Seal leaned against the warped slats of her dad’s barn. Flecks of old red paint clung to her dress. She stared over a field of sunflowers, as far as she could see.
They yellow heads danced in the dry wind as dust stung at her ankles and streaked her cheeks, riding the sweat. She didn’t care. She wore black, still, her thick mourning dress.
Paintchip rested on her thigh. Ten months had passed since beth died, and Seal still hadn’t let go. The doll’s stuffing bulged from a tear by its ear. Seal only parted with the doll for bath time and bedtime.
It slept in her sister’s bed each night in the room they had shared. The doll, clothed in real buckskin, had honey-colored felt skin and seven long strands of thick hair affixed to the center of its head by a single loop of thread. Numerous multicolored beads decorated it to honor their ancestors.
The house was so quiet now. her mom had taken time off as a library assistant to homeschool her, hoping the time together would help. Seal had not gone back to school since the accident.
The quiet gave way to something stirring up the sunflowers. The stalks parted sharply, unnaturally against the wind. Something moved, intentionally, low to the ground. It wasn’t tall but it was fast and whatever it was turned straight towards Seal.
Seal stiffened, clutching Paintchip tighter. Her breath became shallow and rapid. Her mind flashed to the man with the gun. Was it him? No. He wouldn’t be free. Not for years.
The noise stopped. The air went still. Even the jays cut off mid-caw.
Then…
The sunflowers jerked forward. Thick green stalks broke in half, their pulpy flesh exposed like a bone broken through skin. Something tumbled through them, flipping wildly, and landed hard in a heap. A tattered red shoe landed at seal’s feet.
A boy rolled onto his back and grinned up at her, upside down.
“Did I scare you?”
Seal recognized the boy. Beth had always called him silly, but Javin remained only an annoying boy.
“No. But my dad’ll chase you home when he sees what you did to his field.”
Javin sat up, brushing crushed yellow petals from his shirt. “He won’t. I’m invited for lunch. I’m a guest!”
Seal’s mom liked having Javin over, especially after he helped on the night they lost Beth. Seal didn’t feel as gracious towards him.
Javin was like a lawn mower engine: loud, gassy, difficult to tune out. He lived in the trailer park down the road with his mom.
“Let’s play,” he said.
“No.” Seal clutched Paintchip close and took a step back as he stood up.
Dust puffed from his shirt as he patted it, causing him to cough. Javin was half Indian. Not Lakota, like Seal, but Indian from India, which made him rare around here. His father, whom Javin claimed was Hawaiian, had died when Javin was three, sideswiped on his motorcycle. That’s how the story went, anyway.
“We’ve got time before lunch,” Javin said. “Let’s go to the clearing.”
He jerked his thumb behind them. The clearing. Nothing grew there. Most people avoided it.
“Come on, your mom won’t care if she knows we’re having fun.”
Fun for Javin was synonymous with getting into trouble. If disaster hadn’t found him, he’d make his own. One time, he nearly burned down his trailer with firecrackers and rubber cement.
Still, he wasn’t wrong. Seal’s mom wanted her to smile more. Like you could just act happy, Seal thought.
“Go away, Javin. I don’t want to play with you.”
Javin stared at her; a hurt expression washed over his face before being pushed away with a smile. He never stayed down for long.
“Can I at least have my shoe back?”
Seal picked it up with two fingers, like it had the plague. As he reached for it his hand darted past hers, snatching Paintchip.
He vanished into the sunflowers.
By the time Seal realized what had happened, he was gone. She chased him. His plan had worked. She was playing, whether she wanted to or not.
“Give her back or I’m I’ll hit you,” she shouted.
“Catch me!” he yelled over his shoulder.
Sunflower stalks lashed his arms as he tore through the rows.
Seal’s ran barefoot, dodging flying insects stirred up by Javin’s reckless thrashing. Anger and guilt surged through her. She didn’t trust him. He could drop the doll. Rip it more. Lose it forever.
Beth’s doll.
She ran faster.
Javin broke free of the sunflowers. His single shoed foot struck metal with a muted thud. He reached the large clearing and ran to its center, holding the doll like bait.
Seal burst through moments later. She didn’t slow.
“Stop, Seal. Your mom asked me to…” he started.
Seal tackled him. They both hit the cold hard metal. Seal pried Paintchip from his grip with care, afraid to damage her. Then she punched him square in the chest and rolled away.
“Ow, you didn’t have to hit me…” He groaned, rubbing his ribs. “… that hard.”
She inspected Paintchip. More stuffing leaked from its head, but nothing worse.
Javin broke her focus. “You think aliens left this? Maybe it’s a buried UFO.” He slapped the giant metal plate. It felt cool against his palm.
The truth of it was unknown. Her dad found it after clearing grass-covered mounds. They hired a company to probe it. Its thickness went deeper than they could detect. Blow torches failed. Drill bits snapped without peeling away the slimmest of shavings. For a few weeks, local reporters came by. Then they moved on. The state ran radiation checks, which came out clean and then everyone quickly forgot about it.
She stated at the plate. Since Beth’s death, it gave her an uneasy feeling.
“You ever wonder what’s under there?” Javin asked. He crouched, brushing the edge with his fingers. “It almost feels like… something alive.”
Seal nodded. She’d been dreaming if it lately. A giant coiled serpent, made of metal, under the earth with glowing eyes. She had told no one of the dreams. But every time she neared the plate, it felt more real.
The ground twitched. Barely. A hint of motion so subtle she almost missed it.
Seal looked at Javin. He looked back.
“Did you…?” she began.
“Yeah,” he said, standing up. “Weird, right? Like its… breathing.”
Seal frowned. The unease in her chest tightened.
“We should go,” she said. The plate felt like it was watching, waiting. But for what?
“I disagree,” Javin said, interrupting her thoughts. “We’re here. What should we play?”
Seal wanted to punch him again.
Instead, she grabbed his foot and yanked hard, tearing off his last tattered shoe. She wound her arm back and hurled it deep into the sunflowers.
Then she turned and walked away, Paintchip tucked protectively agaisnt her.
Maybe Javin would learn his lesson today while he searched for his missing shoe. But she doubted it.
He trailed far behind her as they walked in through the crooked gray back door. It slammed trice, once for each of them. Javin wore only the red shoe he found by the barn. The other was still out there among the stalks.
The kitchen, like the barn, had seen better days. But it was clean. Freshly washed dishtowels hung from dented brown cabinets.
Some drawers had no knobs, only mismatched bolts where handles used to be. The linoleum curled up from the baseboards. Seal’s dad glued it down, but they always popped back up. He’d laugh, ask her mom for the heaviest bag of flour, and set it like a paperweight.
Javin and Seal sat at the small table.
Her mom greeted them from the hallway. “Go wash up Seal. Javin, where’s your shoe, Javin?” Her mom missed nothing.
“I found this one by your barn,” he said, lifting his foot. “The other’s out by the clearing. Seal’s got a powerful arm. I looked but I didn’t want to miss lunch.” He shrugged, grinning. “I’ll find it before dark, Mrs. Kipp. Thanks for having me.”
He headed to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.
Seal returned from the bathroom. Her mom just looked at her. “Go wash your face, Seal.”
They would have a talk later.
“Seal, I made you a chicken sandwich. That okay?”
“Yes, Ma.”
Her parents still called her Seal. Beth had been their Bee.
“Javin, this one’s yours,” her mom said, handing him a sandwich cut on the diagonal. Hummus on white bread, two sweet pickles on the side.
People thought Javin was vegetarian like his mom. He wasn’t. Javin would eat anything, just like his dad.
Javin had no idea what Mrs. Kipp put in her hummus, but it was better than anything from the store.
“Great as always, Mrs. Kipp,” he said, mouth half full.
“Are you ready for school?” she asked.
Javin shook his head as he swallowed the last bite of the first half. He ate like he talked, recklessly.
“No way. Summer all year would be the perfect life,” he declared. “I’m trying to convince my mom. Got any tips?”
“Well, you’ll be in the same homeroom as Seal, her mom said cheerfully.
Seal glared. She already knew. It wasn’t that her mom checked. It was that she had arranged it. With her influence in the district, it didn’t take much.
Seal didn’t want to go back. She liked learning at home, spending her days with her mom. A year away was supposed to help, but now they said it was time to “return to normal.”
Seal picked at her sandwich while her mom talked about what they’d study this year. Seal doubted American history would mention the Lakota. Her dad made sure she knew their stories, but they agreed they should be taught at school, too.
They’d have science lab for the first time. That caught Javin’s attention.
“Using Bunsen burners will be excellent,” he said.
Seal made note to sit across the room on that day. After he nearly burned down his trailer, Javin wasn’t allowed near the stove. But Seal knew he kept a stash of fireworks hidden from his mom.
After lunch, Javin declined a ride. He wandered around a minutes looking for his shoe before giving up.
Seal dumped the plates into the sink in one armful. The plastic clattered against the chipped enamel.
“Be nicer to Javin,” her mom said gently. “He’s a kind boy. You both need a friend. Maybe he causes trouble, but his soul is good,” her mom said.
Seal rolled her eyes.
“I think he likes you,” her mom added.
“I don’t want him to like me. Javin is twelve going on eight.”
“Boys mature slower. But he’s still cute, don’t you think? One day you’ll appreciate someone like him. Your dad was a bit of a class clown too”
“That I believe,” Seal said. He had always been playful with her and Beth, and sillier than anyone, in the best way.