen her in such a state, half-asleep and hair like a lion’s mane. She started shouting at them for being “young and able to sleep on the forest floor.” This only fueled their amusement.
The laughter in the air faded away and was replaced with a familiar silence. She wasn’t at all surprised when the Scar took form in front of her, but she was surprised to see both Cole and Madgie still with her. They looked at each other full of confusion. When a Scar took a Healer it wasn’t a group thing. She’d never heard of a Scar taking more than one person before. From the look on Cole and Madgie’s faces, neither had they.
They were on the high, pebble-strewn banks of a clear river, watching two young lovers on the opposite side. The pair didn’t notice the three of them standing there, too caught up in each other. Amanda knew immediately it was the teenage boy who was trapped here in this Scar. The girl was a mere memory, not a spirit. Fear rippled across Amanda’s bosom, and she fell to her knees, momentarily overcome with the emotion. Cole pulled her back on her feet, and she tried to push out the feeling of trepidation.
It was a terrible thing to watch these Scars unfolding. Sometimes she had scenes like this, love, laughter, but it was merely the calm before the storm. If they were here, in this memory, something was eventually going to happen, a tragedy terrible enough to Scar a spirit and the world.
It was a beautiful day in the memory. The sunlight seemed almost golden as it reflected off the surface of the smooth water and highlighted the cotton blowing about on the breeze. It was springtime. Cottonwoods shed their seeds in the spring. She made note of every detail. Suddenly the young man was on his feet. He was dressed in a humble suit that reflected the style of the 1940s.
“Come on, Mae! It’ll be fun. The boys and me do it all the time,” he said to his sweetheart with a smile dancing around his lips.
“I can’t, John! For goodness sake, I’m in my Sunday dress! My mama would tan my hide,” Mae replied.
“What if I told ya I’d give you all of the dead presidents in my wallet?” he asked.
“I’d say I don’t want anymore Lincolns jingling around in my purse.” She giggled.
“Oh, I have more than pennies, you little tease. Now are you up for fun or not?” John asked as he offered her his hand.
“Okay, but it’s your own fault if my ma won’t allow me to see ya for a month,” Mae said, caressing his arm.
They walked hand in hand downstream, laughing with each other and giving shy kisses, until they reached a tree. It was a great deal larger than the rest of the ones lining the river, making it seem out of place. Its wide branches stretched out over the water and dangling from one of the thickest ones was a rope.
John picked up a long stick propped against the tree and leaned over the bank, swiping at the rope. After a few swings, the improvised hook snagged it and he pulled it to him. His girlfriend looked nervous as he held it out to her.
“You go first. Show me how to do it,” she said hesitantly.
He straightened his shoulders. “Okay. First, make sure you have a good grip on the rope. Like this, see,” John said, showing her the position of his hands. “Then just walk back a couple steps and do this.” He ran off the edge of the bank, swinging into the air. When he reached the highest point that the rope came to, he threw himself back, doing a flip before hitting the water. He resurfaced in a few seconds, whipping his hair back, making drops of water rain down all around him.
“Just like that, huh?” Mae asked sarcastically.
“Well, you don’t need to do the back flip. I was just impressing you.” He swam out of her way.
“I believe the term is ‘just trying to impress you’,” she said with a smile.
“Nope, no trying about it. I impressed you. Now get down here with me. The water’s fine,” he said while floating on his back.
Her smile faded. “I don’t know if I should do this, John. If I come home with a broken leg, my pa will probably kill you.” Mae looked down at the fifteen-foot drop.
“Oh, you get free health care anyway. Your dad’s a doc.
Don’t worry so much, it isn’t that high. I wouldn’t have you do it if it were dangerous. Now live a little,” he chided.
“All right, but if I break my leg I’m not letting you sign my cast.” She giggled at him and straightened her shoulders as she had seen him do.
“Okay, make sure you have a good grip and let go around the middle… that’s where the water is deepest,” he instructed. Mae took a few steps back and ran off the edge, closing her eyes as her foot left the earth. She swung out over the water, her dark locks shining in the sunlight. The rope reached its highest point, and she threw herself back.
No! Amanda heard John think. Don’t try to flip, don’t!
She was falling fast. She attempted to right herself as he had, but to no avail. Her eyes shot open, full of fear and met his right before her head awkwardly struck the water.
Amanda knew the loud crack that sounded couldn’t have happened in real life. He must have imagined he’d heard her neck breaking afterward, but all the same, the sound chilled her to the bone.
John swam over to her body, quickly pulling her out of the water, and laid her on the bank.
“Mae?” he whispered. She didn’t respond, her body limp and lifeless. He put his head gently to her chest where her soaked Sunday dress clung to her skin. “Mae?” he screamed. “Mae, wake up.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her hard.
“Mae, don’t leave me. Don’t go,” John begged her through sobs. He gently picked her up in his arms and began running. There was no need for the Healers to give chase. They were dragged along with him. He ran across two wheat fields with Mae’s limp body in his arms before a small town came into view.
Looked like a postcard, little white church and all. They neared the quaint country town.
“Help!” John screamed out frantically. “Someone help us please!” he begged. His voice was so full of pain Amanda had to lean on Cole to keep herself standing.
Where was he going? Didn’t he know it was too late?
Amanda could see he hadn’t given up. He still believed he could save the very dead girl in his arms. He had to believe that. He couldn’t go on without her. She couldn’t believe the pace that he kept. He had run three miles before Amanda understood his destination, the hospital. She was beginning to understand why this memory hadn’t stopped by the river’s edge. It wasn’t only this girl’s death that was scarring. It was whatever happened next, with Mae’s father.
Amanda felt herself pulling back, attempting to fight the force towing her along after John. She didn’t want to see what happened next. She had no need to feel this boy’s pain. He was such a simple, fragile spirit. Madgie and Cole were looking at her thoughtfully.
“Mae’s father is a doctor,” Amanda said quietly. She turned to look at Cole, and his eyes met hers. He scanned her face. She looked away from him, turning back to the boy that she was scared to follow. “We’re headed to the hospital.” She gestured toward the building that was growing in size and clarity at their approach.
Madgie’s face contorted in pain and Cole’s fell in realization. “Oh!” Madgie cried. “You don’t think that…”
“Yes, of course something terrible is going to happen.
We’re here, aren’t we?” Amanda stated bluntly. Like the girl’s death wasn’t hard enough on him. She choked up. What was going to happen now?
John’s screams had caused a stir, and people began flowing out onto the street from small shops and eateries. They were all done up in their Sunday best, but it didn’t stop the women from dropping to their knees as John passed by.
“Mae!” Some of the women cried out before fainting, and
Amanda understood why they did. Mae’s body was devoid of all color. Her once pale, milky skin was now a nauseating grey.
Some of the men joined John in his run to the hospital. A tall middle-aged man ran next to him. He was
