Free Dancing Dead by Deborah Woodworth

former eldress held up a shaky yet authoritative hand. “Rose will be there, of course, and I will come if I am able,” she said. “Now, you run along back to the Children’s Dwelling House. I know Sister Charlotte has special Saturday lessons planned, and you don’t want to fall behind. Besides, Rose and I have some things to discuss.”
    Mairin slid off her chair and stood awkwardly before Agatha’s rocker. “Thank you, Sister.” She reached out her hand and touched Agatha’s with the tips of her fingers, then pulled back quickly. Another child would have jumped up and down with glee, but Mairin’s body tightened, as if she wanted to keep her excitement from escaping. She closed her eyes and hugged herself. She stood that way for so long that Rose became alarmed.
    â€œMairin, are you all right?” she asked.
    Mairin opened her eyes. “Yea. I was just telling Mother Ann that my birthday will be perfect if she’ll let my angel come, too.” In the time it took Rose and Agatha to digest her words, Mairin had scampered from the room.
    â€œHer angel?” Rose scooted her chair close to Agatha’s. “Could she mean this apparition she’s been following about?”
    Agatha frowned, her cloudy eyes focused inward. “We must watch the child carefully,” she said.
    â€œDo you believe she is in danger?”
    â€œI believe she has gifts,” Agatha said. “Extraordinary gifts. But she is too young and inexperienced to know how to follow them properly, to listen to them. I’m afraid she might misunderstand and put herself in danger.”
    â€œBut if they are gifts of the spirit, how can they lead her astray?”
    â€œI’m not worried about the gifts that are part of her,” Agatha said. “I’m worried about the part of her that is human.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against a thin blanket folded over the back of her rocker.
    â€œYou’re exhausted,” Rose said. She worried constantly about Agatha’s health and felt guilty each time she asked her elderly friend to help her solve a dilemma. Agatha, Rose knew, would be content to move on to the next stop on her spiritual journey, but Rose had no desire to hasten the process. “I’ll keep a close watch over Mairin,” she said. “You needn’t worry.”
    Agatha’s blue-veined eyelids shot open. “Mairin came to us starving and unloved,” she said with renewed force. “We fed her and we’ve loved her, yet in some way she hungers still. That is why I fear for her.” Agatha released a long sigh and seemed to shrink in her chair. Rose leaned over her and lightly kissed the smooth skin of her forehead.
    â€œI think I understand,” Rose said. “Now you rest. I’ll keep you informed.” She closed the retiring room door behind her. She wasn’t certain she really did understand what Agatha had tried to tell her, but she knew enough to listen to the message. If she didn’t keep a close eye on Mairin, something even worse than an orphanage might be in the child’s future.
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    Rose made a quick telephone call to Sister Charlotte, who assured her that Mairin had returned to the Children’s Dwelling House and that she and Nora would watch her carefully. She then visited Sister Gertrude in the kitchen to request a birthday cake for Monday and perhaps some homemade ice cream.
    â€œI know just what I’ll bake,” Gertrude said. “We have just enough of last fall’s crop to make a lovely dried apple cake. The young’uns love that one.” Gertrude’s large, bony hands splashed in a deep sink full of hot, soapy water as she washed up the dishes from the noon meal. Rose found a clean linen towel and began to dry. She’d been lax lately about helping the sisters with their work. Physical labor was important for her humility, and to be honest, she loved