Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Rebecca’s cause of death was OD. Whatever that was. I heard my name being screamed from upstairs, and it shook me out of the strange, soft, dark zone that I was in. I ascended up the groaning steps, but not before taking one final glance at Rebecca. I couldn’t get past feeling sorry for her. As if something horrible had happened. I didn’t know what that was, but I knew that twenty-six was far too young to bite the big one. Something bad happened to her. When I got back up the steps, I jogged towards the exit, my friends calling for me from right outside. I was almost there, when I suddenly paused.
I was certain I heard the piano. My friends were still outside, screaming and running. Only now, it was as if they were moving and calling out to me in slow motion. It was as if time were standing still. I looked at the piano, and heard another chord. A strong one. That’s when I found my voice. I screamed so loud that I instantly felt a burn in my throat, and raced outside on pure adrenaline. I dashed through the barren parking lot, past my house, and caught up with my friends who, after I screamed, hauled ass. So much for young brotherhood.
It wasn’t more than twenty minutes later that someone’s parent got wind of what we’d done and the body we’d found, and the cops descended on the place like stormtroopers. A white truck pulled up, and the double back doors opened. Into the night, the dizzying lights glowed as all of the parents, my mama included, stood in our backyard and watched as if it were a movie. Not one, but several bodies were removed from the funeral home. All in body bags, piled inside of the white truck. People were gasping and whispering. Some were talking about lawsuits, perversions and what not. I tapped my mother’s shoulder and asked her a burning question.
“Mama, what’s an OD?”
She looked at me curiously. “Ottie?”
“No. Oh, and dee. Like, just the letters.”
“Did you overhear one of them cops say that, Kage?” Her blue eyes got all soppy and concerned.
I hesitated, then explained that I’d seen it written on a piece of paper while I was inside the funeral home.
She looked at me a long while, ruffled my hair, then brandished a toothy grin. The smile she always gave me when she was hopeful that it would stop my questions. It didn’t. I repeated my question.
“…Means someone had an accident, honey.”
“What kind of accident?”
Mama sniffed, then crossed her arms. She looked towards the back of the field, the red and blue lights shining on her face, bouncing light all over her like a disco, making her turn purple, too. Her bracelets clanked together as she fidgeted about.
“Means somebody took some medicine… like, uh, cough medicine. But they took too much, see? And it hurt ’em, okay? OD means overdose. It was too much for ’em.” She lit a cigarette, averted her gaze, and curls of smoke eddied from her mouth.
I remember how the breeze blew through her platinum blond hair in that moment. Like an invisible ghost playing with her mane, making it spin, twirl and wave. It moved in slow motion, just like when my friends were calling my name. At that moment, I realized something. Mama’s hair looked a lot like poor ol’ Rebecca’s. When I turned back to the officers, dead bodies, and the funeral home all aglow with lights and activity, I wished I could’ve told Rebecca that it would be okay. She would be buried properly now, but I wasn’t sure of that. It was mere hope. I also realized, in my own strange way, that I preferred the company of the deceased to the living. Dead people didn’t betray your trust. Dead people didn’t say they loved you, but they really hated you. Dead people didn’t cry, and they damn sure didn’t lie…
Kage glanced at his watch as he took a piss. Now I have to deal with this shit! The camera signals kept jumping, letting him know that someone, or something, was on his property, and it wasn’t no damn animal. He shook his dick, flushed the toilet, washed his hands, then marched downstairs. Grabbing one of his rifles from the wall, he swung the door open and made haste in the general direction of the suspected encroaching upon his land.
Before a good two minutes had passed, he spotted little green riding hood bopping towards him. Her sweater was the color of elm leaves, and her sneakers were army green with white soles. She had the same bag from earlier, and she walked quickly now, with a tinge of trepidation mixed with pure determination clear on her face.
“Why in the fuck are you still here?”