Was it Ever Really Dead?

Missy Abrams and Jennifer Wyatt had never spoken to one another in their entire nine-year-old existence. Even though they had been in the same school since kindergarten, they had never shared a playdate, exchanged jokes passing in the hallway, or bargained for a pudding cup while at lunch. They had not purposely avoided one another. It was just for the simple fact that their last names were on opposite ends of the Alphabet and therefore were placed in different homerooms.

In a regional school of about 500 kids, it was almost too much for Principal Louis to handle. He certainly did not know every kid’s name, and there were plenty of Emily’s, Timothy’s, and Jessica’s to mix up. Until the students graduated to the upper-elementary school, their last names determined their homerooms, subsequent classes, and lunch period. The only time the children would comingle was if they had a late pick-up. Jennifer and Missy both fell into this category, as they both had parents with fulltime jobs, and Missy’s dad traveled most of the time anyway.  

On one afternoon in May, there was a random chain of events that would alter the girls’ lives forever. By happenstance, Missy and Jennifer both looked towards the woods at the exact same time, to the exact same group of trees, and witnessed an event they couldn’t quite explain.

There was also a sound. Somewhere halfway between a screech and a yell, and an unfortunate loud splat that soon followed thereafter. A small animal falling to its untimely death.

Both girls were perplexed by the strange sight, but also extraordinarily curious. For Missy, she had never witnessed death or anything close to it. But for Jennifer, she had the unfortunate memory of her two-year-old brother choking on a play toy before receiving mouth to mouth by a stranger. Although he’s perfectly fine now, she’ll never forget the way her parents looked when his lips turned blue.

The girls naturally gravitated over to the present scene of the crime. Missy skipped towards the woods, but Jennifer shuffled her legs as if they would unexpectedly pop off. As they came closer, they cautiously approached the deceased.

“What do you think that is?” Missy examined the animal’s squashed-up head and the look of shock in its wide eyes.

Jennifer picked up the nearest stick, determined not to touch it with her bare hands, “It kind of looks like a squirrel.”

“That’s no squirrel.” Missy retorted. “Squirrels are gray and have tails! It’s a chipmunk, stupid.” Missy proceeded to get eye-level with the mysterious creature.

“Don’t touch it!” Jennifer yelled. “And chipmunks are smaller and have tails too you know.”

“I wonder if we can get rabies from it.” Missy inched her tiny fingers closer and closer.

Jennifer looked anxiously to see if her friends had noticed she was missing. “You can’t get rabies from a dead animal.”

“I think it fell from there!” Missy shot up on her knees and pointed to the nearest tree. “Let’s go see what’s up there!”

Missy began to climb the tree with no hesitation, but Jennifer shuffled her feet nervously.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she mumbled towards her thumbs.

“Don’t be such a sissy. I do this all the time. We’ll be fine. Just follow me.” Missy waved her classmate, someone she’d hardly spoken to, to follow her up a tree. Jennifer eyed the assorted branches and determined it was kind of like the tree in her backyard, so it was probably safe.  

“What do you think we’ll find up there?” Jennifer placed her feet slowly and carefully grabbed the tree’s knots.

“Maybe a nest and its whole family!” Missy said breathlessly. She’d probably be able to see the whole playground from up there and maybe even her house!

The determined girl settled onto a branch about 15 feet off the ground and began inching along.

Jennifer clambered onto the branch too, but stayed near the trunk. “What do you see over there?”

“Ah, just some nuts and crumbs.”

“Don’t touch them!” Jennifer shouted. “Maybe he was poisoned!”

“How do you know it was a him?” Missy answered indignantly.

“You’re such a dweeb.”

“And I said you’re a SISSSAYYYY!” Missy screamed when the branch broke beneath her and was suddenly suspended in thin air.

With unbelievable speed, Jennifer managed to grab one of Missy’s arms and hold tightly to the petrified girl.

“Don’t let go of me!”

“I won't!” From across the playground, Lizzy Perkins from Missy’s homeroom class, finally looked over and noticed the chain of events taking place. At first, she thought it was a trick of the eye: was that really Missy Abrams hanging from a tree? But she wasn’t one to doubt her own suspicions and went for a teacher.

“How much do you weigh?” Jennifer held Missy’s arm with as much strength as she could muster. A few months back, she had beat her little brother in arm-wrestling, but even she knew she couldn’t hold on for much longer.

“That’s not a very nice question.” Missy cried softly. “Please don’t let go of me.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Jennifer was perspiring, though. Missy was too far away to jump to the tree, and Jennifer’s arms were feeling like noodles. Thankfully, by that point, the teachers, and a janitor were running over with a ladder.

“Hey, I don’t think I ever learned your name.”

As tears streamed into her mouth, Missy gulped. “Mis-sy Abrams.”

“Cool. Well, I’m Jennifer Wyatt.”

Missy stopped crying for a moment. “Hey, your brother was the one that choked that one time. My mom gave him mouth-to-mouth.”

“That was your mom?” Jennifer would never forget the kind woman who saved her brother’s life.  

“MISSY! JENNIFER!” Ms. Julie sprinted over to the girls and breathed a sigh of relief that their arms were intertwined. “John come quick!” She called to the janitor with a ladder; his brow full of sweat.

“Children out of the way!” But Ms. Julie could not contain the excited students. This show was too good to miss, and about thirty kids surrounded the tree.

Some of them yelled advice at the girls, “Don’t let go, Jenny!” or “Just jump, Missy!”

Jennifer had never received this much attention in her entire life, as if she were on TV. Missy usually loved to be the center of attention, but this was not something she signed up for. She wore a skirt with lime green underwear today.

“My arm hurts.” Jennifer moaned.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, hold on.” The janitor quickly opened up the ladder to grab Missy first.

Sweet release is what Jennifer felt as Missy was slowly lifted out of her grasp. Missy stopped whimpering and the whole class cheered when she was brought gently down.

John quickly went back to reach for Jennifer when Missy shouted, “BE CAREFUL WITH HER!”

Everyone stopped, and Jennifer’s mouth hung wide open.

John looked directly at the frightened girl. “I’ll be careful Ms. Missy.” And then softly lifted Jennifer from the tree.

As both girls were placed safely next to one another, Ms. Julie shooed the lingering students away. “You’re both okay? You’re not hurt? Now, what on earth were you thinking?!”

They spoke in unison, “It wasn’t our fault. We promise! There was this dead animal. We heard it go SPLAT! We were trying to see if it had babies!”

“Stop, slow down, slow down. What was dead?”

“Right here!” Jennifer grabbed the teacher’s arm and took her to the spot. “We couldn’t decide what it was.”

But as Jennifer and Missy went to where the dead lie, there was no longer evidence of it. The animal with no tail and wide eyes had suddenly gone missing. Was it ever really dead?

Both Missy and Jennifer turned to one another and gasped. “We swear, it was right here, we swear!”

But thankfully, there was no more time for excuses, since parents had arrived, and the late school buses were there to charter kids home.

Ms. Julie promised to speak with their parents and insinuated a written essay and some after-school detention. But that did not bother the two girls now. They had survived an inexplicable event packed with intrigue, adventure, and close death. As they stood near one another their arms intertwined, as if they were to release, one of them might just fall.