Dust

Feeling faint Dust fell to her knees breathing hard she looked around the woods… the moon shown bright above the trees, stars twinkled a cloudless night. Dust stood, hearing a loud cackle not far off, she ran on. “You won’t get away Dust,” a whisper blew through the wind.1

Dust tripped over a root her ankle twisted, trying to stand up the sharp pain brought tears to her eyes. With the last rush of strength she owned she stood running into her father’s old shack. “One… two… mommy’s coming for you, three… four… mommies at the door, five… six… mommy’s picked up a stick, seven… eight… better stay awake, nine… ten… never see daylight again.” Dust shivered as she heard her mother soft voice getting stronger. Whimpering as the door to the shack slowly opened she tried crawling backwards into a side room. It was too late, her mother pulled the chain and the little light bulb hanging from the cracking ceiling flickered on. “Hello sweaty Mommy's here.”2

“No!” Dust used her right leg pushing herself away from her mother. Scrapping her arms as she pulled her leg further into a corner she whimpered out, “Please no. You can’t kill me my baby needs a mother.”3

“I’m her mother."4

“No,” Dust screamed as her mother raised the thick heavy stick she had picked up. Freezing in the dim light of the single blub, tear’s rolling from her cheeks; she closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. 5

13 YEARS LATER6

Mya sate writing poems in her notebook. Her long jeans making her skinny legs sweat. “It’s so hot,” she murmured. Setting her notebook aside with her pen she stood. Pulling off her pants she ran onto the deck and flew off the end into the clear warm water. “Mya how many times do I have to tell you don’t run so fast on the deck you might get a sliver, or slip and fall onto a sharp rock,” Mya’s mother scowled walking slowly onto the dock. In her hand’s she held a towel, and on her face as usual sate a permanent frown.7

“Sorry mother,” Mya gasped, catching her breath from the sudden serge of adrenaline. “I’ll be more carful next time. 8

“If there even is a next time, come now I’ve brought you a towel let’s get you dried up your getting your bathing suit dirty.” Mya hopped out of the lake onto the dock smiling. Letting her mother wrap her in a warm blue towel. Mary (Mya’s mother) grabbed Mya’s clothes, notebook, and pen. Holding Mya gently by the shoulder she walked her back to there old three story house.9

Mya woke the next morning with an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She decided to go into the woods and relax. She threw on her new blue jeans, red T-shirt, and red sketchers. Running outside she made her way down the twisting stone path to the woods. She decided to explore the forbidden part of the woods. 10

Mary had never let Mya pass certain boundaries in the woods for some unknown reason and Mya was getting edgy waiting to find out. Walking into the clearing she looked over at the wooden fence cutting off where she could go. Climbing over the fence Mya started walking when she tripped over a root and was thrown down the side of a small hill. Trying to catch something to stop her she felt hands grab her arm gently bringing her to a stop. 11

Trying to catch her breath she used a tree to help her up. Mya shivered, she looked behind her where she would have rolled, there was a barbed wire fence rusty from old age, and Sticking in the fence was an animal trap. Mya’s head would have been caught right in the trap if she hadn’t had gotten to stop. She shivered again as she remembered the two cold hands that had grabbed her arm stopping her from her doom. 12

Walking around the trap she decided to locate a safer way back to the clearing one that wasn’t so steep. Mya made her way around a bolder and between two trees. Spotting a shed or was it a shack Mya couldn’t tell running down to it she took in the site. 13

An old light blue shack with chipping paint and rotting walls, small, with boarded up windows, and a single door with a hole cut in it by a rusty old ax that lay on the ground five feet away. Taking a step towards the shack Mya felt a sudden rush of fear race through her body. Slowly she pushed open the door, a loud creak startled her but she couldn’t make herself turn back. Nothing just darkness greeted her. She laughed at her stupidity but stopped when her eyes rested on a jacket. An old green jacket surprisingly nothing was wrong with it as far as Mya could see, but in the dark her vision was slightly deceiving. 14

Reaching into the shack cautiously she picked up the jacket and brought it into the sunlight. It was a green fall jacket with red zippers. The colors, Mya could tell, where once bold and neon, but now were dull and fading. She looked over the outside deciding to close the shack door and have a seat on a nearby boulder, to search over the jacket and give her legs a rest. Mya shut the door hearing a muffled cry she brushed it off. Thinking it was only one of the many sounds of an old crumbling shack. 15

Sitting on the boulder she did as she had planned and looked over it again. Searching in the jacket’s pockets she found a picture, a picture of a young girl. A girl who showed such a resemblance to Mya herself, she could do nothing but stop looking at it. Shoving the picture into her pocket Mya unzipped the jacket to check out the inside. She gasped dropping the thin jacket. Dark brown splotches covered the inside and now that she looked closer there were splotches on the outside fading but still visible. Blood, could it be dried blood? 16

Mya heard another muffled cry startled she looked at the shack and made out the sunset behind the old sad building. Night was washing over the woods and Mya needed no other sign to tell her to head home.17

If you had followed her home, you would have followed her inside, up a long dark staircase, and into her room. You would have found her on her bed holding the jacket. Something about it seemed mysterious to Mya, something besides the brown spots which she had guessed, was blood. Mya heard her mother making her way up the stairs, now was not the kind of daughter to tell her mother everything in fact she never told her mother anything without crossing her fingers these days, so of course she would yet again decide to keep her mouth shut, and the jacket hidden. 18

Tucking the jacket underneath her pillow as her door opened Mya felt relived when Mary smiled. "Oh Mya, get ready for bed dear, I put newly bought pajamas in your closet. I hope you like them, now that they fit," her mother sighed. Kissing Mya goodnight she glided out the door. 19

"Now that they fit?" Mya tried it out once or twice for her ears to register and her brain to thaw out to feel why it sounded odd, "Now, of course why would she say now in less there was a before!" She decided to check out the pajamas in her closet finding a stack of baby blue pajamas a T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, shorts, and pants looking at them she seemed to sense the same mysterious feeling the jacket gave off. Smelling the pajamas she went back to the jacket thickly coated under a variety of smells she drew away when she smelt it. The same smell that the pajama's had mint a lovely luring mint blended with happiness and sorrow. 20

Mya looked at the jacket noticing a tag that read "Dust" walking back into the closet she looked at there tags "Dust" was printed on every piece of supposedly new clothing she had received from her mother that night. Shivering she felt someone staring at her, turning to reveal the spy she saw nothing until her eyes trailed to the window. A girl, a young girl stood at the edge of the clearing, watching, watching and waiting, but for what, or for who?21

The moon shined down on Mya as she made her way to the edge of the clearing where the girl had stood and vanished. It had been two days since she had seen the girl, but not wanting to anger her mother she had had no time, her mother made sure of that, weather intentionally or intentionally Mya could not place the feeling of confusion towards her mother. She felt a slight pull forward that she knew she couldn't refuse. Walking down the dirt path she started to make out a shape like the shack roof. She must have followed the easier path to the shack than she had taken the first time.22

When she stood in front of the boulders she had sate on two days ago the shack was in clear view fear passed through Mya's body. Not sure if she should stay outside, in the night, where as far as she knew it was safe, or go inside, in the dark, where as far as she knew it was most likely a death trap. She looked at the window of the shack in a slight crack between two boards a girl stared at her with eyes beckoning her to come in. Ignoring the delusion she had just thought to have seen Mya stood slowly and walked to the shack, opening the shack door she stepped in. Clearly seeing the ghost Mya shivered scared of how much alike the ghost and she looked. Just as the resemblance in the picture was so great, when she compared it looking into her mirror, not only a night before. Slowly she followed the ghost to a door. Mya opened the door and the ghost glided down the stairs into darkness. "Wait," Mya called. "Now what?" She searched blindly for a light feeling a switch she flipped it down. 23

A single light bulb flickered on. Tiptoeing down the stairs making sure they were stable she finally made it to the dirt floor. Seeing a glint of metal in the corner of the room she headed over to it two feet away she tripped, falling next to the metal object. A necklace lay beside her nose she grabbed it rolling onto her back to see what tripped her she gasped stumbling to get up she stood against the basement wall. 24

The ghost of the girl reappeared and flew to the rotten shoe. Bending down she tried to pull it up but her hands couldn't hold anything. She turned sadly looking at Mya. Mya nodded walking next to the ghost she bent down picking up the shoe. She gaped at the tag that read "Dust" Mya let the shoe drop standing up she screamed as a piece of a bone rolled out. Looking at the ghost who was sadly nodding and pointing to a shovel Mya knew what she had to do. 25

As time passed, Mya was growing weak and the shovel was growing heavier, finally she made it to the bones. The ghost pointed to a tarp and Mya laid it over the body. Putting the shovel back she turned to the ghost who was... gone. Running upstairs frightened she ran out the shack door it had started raining. Mya made her way back to her house seeing her bedroom light on she ran into her home, up the stairs, down the hall and into her room. Mya gaped at her mother/Mary sitting on Mya's bed holding the bloody jacket rocking back and forth.26

"She was a good daughter my only daughter," Mary whispered. Tear’s rolled down her cheeks, her eye looked blood shot and wide with anger, and depression.27

"I'm your daughter," Mya said as the words left her lips she already knew it was a lie. It had been a lie, for her entire life. Mother, Mary, was not a mother, maybe not even a Mary.28

"No your her daughter her's," Mary yelled hysterically. "If she hadn't had you she would still be here with me! My baby would be with me!"29

And than it just fit together. Everything seemed to piece itself together, in Mya’s mind. Gasping she fell back on the wall behind her. “Why did you kill her?”30

"I was scared I didn't know what to do and then I got mad I didn't mean to. I thought if I got rid of her father she would give you up but, he moved and when I faked his death she pinned it on me. He moved because he knew I was after him! That's why he never could come back for you! Maybe if I get rid of you and just you, she'll stop trying to hurt me she broke my ankle I never tripped down the stairs. I was pushed!"31

"She doesn't want us dead she wants a proper burial," Mya screamed."32

"Maybe that's true, but it doesn’t matter now does it? You know too much already, you have to disappear. In fact tonight looks good. Just like the night that I killed your mother! Would you like that? Would you like to die like your mother?"33

"Just some questions," Mya whispered trying to buy time. It always worked in the movies, remembering that this wasn’t a movie she just stopped her knees from buckling.34

"Go on."35

"Did you kill her?" Mary nodded. "Do you love her?" Mary nodded. "What's her name?"36

"Oh come on stop wasting my time. Let me kill you," Mary sighed.37

"What's her name," Mya shouted. 38

"Dust her names Dust." Mya gaped turning around tripping down the hallway she shoved herself out the door down the dirt path she was so close to the shack, so close. Feeling something tug at her ankle she howled as she tripped over a muddy root. 39

"My ankle," Mya cried. Trying to get up she closed her eyes as a picture of the ghost her mother running looking back flashed into her mind. Mya started to limp her way to the shack. Opening the door she limped in, almost tripping again over a wooden stick. Gasping as she heard her grandmothers voice. 40

"One two grandma's coming for you, three... four... better lock the door... five... six... should minded your own business seven... eight... I can't wait, wait, wait nine... ten... your dead," Mary shouted the last line "your dead" as she threw open the door laughing. 41

Mya found her legs tensing turning on her stomach she crawled army style to the basement door. Trying to stand her leg gave way and she began to roll down the stairs. Sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs she tried her best to slide herself away into a corner, where the shovel she had used only moments ago now laid. Crying and grunting, she wanted to scream, to loose her mind. To have Mary kill her and get it over with, the pain was so great, and during all her pain there came Mary walking slowly down the stairs humming. Mya started to shack. Closing her eyes, she heard her mother step onto the third step.42

"Oh Mya your just like Dust in a way, you can never stop snooping around," Mary chuckled coldly. Suddenly her chuckle stopped, a gasp echoed through the basement, quickly followed by shrill screams. "What no... get away... stop," Mary screamed. Mya kept her eyes closed, her hands over her face, she heard Mary’s body roll down the stairs, loud heavy thuds with each step. Finally there was silence, dropping her hands from her face she sobbed. There at the end of the stairs lay Mary, her eyes open, her neck snapped. Standing over top of her motionless body was Dust, a smile playing across the pale girl’s face. Dust’s eye’s drifted over to Mya, her smile softened, into a kind, soft grin. “Thank you,” Dust mouthed. As the ghost started to fade away, blood spread across the floor. Crying Mya took her time to climb the stairs and get help. 43

Thankz 4 reading 44