We Remember || ONC2022

Chapter Nine

I tied the skirt in a knot at my knees to keep it dry and we plopped our chairs among the gray and white gulls scavenging along the shoreline. Alder pulled a rolled up paperback from his back pocket and settled himself in his chair, the swash of the waves lapping at his bare feet.

I sat, too, and tossed the white head of a daylily into the bay. The waves were sleeping further out but breaking near shore, enough so that they carried my flowers away. With every bloom I released, I cried. Tears of shame, of pain, of loss. Tears soaked into soft petals and given to the Goddess. Tears for myself and for Pim, for Layla Flint and Iris Chen. Tears for my mothers, Cress and Rose Blackthorn. And all the while, Alder sat silently by my side, reading his book. I tossed a flower for him, too. For the second and the first.

When my basket was empty and Alder several more chapters into his book, we folded up our chairs to leave. Alder didn't ask if I wanted to be carried this time, but I knew he'd gladly do it if I asked. As we turned away from the bay, I was surprised to see Orin and Lemon a little ways up the beach. It wasn't entirely out of the ordinary, as Orin and his family lived in a cottage about a half mile closer to town, but still unexpected. Our families tended not to stray onto each other's stretch of sand.

"Should we say hello?" I said. I was wary of Lemon. I'd told Alder that she suspected him, and neither of us were sure what to do about it. I think he wanted to tell them. He remembered Lemon as a friend to the first Alder and was inclined to trust her, while I'd had an entirely different experience with her.

He shrugged. "I guess so."

We corrected our course to stop at their little encampment. Lemon was lying on her belly on a blanket, round sun spectacles perched on her nose, reading her way through a thick textbook. Her long, dark hair was in two braids and wrapped around her head. Orin sat next to her, legs crossed, a large sketchbook in his lap but angled in such a way that I couldn't see what he'd been drawing. His fingers were pale blue and green from the oil pastels he'd been using.

"Hello," I said.

"Hi, guys." Alder nodded his head since his hands were too full to wave.

Lemon peered at us over the top of her glasses. "Hey."

Though he didn't meet our eyes, Orin waved his blue-green fingers.

"You seem better," Lemon said, jutting her chin in my direction. "Than yesterday. What happened to you, anyway?"

Since she probably wouldn't believe me, I decided on the truth. Or a piece of it anyway. "I was struck by lightning." Alder's head whipped in my direction, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, right," Lemon said. I just shrugged and gave her a snarky smile.

"So, uh, Orin," Alder said. "What're you drawing?"

Orin hesitated, chewing on his lip, but eventually turned his pad so that we could see. I gasped. Orin had drawn my offering to the Goddess. Lush, foamy waves carrying delicate, white flowers. I felt the rock of the sea and the dance of the daylilies as they rose on the curling pockets of the waves. I'd swear my face was wet with the sea spray jumping off the page. Orin's version of the bay looked so full and soft and almost juicy, and I felt a bizarre urge to take a bite out of his picture.

"Wow," I said. "It's beautiful."

Orin dropped his sketchbook and pulled from his pocket the little notebook and pencil. He wrote in snappy, agitated motions. He thrust the pad at me. Leaning down to take the book, I felt a stab in my chest. I groaned in pain, pressing a palm to my heart.

Orin let out a distressed moan just as Alder dropped the beach chairs, hand flying to my back in alarm. "Wyn, Wyn, are you okay?"

I straightened up, exhaling loudly. "I'm fine, Alder." I glanced at Orin, who was rocking back and forth in distress. Lemon was on her knees, at his side. "Orin, I'm sorry. I was careless," I said. "Please, it's not your fault. Really." Orin covered his ears with his hands.