Page 14 of To the Moon and Back
As they neared the museum, Ashley watched the man leave the fence again. He seemed on a mission now. He actually passed by them, apparently unaware of Ashley’s surveillance. Only Kari noticed. “Who was that?”
“Who?” Ashley blinked and turned to her sister.
“The guy.” Kari laughed quietly. “Ash . . . you’ve been staring at him for ten minutes. He was standing by the fence, right?”
“He was.” Ashley drew a quick breath. “I don’t know. There’s just . . . something about him.”
“Yeah.” Kari raised her brow. The two of them were walking a few feet behind the kids. “Every girl here today noticed something about him.”
“It isn’t that.” Ashley felt embarrassed. “Come on. You know me better.” Ashley watched as the guy entered the building. “He looks like Landon. Maybe that’s it.”
“Yeah.” Kari nodded. She seemed content with that explanation. “He kind of does. I can see that.”
“Plus, did you see the pain on his face? The guy’s hurting for sure.” Ashley pointed back at the fence. “He left something. A note. Tucked into the fence.” She turned to her sister again. “I saw him leave it. When you were in the restroom.”
“Got it.” Kari’s tone grew more serious. “You think he lost someone here?”
Ashley paused. “Absolutely. I wanted to say something. Offer to pray for him.” She shrugged. “He just looked so . . . like he needed help.”
They reached the museum and walked up the steps to the double glass doors. “You didn’t say anything, right?”
“Definitely not.” Ashley scanned the building as soon as they stepped inside. She didn’t see the guy anywhere. “He looked like he wanted to be left alone.”
“Mmm.” Kari appeared to understand. “Probably a lot of people like him here today.”
“Probably.”
They moved from one exhibit to another. Amy had done much of the research about the bombing, but the rest of them had not. Kari and Ashley were old enough to remember it, of course. But details of that day were hazy. So they read every display.
Ashley was trying to pay attention. She was. This truly interested her. It was a part of history, after all. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the letter back in the fence. If the person never came, if he or she never found it, then what would happen to it? What if no one ever read it? The staff would collect it and throw it in storage and the message would be lost forever.
Which would be another kind of tragedy.
The letter could be written to someone who had died here. In which case it was never actually meant to be read. But then why had the guy kept searching, looking one way and then the other? He must’ve been waiting for someone. A living person.
Finally she tapped Kari on the shoulder and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
“What?” Kari walked with her a distance from the kids. She seemed slightly alarmed. “Don’t tell me you’re looking for that guy again?”
“No!” Ashley gave a hurried shake of her head. “Of course not. He’s gone, anyway. I saw him leave.”
“Ashley.” Kari studied her. “You’re freaking me out a little here. He’s a stranger.”
“I know. But what if he needs help?” Ashley kept her voice low. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the fence.” She was already moving toward the exit. “I won’t be more than a few minutes.”
“What am I supposed to tell the kids?” Kari looked exasperated. She folded her arms in front of her. “This is crazy, Ash.”
“Tell them I’ll be right back.” She blew Kari a kiss, turned and opened the door. Before she stepped outside she looked back. Amy and Cole and Jessie were completely caught up in a lengthy survivor account posted on the far wall. They’d never know she was gone.
Out in the sunshine again, Ashley flew down the steps. She jogged toward the fence as fast as she could without drawing attention. The mood was still somber, reflective. Calm. She couldn’t break into an all-out sprint. But she didn’t want to leave without at least looking at the letter.
The urgency that filled her heart reminded her of other times in her life when she couldn’t walk away from someone else’s heartache. Like years ago when she worked at Sunset Hills Adult Care Home. She spent her off-hours studying the elderly residents. Learning their stories so she could find reasons for their behavior. One Alzheimer’s patient at the home screamed when she used the bathroom. Every single time. Ashley’s research showed that six decades earlier the woman had been a beauty queen. No wonder the mirror terrified her. Ashley’s investigation paid off. She put a sheet over the mirror and the woman never screamed again.
Now her feet moved a little faster. Maybe it was her creative nature, or the fact that she was drawn to hurting people. Either way she couldn’t stop herself.
