“Are you ready?”

“Mhmm.”

“You have everything?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Clothes, school supplies – did you pack sheets?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What’s in the trunk?”

“Just some more clothes and stuff. Y’know, books and things.”
“You’re sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, mom. Sera’s here now; I’ve got to go. I’ll call when I get there.”

“Promise me you’ll go to church on Sundays, alright?”

“...okay mom.”

“I love you.”

“You too, mom.”

After a short eternity of goodbyes, Meri hauled her things out to the waiting van. She and Sera loaded everything in back along with Sera’s stuff and headed off to Sam’s house. By the time the van turned the corner, the Other was out and Meri was sinking into a deep mental hibernation. Mary Death smiled widely at Sera. “I’m going away now. For a whole semester. Isn’t it grand?”

“Yeah…” Unlike Mary, her voice was soft and a little sad.

“Random girl, what is it?”

“It’s just weird having to leave like this. We’re leaving everything behind.” The way she said everything translated into Mary’s mind as Kris. “You know, if it were voluntary, it would be easier. But it’s not. We have to go to school with these strangers. It’s gonna be like starting high school all over again.” Sera pushed some stray strands of red-brown hair out of her eyes in an old, frustrated gesture. “I don’t want to be a fish again! But if we don’t go, they’ll send those freaky para-cops after us. This sucks.”

“Yeah, but at least you’ll have me and Sam. And you’ll make friends faster than anybody. Everyone always loves you, kid.”

“It still sucks.”

“Yeah…” Mary sighed. Her elated mood was quickly fading. “I’ll miss Kris too.” In her mind, the long, slow notes of Kris’s guitar strummed and hummed and reverbed a line from “The Sky’s Not Crying.”

“Me too,” Sera agreed quietly. Though she thought it was her own imagination, she could hear the music too, soft and sad. “And my heart,” she started the verse and Mary finished it. “Was not prepared for the beating...” They broke off and stared at each other. What the hell? Sometimes, just on the bad days or the spectacularly good ones, things like this had happened. Little rapports. Two boxcars on the same train of thought. Weird things.

The horn behind them broke the moment and they laughed. “Weird. C’mon, let’s go get Sam and blow this place, okay? When we get there, everything will be better. I know it.” Mary Death settled back in her seat as Sera traversed the maze of streets to Sam’s place. For once, it looked like things were finally going her way. The future looked less bleak. They were leaving everything familiar, but for her, it felt like going home after a time in a hostile country.

“We’re lost, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re not. Take a right at the next light, Mary.”

“I think we are.”

“Hush.”

“I think we are too, Sam, if it’s any consolation.”


“Can we turn here or is it oneway?”

“Why am I driving? I have no sense of direction.”

“Okay, just turn right here.”

“I can get lost a block away from my house.”

“Alright. If we get on the highway here and stay on 124, we ought to hit Victoria Falls. No problem.”

“I think I was cursed in a past life. Maybe I gave someone really bad directions once. Do you think?”

“This way. Okay, onto 124. Yes! Home free from here. Smooth sailing and all that.”

“Kickass.”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“...”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“We’re not getting off the highway now. I think you’ll have to hold it.”

“Ah hell.”

“Um... isn’t there an empty coke bottle back there?”

“Ew.”

“You’re a guy; can’t you just, y’know?”

“You’re kidding, yes?”

“Well, if you hadn’t drained it without leaving some for us, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Would you?”

“You know what? I don’t care what they say. You do have a cruel streak, oh random one.”

“You know you love me.”

“Evil wench. Hey Mary?”

“Mhmm?”

“Could you not look in the rearview for a minute por favor?”

“Aw, just ruin my fun why don’t you.”

“Voyeur.”

“Heh. Um… hey guys? Are you sure we’re going the right way? Wasn’t Brookview that town we stopped in for lunch?”

“Ah hell.”

“Okay, I’m getting off and turning around now. Sam, you’re navigator.”

“Cool. Can we stop at a gas station first?”

“Gods preserve us.”

It was nearing two AM when they finally found their way to the town of Victoria Falls. Sam was at the wheel with three doses of Vivarin and Nirvana keeping him awake. Somewhere in the back, Sera was snoozing and up front, Mary was carefully carving tiny runes into the leather straps of her staff. “Come As You Are” played while they rolled up in front of Victoria Falls.

“Hey,” Mary said for the first time since they hit the state line. Her voice sounded dead tired. “Is this it?” The girl set her staff down across her lap and stared out the window.

“Looks like. Victoria Falls High School.”

“This be the place then. Doesn’t look like much, does it?”

“It looks like a school.”

“Good point. Should we wake up Sera?” In the back, as if in protest, Sera started snoring. “Gods, I hope she doesn’t do that often.” The two had been hoping to room together here. Solidarity in numbers and whatnot. Well… it wasn’t as though she slept a whole lot to begin with. “You know what? I have got to get up.” It had been four hours since they stopped for gas and Mary felt like she would never restore full feeling to her legs. She opened the door and climbed down out of the van, into the quiet night. Thankfully, after a few minutes of standing, she discovered that yes, her toes did still exist. And she could actually feel them. Would wonders never cease? The night was cool and bright. Up above, she could actually see the sky. “Hey Sam, come out here.” She pointed up at the sky. “You can actually see the stars.”

“Wow…” The sky was clear in a way that couldn’t be found at home in New York. It was like a giant, overturned bowl of deep blue-black stone, with stars like diamonds spilled across black velvet. They could actually make out constellations. “Mother Nature in her finest, eh?” A strange smile lit her face. Words were starting to pour through her mind, snatches of poetry and melody. The only time she had ever seen skies remotely like this was during brief trips out to the country. This was incredible. “You know, there was this one time when I had to go to one of those church camps and we were all outside doing some big singalong type thing. And we all stood up and joined hands to do a prayer and I looked up and the clouds were all parted. The sky looked just like this; like being underneath a giant turquoise dome with all these stars like tiny spark fires in the distance. Like they were tiny hearth fires with families all around them; happy ones. And it was so beautiful that I started to cry and didn’t know why. I looked around, to see if anybody else could see what I was seeing. But they were all staring at the ground. They were oblivious. I was the only one looking up.” Mary smiled again, that strange Mona Lisa grin, like she knew something no one else could grasp. “I think I was ten or eleven then. But I haven’t seen a sky quite like that again until now. I’m thinking this can only be a good omen. A sign of things to come. Maybe clear sailing from here. Or that things are looking up. Do you think?”

“Things are always looking up.” Sam smiled. “Hey, do you think we ought to try to get in or just hang out ‘til morning.”

“Just hang?”

“Works for me.” They climbed up on top of the van and lay down, staring up at the stars. With both hands folded behind her head, Mary started to draw constellations. Within ten minutes, she was fast asleep. Another five minutes later, even with a few hundred milligrams of chemical wake up call pulsing through his system, Sam joined her.

Return to the Notebook.