Free See How She Runs by Michelle Graves

fly. I could feel the sticky
humidity and hear the cicadas and frogs chirping in the background.
The sun was getting ready to set and my mom was going to take me
inside soon. She led me through the door still flying me like an
airplane and took me to my father. She leaned in to kiss his cheek
then left the room to head to the office.
    I followed her, there, but not there. She
sat down at a desk and inhaled deeply. Just before she began to
write, she looked over her shoulder at me and smiled sadly.
     
    I jerked, surprised by the vision of the
past. It was as though my very soul was walking through her
memories. Even stranger, it was as if she expected me to be there.
She knew I was coming. She knew all those years ago that I would
grow up without her. Embittered that she would still set herself on
that course, but strangely comforted in knowing she did all she
could for me. I wiped my eyes and began reading the first
letter.

    My dear girl,
    I never wanted you to live the life that you
are about to be forced to live. I hope you know that I did not want
to leave you. I tried to prevent it as long as I could. This day, I
know I will only have at the most three more years with you.You
have been the best thing I have ever done on this earth.You have a
light that shines from you and touches even the darkest of places.
Don’t lose that sense of wonder and optimism. No matter what they
do to me Izzy, or what you must face in the days to come. I have
tried to see the life that awaits you, but I am never able to get
beyond the fog and see what is to come. I hope that you live a life
of calm and thatyou are never forced to deal with the madness and
greed that is coming for me. I hope that you grow old, you have
babies,and you are free from the insanity that has been brought
down upon so many Seers. I wish for you a fate vastly different
than my own.
    I know that you feel alone. I know that I
have left you with a terrible burden to bear. But know that you do
not have to do this without help. Kennan is there for you. He may
be hard to crack in the emotions department, but I saw the way he
lit up around you. He left today. Your father had a talk with him.
I think he was beginning to feel the guardian’s pull toward you.
Even though you are so very young. So he and your father felt it
best that he left. Most Guardians don’t meet their charges until
they reach the age of seeing. What happened with you and Kennan is
almost unheard of. He would have started aging had he stayed. So,
for him to be fit to protect you, he left. He sacrificed finally
having a place to call home in order to do what was best for you
and your father. So please, dear daughter, trust him.
    I love you more than you will ever possibly
know. I know you will be faced with so many obstacles. Your future
is not something I can see, so it is something you must create for
yourself. Be brave, be smart, and above all trust your heart, my
dear one. I will miss you so very much. Just remember to be the
very best version of yourself you can possibly be.
    With all that I am,
    Mommy
     
    I sat motionless and numb for longer than I
could imagine. By the time I finally pulled myself out of my
reverie I realized I was no closer to understanding anything than I
was before this letter. I glanced back at the paragraph about
Kennan. I had wondered why he left when I was young. Though, with
the feelings that kept surfacing toward him, I was kind of glad he
left when he did. How creepy would that be? Uncle Kennan.
    No thank you.
    I was not quite ready to deal with the
feelings brought on by my mother’s words. Kennan, I could handle.
The overwhelming sense of love that poured from her every word
scared the bejeezes out of me. I read through the letter twice more
before glancing at the clock. I realized four hours had passed
without my notice.
    Now that I was pulled back to the present, I
heard a constant thwack noise coming from outside. I got up and
moved to the window noticing that