A Girl of the Paper Sky by Randy Mixter Read Free Book Online

woman, and yet… “Have we met?”
    “Oh, yes. Several times. I knew you as a child and as an explorer.”
    “An explorer?” I felt a little dizzy. Did she sense it? Her arm wrapped around my shoulder.
    “It takes a while to acclimate oneself. Deep breaths, Lori. Deep breaths.”
    The sky spun around me and I went down to my knees. “Close your eyes. It will pass,” Mrs. Mayfield said from somewhere above me.
    “Where’s my mother? Why did you take me from her?” I asked.
    “She is here with you,” came the reply from above.
    I opened my eyes and she was. Her casket rested in front of me, among the grass and flowers. I leaned into it and rose to a stand.
    “It’s closed,” I said. “Why is it closed?”
    “Open it, Lori.” It was my mother’s voice, and I turned to see her next to me, where Mrs. Mayfield had stood.
    “Open it for me.” She wore her favorite dark blue dress and the braided necklace I had made for her. A rosary hung from one hand; in the other she held a flower freshly picked from a morning garden.
    She knew that I would rush to her. “Don’t come to me, my love, for I am made of nothing but thought, and I would vanish into the paper sky at the slightest touch.”
    She smiled at me. It would the last time I saw her smile, but I remembered it through all that came after. Her smile was my guide through everything that came after.
    “You need to release me.” She nodded at the casket. “Open it, Lori.”
    I pressed my hands against the wooden lid and lifted. It opened with a hiss as if sealed for a long time. I looked inside.
    A paper bird lay there, bright white against the deep red interior. The bird raised its head and looked directly at me. A strong wind blew across the hill and the bird lifted into the air, lifted up until it was level with my face.
    “You are not a caretaker, nor are you a guardian. You are the chosen one, the girl of the paper sky.”
    My mother’s voice surrounded me. “Listen to Charlene. She will guide you through the maze, you and Brian.”
    “Brian?” I whispered the question although I already knew the answer. “He is your counterpart. It will take the two of you to succeed.”
    The paper bird shuddered from a fierce gust of wind but held firm in the sky. “It is relentless, but we will keep it at bay until you’re ready, even if it takes years . ”
    The colors of the sky brightened. “It knows we are here. I must go now. Remember we’re always with you . ”
    A paper bird appeared in the distance behind her.
    “Adam.” The word soared around me. Adam, my father’s name, and the last word my mother spoke.
    The bird lifted high into the air and turned to face the town, and the steel mill beyond.
    Adam. And when the two birds joined in the paper sky, I returned to the funeral parlor. Deep breaths, Lori. Deep breaths.

17
    “I’m so sorry, Lori. Your mother and I were friends. You probably don’t remember me. You were much younger when we met. My name is Charlene, but please call me Charly, with a y on the end.”
    I looked over at her. We were almost the same height. Her face betrayed nothing of our recent journey together, and I was not about to bring it up. Not here. Not now.
    She nodded at me and walked away. I turned and saw Brian standing alone in the middle of the room. A few friends and relatives had trickled in while I had visited my mother in the paper sky. Couches and chairs edged the room’s perimeter. Paintings adorned the walls. Flowers blanketed the floor to the rear and sides of the casket, but where Brian stood the room was empty. Or was it?
    It seemed like a part of the paper sky had returned with me. It floated above Brian’s head like a large swirling halo of colors.
    There are colors above your head , I thought, and he looked up.
    Thoughts ran through me so fast, I could not catch them in time. Help me, please. I’m so alone and frightened. I think I may be going crazy. I’m so scared.
    The eyes of everyone in the room