Alice

There is a storm coming. Or rather, it’s already here. The rain is falling like I’ve never seen before. So much water pours from the sky.

Inside, our home is warm. I can hear Cassandra talking to Allan. Her baby. He was born after our husbands went off to war. Donald and Leland have been gone eight months. I miss Leland every single day. I can’t tell if having a baby, as Cassandra does, would make that pain lessen or worse. But at least we have each other. Moving in together was a smart move.

Today I feel someone else in my home. I catch a flash of yellow off to my left. A crack of thunder and a laugh behind me. There is no one behind me. I feel as though I’m being watched.

Cassandra doesn’t see it. She doesn’t hear the laughter or feel the eyes. So, it’s just me. And I wonder if it’s because I’m alone. Sometimes I wonder if it’s Leland’s ghost, but I don’t let my mind dwell on those thoughts. What I’m seeing and feeling now terrifies me. Leland, even dead, would never frighten me.

A knock on my door makes me jump. The storm must have muffled the sounds of the approaching vehicle.

The man standing on the other side of the door asks if Cassandra and I live here. The color drains from my face. Seein his uniform is like ice in my veins. My voice shakes as I call Cassandra into the room. She comes toting a sleeping baby on her hip and I invite the wet man into our dry living room. What I really want to do is slam the door in his face. If he doesn’t tell us the news, it won’t be true.

But it is true. Leland is dead. He and Donald were both killed in a freak accident. A fire. So fast. Gone.

I don’t know what other words the man says. Cassandra’s face is red and streaked with tears and she watches Allan like she’s afraid he might vanish from her arms.

The man is gone and the front door is closed. When did he leave? Who closed the door?

I’m sitting on the couch next to Cassandra. She looks just as lost as I feel.

The laugh is back. Cassandra turns toward the noise this time.

The rain outside picks up. Something in my gut twists. Something is wrong. More than that, I know it’s too late to do anything about it now. Whatever is here, has been here, it will take me with it. There is nothing I can do now. He’s found me.