Page 3 of Chasing Dreams
She stopped, unable to make herself go any farther. Dread rose up inside of her.
The child was here—at the bottom of a deep hole.
The knowledge terrified Shaine. Not suspicion. Not a hunch. Knowledge.
Her limbs trembled as though the morning air was colder than it really was. In the distance a few cars whizzed past on the highway. She was almost close enough to reach him...if she veered a little to the right.... No, she couldn’t. She couldn’t! With a stifled cry expanding her throat, she turned and raced back to her car. If she hurried, maybe it wouldn’t be too late.
She used her phone to search pay phones near her and GPS found one a mile up the road.
Forcing herself to take deep breaths and compose her shaking limbs, she clutched the steering wheel and followed directions to a small gas station with a pay phone on the front exterior wall. She punched in 9-1-1.
“I—I don’t know how I know this, but you’ve got to believe me. That little boy—the one—the one whose mother was on the news—is... He’s...” She gave explicit directions to the place she’d just returned from and slammed down the receiver.
Exhaustion washed over her in a mind-drugging wave. She drove home and collapsed on her bed.
A determined pounding hammered at her door. Groggily Shaine pushed up and oriented herself. She was fully dressed, still wearing her jacket. Her purse lay lodged beneath her.
The persistent knocking came again.
She made her way to the door, feeling like she’d had her head in a bucket of sand, her mouth dry and her eyes gritty.
Maya stood outside, a concerned frown on her face. Her gaze took in Shaine’s rumpled clothing. “You okay, hon?” she said as she came in.
Shaine shook her head, more to clear it than as a reply. She dropped her purse and groped in her jacket pocket for her phone.
“What are you looking for?”
“That little boy,” she said.
“That’s so sad.” Standing with her hand in the small of her back, Maya shook her head.
Shaine scanned news reports.
Maya’s words registered. She faced her. “What?”
“Well, they found him. Said they had an anonymous call. Shaine, are you all right?”
“Was he—is he...?”
“He wasn’t alive. He’d fallen down a well sometime yesterday.”
The news sifted through the fog of confusion in Shaine’s head. “What could I have done differently? There must have been some way I could have prevented this.”
She pictured the child’s mother, and tears came to her eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Maya asked, bewilderment in her voice. “The police said it was an accident.”
Shaine jumped up and paced the floor, hugging her waist with her arms. “I should have done something. I should have known what to do, but I didn’t.”
“Shaine, you’re just upset because he was a little boy like Jack, and this was another senseless accident. Sit down and I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Something to drink is not going to fix this. That kid is dead!” She clapped her hand over her mouth, trapping the hysterics that threatened to pour out.
Maya’s eyes widened, and she stared.
Shaine calmed herself and dropped her arms to her sides. “I’ll call Tom.”
She ignored the expression on Maya’s face, more convinced than ever that she needed more help than she’d get from Tom.
