Have You Seen This Girl?

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?1

Down at Berrie’s Lake, there lived an elderly woman, who had long ago lost her mind. Her hair was snow white and her skin was a dark papery down and wrinkled from head to foot. She wore a grimy floral dress with buttons up to her neck and one strappy brown sandal that had once been white. Under the sleeve of her right arm was tattoo bearing the name Jack.2

The woman lived in a deserted tine shed on the farthest side of the lake, where she had stayed for the past ten years. The floor of the shed was clean and bare except for a neat basket in the corner filled with various garbage. Against the back wall of the room was straw mattress, and on it lay a scratchy wool blanket. 3

Pinned to the ceiling was a ripped clipping from an old black-and-white newspaper. The article its self was undecipherable, but the picture was clear and surprisingly unblemished. It was of a young black girl with an excited grin on her face. In large print under the picture, it read, “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?” in big square letters. 4

The woman herself was seated in the doorway, with a bright yellow poppy squashed in her fist. After several minutes, the woman, with her face scrunched up and red as an apple, brought the flower to her face and vigorously scrubbed the petals on her cheeks.5

“Soon,” whispered the mad women in a quiet, breathy voice. “He will find me.”6

Not long afterwards, the women wandered to the grassy field on the left side of the lake. She crawled around in the tall grass for quite a bit, then checked her lonely mouse trap in the center of the field. Inside withered a tiny brown mouse, almost as small as half the woman’s closed hand. The woman opened the trap and held tightly to the creature. 7

“Baby…” she crooned, stroking its back with her finger. She rubbed its soft fur against her face and breathed in its wild scent. 8

The, abruptly, as if the innocent rodent meant nothing to her, she crushed its delicate body in her hands. She strolled happily back to her shack, while ravenously ripping off its skin with her teeth. The woman hummed as she sat on her bad and cut off the animal’s head and tail with an enormous butcher’s knife. Stepping out of the shed, she took her lighter and attempted to cook the disfigured mouse.9

Later, the mouse, slightly burnt, found its self dangling above its killers mouth. The woman, about to drop her supper into her mouth, paused as a shadow covered the doorway.10

“Ma!” screamed the shadow. The shadow stepped out of the doorway. The man who stood there resembled his mother greatly. They both had wide-set brown eyes and high, prominent cheekbones. The relation between them was unmistakable. 11

“You ain’t supposed to eat those no more!” croaked the man, grabbing the carcass from his mother. He set down the large cardboard box he was carrying. 12

“Jack, me boy.” She stepped forward and took his hands. “You’ve found me.”13

“Ma,” groaned her son. “I’ve told you before. Nobody is looking for you no more. They stopped lookin’ years ago. ‘Fore I was born, even.”14

The crazy old woman just shook her head. “You see, it’s almost time, it is. Almost time.”15

The man sighed. “Ma? Ma, you ain’t gonna be livin’ with me this winter.” He paused carefully, as if weighing his words. “See, I’ve raised me self some money, I did. And now you gonna be stayin’ with some nice people. Very kind people, you see? And… even though I ain’t got much of an education, I do---I’m telling you the truth--- I really got a stable job now.”16

The woman grinned, looking very much like the girl in the picture on the ceiling. “I’m pround o’ you. Oh, but I’m not going nowhere this winter. No, I’ not. I’ve got a new place to go, but I ain’t going nowhere.”17

Although her son had never her this particular story before, it was very similar to the ones he had heard his entire life. 18

“Na, Ma. That place probably won’t be there come winter. I’ll come for you in a month or so.” He smiled at her, and looked at the big brown box at his feet. “‘Ere, I brought you some more food. It ain’t gonna last you long, but soon I’ll be back with more. You got me?”19

The woman nodded helplessly and looked very much like a child being chastised. She watched her son leave, with a furrow between her brows.20

~21

That winter the insane woman’s son returned to Berrie’s Lake. H walked into the dark, neat shed only to find it empty. He called his mother’s name, but no response came.22

On the bed was the article of the missing child. The man picked it up, and looked it over as he had many time in his life. There! There were the dimples and the sparkling in her eyes that he always missed so much. He turned the paper over and stared.23

deery jack,24

ive got me self a new place 2 go. sinse god wud not come and find me ive gonn to him. i luv you very much and i cant wate to see you agin.25

-yur luving muther26

The man ran outside and yelled his mothers name again and again in desperation until his voice turn hoarse. Then he he ran to the field, and then to the lake…27

On the shore was a floral dress, one dirty sandal, and a dead yellow poppy, just the kind that his mother loved so much.28

“Oh, God bless you, Ma,” whispered the son, gazing into the depths of the small lake. “I hope you ‘ave found your place.”29