Dante's Heart
The Fiddler
Then she seemed to notice me for the first time. With great effort she
grasped my arm in her hand and stared into my eyes. “Stay away from the
hills,” she said.
I smiled gently. She was obviously really out of it, but I figured I’d humor her
and keep her calm until help came. “Next time I’m in the country,” I said, “I’ll
definitely watch out for them.”
She shook her head, her jaw hanging open. “They’re worse in the city.”
“Just lie quietly, someone will be here soon to help you.”
She reached into one of the saggy pockets of her sweater and pulled
something out. She pressed it into my hand and I could feel a line of
sweaty metal against my palm. “Here.” She sighed lightly.
Several people ran up behind me and crouched down. One of them swore,
and someone pulled me away from the girl. I slipped her gift into my coat
pocket. In several moments, people had poured out of the Union and were
crowded all around the her. I backed away from them and leaned against the
fence further down.
I looked around for Amy and Claire, but I didn’t see them. An ambulance
arrived and people began to clear away. I couldn’t figure out where Amy
and Claire had gone. Then I started thinking that maybe they had told me
to meet them somewhere, and the more I thought about it, the surer I was. I
couldn’t remember the name of the place, but it seemed like it was a pub. It
must have been. I started walking back towards Union Street and the center
of town. I turned down one of the small alleys, then turned again, my mind
occupied with trying to remember the name of the pub.
I stopped outside a stucco building with skeletal, Elizabethan beams and
looked up at a sign. “The Faerie Mound” was written on it. I smiled,
remembering that I was meant to meet Amy and Claire there- and were they
bringing someone they were going to introduce me to? Well, it was just a
relief that I had found it so easily.
The door was old, beat up wood and it was standing partly open. Glancing
up at the sign again, I pushed against the door and walked in. The door
swung shut behind me with a thud.
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Then she seemed to notice me for the first time. With great effort she
grasped my arm in her hand and stared into my eyes. “Stay away from the
hills,” she said.
I smiled gently. She was obviously really out of it, but I figured I’d humor her
and keep her calm until help came. “Next time I’m in the country,” I said, “I’ll
definitely watch out for them.”
She shook her head, her jaw hanging open. “They’re worse in the city.”
“Just lie quietly, someone will be here soon to help you.”
She reached into one of the saggy pockets of her sweater and pulled
something out. She pressed it into my hand and I could feel a line of
sweaty metal against my palm. “Here.” She sighed lightly.
Several people ran up behind me and crouched down. One of them swore,
and someone pulled me away from the girl. I slipped her gift into my coat
pocket. In several moments, people had poured out of the Union and were
crowded all around the her. I backed away from them and leaned against the
fence further down.
I looked around for Amy and Claire, but I didn’t see them. An ambulance
arrived and people began to clear away. I couldn’t figure out where Amy
and Claire had gone. Then I started thinking that maybe they had told me
to meet them somewhere, and the more I thought about it, the surer I was. I
couldn’t remember the name of the place, but it seemed like it was a pub. It
must have been. I started walking back towards Union Street and the center
of town. I turned down one of the small alleys, then turned again, my mind
occupied with trying to remember the name of the pub.
I stopped outside a stucco building with skeletal, Elizabethan beams and
looked up at a sign. “The Faerie Mound” was written on it. I smiled,
remembering that I was meant to meet Amy and Claire there- and were they
bringing someone they were going to introduce me to? Well, it was just a
relief that I had found it so easily.
The door was old, beat up wood and it was standing partly open. Glancing
up at the sign again, I pushed against the door and walked in. The door
swung shut behind me with a thud.
Page 3 Page 4 Page 5
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