Chapter 27
ϕVeraϕ
“So see? Zak was a hero. And he died so tragically.” I said to my father.
“A brave young man, that’s for sure.” He said. “And he lived here?”
“Yeah, I just feel so connected with this person Dad. You know, like, we would have been good friends.” I said carefully. Dad smiled sadly at me.
“I know the move probably upset you. I’m sorry about that.” He said. I shook my head.
“I understand why we had to do it. And I’m glad we ended up here. It was like it was meant to be.” I said. Dad stood up totally and hugged me.
“You talk like you've had some kind of revelation.” He chuckled.
“Maybe I have. You know, I know you probably wont believe me. But I feel him here.” I said quietly. Dad was silent and I continued. “I just, theres a feeling in this house. In the walls and crevices.” I said. Dad held my shoulders and looked down at me.
“During my tour, I saw things Vera. And it makes me wonder sometimes if there really is more after we go. I’m still not sure about ghosts and things, but maybe you’re right that there could be something left over from something so sudden and painful.” He smiled a little. “If there were something, you shouldn't be scared.” My jaw dropped.
“I certainly am not scared, in fact, I like it. Knowing someone is there even when you can’t see them, isn’t that what you told me before?” I said. Dad messed my hair up and headed down the ladder. I sighed, slightly frustrated and grabbed Zak’s other sketchbooks. I know I shouldn’t be irritated. Dad had been through a lot and I didn’t have a right to force him to believe in anything. I flipped open his sketchbook and understood why Dad was so surprised. It could have been a photo, just like the others. There were more, the big tree in the back yard in full bloom, and even the treehouse that was so strange. There were some people too. They must have been his parents. And then I saw me again at a desk with a pencil writing something. And then a self portrait, which was amazingly striking. This sketchbook was smaller compared to the one I had upstairs. There were about 5 more, all of Zak and I doing things together like laying on the bed or sitting on the cherry tree and walking together. It was strange seeing this and knowing he drew it before I even existed. I wondered if it was possible we really had met before, like way before now.
“Vera...Vera? Hey, earth to Vera hello?” I shook my head and looked over and saw Zak, looking concerned. “Are you alright?” He asked.
“I’m fine, just lost in thought.” I answered.
“I could tell, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get you to come back or if I would have to freeze you to get your attention.” He grinned and put his hands on my cheeks and I shivered and swung my arms in vain.
“Zaaaak…” I whined and he laughed, which made me smile.
“There, that’s better.” He said and looked down at the sketchbook. “Oh, I always liked this one.” He said and then sheepishly put his hand behind his head. “Kinda funny how I drew us way back then. I had some kind of gift huh.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, some gift.” I said. “Hey, I’ll keep working on Dad. He’ll come around.” I smiled.
“Alright, in the meantime, I’ll unfortunately keep quiet.” He sighed.
“Why? Nothing’s stopped you before. You tried to scare me away as I recall it.” I raised my eyebrows. He shook his finger at me.
“Hey now, that was different.” He said. I smirked.
“Sure it was.” I walked through him and climbed back down the ladder to start dinner. I would make tacos, Dad’s favorite. And then I would have to deal with school tomorrow. It was going to be a rough night, I was sure of it.
