Echo of a Bird's Cry

THE VICTIM EDEN NOVEMBER 23

The aroma of bacon and coffee scents the air. Waitresses buzz around the diner with large trays of food, feeding the rush of hungry truckers. My dad agreed to meet with me at Ester's Diner. We sit at our same table in the back. My dad only has a free hour before he has to go to work. It's seven in the morning, but like the old saying goes, the early bird catches the worm.

We order waffles, girts, eggs, and sausage. I fork over my breakfast and sip my orange juice, wondering what kind of information my father has for me.

He takes out a red folder from his briefcase. "Ashely Baker has a tragic past. It began five years ago when her older brother Henry committed suicide. I did some digging and found out Henry's sex tape played on the jumbo projector screen at his church during service. Henry was a pastor and he was living a double life. Henry was gay. The entire congregation watched their pastor have sex with a man on a jumbo screen. Forty-eight hours later his body was found in his home. He hung himself from his shower curtain rod."

My stomach sinks with dread. "That's awful."

He nods, opening his folder. He takes out a picture of Henry Baker and Ashely. They're holding on to each other, smiling. "She lost her brother and in the same year Ashely lost her father."

I sip at the orange juice, hoping it'll wash out the horrible taste in my mouth.

"He died in a car crash. After a night of drinking Herbert took a drive. The next morning his car was found at the bottom of a cliff."

The orange juice doesn't help the queasiness I now have. "Her past is tragic."

My dad opens the folder and takes out a picture of Ashely and her father. They're at a family picnic, posing in a green field with the sun shining behind them. They glow with happiness as they hug each other. "Her mother Sally suffered a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized after the deaths of her son and husband. The next year Sally's body was found in her bed. She overdosed on painkillers."

My father takes out a picture of Ashely and her mother. They're lounging in bikinis by the pool, grinning ear to ear with sunglasses on. "She lost her entire family."

My hands tremble as I hold the pictures.

"There's something else," my dad says. "Ashely and your sister Emily attended the same high school. Do you guys know each other?"

I nod. "Ashely and I got into a physical altercation. Emily wrote Ashely a love letter. Ashely passed it around school. She bullied Emily daily. Emily was on the verge of suicide. I went up to their school and Ashely and I fought. I was arrested for fighting on school grounds but the chargers were dropped."

"How did Ashely and Emily become best friends?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I left my family for five years and I guess Ashely and Emily grew close in my absence."

"Do you think Ashely holds an old high school grudge against you?"

"She's definitely holding something against me. She wants to ruin my life over things I couldn't control."

"Maybe you two should sit and talk," my father suggests. "Maybe this is all a misunderstanding."

"Probably."

We finish our breakfast and my father drops me off at home before he goes to work.

My parents, Emily, and Angel are in the living room when I walk through the door. Their expressions are somber.

"Can you come and sit with us?" my mother asks.

I sit on the couch next to Emily.

She clasps my hands in hers. "We love you, Eden. But we're concerned about you."

I glance around, releasing a laugh. "What is this? Is this an intervention?"

My father's blue eyes hold mine. "We want you to see a psychologist. It's for the best."

I can't stop laughing. "Are you guys serious?"

"Very," Angel says without the merest trace of amusement.

My mother fidgets with her diamond necklace. "We want you healthy and happy, Eden. You worry us."

"I'm trying to help," I shout. "But you guys don't get it. I'm not the crazy one here."

Emily's soft hands grip mine. "Agree to go to a session and we'll back off. You've been acting strange lately. We want to help you in any way we can."

"Alright," I say. "I'll go. I'll see the psychologist."

Little do they know that I'm not the one they should be worried about.