Page 109 of This Love
I held my breath, but no panic came. I wasn’t afraid of dogs. And I sensed that someone with a dog would be safe.
The woman gave a small wave. I waved back. The dog ran in another direction to pee on a tree. This made me smile.
This was a good place. Old Ava would approve.
I flipped back to the beginning of the notebook and moved to the third page. Maybe somewhere it would tell me where to go to find Tucker or Maya or Harry.
This page had a drawing, crudely made. A man figure. A woman. And a child. There were trees and flowers, and the three figures held hands. Beneath were the words, “Mom. Ava. Dad.” There was a stamp in the corner, a circle with the words, “Good work!”
At the bottom, there was handwriting I recognized. It read, “2006. Age 6. It looks like you used to go to regular school. This is your only image of your father. There are no photos of him in the house. Mother didn’t allow it.”
No photos of my father when I was six? I had them now. Why wouldn’t Mother allow it?
I flipped the page to find out.
* * *
2006 - Age 16
I’ve been so lost. Time has disappeared.
Grandma Flowers has been watching me. I like to sit on her porch. I’m not allowed to go inside her half of the duplex. Mother says so. Only the porch.
Grandma Flowers told me she had some books I liked to read before I forgot everything. She got my favorite one so I could read it again.
But something strange happened.
I opened the cover, and there were three lines. They said.
Trust only this handwriting.
Find the book.
Remember your life.
Grandma Flowers and I looked at each other.
Her face pinched, and her mouth tightened. “Something’s not right.”
I flipped through the book and found words that were highlighted. The first was the word “available,” but only the AVA part was highlighted.
So, it was a note for me. I picked out each word and wrote it down.
* * *
Mother has hidden your life. Find the notes. They are everywhere. Get out. She is doing something to make you forget. Run. Go. Escape.
* * *
My heart hammered, and it was hard to breathe. I didn’t know what to do.
I asked her for any other books I read before I lost time. Grandma Flowers brought me a big stack. They all had highlighted parts. Some of them told me the locations of the notes I had hidden. I have paper flowers all over the wall of my bedroom, and each one hides a tiny note on the back side.
One told me to write on my belly the same words I saw inside the novel.
Trust only this handwriting.
Find the book.
