“With marshmallows,” said her dad, and smiled a smile that went all the way to the crinkles on either side of his eyes. It was a smile she didn’t see very much anymore.
Ollie almost smiled back. Maybe getting wet wouldn’t be so bad. She took a big sip of her coffee and openedSmallSpaces. She could feel her dad watching her over her book, but she didn’t look. Looking would make her feel guilty all over again. Ollie forced her attention to her book.
White mist crept up from the creek. Softly it slipped toward Jonathan, standing tearstained in the rain.
A man walked out of the smoky dark.
“What did he look like?” I asked Jonathan later.
“He smiled,” Jonathan told me. “He didn’t tell me his name. I don’t think he has a name. He had long fingers. Long, thin fingers, and, oh, I can’t remember the rest. I felt as though I’d known him since the day I was born, and I felt the most indescribable horror at the sight of him.”
When the man spoke, his voice was gentle. “I think you called me,” he said to Jonathan, while the rain streamed around them.
“No,” said Jonathan. “I called my brother.”
“Your brother is gone,” said the man. “But I could bring him back for you.” He smiled. “For a price.”
Jonathan’s knees shook. But he still stammered, “Wh-what price?”
“When I ask, you will come with me and do as I say,” said the man. “If you do, you will have your brother back again.”
“For how long?” Jonathan asked. “How long would I have to do as you say?”
The man’s smile broadened. His eyes were dark as a river at midnight. “Until the mist turns to rain,” he said.
“Ollie. Ollie!”
Ollie took a deep breath, blinking in the cozy, firelit kitchen. She had thought it was dark as a rainy night on an old farm.
Her dad looked from her to the book. “Were you not listening at all? I was giving you such a fantastic speech too.”
“Speech?” said Ollie, still dazed.
“Yep,” said her dad. “The ‘Be good today, stay dry, I love you’ speech. It’s in the manual somewhere.”
Ollie just blinked at him.
Her dad sighed. “’Kay,” he said. “How about this instead?” He thought for a minute. “What did the frog say about the book?”
“Dunno,” Ollie said distractedly, still thinking aboutSmall Spaces.
“Reddit,” said her dad, making frog noises. “Reddit.”
Ollie groaned.
“And then what did thechickensay?” asked her dad, looking pleased with himself.
Ollie put her head in her hands.
“Book book book booook!” said her dad, making clucking sounds.
Ollie cracked a tiny smile.
“Come on,” her dad said, taking a last swig of coffee. “I’ll drive you. Hurry.”
Ollie finished her own coffee, swiped her spoon through the last of her oatmeal, and followed her dad into the rain.
5
