The Last Handful of Clover - Book 1: The Hereafter

1.33 Pat-A-Cake with God

June 6, 12:25 pm

Mattie could never run far enough to rid herself of Billy Travers. And God knows she had tried. She had run to the limits of the Hereafter more times than she could count, hoping that she'd find some hidden corner of their world that was free of the haunting presence of the evil boy. And sometimes he would not follow. Even for days at a time. But always, he returned.

This time she ran until her lungs ached and her legs trembled. Because not only was she running from Billy but also from the strangely terrifying new ghost with the beard and the bloody sweatshirt. The one that had seen her and even screamed at her.

Screamed at her!

The one who had screamed that she was dead, as if that was something she hadn't known for a century and a half. It wasn't what the man said that terrified her, but it was something in his eyes. They seemed to know her in a way that made her feel naked and ashamed. And she didn't want to be naked in front of anybody but God.

When she stopped running, Mattie found herself downtown, near the light rail tracks, not far from Temple Square. Even though this part of town was extremely busy, Mattie came here often. She had discovered that the concrete median on State Street was one of the safest places in the city for a ghost. There were never any pedestrians to avoid, and no cars were likely to jump the curb and reset her. And of course, to a ghost, the smooth concrete abutment was far more comfortable than a hillside of spiky grass. But mostly, the hum of the traffic passing by just a foot or two from where she sat was calming.

She needed calming. Now that she was far away from Liberty Park, she wondered exactly what had given her such a fright. The strange bearded ghost had already slipped from her mind. What still galled her was Billy.

This was the second time in two days that she had run from him, and she had long ago promised herself that the evil little boy would no longer have such power over her. Even though there was no way to hide from his prying mind, she had worked very hard to convince herself that he was nothing—just a fly buzzing in her ear, or an annoying thought that she could banish whenever she chose.

God had told her not to let Billy interfere with the work they had to do. And now, twice, she had failed God and allowed the despicable boy to upset her calm and focused mind.

And now, not just him.

Who was that strange man? she wondered, her mind involuntarily called back to his ugly, bearded face and blood-stained sweatshirt

Surely, he was another ghost, since he had seen her, and because his hand had passed through her. But why had he run toward her like that? Why had he screamed at her? What did he want? Was he somehow in cahoots with Billy? Had the despicable boy sent this new ghost to torment her? Why did the look in his eyes make her feel violated, and somehow ashamed?

I wish Frances was here. She'd make Billy go away and leave me alone. She'd make the scary man go away too.

She imagined her sister sitting in front of her, the way she used to do in their cabin in Round Valley. She imagined her mother baking bread on their wood stove, and her father out tending the hogs. Sitting there on the concrete in the middle of State Street, Mattie looked into her sister's eyes, and began the song:

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with "B"
And put it in the oven for baby and me!

Frances had taught her the complicated series of claps, and they would play Pat-a-cake over and over, until their mother grew tired of their voices and sent them both outside. She loved those times with her sister, and now, she could absolutely hear and feel their hands clapping together.