Page 135 of Crystal Iris
“Johanna!” Hoyt calls after her, but she doesn’t look back.
We follow her inside.
As expected, the home is simple—just the absolute basics... and even some of those are broken. There’s no one inside.
“Over here!” Johanna calls from the doorway leading to another room.
We walk over.
A woman lies on a bed. She looks ill. I can’t tell if it’s their mom. The pictures I’ve seen are from a long time ago. From the looks on their faces, they don’t know either.
“Get out or I will start shooting!” A man yells from the living room.
I look back to see he’s holding a shotgun.
“Hold there, we’re family,” says Hoyt to the guy.
“Family? We have no family!” says the bone-thin man.
“Is the woman in the bed Awena?” I ask, surprising myself at my calm voice.
“I said get out!” He gestures again with his gun pointing at us.
“Please, I think she’s our mother,” pleads Johanna, although Hoyt is already motioning for us to leave.
“The hell she is! She’s my mother!” he says, holding his gun tight.
Hoyt and Johanna look at each other.
“We are looking for a woman named Awena Kalapuya, she lived in Montana around twenty-five years ago,” I say.
The woman starts to move.
“Please, I’ve never met her,” Johanna says desperately.
“We have money, we can pay you,” Hoyt adds.
“We don’t need your money,” the man replies.
“Is she sick?” I ask him as he lowers his gun a little.
I look at the woman behind me. She’s sitting up, reaching out her hand. She seems awake, except… her eyes are still closed.
“What’s wrong with her?” I ask.
“She’s sick. Her…” The man looks at us, trying to make up his mind. “You need to leave!” He lifts the gun again.
I’m walking toward the door when she starts to sing. The three of us recognize the lyrics immediately. The young man seems taken by surprise.
“She hasn’t spoken… in years,” he says, walking to the bedroom.
The woman continues.
“Little dew drops, come down and wash my fears away
Let it fall, let it dry, let me say goodbye
Little shiny treasure, you hold more than you know
