I knelt in front of it again, my fingers brushing the edge of the stone. The name was so much like my own right there.
“Hello, there sweetie.”
I froze before relaxing slightly.
Maren stood a few feet away, hands folded loosely in front of her, her expression soft but unreadable. Not surprising. Not alarmed. Just…watching me like her son so often did.
“You found my stones.”
“I…I…I’ll put it back.”
“You’re perfectly fine, sweetie. They are there to remember. To be thought of. He’s more thought of than most of the others in my garden.”
My eyes widened as Maren sat right there on the ground, not caring about the fact that her pants may get dirty.
“Evander kind of stole my first rock, but don’t tell him I know that.”
I turned my wide eyes to her. I hadn’t seen it in his house.
“It’s in his memory box most likely. It’s his way of remembering someone he loved very much.”
I turned back to the stone resting between my hands, letting its cool weight settle into my palms. It felt heavier now, like it carried more than a name.
“He… he really misses him,” I whispered, the words catching on something tight in my throat.
Maren exhaled softly beside me. “We all do,” she said, her voice warm but threaded with an old ache. “And I worry how he’ll handle things when your blood test comes back. My son…” She paused, choosing her words with care. “He’s tender-hearted. More than people realize.”
The garden seemed to be quiet around us, as if it was listening. I kept my gaze on the carved flower, afraid that if I looked up, she’d see the confusion and fear swirling in my eyes. Afraid, she’d see how the stone felt like it belonged in my hands.
Afraid she already did.
“Evander loved him. More than he ever said out loud.”
My eyes flickered to her, both wanting and hating the fact that I wanted to know more.
“He was just a kid. But he followed Evander everywhere. Thought the sun rose and sat on him. And Evander…well he loved every moment of it. He never once made that boy feel anything but special. They were inseparable from the first moment that boy was born into this world. One look, andEvander was smitten. They were soul mates from the start, if you believe in that stuff.”
“Sounds sweet.” A soft ache bloomed behind my ribs. I wanted something like that. I wanted to grab that feeling and shove it into me, if it were possible.
“Evy…that’s what he used to call my son because he could never pronounce Evander. It was adorable.”
Evy…
No….
There was no way.
Either Maren didn’t pay attention to my breathing or thought it was something else that got me worried; she went on. “It destroyed my son when he went missing. Destroyed us all, but mostly Evander. That’s why I worry if the blood test comes back, and will come back negative, he’ll do something that none of us will come back from.”
Is it possible?
Had everything I’ve been told be a lie?
Maren kept talking, but the words went in one ear and out the other. My mind was spinning.
Something tugged, hard, at me. The moment my fingers brushed the curve of the petal on the stone, the world around me seemed to tilt, just slightly, like a memory trying to break the surface.
A flash of sunlight. Grass brushing my knees. A boy laughed, bright and happy. My own voice, younger, calling out“Evy!” Wait up!”
