Page 29 of Chasing Justice
She couldn’t breathe for a moment. She closed her eyes, thinking of one of her favorite memories of her grandmother.
Maya followed Nana out to the chicken coop to collect the eggs. They opened the special door to the nesting boxes. The hens looked like little feathery bundles sitting on their nests.
“Do you want to get the eggs today, Maya?” Nana turned to her with the smile that made her wrinkles curve up. The wind blew some strands of long, dark hair loose from her grandmother’s ponytail and they fluttered in the breeze.
“Yes, Nana.”
“Okay then. Be careful. You know how these hens can be.”
Maya giggled. The hens would sometimes try to peck her, but it didn’t hurt. Nana taught her that if she stroked the soft feathers first, the hens were a little less grumpy about her taking the eggs. She reached under the first hen, who puffed her feathers, but Maya extracted the egg and put it in the basket. She repeated the process with the other five hens.
“Perfect. Now we can make Pops his favorite omelet for breakfast,” Nana said.
“I want a ham and cheese one,” Maya said.
They walked back toward the house together and Maya slipped her hand into her grandmother’s.
“Are those scary dreams still happening at night?” Nana asked.
Maya stayed quiet at first. She hated the dreams Nana was talking about. The fire. Her mother lying still and not moving. And the bad man. The person who had tried to take Maya away. The dreams happened a lot, and Maya used to wake up screaming. Her grandparents would come running, and Maya would cry. Nana would hold her and comfort her on those nights. Pops would often read Maya a story to help her get back to sleep.
“Yes, Nana, but they aren’t as scary as they used to be.” Maya supposed that was a little bit of a lie since they actuallywerescary. Especially the bad man with a gun who shot her mother and then was searching for her. But in the dreams Maya hid so well the man never found her.
“I’m glad to hear they’re not as scary,” Nana said, giving Maya’s hand a squeeze.
They went up the steps together and into the kitchen, where Maya helped put the eggs in the sink to be washed. The dreams had sparked a question for Maya, though. “Nana?”
“Yes, Maya?”
“Do you miss my mom too?”
Nana dried her hands on a towel and went over to a rocking chair in the living room, gesturing for Maya to come sit with her on her lap. Maya loved sitting with her grandmother. Just the two of them. She climbed up and snuggled into Nana, smelling the fresh lavender from her soap.
Nana sighed and then closed her arms around Maya even tighter. “I miss her so much, but Pops and I are so lucky to have you. Your mother loved you very much and so do we.”
Maya closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being loved. Nana never just said it, she always showed it. “What about my father? Does he love me?”
Nana paused again, like she did when she was thinking hard. “Your mother never told us about your father,” she said. “But I’m sure if he knew you, he’d love you too. What’s not to love?”
“Is my daddy a bad guy? Is that why she never told you about him?”
“I’m sure he’s a good guy, Maya. What I know for sure is Pops and I would never let anything happen to you. And we’ll always protect you, no matter what.”
“Even when I’m grown up?”
“Even then.” Nana released her hold and said, “I think you’re old enough for me to give you something. It belonged to your mother.”
“Really?” Maya hopped off her lap.
“Really. Follow me.”
Together they went up the stairs to her grandparents’ room. Nana went over to the dresser Pops had made from pine trees. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a necklace and a picture frame. She came back over to Maya and crouched down in front of her.
“This necklace belonged to your mom. I think she’d want you to have it.”
Maya opened her hand and Nana placed the necklace in her palm. The pendant was a key with numbers engraved on both sides.
“That’s your mother’s birthdate,” Nana said. “And on the other side is your birthdate. Your mother used to tell me that you held the key to her heart. Here, let’s try it on you.”
