Mercy

  The night was long and restless as Mercy tossed and turned in her hotel bed. Thoughts about what could be wrong with Alex, and what she was supposed to do about it flitted through her head like bats in the night. She had talked to her father again, and her hysterical mother. With her mom, she had had a half an hour of ‘yes mom I’m fine’, ‘no you don’t have to worry’, and ‘I’ll buy clean underwear tomorrow.’

  It was not easy to explain to them her current situation, and she had to choose her words carefully. As far as her parents were concerned she had only dealt with animals, and they had no inclination of the 3 people she had ended their suffering for. They were patient enough with her, but she knew there was no way she could make them understand that.

  Most of the morning that day she spent roving around town acquainting herself with the area, and doing some shopping. As much as she hated shopping she couldn’t ignore the fact that she didn’t have a toothbrush or clean clothes. Out of necessity she purchased her essential toiletries and a few pairs of pants with some plain coloured shirts. With every feature on Mercy being practically absent of colour she looked ridiculous in anything but black, white or neutral. At least she was able to do something enjoyable when she found a place to rent a scooter making cabbing no longer her only option.

  Around 4 pm when Mercy was exiting one of the small shops that lined the street across from the park she had met Alex yesterday, she ‘accidentally’ ran into the girl. Mercy had made a few small purchases to back up her claim that she was doing some shopping since she had returned the majority of her shopping bags to her hotel room earlier that day. She told Alex that she was going for ice cream at a little parlor she had seen a block back and invited Alex to join her as her treat. The girl was happy to oblige.

  The conversation started as friendly small talk as they each enjoyed their frozen desserts. Mercy was genuinely interested to learn about the girl, she was so likeable, and Mercy had never had any friends in school, let alone a conversation that last longer than 2 minutes. Alex was completely at ease with her and didn’t wilt under her intense gaze like everyone else. The girl talked freely and expressively like she was catching up with an old friend. At times, Mercy was so engulfed in conversation she forgot why she was here. She felt normal.

  They chatted about what stuff Alex liked: music (she liked pop, country, and rock), what she did for fun (read, and be outside, Alex really liked being outside), what kind of books she liked (mostly fantasy), and how old she was (12).

  “Who’s your favourite country singer?” Alex quizzed Mercy.

  “You know, I can’t say I really have one. I was never that big of a fan….What!?” Mercy laughed at Alex’s gaping mouth.

  “But they have cowboy boots!”

  “I don’t see how the two are related,” she chuckled.

  “Because cowboy boots are awesome!”

  “They don’t even look comfy.”

  “They’re fine, I have two pairs. My mom bought them for me when I use to line dance.”

  “You used to line dance?”

  “My mom thought it’d be a good idea. I didn’t like it, but I stuck it out long enough to get some boots,” Alex blushed.

  “Aren’t you a little mastermind over there? Actin’ all innocent, but really line dancing for cowboy boots.”

  “Well, my mom liked it! So I did it for her…. Kinda…” the girl protested and smiled slyly.

  “You’re a little weasel,” Mercy joked.

  “Did you know weasels sometimes dance for fun? They also have a war dance to mesmerize their prey!” Alex blurted.

  “No…” replied Mercy blankly.

  “I watch a lot of Animal Planet and Natural Geographic’s. I love animals. I could watch them all day. They’re so interesting, and they all have these funny things that they do. And there are so many great shows, and they have specials where you learn all this stuff you never knew! Sometimes they show a bit too much and it can be gross. But they kill for food, not to be mean. I think sometimes that animals are better than people. Animals aren’t mean to each other like we’re mean to them. Or how we’re mean to each other,” Alex babbled. Mercy’s heart ached for Alex, and it made her all the more curious as to what her purpose was with this quirky girl.

  “I can’t argue with that Alex. I love animals, and I think a lot of unfair things happen to them that they don’t deserve,” Mercy frowned. The two girls studied each other quietly for a few moments while they spooned delicious frozen snacks into their mouths. Unhappy memories of more than one animal being hurt and toyed with for amusement slithered their way through Mercy’s head. On one occasion she had chased some young boys away from a baby possum they were senselessly tying ropes and elastic bands around. The poor thing was half dead by the time Mercy reached it, and she brought it to animal services. It lost a leg, but it was one of the few that made it. Subconsciously her hand moved to the invisible lines over her heart.

  “This ice cream is really good. I can see why you wanted to come here,” Alex beamed, drawing Mercy back from her dark recollections.

  “Actually, this is my first time here.”

  “Oh, do you live around here?”

  “Sort of… I just got here a few days ago. We came here to solve a special case.”

  “We?”

  “Well, me and my mom.” Mercy lied. She hated having to lie to Alex, but she couldn’t admit to her she was here by herself without arousing suspicion.

  “Where’s everyone else?”

  “Who? My dad? He couldn’t come.”

  “Oh…. So you don’t have any brothers or sisters?” Alex frowned.

  “No, just us. I was the miracle baby,” Mercy snickered while waving her hands mockingly. “My mom couldn’t have any more kids after me.”

  “That sucks.”

  “I got used to it I guess,” she shrugged. For a long time Mercy had wished to have a younger sibling. Someone she could confide in, and maybe help with her burden. But how would they understand her either? Or how could a child keep her secrets? Or not question Mercy slinking out at odd times of the day? It was sad for her to realize that the weight of her secret would have been too hard for any child to bear. She was meant to be alone.

  “I don’t like being an only child…” Alex muttered while twirling her spoon over the top of her ice cream. She paused a moment before adding, “Sometimes… sometimes I wished I had an older brother. Older brother’s watch out for the younger sister’s right?”

  “I suppose… Do you feel like you need that… like you need someone to watch out for you?” Mercy furrowed.

  Pursing her lips, averting her eyes, and knitting her eyebrows Alex responded, “My mom works a lot. It’d just be nice….”

  “Hmmmm…. I get lonely too, but hey at least your big brother isn’t Uncle Rick.”

  “Who’s Uncle Rick?”

  “My mom’s older brother. He was not the best brother from what I’ve heard.” Mercy smirked and leaned in closer as if telling a secret.

  “Why, what’d he do?” Alex asked with peeked interest.

  “He used to tell embarrassing stories in front of my mom’s friends or boyfriends – which she refuses to tell me. Or he’d catch spiders, or other bugs and release them in her room-“

  “Ewww! That’s terrible!” Alex giggled.

  “That’s only the tip of the iceberg! He put eggs in her pillow case once, and it took her days to figure out where the smell was coming from!” Mercy grinned as Alex covered her mouth to hide her laugh. “My mom almost killed him the day he put grape Kool-Aid in her conditioner. Her hair is blonde – not like my blonde – but, her hair turned purple! And the next was the first day of school for her. Uncle Rick said she had tried to claw his face off!”

  “Ok, well I definitely don’t want an Uncle Rick for a brother, that’s FOR SURE!”

  “Nope… So how come you’ve never been to this awesome ice cream shop? You new here too?” Mercy asked and then shoved a spoonful
of ice cream into her mouth.

  “Yea, we moved here because of Frank.” Alex glowered causing Mercy to freeze and study her. Everything had been so cheerful and light, but Alex practically spat Frank’s name as she seethed.

  “Who’s Frank?” Mercy asked nonchalantly.

  “My stepdad…” Alex replied as she glared at her ice cream bowl avoiding Mercy’s eyes.

  “You mad because he made you move away from your friends?”

  “Something like that…” the girl whispered and drew in her shoulders making herself look small. Mercy’s stomach clenched, but she couldn’t decipher if it was involuntary or not.

  “My parents are divorced too.”

  Alex sat there quietly a moment before responding, “My dad’s dead.”

  “Oh… I’m sorry,” frowned Mercy while her thoughts screamed at her. This is taking a dark turn! What am I supposed to do with this information!?

  Alex offered a small shrug and took a tiny scoop of her ice cream. Unproductively Mercy spent the next 10 minutes attempting to cheer the girl up, but their chatting never returned to the light-hearted banter they had started with. Once they both finished their ice cream Mercy gave her the number of the new disposable phone she’d just purchased and left.

  Repeatedly that night Mercy paced her room trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. She really liked Alex, and when Alex was with her she seemed happy. But the sense that Alex was hiding something, and that something was very upsetting was unshakable. Mercy would catch glimpses of a ghost haunting the girl’s eyes.