We laughed as the rain poured down on us. The smoky wisps danced away
from the smoldering building. Though the fire had been completely
extinguished, damage lay in its wake.
"I see you have found your connection, Cole." Gram lifted our hands to the
sky, and spoke, “Water, the rain you gave served its purpose. We release you.”
Gram smirked as the clouds parted and the rain slowed. “We wouldn't want to flood the town, would we?”
With the emergency averted, the firemen called it safe before they departed.
Now, there was nothing left for us to do, but try to salvage Cole's belongings.
The only people that stayed were nearby neighbors, who came to our aid with boxes. They even helped us gather anything that wasn’t ruined by the flames or
water.
“I'm sorry I was so angry. As I'm looking at these things, I realized there’s nothing in this house that I want or need,” Cole whispered to us. "Anything meaningful to me is here, right now. You are my family, and your safety is all that matters to me."
Stopping and looking around, Cole had a confused look on his face, “Wait,
where is Meg?”
Gram handed Eliza's message to Cole, and apologized, “I'm sorry she
included you in all of this. She never could do things simply. How a child of mine ever became so cruel, I'll never understand.”
I watched Cole's face as he read the note. Unsure how he'd react, I forced myself to wait patiently until he finished. When he was done, he gave the letter
back to Gram with an expressionless look on his face.
“So, Eliza started this fire?” Cole gently shook his head. “Why would she
bother to burn down my house?”
“Maybe a distraction? Maybe revenge? Cole, there’s no use trying to
understand any of the choices my daughter makes.” Gram marched to the center
of the clean-up crew. “Elliott, please get my truck. We are moving Cole in with
us tonight.”
Elliott stopped filling boxes, gave Gram the thumbs up, and headed towards
our house.
Gram called out to those still sifting through the rubble. “Thank you,
everyone, for helping. It's not safe to be digging around in the dark. Go home and sleep. These things can wait for another day."
Reluctantly, our neighbors finished their tasks. As they left, Cole was met with words of concern, hugs, and handshakes from our soot-covered friends.
Their support was moving.
Not soon after everyone had left, Elliott returned with the truck. The bed was
filled with empty boxes. “I thought these might be useful." Stopping and looking
around, he faltered, “Wait, where is Meg?”
With a disgusted look on her face, Gram handed him the note. Once again,
Eliza's hate-filled letter was read.
Elliott's face crumpled. “I came back too late to protect my girls. How did I
fail them again?”
Gram took his hand. “You are here now, and we'll bring Meg home.”
Chapter
Twenty-One
We loaded the truck with as many boxes of the salvaged item as it
