• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1017 0

It was one of those clear, late May days in the Colorado high country where patches of spring snow still stuck stubbornly to the north-facing grassy hills. Emily was drawn to a mound of snow nearby the restroom. She poked at the icy remains until she touched something hard. Carefully, she pulled the object out of the snow and found a metal bracket with a bright red edge of color encircling it. The object had fallen off someone’s ski binding and wedged in the layers of ice. Emily examined the metal trinket, watching the sun bounce off of it. She was mesmerized by this seemingly innocuous find, and, within seconds, she fell into a trancelike state as the sun-lit glare reflected onto her face. Her heart beat faster and her breathing became labored. A well-defined sense of fear grabbed hold of her and yet she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the penetrating glare. The feeling of doom strengthened. Then out of nowhere . . . “Emily?”

Emily spun around, her eyes wide as saucers, as the metal bracket flew out of her hand. Jane stood behind her, equally startled by the child’s exaggerated response. For a split second, Emily was blinded by the sunlight and unable to make out Jane’s face. In that second of time, Emily could swear that a large, indistinguishable man was standing over her.

“Emily?” Jane said concerned. “What is it?” At the sound of Jane’s voice, Emily was slammed back into reality. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Jane’s hips. “Emily, what happened?” Jane asked, canvassing the immediate area. The child grabbed Jane with an even tighter grip and mumbled indistinguishable words. “Emily!” Jane peeled the kid off of her. She knelt down on one knee so she could be on eye level. “Did somebody bother you?”

“No,” the child responded in a confused tone, still somewhat out of her body.

“Why are you shaking?”

“I don’t know,” Emily said, bewildered. “I saw that piece of metal in the snow and something happened. It was like I was somewhere else but I couldn’t see anything. I just felt scared.” Jane looked down and let out a deep sigh. “I’m not making it up!” Emily said, misinterpreting Jane’s reaction.

Jane looked Emily in the eye. “I know you’re not. Trust me. I know.”

The two drove off, continuing their journey west on I-70. There was almost thirty minutes of silence until Emily spoke up. “Why are there bad people in this world?”

“I don’t know,” Jane said, lighting another cigarette and cracking the window.

“Have you met a lot of bad people?”

“Yeah.”

“How many?”

“More than I can count.” Jane took a hard drag.

Emily looked out the window as they descended down the mountain and into the Eagle River Valley. “Did you ever kill someone?”

“You already asked me that question. I’m not answering it. I don’t want you thinking about stuff like that. All you have to do is get up in the morning, eat three meals, play with your toys and go to bed at night.”

“I need to know you can if you have to . . .” Emily insisted.

Jane pulled onto the wide shoulder of the highway, bringing the Subaru to a stop. “A long time ago, I pointed a gun at someone. It was someone who deserved to die. You talk about bad, this guy was the definition of the word. A lot of people suffered because of what he did. I knew his death would make the suffering stop. I wasn’t worried what would happen to me, because once he was out of the picture, I figured the world would be a better place. I had my finger on the trigger and I was going to do it . . .” Jane stopped, briefly reliving that moment.

“But you didn’t?” Emily said quietly.

Part of Jane was still back in the workshop. “But I didn’t.”

Emily felt queasy. “What stopped you?”

Jane turned to Emily. “I was young and stupid. If I’d known then what I know now about how the world works, I wouldn’t have hesitated a second. But I promise you, if it ever comes to that point again, I will not hesitate. You have my word.”

They continued down I-70 for another hour before stopping for lunch in Glenwood Springs. On the way back to the car, Emily gazed longingly in the window of Glenwood Shoe Service