All Souls (Love Song Part 6)

"Med?" Jared's voice called from the other side of the eerily quiet storm.

I clenched my fists and tried to step again from the circle of roses, but they grew around my legs and I cried out, instead.

"Med, are you all right?" he stepped to the outer edge of thorns and stared at me, surprise opening his face. He scanned the situation, then strode to the fence and leaped over it instead of attempting my entry-point. At a less treacherous-looking area, he stepped across the vines and into the circle. They made no attempt to stop him. "It's quiet," he said.

I growled at him, angry that he'd use the roses to control me, angry at feeling so helpless, furious about Mark.

"Can I help you?" he said. "You look like you're stuck."

Always the dark gentleman, he held out a hand, but I couldn't take it. I could only tremble and slowly, he lowered his arm and gazed to where I silently pointed. He crouched to examine the bramble, and shock moved visibly across his face.

"I'm sorry, Med," he said.

Snarling, I lunged toward him, tearing myself free of the thorns with less force than I'd imagined. Instead of assailing him, I fell against him, and he wrapped his arms tightly around my thrashing shoulders.

"Med, calm down and talk to me. Stop. Stop struggling and calm down."

I was so angry I couldn't speak. He tightened his arms further.

"Let me go," I yelled.

He released me and I fell back, shaking. "I hate you," I said. "Why did you come back?"

He sat carefully across from me on the ground. "I told you, I came back for you."

"I didn't want you to," I said, feeling myself lose control. "You left. I didn't ask for you to come back."

Jared waited as I cried myself to the point I couldn't anymore, and my breaths came out in dry heaves. Then he took his hand and wiped both tears and snot firmly from my cheeks.

"Maybe not," he said, "but I wanted to come back." He stared into my puffy eyes intently, watching my reaction. "But I didn't know about Mark. And I shouldn't have sung the song, except that instinct sang it for me. I'm sorry. I said I can fix it." He nodded toward the roses.

My thoughts felt so muddy. "Do you know what happened after you left?"

"Tell me."

"Scat died. Again." I motioned to the stone by the bushes. "You weren't here to bring him back. And I was okay with that because I knew it wasn't fair to ask you. You can do these crazy miracles but that doesn't mean they're right. What if Scat had family waiting there for him? Or an infinite supply of mice? What determined that I needed him more?"

"I did," he said quietly.

"It's like in the sci-fi books only real. Those crazy sorcerers can bring people back from the dead but the consequences are always disastrous."

"Was Scat's life cursed after I brought him back?" Jared asked.

I shook my head. "But it was disastrous for me. I learned how to hope for things that I shouldn't. When Mom got sick, I knew you'd bring over cookies and make her better. But you didn't. She had cancer." The tears welled up again and I thrust them aside with my palm. "She got better anyway, but it hurt everyone, really bad. And when Scat died, I swore to myself that I wouldn't rely on miracles anymore, that I could live without them." My voice fell to a whisper. "Live without you."

Jared nodded. "So what about Mark, then?"

I barked bitterly and pounded my fist into the dirt, too tired to do anything else. "That's where the I-hate-you part comes in."

Pain deeper than I'd seen filled his countenance. "I can tell. I'll go."

I laughed and waved my hand. "Not yet, hippopotamus. Heal him, first."

Instantly, the roses began to pull away from their prize. The vines fell back into themselves and within moments, the brambles that encircled us had disintegrated into a fraction of their selves. Jared's eyes narrowed, watching them, but I crawled immediately toward Mark.

I couldn't touch him. Instead, I closed my eyes and smiled.

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Nearly there... :) --Elm