Reminiscent

Callie Bakersfield, an adorable curly red-haired nine-year-old, sat in the backseat of her mom's brand new minivan, wondering why she could not just stay one more night at her nana's house. She stared a hole in the back of her mom's head as she got madder and madder by the minute.

"Mom!?! Why did we have to leave? It's summer still. School doesn't start for 3 more weeks and I was going to get nana to take me shopping and for some ice cream and facials and....and...UGH! You are so mean, you never let me do anything anymore."

Her mom just stared out the windshield. Both hands on the wheel. And said nothing in response to Callie's little outburst.

"You just hate nana and don't want me to like her more than I like you" she screamed at her mother as she held back tears of frustration and the knowledge she would not see her nana for another whole school year. This was her schedule since they lived so far away now.

She had so much fun at nana's house. They would play outside together all the time and her mom never went outside. She would help with the farm animals, make up stories, play dress-up. Her mom never had time for just her. She was always working on her phone or talking to different people. Always telling her is be quiet and go play in her room. She never had to be quiet at nana's house. She didn't want to go home.

In the middle of her internal rant she hears her mom suddenly ask in a low voice "do you remember when we used to go on those picnics with your dad?" Of course, she remembered. They were only her favorite thing ever!

Without a reply, her mom continued. "Every Sunday when the weather was nice we took the trail you liked because it had the blackberry bushes and honeysuckles along the way. We always let you choose your outfits on those trips" she let out a small giggle and a tear ran down her cheek. "You picked the silliest outfits. My favorite was the yellow tank top with the big strawberry that had on sunglasses with the purple tutu and cow print galoshes. I made you put on pants under it and you would tell me it was killing your vibe. So I got you a sun hat that was way too big and you loved it so it was okay. And I loved it. You looked so ridiculous, but I loved it."

Callie had stopped her rant by now and just stared at her mom. She wondered what on Earth this had to do with anything. They had not been to the clearing in years. Not since her dad had died and mom never talked about anything that reminded her of dad. NEVER. That's why She preferred nana's house. She and nana always talked about their adventures with dad or what he would have done if this or that happened. Mom shut down and went to her room when she wanted to remember dad with her.

Callie started to look out the window again. It was obvious her mom had been abducted by aliens, but she was not about to risk shutting her mom down while she was driving. That did not change the fact she remembered those Sundays very well. The last time they had gone they had all kinds of snacks. Apples, oranges, grapes, and her favorite, pears. They reminded her of little fairy houses with the way they were shaped. She pretended that her dad was the fairy king and she was a fairy princess. He would cut pieces of the fruits for her so she could leave pieces around the clearing as gifts for the fairies that lived there and cared for the clearing.

That last day they had planted some of the seeds from the fruit because her dad told her it might be a while before they could come back again. She didn't understand why then but now she knew. It made her want to scream all over again. He was sick and no one would tell her! They thought she was a baby. She watched as he got so skinny, he hardly ever ate. He spent all his time at the hospital with doctors and he smelled funny. But that did not scare her. Nope. Her dad was the strongest man alive and he told her everything was going to be okay and so it was. He never lied to her. When his hair fell out she got worried. Mom looked worried; stopped talking as much and just cried a lot. Dad smiled, told jokes, and said it was all going to be okay. So it was okay. Then he died.

"LIAR" she screamed at the top of her lungs. He had lied to her. It was not okay and it never would be again.

"I figured you might want to go back there" her mom's voice came punching through her internal dialogue and pulled her from her memories. "I know it's been a while but it was both of your favorite place. The two of you were always talking about what to take for the fairies and what kind of story to act out."

Callie suddenly realized where they were as the car pulled to a stop along the side of the road. She stared at the path she had taken so many times with her parents. Dolls and baskets in tow to play with. Her mom started to gather some things Callie had not noticed in the front seat and put it in a backpack. She did not look too hard at it. Just figured it was books and things for a picnic.

She got out of the minivan and started silently toward the trail. She wondered what it looked like now. Was the grass so tall you could not get to the center? Did the trees grow into the middle and there was not a clearing anymore? Did their seeds grow? Were her fairy friends still there?

Her mom had already started up the path without her while she was lost in thought, so she ran to catch up. Her mom was crying again. This had to be hard so Callie stayed as quiet as possible letting her mother remember at her own pace.

"Your dad brought me here before you were born. Don't think I ever told you that. When we were dating I told him I loved the outdoors and hiking. I had lied of course. I hated it, but he was so excited to show me his secret clearing. And the way he smiled when he was planning our day here. Well, I never told him any different because of how much he loved this place. I loved it too."

Callie stayed quiet. Everything looked so different to her. It was brighter somehow. It was so much more beautiful than she remembered it. The flowers smelled like the freshest of rosebuds in spring. She could taste the honeysuckle just from the way it smelled, it made her mouth water. The colors were so vibrant. She felt like they were bleeding into her soul.

They were almost there now. She could see the mouth of the clearing just ahead and she was suddenly afraid. Like there was something she had forgotten. Her mom had already gone through it, but something was holding her back. What was this feeling? She took a deep breath and ran the rest of the way to her mom. No need to overthink it since it was probably just knowing that her dad would not be there.

Except, he was. She stopped dead in her tracks. There standing in the clearing by the biggest pear tree she had ever seen was her dad. He was strong again like he had never been sick. His thick dark hair with a matching beard was just as it should be. She looked around for her mom because she had to be as happy now. She had to be smiling. Dad was HERE.

Callie looked around for her mom and when she found her she was even more confused. She was by the same pear tree with them. She was right beside them on her knees. Now she took the time to look at what her mom had been putting in the backpack from the car. A family picture, her old sun hat, and a fancy jar that had her name on it. She looked back at her dad who was smiling back at her. He put out his hand waiting for her to take it. "It's okay baby girl". She hadn't heard that voice, her favorite voice, in so long she ran to him for one of the bear bugs she missed so much.

"Dad", she asked in a small confused voice "what about mom? She needs us."

"Mom will be okay. When she is ready we will both meet her here under the pear tree we all planted together."