WHERE'S JAMIE

“Don’t lean over the railing like that!” Gabriella scolded Jamie, roughly pulling him back by his shirt.

Jamie laughed. His wind-slapped cheeks scrunched up in a childish grin. His hair was tossed about his round head like a tornado ran through it, making his yellowy-white strands look like a mohawk gone haywire. He wriggled out of her lap, but Gabriella pulled him back.

“No! No! No! That’s dangerous! We never stick our heads out of the boat. It’s not funny. Do you remember what happened to Hailey and Dario and Jayden?”

Jamie’s smile instantly disappeared.

“We never ever do that! Understood?” She lowered her head and looked sternly into his hooded, rust-colored eyes. “Understood?”

His head bobbed and down quickly, desperately wanting his mother to stop yelling.

Gabriella let him slip off her lap and watched from the cushioned benches lining the middle of the boat how Jamie scampered into the cabin. She took off her sunglasses, pushed the loose strands of her messy bun out her face, and tucked her legs beneath her.

She hadn’t wanted to take this trip. If she had a choice, she would keep the distance of a galaxy between them. That summer, the devil decided to play with the water and too many horror stories happened, starting with her sister Hailey.

Hailey loved the water the same much as she loved her boyfriend and spent equal time with both. If you ever wanted to find her, she was either cruising, jetskiing, waterskiing, canoeing or bathing.

That summer, same as all the others, she took her motorboat out into the ocean for a little ride with her boyfriend, and according to him, he’d gone in for a second to grab a quick snack and when he came out, the couch she sat on prior was empty. He called her name and searched the cabin, but couldn’t find her. The ship wasn’t very large, and after two minutes of mounting anxiety, he looked over the edge and saw a lifeless body floating near the boat. It made no sense.

A police report and autotopsy later, with none of the usual markings of a drowning, the case was left open.

Just a few days later, their neighbor next door, the Corvin’s, rented a paddle boat. As it was summer vacation and the marine was just an eleven-minute drive, many others on the block did the same. Jamie begged to join Dario as he did with anything his friend ever did, threatening to run away and never come back if she didn’t let him go.

Usually, Gabriella allowed it; She shared a close relationship with Mrs. Corvin, and they were always in each other’s house, but this time, as her sister’s horror story was still fresh in her mind, she absolutely forbade it.

Of course, Jamie kicked and screamed and promised to run away, but by that afternoon they were both sitting frozen on the couch, Gabriella’s arms around Jamie’s heaving shoulder.

What happened?

Mrs. Corvin had a set of eight-year-old twins, Dario and a toddler. She was upfront paddling with one of the twins, and the other three were in the back, having a good time until Mrs. Corvin turned back to face her kids and saw Dario was missing.

A brief search later, Dario was found lifeless in the water, his life vest still strapped on.

Gabriella shuttered. She put her sunglasses back on, the intensity of the moment still frozen in her bones. She remembered how confused and overwhelmed she was, not knowing how to explain death to a five-year-old, who just wanted to have his friend back.

Jamie cried for Dario all through the week, asking all types of death questions and reasons why he died. His usual upbeat, playful personality morphed into a frightened anxious one, constantly overwhelmed and unsettled by his surroundings.

Bedtime became a nightmare. Every shadow was the devil. Every noise was a monster. Every good night story was peppered with worried questions and ‘what ifs.’

Gabriella had no idea what to do. It was alarming to see her five-year-old son become faded, and withdrawn like a seventy-year-old man. The therapist told her to give him some more time and if she saw no change after a full month she should come back.

The days went by agonizingly slow. Gabriella would beg him for anything he wanted to make him happy, but Jamie just shrugged and mumbled, “Bring Dario back.”

But that was until today.

The day started with Gabriella trying to get something down Jamie’s throat. She asked him again if he wanted anything and instead of his usual response, he looked up and blurted, “I want to go on Dario’s boat.”

The spoon Gabriella was holding dropped, and splattered yogurt across the table and floor. “Why would you want to do that?”

“You asked if I want anything. That’s what I want.”

“But why?”

“Cause that’s what I want!” Jamie suddenly shouted.

Gabriella closed her lips into a tight line completely bewildered and concerned. “Oooh kaaaay.” She said carefully, not really processing what she was agreeing to.

Jamie kicked the chair back and crossed his arms. “We’re going now!”

Gabriella gave him an odd, confused look.

“Now! Let’s go.” He marched to the mudroom, switched his shoes for crocs and brought her pocketbook to her. Gabriella took it, watching him climb up the doorpost to get to the hook near the door and shimmy down, with her car keys in hand. Gabriella jolted as he slammed it into her palm. “Let’s go.”

She looked at it in disbelief, her heartbeat quickening in fear. What happened to her son? Why did it look like a spirit got into him? She followed him to the driveway like a baby duckling, sitting into the car, and revving up the sputtering engine. Jamie got into his car seat and seat belted himself.

They arrived to the marine. Jamie ran ahead to the labyrinth of docks. Gabriella’s heart was in her throat, silently screaming, “Don’t go to close to the edge! Oh God, why are we here? Why?”

“Mom!” he shouted. “I want this one!” He pointed to a slightly larger motorboat with a small cabin. It was old. The waterline around the boat was faded and the benches on the dock, slightly moldy. Gabriella picked up her pace and reached the boat bobbing in the water, jerking at the rope as if it wanted to leave already. “Why do you want this one?” She wanted to tell him that Dario wasn’t even on such a boat but kept quiet. “Look it’s not even a good boat and it's too expensive.”

“I want this one!” He stamped his feet on the wooden planks.

Gabriella had no energy to fight and that’s how Gabriella found herself on the boat, cruising down the sea with Jamie. Shockingly, it was as if the old Jamie was back, he ran up and down the boat, laughing as the wind whipped him on the cheek, and flapped the straps of his life vest against his thighs. He asked the skipper if he can turn the wheel and how long he had to go to school to learn it because he didn’t go to school and he could do it.

She kept a vigilant eye on him, her heart lurching every time he got close to the rails. She couldn’t wait for the hour and half rental to be over and planned on sitting him down and talking through the incident together.

Gabriella was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn’t realize, she hadn’t checked on Jamie for a while. She gave the boat a quick glance, got up to check the back and when she saw both we’re empty, a cold sweat broke out on her back. Where’s Jamie?

A strong sense of foreboding, washed over her and Gabriella ran to the cabin, flinging the flimsy wooden door open. “Jamie!”

The skipper looked at her in confusion.

“Did you see Jamie?” She asked frantically. “No… No! No! No!” She ran to the front of the boat then to the rear and then back into the little cabin. Something warned her not to look down at the side of the ship, but it was as if her body split itself into two sides of war and the other urged her to check it out. With a pounding heart, she leaned her head over the railings.

There was Jamie. Lifeless. With his life vest still strapped on.