Part 65 (2/2)

supposed to be her ceiusins. She wondered why it had taken so many to

carry Darren, who hadn't been heavy at all. But she was afraid to ask.

It helped to look at the cows, and the tall gra.s.s and the birds that

glided overhead.

Darren would have liked his farm, she thought. But it didn't seem

right, it didn't seem fair that he couldn't be standing beside her,

ready to race and run and laugh.

He shouldn't be in that box, she thought. He shouldn't be an angel,

even if it meant he had wings and music. If she had been strong and

brave, if she had kept her promise, he wouldn't be. She should be in

the box, she realized as tears began to fall. She had let bad things

happen to Darren. She hadn't saved him from the monsters.

Johnno picked her up when she began to cry. He swayed a little, and the

movement was comforting. She laid her head on his shoulder and listened

to the words he spoke along with the priest.

””The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ...” But she did want.

She wanted Darren. Blinking tears from her eyes, she tried to watch the

gra.s.s move with the wind. She heard her father's voice, thick with

grief.

... walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no

evil ...”

But there was evil, she wanted to shout. There was evil, and it had

killed Darren. Evil had no face.

She watched a bird swoop overhead, and followed its path. On the

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