The Flicker by H. E. Edgmon

Author:H. E. Edgmon [Edgmon, H. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Young Adult
ISBN: 9781250873965
Goodreads: 60281537
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 2023-12-31T22:00:00+00:00

17

SHE’S GON’ SEE HER grandma today.

Millie can’t hardly contain how happy she is. They made it to South Carolina that afternoon, and by tonight, they’re gon’ make it all the way to the little house her grandma’s lived in as long as Millie’s been alive. She’s gon’ see the gardens, and the chickens, and the bird feeders on all the windows. And she’s gon’ see her grandma. She knows she is.

’Cause she ain’t dead. Millie knows it. And she don’t know how she knows, but there ain’t anything in the world could make her doubt it. Maybe it’s her ancestors, telling her to keep on the path. Like maybe it’s her people leading her back to home, back to family, back to herself. Telling her not to give up, ’cause her grandma’s waiting for her.

Whatever it is, she knows it’s true. And today, the rest of them are gon’ see it, too.

The closer they get, the more she can’t stop smiling. Things are starting to look familiar. They pass through a tiny town outside Rock Hill, stopping to scrounge up gas from forgotten tractors in long-unused barns, and Millie starts recognizing places. The grocery store her grandma would take her when she’d stay with her during summers or holidays. The swimming hole where Millie broke her arm when she’s seven. The tiny church where one of Millie’s cousins got married a couple springs ago.

That makes her wonder, for the first time, if she’s gon’ find more than just her grandma here. This whole time, she’s been so focused on one person, she ain’t really stopped to think if anyone else mighta made it out of the Flicker alive. There’s aunties and uncles and cousins all over the place, from here to Ohio, or all the way down to the rez in Tampa.

And if any of them did make it, they woulda come here. She just knows it. Her grandma’s the smartest, and the strongest, and the best of all of them. She’d be their best bet, just like she’s Millie’s. Of course they’d come here.

A brand-new excitement makes her bounce. She might have a whole family waiting for her! It won’t be long now. They’re gon’ pull up to the house, and she might see a whole sea of faces. Oh, they’re gon’ be so happy to see her. Her, and Sammy, and Rose.

’Cause Rose is one of them, too. She maybe don’t know it yet, but she is. All that anger Millie’d been carrying around, aimed right at her stepsister, it all feels so silly now. She ain’t got no use for it, so she’s gon’ put it down. They’re family. All they got is each other.

Well, each other and whoever’s waiting for them with her grandma.

At the thought, Millie honest to goodness lets out a whole giggle she can’t control. ’Cause ain’t nothing funny happened, the rest of the bus looks at her like she’s lost her marbles. She flushes, putting a hand over her mouth to hide her looney smile.

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