“John was here but he wasn’t much help. San was more of a father than John was. They both loved Madeleine though. More than they loved me.”
“Who is San?”
“San was my lover. He was a leper. He was the healthiest, youngest, smartest Chinese you’d ever meet. If it wasn’t for San at the beginning, I probably would have died. I took care of him, then he took care of me. Then he took care of Madeleine.”
It was too much for me to comprehend. I stood up and took in a deep breath.
“You saw her the other day,” Mary said plainly. “Madeleine. She was playing with you. She told me about you. I admit I was almost jealous. I thought Maddy had found a new mother.”
“She ran into the ocean. I thought she drowned. I tried to save her.”
“I tried to save her too.”
“Your daughter drowned?”
“They killed both of us.”
“Who are they?” I asked, feeling the horror slink through my veins.
She looked at me as if I was stupid. “John. San. And the rest of the lepers.”
She got off of the log and took a few steps towards the waves. I couldn’t help but watch her broken, bloody feet as they stood on the rocks.
“You better go back to your friend,” she said looking at the ocean. She raised her arms above her head and stretched. “He’s coming, and he’s looking for you.”
“Dex?”
She gave me a sharp look. “You better watch out for him. And watch out for John and San. They know you’re here and they’ll do what they can to keep you here.”
“Why should I watch out for Dex?” I asked in a panic.
She chuckled, this one cut with dark tones. “Because he’s a man. He’s starting to think you’re sick. Sick in the head. It’s not your fault. It’s this island. It’s too isolated. There is too much death here. It makes you think. It makes you think too much. You do not want to end up like me.”
She bent over and picked up a stone and threw it far into the churn of the waves. “I have to go now. He’s here.”
“Who is here?” I asked, taking a step toward her, wanting to grab her and keep her from leaving me. I needed to know more, so much more.
She nodded at the distance behind my shoulder. “Your friend.”
I spun around and saw Dex standing in the forest, his dark figure half–hidden by the trees, watching me. It had been awhile since Dex had given me the creeps like that.
I turned back to look at Mary but she was gone. I was alone on the beach.
I looked back at Dex and walked toward him, mulling over what had just happened and what he had seen. Had he seen Mary? Or had he seen me talking to myself like I had feared? No wonder Mary said he thought I was sick in the head.
I stopped a few yards away from him, trying to suss him out. Technically I should have been rightly pissed off at him leaving me in the woods like that, so I went with that emotion.
“What the hell, man? Way to leave me alone in the woods like that,” I said, crossing my arms.
He frowned and stayed suspiciously silent.
“Why are you just standing there like a creeper, huh? What’s your problem?” I asked.
He seemed to snap out of whatever it was clouding over him and looked apologetic.
“Sorry. I thought I saw something.”
“Thought you saw something? Dex you took off, didn’t even bother to check if I was behind you. You know I can’t keep up with you!” My voice was shrill as the indignation I felt earlier came back. “What happened to all that shit you said about having my back, huh?”
He puffed air out of the corner of his mouth and threw his hands up in the air. “I’m sorry, OK? I thought you were able to follow. I didn’t go that far but by the time I came back you were gone. Look, I’m really sorry.”
I didn’t like this at all. And I was starting to lose my trust in him. Sure, Mary’s words were floating around in my head, which didn’t help, but the fact was he had just promised to never leave my side and then went against his word only an hour later.
He came out of the trees and walked up to me. I stood my ground.
“What the hell were you chasing anyway?” I growled.
“It was a deer,” he said, chagrined. He rubbed his chin and looked away. “I know, I’m an idiot. If it makes you feel any better, I got totally lost trying to get back to the campsite.”
“That’s because someone switched the markers,” I said. “How did you know to find me here?”
“I heard your voice. What do you mean someone switched the markers?”
“I mean what it means. Someone switched the markers. If it wasn’t for where you threw the cigarette package, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
“So that’s where that went,” he mused. “I was trying to do a Hansel and Gretel trail.”
I looked up at the sky and the waving tree tops treetops. The night was coming in fast.
“We’ll get going,” he said, taking my arm. I flinched a bit. “What, you hate me now?”
I didn’t hate him. I was just annoyed. I felt like he totally interrupted my time with Mary, as silly as that sounds. And I wanted to talk about it with him but knew he probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.
I shrugged him off and began the slog up the coast, back to the campsite. We didn’t say much to each other, except near the end.
“Who were you talking to on the beach?” he asked hesitantly. I could tell he had wanted to ask me the entire journey. I gave him a quick look. He seemed more curious than concerned. Still, I didn’t want to give him any reason to worry.
“I was talking to someone?” I repeated casually.
“Yeah. But I didn’t see anyone else. I was watching you for a couple of minutes.”
“Watching me? That’s creepy.”
“No, you’re creepy.”
I stopped in my tracks and raised my brow incredulously. “I beg your pardon?”
He stopped too and started fishing around for his gum, avoiding my eyes. “Sorry.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, daring for him to meet them. He didn’t. He popped the Nicorette in his mouth, three pieces at a time, and slowly chewed them, keeping his eyes on the space above my head.
I let out an angry sigh, not wanting to deal with him or what he thought of me. We got back on our way, easing into the campsite just as the clouds turned black and the light of day was gone.