Fledgling (15 page)

Misinterpreting the sad expression on Ana’s face, he added, “We can take our time…and you can stargaze the whole way. I don’t want your mom worrying about you.”

Chance loaded the basket into the boat, wrapped Ana in the wool blanket and helped her onto her seat. As promised, he took them slowly across the lake toward their launch site.

Ana spent half the time looking at the stars and the remainder gazing at Chance, who wasn’t able to tear his eyes away from the bundled beauty before him.

As Chance paddled them back he couldn’t shake a terrible foreboding that things wouldn’t stay the same for much longer.

Chapter 18.

The next morning Ana came downstairs in her bathrobe wearing a faint smile on her face. The unmistakable traces of love were creeping into the dark edges of her doleful eyes. Melissa didn’t miss it and walked up to her tired daughter and gave her a big hug. Ana leaned back questioningly.

“What…I can’t hug my daughter?”

“No-sure you can,” Ana said confused. The look on her mother’s face worried her. She seemed so melancholy. It forced her to think about the coming doctor’s appointment. It was only six days away.

Ana sniffed and asked, “Pancakes?”

Both eager for a diversion, they walked to the dining table where Eva was already sitting, watching cartoons on the T.V. in the living room. She crammed dripping pieces of pancake into her engorged mouth, looking like a rabid chipmunk gone mad on Bisquick. Eva gave her sister a nod when she joined her at the table.

“So… Chance wants you to come along tomorrow on our walk,” Ana said as she touched her sister’s free hand.

Eva glanced over with syrup trickling off her chin. “Weawy?” Eva’s eyes lit up in excitement, thrilled to be included in her sister’s plans.

Melissa smiled at her girls across the table and tossed a napkin to Eva. “Really Eva, you could at least try to eat like a lady.”

Sticking her tongue out, Eva grabbed the napkin and stuck it to her chin. Ana started laughing out loud, which became contagious. Soon all three were tearing with laughter around the table.

Sunday’s nature walk with Eva went well.

Normally effervescent, Eva stayed collected after Ana and Chance advised her to remain quiet while observing wildlife.

Elk, American Kestrel and Mountain Bluebirds all made an appearance and every little thing Chance pointed out to Eva she became enthralled with. She was thrilled when Chance exposed a butterfly larva, hidden in a curled leaf, hanging from a twig. Her enthusiasm for learning made her slight body shake trying to contain her excitement. It must have been near impossible, Ana thought for Eva to repress her delight, which normally bubbled over when she experienced joy. She was amazed with how self possessed Eva was, never frightening away any of the animals Chance pointed out.

Ana watched Eva and Chance knowing this was the very reason she had decided to bring her camera.

She wanted a record of this time. Neither of her companions suspected any ulterior motives, but with each click of the shudder, she felt two conflicting feelings intertwine: sadness and thankfulness.

The hourglass was beginning to turn and Ana felt each infinitesimal grain dropping. No, thudding onto her heart. Familiar with her life and its boundaries, she couldn’t help but feel powerless.

She expected her health would ruin things as usual, but she was overjoyed to have been given such a generous gift.

Chance. He meant so much to her, even if she had only just met him. What she felt for Chance filled in all the cracks, leaving her satisfied and happy. Even if it only lasted a short time, every moment shared with him meant everything.

Chance watched Ana’s quiet behavior with unease. Her familiar jumbled emotions left him frightened for some reason. He kept close, as though he could prevent what was coming. Unsure how to stop an anonymous threat, he wanted to stay near, hoping his presence would be enough to protect her.

Chapter 19.

Monday moved too quickly for Ana. She wanted to savor everything but it seemed like someone had hit the fast forward button. Her days started moving faster than she wanted.

Chance seemed to notice her change in attitude and grew more troubled. Ana could see he had better senses than most people, and knew he was observing her, far more closely than she would have previously guessed.

When Ana grew faint, she could swear he turned to her as though he could hear the blood pounding through her veins, knowing something was wrong. She saw him gazing at her purple tinged lips with his brows knitted together, and suspected he wasn’t just thinking about kissing her.

After school one day she went to her computer longing to examine the photographs she took since arriving in Clark Bend. Ana had been so occupied with Chance lately she hadn’t reviewed any of her images.

The black screen of her computer flickered to life and she clicked through the slides, savoring them individually, appreciating each moment in time she had captured. The first grouping was from their drive to Idaho. She smiled when she came to a picture of her mom and sister at a rest stop. Supporting her head on the palm of her hand, she continued the slideshow.

The series of images she took at school in the garden, the first time she met Chance, came next. She stopped on the one she selected for her assignment-Chance with his arms outstretched in movement. She touched the screen, focusing on his eyes and sighed.

The next photographs were taken in the forest behind her house. She inspected the bark’s detailed pattern of a fir’s trunk and the squirrel she captured with food in its mouth while foraging. Next were the images of sunset over the distant mountains and the stars that kept her company before bed, her nighttime friends.

Ana rubbed her stinging watery eyes, and decided to go downstairs for a drink and to check on her sister. She could hear giggling downstairs, and figured Eva was gossiping with her school friend.

“Hey D, how you doing?” she asked leaning over the back of the sofa, looking into her sister’s surprised face. Eva and her friend were sitting at opposite ends of the couch with crumpled up pieces of paper between them.

“Good,” Eva said with a smile as her cheeks turned fuchsia and both girls began snickering, sliding off the sofa.

“You guys need anything to eat? I’m getting myself a drink.” After a long period of giggles Ana shrugged her shoulders and retreated to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. She had a sip at the sink and took in the view out the kitchen window. After a long intentional moment, she headed back upstairs.

She placed a pillow on her desk chair and settled back in front of the computer, continuing her slideshow.

The next series were of the friendly red fox. Cunning was a good description for the animal, she thought while scrutinizing it’s bright intelligent eyes. The sequence of pictures captured it moving in place, turning its head in the sun. Then in one frame, something caught her eye. Something shiny.

Ana tapped the zoom button, increasing the image size and brought the object closer for inspection. A puzzled look crossed her face.

Immediately flipping back in the series of images, she opened the one of Chance in motion, zooming in again.

“What the…?”

Ana focused on Chance’s necklace. The silver bear heartline hung from a simple, worn leather band.

Clicking back to the fox, she noticed a silver bear hanging on a leather strap around the animal’s neck.

Ana’s mind went blank.

She didn’t know how to process this. Sure, it was weird, but all it could be was a coincidence. What else could it be? Was she seeing things?

A bird darted through the gloom outside and disappeared in the forest. An odd feeling sank into the pit of her stomach and settled. She scratched her forehead, wrinkling her brow. Nonsensical ideas swirled in her mind, confusing her more. Then like flipping a switch, she shut off her internal noise and saved the photographs to her desktop, deciding to review them again after her doctor’s appointment.

If it mattered anymore.

The rest of the night Ana was quiet.

“So… I double checked with my boss today, and its fine if I take Friday off… to take you to Spokane,” Melissa said while brushing out Eva’s hair.

Eva peered over to her taciturn sister, while her head jerked around from her mother’s over-zealous brushing. “What about me? I wanna to go, too!”

Melissa grimaced, “I know-I know you want to be there. I think it may be best you go to school though. It might be hard for you to focus, but I think it’s the best place for you. I’ve already spoken to Tera and she’s going to pick you up after school.”

Eva’s shoulders slumped and she said in exasperation, “But, I want to go with Ana. It’s not fair!”

Silence.

Calmly, their mother whispered, “No…none of it is.”

Eva looked up to her sister with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Ana.”

Chapter 20.

Tuesday left Ana feeling topsy-turvy.

Her resolve was torn apart by her sister crying in her lap the previous night. She still felt shaken.

Ana tried keeping her mind off of the image of the fox and Chance’s necklace. Any more absurdity was just too much to process. With her upcoming doctors appointment she didn’t need the added weight from worrying about bizarre things she couldn’t understand.

Chance sat close to her through photography and English class, while Ana kept an attentive eye on him. She found herself staring at his bear pendant perplexed. How could the fox have the
same
pendant on? And why? Was it a pet? It didn’t make any sense. There was probably a simple explanation; she just didn’t know what it was.

Ana frowned, “Chance…umm…do you have a pet?”

Stunned and confused he leaned back. “No…why?”

“Oh, never mind…it’s nothing.”

Something had changed. And he wasn’t sure what. He saw her staring at his necklace in confusion and couldn’t understand why. She was quiet and contemplative and it unnerved him.

As they walked to the parking lot after school he asked, “Want to go on a walk tomorrow after school?”

“Yes, definitely. Let me check with Aunt Tera and see if she can pick up Eva. I’m pretty sure she’ll be willing to help out.”

In the shadow of her van she pulled him in for a departing hug. She seemed desperate to hold on and not let go. Her unique heartbeat fluttered against his chest, until she drew away, muttering, “I need to get Eva, she’s waiting.”

She stared into his eyes as though she were searching for an answer to some unknown question. “I’ll call you later,” she said stepping back, reaching for her door.

Chance was left perplexed after she pulled away and left the parking lot. He was anxious. His muscles were pulled tight, like rubber bands ready to snap.

A sudden breeze blew past. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been blown away, feeling so ungrounded.

The time was coming. Either they would part ways or the truth would come out, somehow. A chill tore through his body and he slunk off to his truck, eager to leave his worries in the parking lot.

Chapter 21.

The next day Chance noticed a more haggard appearance in Ana. He was confident she wasn’t quite this affected when he first met her. Her skin, lips and fingers had a continuous pale mauve tinge. It may not have been so out of place in the cold of winter, but it was spring.

Did she seem so sick when he first saw her? He didn’t think so, but when he first held her eyes, she glowed-radiated to him. She was the most beautiful person he could imagine. He hadn’t dwelled on the obvious signs, which were so blatant now-her lack of energy, her coloring alarmed his instincts when she was near. But still, no explanation. He didn’t want to press her unless she wanted to tell him, but he wasn’t sure he could go much longer without asking.

It didn’t matter.

Whatever the problem was, he would accept it and take her as she was. If he couldn’t accept her, then he was a hypocrite.

Chance focused on the road, attempting to shed his torment. He could see for himself she couldn’t make it far, so he thought of a place with a short easy walk.

Ana’s hair moved in the breeze from the cracked window. Chance studied the individual fibers as they flitted around her beautiful face, her green eyes staring back at him through a tangle of hair.

Ana studied Chance’s handsome face. His jaw was clenched in deep introspection. He seemed as engulfed in thought as she was. An inner peace grew inside her, knowing the secret would be out soon, its weight was so immense it pressed on her so she could barely breathe.

“So, where are you taking me today?” she breathed.

“Don’t worry. There won’t be much of a walk and it has a great view. We’re almost there.” He smiled at her and reached out for her cool hand.

Chance pulled onto a dirt road and parked at a turnout with a trail marker. Ana let her head drop back against the seat while she waited for him to open her door. She breathed out as she slid off the seat and allowed Chance to lead her toward the path.