The Haunted - Jessica Verday [33]
The Haunted
Chapter Eight
MORSE CODE
Every sound of nature, at that witching hour, fluttered his excited imagination… The fireflies, too, which sparkled most vividly in the darkest places, now and then startled him…
—“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
We sat down on the porch steps—Ben on the first one and me on the third. I placed the cake on the step between us and stared at it, watching its glistening sides in the pale glow of a dim bulb above us. Bugs fluttered and hovered around the light, their wings making over-sized shadow puppets on the wall next to us.
I didn’t even know where to start, what to offer as an excuse for why Mom had said what she’d said, how to explain… So I just sat there, running my thumb and forefinger back and forth across my necklace. What do I say? What’s he thinking?
I poked a finger at the cake and swiped off some stray custard. Maybe sugar would give me courage. Licking my fingertip, I sat back and prepared myself to come up with something clever. “Ben, I…”
“You don’t have to explain your parents, Abbey. Mine freak out all the time. I think it’s a side effect of getting old or something,” he said.
I laughed, and he smiled. “The really important thing here is where your finger’s been.”
“What?” I looked at him in confusion.
“You just swiped some icing,” Ben said. “I saw you. Do you know how many germs are on your hands?”
“But I thought you didn’t want to use a fork.”
He reached out and tore off a hunk of the cake. “I don’t. I just wanted the first piece.” But then he graciously offered his prize to me, and I accepted. Grinning, he shoved a smaller bite into his mouth and started chewing. “That,” Ben said, sucking bits of frosting off his fingers, “is good cake.”
I bit into my piece. “We got it from this great little bakery over on DeWalt Street. They have the best desserts there.”
Ben scooped up another bite and offered me half. I had to scoot closer to take it from him.
“So what did you do for your birthday last year?” he asked.
I sat there for a minute. Fireflies winked on and off in the grassy yard near us. “Last year I didn’t really do anything. Kristen was… missing, and I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.” Looking down at my lap, I brushed away a speck of a crumb. Those memories were sad, and I didn’t want to think about that. So I said, “But the year before, Kristen and I went into the city to see Rent. My parents got us this limo, and we took it all over Manhattan. Nothing like seeing the sights while you’re stuck in rush-hour traffic. We saw a whole bunch of alleys and backs of buildings.”
“I bet you had a great time, though,” Ben said.
“Yeah, we really did.” I stroked my star necklace. I wish she could have been here for this birthday. I wish I would have gotten to share it with her.
The fireflies glowed, and I closed one eye. It almost looked like they were blinking in Morse code.
“Do you know Morse code?” I mused out loud.
Ben must have been distracted, because he looked startled. “What?”
“Do you know Morse code?” I repeated, standing up. “Look. The fireflies are blinking in Morse code. It’s some kind of secret message.” I stepped out into the yard and glanced back at him. “Help me catch one.”
He looked at me with an amused smile. “What is this? Your eighth-birthday party?”
“Don’t make me pout. Or cry. Cuz it’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to.” Ben laughed and stood up. Then he lunged at me. “Almost had one there.”
“You did not.” I punched his arm lightly. “You just wanted to scare me.” He shrugged and turned away. “Maybe.”
I spotted one flying toward the trees and started after it. With my hands cupped together, I combed the air and then quickly closed them. Moving back to the light, I cracked them open to see if I’d caught the glowing prize.
But my hands were empty. “Aww, I thought I had one.” Sudden movement in the corner of my eye had me spinning around again, and I scooped my hands through the air. I felt something small catch. “I got one! I got one!”
Ben came over, and I opened my hands wider so that we could both