A Town Called Past

“Did you see who came back in town?” Vinnae states an obvious question slathered with pity.

“I saw her.” Bode exhales his answer and looks away.

“I wonder if she knows what she’s looking for this time.” Vinnae shakes her head and slams her hands on top of her hips. She starts to jot off but stops and thinks better of it.

“What makes you think she’s looking for something?” Bode signals.

“A woman knows. You don’t keep turning over the same rocks unless you’re looking for something specific.”

The warm late evening sun blazes across the field at eye level. A thick layer of dust can be noticed in the sun’s path. Everything is glossed over with a golden glow.  There are several small traditional buildings on both sides of Main St separated by a stop light and a rusty clock. Wooden buildings, old and half standing, wear their age with pride. Too much trouble for a coat of paint, so they sit as is. They’ve each had the same last names attached to the deeds for over a hundred years. These businesses stay in the family. It’s just how it’s done. There’s no outside selling. Vinnae’s family has been in charge of the town’s floral and landscaping arrangements for generations.  Vinnae boasts with joy over her beautiful displays each year. Always the same colors, the same layout, the same everything. Nothing is changed. Ever.

The town square is the place where everyone eventually ends up by the end of the day. It’s a place where everyone wants to be if they want to see what’s going on.  Everyone shows up at least once a day out of necessity and Vinnae knows it. She knows Bode saw that girl. This is the third time this month she has surfaced. People are talking, that’s for sure. The same people walk these streets, the same time every day. Nothing ever changes unless of course we see a wanderer. Sometimes it’ll be months or even a year if we see the same person twice. This girl is completely lost and I’m not sure if this town will be able to help her. Maybe the next town over, or the next one after that. She’s not going to find anything else here that she hasn’t already seen before.

Ruby circles around the town square thinking she will remember something different this time. She’s certain she’s missing something that will help her find the time when her happiness died and was replaced with a dark hole in her heart. Her long brown hair pulled back in a braid helps to keep her neck cool in this heat. She wrings her hands as she thinks and paces. She keeps coming back to this place because every time her therapist carries her down this thought process, her mind stops here. The time is 1975 and it was the end of her first year in high school. This dusty old town is always the same.  It’s nowhere she’d ever dream of actually returning to. Something about this time keeps triggering her to stop and reevaluate. That same boy, Bode is standing in front of the feed store with Vinnae again. Do they ever get tired of being stuck here?

“I think you have me mistaken for someone else ma’am.” Bode says as sweat builds up around his thick mustache.

“No….no I’ve been over this several times and I’m almost certain it was you.”

Bode remains silent and thumbs his back pockets, chest protrudes. Vinnae is long gone. She sped off the moment she saw the girl heading this way.

“You’re the one that invited all of us to the lake that night. You saw me. You made drinks for everyone and started the bonfire on the beach.”

“There were a lot of guys there that night. A lot of drinks” he reminds her and keeps it vague.

“I knew I recognized you the last time I came here. There is something about your face. Your mustache.” Her eyes glaze over as she reaches out her hand and starts to point at his mustache. Her mind starts to fizzle back to the present. She must be close to a breakthrough. It must be too much for her mind to take. It sends her back every time she gets close. She squeezes her eyes closed and breathes in heavy. Ruby’s eyes pop wide open and she is relieved to find herself still in 1975. But Bode is gone and she is seething. Not so fast! Bode or Vinnae, or both, are hiding something. They buried my family’s tragedy and do not want it leaving 1975. 

Ruby’s eyes spot Bode scurrying into the corner bar. She hurries after him. Her shoulders heave with each breath as she stomps in his direction. She reaches the bar and flings open the door and there it is.   The picture of her brother, the prom king and his date hanging above the bar. The picture is black and white of course but she remembers the rose pinned on his lapel was red to match her dress.  This was the night he was taken from this world.  Her eyes burn as the memory from that night comes into focus. She can see the man with the mustache pulling her brother out the water. His thick mustache covered her brother’s blue lips, and he was trying to get her brother to breathe.  Her breath quickens. She thinks she remembers it now. The full memory is on display. She turns around and looks outside the bar door, and she sees an oversized screen hanging in the town square. Her brow furrows as she steps back outside.

“What is this?” she questions. Nobody answers. She’s crying now as she sees her brother’s face across the screen. Both her hands move to her mouth but not before a gasp escapes.

The night of her brother’s accident is playing across the screen like a movie. Is this real? She sees herself that night. Drinking and laughing with all her friends. Her brother was there amongst them all. They had a lot of fun that night. He allowed her to drink and promised he would cover for her. Just this time. Vinnae was there.  She was the prom queen! I almost didn’t recognize her. She had her eyes on Ruby’s brother. But wait. What is this? Ruby was the one going into the water. 

She remembers now. 

There was a dare and a lot of laughing and Ruby ran straight into the water.

She lost her footing and started bobbing up and down under the water. Gasping each time.

Her brother noticed.

He dropped his drink and sprinted to the shoreline and raced into the water. It’s too dark to fully see what’s playing on the screen. The sounds of screams, gasps, and splashing water covered the void. 

Then there’s the mustache. Over the blue lips.

She drops to her knees in the middle of the town square surrounded by old familiar strangers. It is then that she realizes that her brother died by saving her. The pain is rushing in and binding her tight like a cage around her chest. It burns. Bode kneels down next to her and places his hand on her shoulders as she sobs into the crook of her arm.

“I’m sorry ma’am….”

Ruby continues to sob sitting in the floral recliner in her therapist’s office as her therapist places her hand on her shoulders.