Mountains of Dawn

Mrs. Alcin drew back from Tanya and wiped her eyes. "We won't stay," she said. "I've called back home and made arrangements for the funeral." She gasped back a sob and waited a moment until she could go on. "We have to ship Kathy home, you see, and deal with everything." She couldn't continue.

"It's all wrong," Mr. Alcin said. "Parents shouldn't bury their children. A man should walk his daughter down the aisle, not lay her in her grave." He turned and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

"He'll be all right," Mrs. Alcin said. "It's just too soon. That's one of the reasons we have to go home as soon as possible. I don't think he'll be able to stay here, where it happened, where she's lived, for too long." She squeezed her eyes shut, and seemed to stop breathing for a moment, then drew a deep breath and continued. "We stayed in a motel last night, after we picked up the rental car." She looked across the room to the shattered front windows. "I don't think you should stay here either, dear. Anyone could climb in through those windows. In fact, things looked a bit messed when we arrived, but I'm not sure. It might just be from the explosion." She paused again, her thoughts gone back to her daughter in the midst of the explosion, torn and shattered. She shook her head as if to shake away the image. "I thought I should pack a few of Kathy's things, send them on home, too. Would you help me, Tanya? I don't think I can do it alone."

Tanya nodded, unable to speak. Together, she and Mrs. Alcin packed several cartons and taped them shut. They carried a few cartons, along with the luggage, to the Alcins' rental car.

"Now, Tanya, are you sure you don't want to come back home with us? I know you need to recover and…it would be a blessing to have you around." Mrs. Alcin smiled Kathy's sweet smile at Tanya. Tanya felt as if her heart would shatter.

"No, Mrs. Alcin, thank you so much. I would love to go home with you, but I have school, and work to do here. The police still want to talk to me. I can't hide…although I would love to." Tanya wished she could crawl under the bed and never come out, not until life made more sense, not until cars didn't explode when you drove them, nor strangers try to force you from the roads. "I'll stay with a friend of mine."