Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“Although I guess I should warn you about a little tradition my family has, and one that I want to continue,” Annie says.
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“So my mother and my grandmother, and my great grandmother before her, have developed a habit of naming their children something related to what they craved when they were pregnant.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Food names? That’s not a big deal.”
“My mom’s name was Meringue, and my grandmother’s name was Cookie.”
I laugh. “That’s cute as hell, actually. Just have to hope you don’t crave something weird like mayonnaise when you’re pregnant.”
“I hate mayonnaise so I’d honestly be very surprised by that.”
My thoughts jog a bit. “So, wait, Angus is named after... Angus beef?”
She nods. “Yep. Don’t know why she craved specifically one breed of beef, but I guess he should be thankful it wasn’t something like Wagyu or a cut like rump roast.”
“It’d fit though. He’s sure as hell a rump.”
More giggles. We get to the bush and I set the pail down as we begin picking the berries.
“Wait... Annie isn’t a food name,” I say, stopping for a moment. “I kinda assumed it was just a playful version of Annette like most Annies.”
Another head shake as she examines the berries, tossing aside ones that are no good. “My name is Anise, Red. A type of spice. It’s a plant that tastes a lot like licorice. I guess I should be thankful her craving was specific and my name isn’t Licorice or Twizzler.”
“Anise huh? That’s a pretty sweet name.” I pause. “No pun intended. It’s beautiful.”
More blushing. I’ll never get tired of seeing her face beet-red.
She digs into the bush, carefully avoiding the thorns, a pro at this. She’s picked berries for a pie before, and the pail is filling up fairly quickly.
The sky rumbles. I look up. The slight overcast before is now a strong shadow over the two of us. Rain starts to fall. For about thirty seconds, it’s a light drizzle, but the intensity kicks up quickly. A storm has rolled in, from the north. Shit timing, that’s for sure.
“Should we head back?” She looks up, and lightning crashes above us. In a flash, we’re both soaking wet.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I scoop up the pail, take her by the hand, and start heading back toward the bridge. Every step we take gets muddier and muddier as we go.
We reach the bridge.
Shit.
The sudden storm has led to the creek overflowing, the water lashing over the banks, and much more scarily, overwhelming the bridge. A flash flood if I ever saw one. The bridge is barely visible and the current is surging through it.
Annie tries to rush forward, but I hold her back. “Don’t you dare!”
“We need to get back! It’s just going to get worse!”
“It’s already worse. The current on that bridge is too rough, we’ll be swept all the way down to the lake if we try to cross it. “
“What do we do then? We can’t just stand out here in the rain, Red.”
There are trees about, but we both know better than to stand under a tree during a thunderstorm.
“Come on, I know where to go.” I urge her to follow me as we take an about face from the creek.
It’s the only cover I know of on this side of the creek, and it’s been ten years since I was last there.
All I can do is hope that it’s still as useful as it was then.
6
ANNIE
My wet clothes are so heavy against me, and my sneakers are meant for the floors of the diner, not for a nature hike. For a casual walk, it was no big deal, but when we’re walking through a heavy thunderstorm? It makes me wish I had invested in a good pair of boots.
Red is rushing, and I’m barely keeping up. “Up here,” he says, leading me to a rock on the side of a hill.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Be careful. There should be an opening down this hill.” He holds my hand tight and I slide down the mud a bit, until I see what he is talking about. A cave. I scramble into it, and it’s surprisingly dry inside, although the sounds of the storm outside still ring loud.
It’s bigger than it looks on the outside, but I get to the back to make room for Red, who follows me soon after.
“Good, nothing’s happened to it,” he says as he sits down beside me.
“What is this place?”
“Just a little cave opening I found when I was a kid. I was trying to get really creative with hide-and-seek places, and I found this spot which Filson could never find. It was one of the first times I ever got something up and over on my big brother, so I cherish it. I kept using it over the years, and I’d even lie down and take a nap in here because I knew he’d never be able to find me.”