Buried in Sunshine (26 page)

“I thought she was being attacked.” Emma said as
she nervously bit her lip. She did not want to be in trouble.

“Did you tell her that you saw me?”

“I didn’t…I didn’t say anything at all,” Emma
protested as her father ran his hand across her back.

“That’s good.” Her father said as he reached
down and kissed Emma’s forehead. “Of course—you will have to be
punished for what your mother did. Do you understand?”

“I don’t…”

Her father pulled down on Emma’s shorts.

“I’m sorry.” Emma said as she thought that she
was going to be spanked. “I didn’t know what to do.”

Her father stripped her down until she was
completely naked.

Emma attempted to back away. She felt
uncomfortable. She did not understand what was going on. Her father
reached down and unbuttoned his own pants. Emma attempted to
wriggle her way free but she was unable to do so against the large
man.

“Just lie still.” Her father said as he forced
himself on top of her.

“I’m sorry.” Emma said again as she felt a great
deal of pain. Emma began to cry.

*

Emma began to fear the familiar sound of
creaking footsteps outside of her door. Every time she would hide
under her covers hoping that the door would not open. That he would
not force himself on top of her and punish her. No matter how hard
she wished the door would not open. The door always would open.
During her punishment, Emma’s mind would go somewhere else.
Eventually, her mind was always somewhere else. Alexis came into
existence. She never told her mother—her father said he would kill
her and her mother. She wondered how long the punishment would
last. Emma returned briefly on the day her father was murdered.
After that, she became Alexis once more. Though the threat of the
monster was gone—the fear and damage remained. Alexis was angry,
quiet—as she grew older she learned to hate life. That was, until
when she turned fourteen and met a kind boy named Aaron Chase. Emma
returned once again.

*

Emma slowly opens her eyes; tears are streaming
down from them as she sobs uncontrollably. She now understands why
Alexis carries so much anger within her—Alexis had been Emma’s
shield when her stepfather would rape her when she was a child.
“I’m…I’m so sorry Alexis.”

“I thought you knew more than you did,” Alexis
says from the front seat. “You know what happened that day that he
was murdered though, you came back that day.”

“I saw them bury him in the greenhouse.”

“Did mother kill him, or did Brian?”

“I don’t remember—I only remember that part from
a dream.”

“I can’t see that day,” Alexis says as she slaps
herself across the face in frustration. “I’ve tried so hard to
remember that day. I just can’t.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself,” Emma whispers as
she wipes away her tears with the short sleeve of her dress. “You
were so brave—for so long.”

“That’s why I had him kill himself,” Alexis
said. “I knew about the affair, and the knife, the room full of
concrete—I bluffed when I told him to write where the body was—I
had no idea it was right under the place I found the knife.”

“Why did you kill the person that freed us?”

“Because it was their fault,” Alexis says as she
begins to weep. Her tears flow freely as they catch rays of
sunshine and glitter like tiny diamonds. “If they…had just, not had
an affair then he would have never punished us for their
actions.”

“You put it all together much quicker than I
did,” Emma says as she gets up and reaches her hands over the seat
and hugs Alexis tightly. “I still believed that he didn’t do it
after I confronted him.”

“He allowed it to happen for so long,” Alexis
says as she reaches over and places her hand on top of Emma’s. “He
had to be punished—so did mom, but I can’t punish her. I expected
that you would remember when I did. How could we forget something
like that?”

“When did you remember?”

“When I came back in this new form—when you
remembered who you really were.” Alexis says as she shakes her
head. “How could I forget something like that? I suppose, had I
remembered earlier I probably would have done something
stupid…something that they could trace back to us—when we were all
one person. We’d probably be in prison now.”

“It’s time,” Emma says as she nods. “With us,
time just erases things that we should remember—even things we
would like t remember. I can’t remember anything about Aaron—if it
weren’t for the pictures in the bedroom I wouldn’t even remember
what his face looked like.”

“Hope doesn’t know,” Alexis says as she looks
out the window. “She’s here because we were someone different
before that…monster got us. She shouldn’t know.”

“We don’t have to tell her.”

“I thought for sure that you would know after we
all appeared,” Alexis says as she shakes her head. “I’m sorry—I’ve
been hard on you because I…I guess I thought that you didn’t care
about what I went through.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know,” Emma says as she
feels both upset and confused. Why was this kept from her? She
could have stopped Alexis from killing Ethan’s father and mother
long before if someone had just told her what Alexis had been
through. Though they both did wrong, they did not deserve death.
Emma begins to understand now what Brain was trying to say—Brian
was trying to protect Emma, her mother, and…of course, himself—but
he did not mean to cause this pain. He could see Alexis’s point
that he was responsible, but there was no way he could have known
what his transgressions would lead to. Perhaps she could have
talked Alexis out of doing what she did, had she only known. “Why
did you kill Ethan’s mother though?”

Alexis lets out a heavy sigh and buries her face
in her hands. “She could see me, only Brian was supposed to be able
to see me that day—that’s how I planned it. I talked to her; I told
her why I was there. She kept saying that I had wings—she was
crazy. She asked me to wheel her outside, to release her. She said
she was a caged bird. I didn’t want to leave her out there, I could
see her getting sick…she just, wouldn’t let me take her back in.
When Brian got back and I finally confronted him, she was long
dead—I used that to hurt him more. Am I evil?”

“You’re not evil Alexis,” Emma says as she
squeezes her shoulder. “You took the brunt of pain for me for so
many years. When you came here, all you had to latch onto was your
anger and it took you on your own journey. I think though, that
journey is over. Breaking up mom’s grave isn’t going to help
anything. We only have a short time—spend it with me, or with my
new friend. Spend it with Hope or Elizabeth—live some kind of
normal life.”

“I noticed you brought her back.”

“She needed to be,” Emma responds as he nods. “I
know you think she is weak—but she helped me figure out so
much.”

“I understand why you did it,” Alexis says as
she turns to Emma. “I can feel a calling…I know where I have to be
tomorrow. I know that it will be the end of me, Hope, and
Elizabeth.”

“I’m still convinced I can stop this,” Emma says
as she shrugs her shoulders. “Elizabeth is even starting to believe
that the future can be changed.”

“The future maybe,” Alexis says, “But not our
fate.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Emma
asks.

“There is something I wanted,” Alexis says
meekly as she turns away and looks to the sun that hands low in the
late afternoon sky and paints the clouds around it a soft jacinthe
orange. “But it’s too late to ask.”

“What was it?”

“I wanted to stay through the night,” Alexis
says as stares off sadly at the sun.

“I’ll give it to you,” Emma says as she places
her hand upon the back of Alexis’s head and brushes her hair away
from her wet cloudy blue eyes.

“You only have two nights left,” Alexis says in
protest. “I couldn’t.”

“Stay tonight…” Emma commands as she closes her
eyes and concentrates. “Stay…”

“No…” Alexis whispers. “I don’t deserve
this.”

“Just promise me a few things,” Emma says as she
removes her hand, she feels tired—as though she has lost some of
her energy. However, she does not regret her decision.

“Anything,” Alexis says softly as a tear streams
down.

“Forgive our mother,” Emma says as she looks to
the broken grave in the distance. “Forgive Brain, even if you don’t
feel he deserves it—there is no reason to hold onto the pain any
longer. Also…forgive yourself.”

“I promise I’ll try,” Alexis whispers as she
looks to Emma sadly. “You’ll have to go to that other place
tonight…you can still take it back.”

“It is my gift to give to you,” Emma says as she
gets out of the back seat of the car and opens up the driver’s side
door. “What do you plan on doing?”

“Are the fireflies out?”

“They are,” Emma says as she is taken off guard
by a large embrace by Alexis.

“I’d like to see the moon,” Alexis says. I’d
like to see the beach at night—the fireflies in the woods outside
the house. I would just appreciate the comfort of walking around at
night, knowing I’m not going to disappear—I would dream. Hopefully
it would be a good one, as I only get this one.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Emma says as she is
released from Alexis’s hold. “Don’t go scaring people too much with
your ghost cop car there—and return Ethan’s sledge hammer.”

“He left it unlocked.”

“Just do it,” Emma says as she shakes her head
and laughs.

“Emma?”

“Yeah…?”

“Thank you,” Alexis whispers as she smiles. “You
have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Just remember to do what I said, “Emma says as
she climbs into her car. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”

*

“It’s good to see you,” Justine says as she
opens up the door for Emma. “You had me worried being gone so
long.”

“Did you see Alexis?” Hope asks as she comes
running over and hugs Emma.

“I did,” Emma says as she pats her younger self
on the head. “Everything is going to be okay now.”

“I knew that you were powerful,” Hope adds. “You
just had to believe it.”

“Well thank you for letting me know,” Emma adds
as Hope runs off to the mess of newspaper and paint on the
floor.

“Was today okay?” Emma asks quietly as he turns
to Justine. “No trouble here?”

“Nah,” Justine says as she shakes her head and a
wide smile grows across her face. “I love this kid. I could hang
out with her all day—that seems a little odd doesn’t it.”

“Is there anything about this situation that
isn’t odd?”

“That’s a very good and valid point,” Justine
says as she nods. “So what’s the plan from here on out?”

“I…” Emma begins. She knows that in a few hours
she will disappear—just as she has seen Elizabeth and Hope
disappear. The thought terrifies her. She is glad that she could
grant Alexis’s final wish, she just realizes that it does come with
quite a hefty price. “I let Alexis have tonight. I’m going to
disappear when the sun goes down.”

“Why would you do that?” Justine asks loudly as
Hope turns to look at the commotion.

“It was her last wish,” Emma whispers. “I had to
do it.”

“Isn’t it horrible though?” Justine whispers in
turn. “Painful?”

“I’m okay with it,” Emma says halfheartedly.
“Alexis has gone through a lot of pain and suffering for years on
my behalf. I can give her one night.”

“You’ll be back in the morning though?”

“I will,” Emma says as she nods.

*

“I’m tired,” Hope says as she curls up into a
ball on the couch just as the last rays of sunshine fill Justine’s
colorful apartment.

“You should sleep now,” Emma says as she places
her arm around the small girl. “I’ll see you when you wake up.”

“Goodnight,” Hope says as she yawns and closes
her eyes.

Emma stands up and walks to the window. She
feels a sick anticipation in the pit of her stomach as she watches
the sun go down.

“Take my hand,” Justine says as she reaches for
Emma’s.

“I’m a little afraid,” Emma says as she takes
Justine’s hand into hers. She can feel her hand trembling.
“Thanks…”

“You’ll be okay,” Justine adds.

“It’s time,” Emma says as the last beam of
sunlight disappears from view. A burning sensation grows from the
pit of her stomach as she feels herself being torn apart. A
searing, scorching sensation fills her lungs as she cannot breathe.
She feels as though she is choking, as though her lungs can no
longer take in any air—everything feels hot. Emma feels her body
lifted into the air. With one final surge of unbearable pain she is
completely torn apart in black ash. She feels strange, like a pile
of leaves on a windy day. Her consciousness grows dim. She can see
glowing embers all around her—her last thought is that they are
pieces of her. As the last pieces of glowing flesh disappears into
the air, so does Emma’s thoughts, existence, and life.

*

Emma finds herself falling in an endless
darkness. She attempts to scream but the words are ripped from her
mouth and ushered away into the ether as soon as she forms them.
Emma attempts to make out anything in the darkness. Her eyes sear
in pain from the force of her endless descent. Her lungs constrict
tightly and painfully as she attempts to breathe. She is bitter
cold, colder than she has been on any given winter day.

Emma spots a strange light off in the distance.
A low grumble noise can be heard, barely audible above the sound of
the wind ripping all around her. The strange sound grows louder and
louder as Emma grows closer to the light.

As she approaches the brilliant glow, she feels
herself pulled in and twisted as though the ball of light is
slowing her descent. Emma lets out a heavy sigh of relief as her
feet softly land upon a strange soft surface. A low hum of
electricity fills the air and causes her hair to rise into the air
as she steps forward into the brilliant glow.