The Brambles by Leah Erickson

Author:Leah Erickson [Erickson, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781370742479
Publisher: 9 MM Press
Published: 2018-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

“But, hon, do you want me to go with you?”

Elizabeth’s mother usually walked with her through the woods. She looked up at Elizabeth now, from the living room floor, her body bent into a complicated yoga position, the camel pose, spine bent back, knees tucked under her, her muscles shaking with the strain.

“That’s okay, Mom, I thought I’d just go by myself. To clear my head. I’m seventeen now, I can take care of myself. Besides, you’re busy. Keep doing your thing.”

She just wanted to get out, out. She was wearing the nicest things she could find, a sleeveless t-shirt and a new skirt, a long wrap skirt made of raw silk in an India print, blues, and pinks.

Annabel looked at her daughter. The skirt. Annabel had bought the skirt for her at the summer arts festival downtown, where they had recently gone together. It had been a gorgeous day, with a soft golden light in the air. The streets of the downtown were shut down so that pedestrians could fill the streets lined with stalls. People sold paintings of the local coastline. Hammered silver jewelry. Hand-poured candles and jars of dark, golden honey. The smell of fried dough and cotton candy wafted through the air and shuddering bouncy inflatable houses filled with the delighted screams of children.

Elizabeth had paused here and there to look at a tin garden sculpture, a tray of glistening glass rings. Then she was drawn into a tent where a woman was selling homemade clothes; everything was so bright and lovely. A gaggle of girls Elizabeth’s age tried on velvet patchwork hats. They chatted happily, pulling faces in front of a large full-length mirror on a stand.

Elizabeth found the skirt and held it up to her body to see what it would look like.

Annabel said to her, gently, “Hon, why don’t you go use the mirror so you can see better? I’m sure those girls will make room for you. They look nice.” Annabel so wanted Elizabeth to make friends of her own. Though it scared her to imagine the implications. Teenagers would ask too many questions. So where were you born? So why don’t you go to school?

But still, she wished the girl had companionship. Her heart beat in anxiety, watching Elizabeth approach the teenage girls. Please, let her in.

But as Elizabeth’s wan reflection appeared behind their own in the mirror, a ripple of unease passed through the group. Elizabeth held the skirt to her body and stroked it, lifting the fabric between her fingers and smiling with pleasure at the soft touch of it. She said nothing but smiled at the girls in such an appealing, dreamy way.

But it was as though Elizabeth carried a chill around her that cast a pall over the group like a cloud passing over the sun. The energy changed. It was as though those girls sensed death in their midst, and things grew quiet and strange. They put back the hats and moved on.

It all happened in just a small moment, a fraction of time.

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