die.
Well Iâve gone way over my limit lots of words this time so next time I donât have to write so many right?
SHADOW MAN
Gabe :
Wrong. Keep up the good work. Youâre doing beautifully! P.S. I think itâs great that youâre speaking up for Manuel. The other kids look up to you, Gabe. They really do. Set them a good example .
C.S .
16
Jennie Harding
It is so quiet here. There is no sound. Even the waves are silent; as if I were lying on the bottom of the ocean, the water above me as blue as the sky, the gulls flashing by like fish.
I am suspended in stillness, on the crest of the wave, in the breathless hush just before the wish. I have pushed back the world. I have made a safe place for my baby and me.
If I try very hard and hold my mind tight, I can keep out the terrible pictures: the crying faces, the open mouths. The sea is motionless. Time is my prisoner. I have carved out a moment that does not exist; itâs now and no tomorrow.
And I see my lover, rising like the sun, then bending to kiss me, his breath a warm breeze, his blue eyes deep enough to drown my fear.
The rock is hot, but the water is cool. I dangle my toes. Waves come nibbling like fish. I feel Gabriel pressing kisses on my lips, his tongue as sweet as chocolate.
Put your hands on my belly. Can you feel the baby, swimming in the dark like a minnow? We donât even know whoâs in there, you said. Yes, we do, I said; itâs you and me.
The walls of my mind are stretching, shrieking. Hold on tight. Got to hold on tight. Imagine Gabrielâs face above me. Inches away. He is kissing my throat.
I have to use all my strength to hold this moment in place, to make a space for Gabriel and the baby and me. Together forever. I canât keep out the sound. The roaring and pounding. Gabe is slipping away. Donât leave me !
Clouds are gathering. Waves are crashing. The storm is coming. Can you hear the thunder? My God, it sounds like Gabrielâs truck, hitting and hitting and hitting that tree, over and over, until nothing is left.
Not even me.
17
Joey Hammer
I ran into Franny coming out of the liquor store. He looked terrible.
âHow you doing?â I asked, a stupid question. But what was there to say?
âPretty bad.â He looked at me sideways. Thatâs his way.
âIâm awful sorry about Gabe,â I said. Franny cracked open a fresh pack of Salems. He mightâve bought a bottle too, but thatâs his business. Whatâs the point of staying sober now? So he can tell how bad heâs feeling?
People are saying this is a punishment from God, for all of Frannyâs sins.
The hell it is. Franâs been punished enough. Anyhow, God wouldnât use Gabe that way. Gabeâs just a kid, he didnât do nothing wrong.
âHowâs Katherine taking it?â We were standing outside, leaning against the wall by the newspaper racks.
âNot too good,â Franny said. âThe minister just left. She wouldnât talk to him.â
âShe must be pretty upset.â
âShe hasnât said one word since she saw Gabe this morning.â Franâs face was the color of the newspapers.
âThere anything I can do?â I started to reach out my hand, but heâs not the kind of guy you touch.
He shook his head. âGabeâs girlfriend took off. Nobodyâs seen her all morning. Her father called the house. Heâs been looking. Guess Iâll drive around and keep my eyes open.â
âWhat about Katherine?â
âShe wants to be alone. Anyway, Davidâs there with her.â
âYou want some company?â
âNo,â he said. âI mean, thanks anyway.â
âMaybe Iâll drive around too,â I told him. âDid she and Gabe have a place they liked to go, someplace in particular?â
âNot that I know of.â He rubbed his eyes. Franny looked like he hadnât slept in a week and might