As the bus makes stop after stop on the way to school, I quickly come up with and execute a plan to escape. When it stops at what looks like a park, I rush to the front, and hop off claiming to have forgotten my lunch. Angela doesn’t notice I’m up and out until it’s too late. I wave off the bus driver, saying I’ll catch a ride. She waves back with a friendly smile.

It was too easy.



Once the bus rolls away, I take a deep breath and pause to take in my surroundings. There’s a mailbox out front, but the land looks like a park. The air here is fresh and has the faint smell of water. Every direction I look is filled with trees, flowers, landscape that makes me feel like I’m on a vacation.

Except I’m not. This is home now. It’s beautiful but it leaves me unsettled.



Instead of letting my mind go on a rant about life, I lean down to sniff some lavender plants. My eyes closed, I breathe them in.

When our high school had a formal dance, I’d hated the idea of wearing a corsage but of course Dirk, my boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, I guess, had insisted. He was cheesy and into traditions like that. Instead of a rose or a tacky carnation, he’d picked wild lavender and pinned it to my dress. The entire evening, I could smell the lavender. It quickly became my favourite flower.

I sigh, and push away thoughts of Dirk. We’d opted for a clean break. No contact for a few days, friendship texts only...when we were ready. I’m not sure when that would be but I wonder if Angela and Dustin were stupid or brave for trying to stay together.



When I stand up and start following a path I try to figure out what my plan is. I can’t head back to the house, my mom will be there and having her get all worked up about school seems like a bad way to spend my time. I can only hope the school is not too quick to call in my absence.

“So the new kid likes to ditch school and trespass on private property?” I hear from not too far away. I glance over to see someone sitting by a tree. He looks to be about my age, so he can’t be too fussed on me ditching school.



“Shouldn’t YOU be off to school?” I ask, raising my eyebrow. He smiles and shrugs.

“Missed the bus.”

I nod towards the bike behind him. “Then you might want to hurry up. You don’t want to be late.”



“I’m taking a personal day.” He says, getting up. “Anthony.”

“Lillith.” I reply. “This is private property?” I ask, looking around. All I see are trees and and a pond. I guess someone could own the land. It really just seemed like open space.

“It IS but the owner doesn’t mind people wandering around. As long as you respect nature.”

Fair enough. I look at him carefully, he’s cute. A bit woodsy for my taste but cute.

“So, what’s your plan for the day, Lilith? Since you’re obviously also not headed to school?” He asks. It’s my turn to shrug. My only plan was to not go to school.



“You ever go fishing?” He asks.

“What?”

“Fishing...you know, catching fish. Sustenance, cook it up for dinner kind of thing.” He explains. The look on my face makes him laugh. “I am taking that as a no.”

I’m not sure what to think of this. Kid in the woods, skipping school to go … fishing?

“Well, come on then. If you’re not going to school, you should still be productive.” He states. Good gawd, he sounds like my dad. Surely he was kidding.



He wasn’t kidding.

I sit quietly while he fishes for awhile and consider if I can make some sort of escape without being rude. While I had not had a plan, this was not how I intended to spend my day. I’m sure eons of silence have passed when he turns to me and asks if I want to try.

“Try what?”

“Fishing.” He says. “It’s easy.”



It’s not easy.

And he tries to hide the sound of his laugh as I stab myself with the spike on the end of the string. I can’t even believe I haven’t walked away yet but Anthony seems sweet and I don’t want to be a jerk. He keeps saying things like “cast off” and “reel it in” but he might as well be speaking another language because I have no clue what he means.

When I manage to get the string out further into the pond he says “well done” like I’m a good dog and he gets a glare for it.

“For real, that was good.” He smiles, and shakes a wisp of hair out of his eyes.



When he pulls his third fish out of the water, I almost ‘accidentally’ hit him with my rod but manage not to.

“Hey! You’ve got something too!” He shouts when something tugs at my line. I will never admit this out loud but I felt a jolt of excitement as I wound the handle around, pulling in the line. Did I seriously just catch a fish? I wind it up faster and faster and yank the rod back to pull it out of the water. I look to see what I’ve caught...



And it’s a boot. I’ve caught a boot.

Anthony lets out a whoop of laughter, no longer attempting to hide his amusement and I wind up to throw the boot back in. Which of course throws me off balance and I stumble forward.



Thankfully I don’t quite make it into the pond, but I do end up covered in mud and my pants are soaked.

“Ok, ok. Maybe we’ve had enough of fishing.” He finally says through gales of laughter. I’m glaring at him, and attempting to brush off the mud. Which of course is just making a bigger mess. I groan about needing to change. But I still don’t think it’s smart to head home. It’s been a few hours but my mom will clue in if I’m home too early.



“I’ve got a change of clothes, if you don’t mind wearing something…” He looks me up and down in a way that only a teen boy can and I feel myself blush.

“Less fashionable?” He finishes.

“Sure.” I grumble and then look around. Where does he have clothes? “Is your place nearby?” I ask. Hoping we don’t have to go anywhere near Violet’s house.

“Sort of…”



We walk for a bit and find a cabin and a treehouse.

“Umm...you live here?” I ask. It comes out a bit judgemental and I quickly glance at him to make sure I haven’t been rude. He smiles.

“Not really. Mr. Ranger lives in the cabin. Sometimes I crash in the tree house.” He replies. I look at him for a few minutes, not sure what to make of this. When he doesn’t give any more details, I don’t ask. I want to. Was he homeless? He was my age, surely he didn’t just live in a tree fort.



When we climb up, I’m surprised to see that the fort is furnished. Just the basics, but that includes a bed and a bookshelf. I find myself drawn to the book titles. The best way to learn about someone? Figure out what books they read. I’m skimming titles and spot a poetry book by Satoro Simguchii. It’s old.

“Whoa…” I breathe.



I wander over to the chair and open it carefully.

“Is this an original print?” I ask breathlessly. He’s watching me carefully but he nods. “Where did you find this?”

“He’s originally from the island. There are a few originals floating around.” He says it casually but I can tell he’s proud of his find. He should be. If you want to buy this online, it goes for more simoleans than our car. I quietly thumb through the pages and he turns to dig out some clothes. He tosses me a pair of cargo shorts and a button up shirt.

I make a face.

“I told you...not as fashionable.”



“Cute.” He replies when I come out of the bathroom.

“This is absolutely NOT cute.” I tell him. “But thanks.”



I spend some more time browsing his books and we chat awhile. I learn that not only is he into poetry, but he paints. Keeping most of his stuff at home. I look around again and he laughs.

“I don’t actually LIVE here.” He finally clarifies. “I technically live with my dad but he’s...not always easy to get along with. So I hang out here a lot.”

I nod. I don’t really know what he means but I’m trying not to be nosy. I tell him that I’m into painting as well but left all of my stuff behind when my parents split and we moved here.

“Like, you left your art behind?” He asks. I nod. He doesn’t ask questions. I can tell he is also trying not to be nosy.

Eventually I decide, it probably IS time for me to head home.



When we head out of the tree fort, I spot someone gardening and must make a startled noise because he looks up and smiles.

“You bringing girls up there now?” He teases Anthony.

“Hey, Mr. Ranger.” Anthony calls, smiling. He introduces us and I immediately sense a warmth in Mr. Ranger.



“You must be one of the Pleasant girls.” he says smiling. I nod, already having figured out that everyone in this town knew we were coming.

“I knew your grandparents.” He says. “Though, haven’t talked to them in years.”

This throws me off. My grandparents? They had lived here as kids for a few years but I didn’t think they’d stayed long enough for anyone to know who they were.

“Nice people.” He says.

“Thanks.” I reply.



We chat a bit longer and I eventually make my exit. Time to head home.



The house is quiet when I walk in. “Mom?” I call. No answer. Weird. I mean, I know she could go out but we don’t have a car here and the house isn’t close to anything. My mom wasn’t one to go for walks. I look around and then head upstairs.

“Mom?” I call again. Maybe she’s having a nap.



When I peek into the room everything is gone. She’d been sharing a room with Violet. I look around. No luggage. No bed. My heart sinks. I pull open the dresser and the drawers are empty.


She’s gone. I knew I had sensed something yesterday. Gone. I try to think of other explanations but I know, deep down, she’s left us. On an island. With a woman we barely know.



What the hell was I going to tell my sister?