First published in the GBBPub online magazine: https://www.goldenboxbooks.com/magazine/one-picture-thousands-of-words-1

“Chrissie, stop. Where are you going?” Mom called out as she ran after her. “It’s almost dinnertime and you still have homework.”
“I don’t know. I just have to leave,” Chrissie put on her jacket. “I hate it here and I hate you for bringing me here!”
She slammed the door behind her and ran down the long winding driveway. She turned on the old dirt road and ran to a place where the creek narrowed so she could cross. Then she climbed a gentle slope and sat down beside a small stream that trickled into the creek. The trees burned in autumn hues and the late afternoon sun in concert with a gentle breeze created dancing shadows on the grass that softened Chrissie’s mood.
Chrissie made herself comfortable on a soft mound of grass and pulled out her journal. She wrote, “Cheryl, can you ever forgive me for not saving your life? I should’ve stayed in the creek with you. If I had been driving more carefully then I wouldn’t have had to swerve off that road to miss the deer. Why didn’t I take the regular way home then we would never have been there in the first place? Please forgive me. I never wanted you to die. I need you. Please come back to me.”
A bright iridescent light began to glow around her.
Chrissie looked up from her journal and saw a hazy figure floating in the trees across the stream.

Chrissie stood up as if in a trance and approached the figure. When Chrissie reached the vision, she saw her sister’s face. Chrissie shook as she took a step back.
“Cheryl, you’re alive?” Chrissie stammered. “But, how did you get out of the car?” She wanted to throw her arms around Cheryl but held back unsure of what she saw. Maybe it was a dream because she had been missing Cheryl so much. She stepped forward and tried to grab the outstretched hand. Chrissie’s hand passed right through Cheryl’s hand.

The trees surrounding them began to spin as the sky darkened. Chrissie felt dizzy and sick to the stomach. She closed her eyes to regain her balance and when she opened them up again it was dark and raining. Her and Cheryl were sitting in a tree above the road where their car went off the road that fateful night.
“What are we doing here?” Chrissie asked with a shaky voice. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she was certain she didn’t want to be here. She had relived the accident so many times in the last months and she didn’t want to do it again. It always ended the same and Cheryl would be gone again.
“Shhh! Watch,” Cheryl whispered.
Rain pelted the windshield and lightning flashed as a deer ran out in front of the car. “Look out!” Cheryl yelled.
Chrissie swerved to miss it, lost control of the car on the wet road, and drove into the river swollen from rain. As the car sank, Chrissie unbuckled her seatbelt.
“Cheryl, unbuckle your seat belt, and grab my hand!” Chrissie said as she watched Cheryl flail around. Cheryl smacked her and pushed her away.
“Cheryl, stop, listen to me. Calm down. We need to get out of here.”
Water filled the car. Fear flooded Chrissie’s mind as she struggled to get Cheryl’s seatbelt unbuckled. “Hold on, Cheryl. Don’t die, I’m going to get help,” Chrissie swam out of the car. Her lungs felt on the verge of exploding. She couldn’t hold her breath much longer.
As she broke the surface, she took a huge gulp of air.
Rain pelted her face, but she noticed the red flashing lights and suddenly the police were there pulling her onto the bank.
Chrissie floated above the scene and watched it unfold with a horrid fascination. She was torn between turning away or continuing to watch as the scene played out eerily before her eyes.
“Good thing that guy on the hill was walking his dog and saw the accident. If he hadn’t called us, we wouldn’t have found you.”
Chrissie pushed away the oxygen mask. “My sister is still down there. You have to get her,” Chrissie whispered as she struggled to go back into the water. A policewoman held her while trying to put the oxygen mask on her face. She fought her until she saw a diver jump into the river and a few minutes later return with Cheryl’s body.
Chrissie shook her head and they were back in the present. A wave of nausea swept over her and she fell to her knees with tears streaming down her face. Cheryl stood beside her, a look of compassion on her face. “This was not your fault. You did all you could. It was meant to be. Now you need to focus on the present. If you don’t, then you will never be happy,” Cheryl said. Slowly her image faded into the autumn sunset.
“Wait! You can’t leave me. I need you,” Chrissie cried out as she ran towards the fading figure. Nevertheless, Cheryl didn’t come back. Chrissie fell to the ground and cried tears that had refused to come in September after the accident. The sobs racked her body and the sounds of her wails echoed through the hillside. When she could cry no more, she pushed herself up and trudged back to the house.

The sun had finished its daily journey and the stars were twinkling through the rain clouds gathered on the horizon. Chrissie fell into her bed and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.
That night she slept a dreamless sleep and, in the morning, woke up feeling as if a weight lifted from her shoulders. I’m not responsible for Cheryl’s death, so why does Mom blame me for the accident? Cheryl wouldn’t let me help her. Mom made us move because of the accident. I didn’t want to move here. I don’t belong here. Maybe, I could go back to our old house.
The temperatures in Pennsylvania had been unseasonably warm for autumn so Chrissie dressed in lightweight clothing and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast. Mom and Aunt Sybil were already there.
“Chrissie, what are your plans for this fine Saturday in October?” Aunt Sybil asked. “Do you think you could drive me into town, and we can pick up some stuff for your birthday party?”
Chrissie’s lips quivered and her eyes grew to the size of hockey pucks. “No, I can’t drive. I’ll never drive again.”
“Birthday party? I don’t think that it would be a good idea this year. Your sister has only been gone a month. I’m not ready to dredge up the memories of your birthdays and the accident. It would be too painful,” Mom said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “Chrissie, why didn’t you come home the way we always come home. Then Cheryl would be here, and we would be celebrating both of your birthdays.”
Mom dropped the dish she was washing as tears dripped into the dishwater.
“We have to have a party,” Chrissie yelled, “I can’t believe that you don’t want to celebrate my birthday. I hate you!” She pushed herself away from the table and went back to her bedroom.
Chrissie walked over to her closet and pulled out her duffle bag. She threw some clothes and books in the duffle bag and stopped at the desk to scribble a quick note to her mother.
Chrissie grabbed her duffle bag and ran out the door.
As she ran, she thought, Cheryl, where are you? How can Mom blame me for the accident? I did everything I could to get you out of the car, but you wouldn’t let me help you.
When she reached the stream, she crossed and sank to the ground.
Soon Chrissie regretted running out of the house so quickly. The sky was darkening, and the temperature started to drop. Snowflakes drifted down and melted as soon as they hit the ground. However, she couldn’t go back. She pulled a jacket out and wrapped it around her arms. A book fell out, so she picked it up and started reading. Her eyelids drooped. The gentle trickling of the stream and the rustling of the leaves put her to sleep.
A few hours later Chrissie awoke to the feeling of snow on her face. The snow had changed from flurries into a storm while she slept. Snow covered the ground. Chrissie’s rubbed her hands together trying to warm them up. They were numb from the cold and her bones were aching from sitting on the cold ground. She looked around, and saw Cheryl standing in the trees.
“Cheryl, thank goodness you’re here. Mom blames me for the accident and to punish me she won’t let me have a birthday party.”
“Chrissie come with me. There is something you should see,” Cheryl stretched out her hand to Chrissie. They went to the farmhouse and into Chrissie’s bedroom.
Mom rushed over to Chrissie’s bed and read the note.
“Why would she do this? How could she run away like this?”
Aunt Sybil followed Mom into the room, “Patty, everything will be okay.”
“I don’t blame her for the accident. How could I let her think that?” Mom cried as she fell on the bed. “I love her so much. She is my whole world.”
Aunt Sybil took Mom in her arms. “Don’t worry, Patty. We’ll find her. I’ll call the police and you go out and look for her.”
Chrissie looked at Cheryl and frowned. “How could I have thought that Mom blamed me for the accident? I have to go home. I need to talk to Mom.”

When she found a large enough stick, she hobbled toward home, but stopped when she heard a noise. “Help, Chrissie…” She could barely hear it over the howling wind and blinding snow. She walked unsteadily through the deepening snow trying to locate the source of the sound.
As she stumbled on a rock, she saw a figure seated underneath a tree and heard a low moaning sound. She stopped, listening for the sound again.
Chrissie limped over to the figure and brushed the snow away from the figure. The stick dropped out of her hand as she gasped, “Mom what are doing here? Oh no, you’re bleeding. What happened?”
“I was looking for you, when I tripped and hit my head on a rock,” Mom finished wiping off the remaining snow.
“I’m so happy you found me. We were so worried about you,” Mom says as she tried to stand up. She fell back to the ground. She pulled herself back up and leaned onto Chrissie for support.
“Mom, I’m sorry for everything,” Chrissie said. “I was wrong, and I shouldn’t have left that way. Can you forgive me?”
“My dear child, there is nothing to forgive. I wasn’t thinking of you. Can you forgive me?” Mom pulled Chrissie in close. “We can have your party next week. I’ll take you into town tomorrow for supplies.”

Chrissie waved goodbye, as Cheryl faded into the snow-covered forest.
“Come on Mom. It’s time to go home.”
“Chrissie you know we can’t go back to the city.”
“No Mom. I mean the farm. That’s our home now. Cheryl is wherever we go.”