Page 59 - The Woven Tale Press Vol. IV #1

I stopped briefly, held my breath and closed my “Promise!” Mother said.
eyes, and tugged again.
“I promise,” Dad said.
The boot gave suddenly and I fell forward, completely submerged. I gasped and my mouth and throat filled with muddy water. I felt Moth- er’s weight on my back, holding me under. I wondered briefly if she were using me as a step to get onto the ladder. When she didn’t move,
I struggled, then I fought. My chest got tighter and tighter. Eventually I got tired and lay still.
“Please fill in that hole tonight. I couldn’t bear to look at it in the morning.” She stared at me as she said this, her eyes black with dancing shadows.
“Audrey, oh my God, Audrey,” I heard Dad call as he hauled her out of the hole.
I stood there in the rain, watching them. These past two years Dad had been digging holes to find the truth of himself, and now he thinks this old lie is it. I looked into the burrow; the rain was making the sides cave in, burying me, forever.
“Oh hold me, hold me,” Mother sobbed.
Granddad’s hand took mine. “Hello, Lizzie,” he said.
“Ssshh, it’s okay, you’re safe now, ssshh,” Dad hushed.
His mouth smiled but his eyes were full of the sea.
“What would I’ve done... if you hadn’t come back.”
“D’you know what, Granddad?”
“What”s that, Lizzie child?”
”It’s not a good idea to have favorite things.” “No? Why ever not, faith?”
“Favorite things get taken away, Granddad.”
“Don’t, I can’t bear to think.”
Slowly, I climbed up the rope ladder. I could feel the lumpy mud in my throat, between my teeth. Dad and Mother were kneeling on the ground. Dad had his back to me and was rock- ing Mother like she was his small child.
“That’s it, no more digging holes.”
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