Free SARA, BOOK 2 by Esther And Jerry Hicks

Sara wished they had chosen a different path. She was beginning to feel
     tired and was glad Seth was carrying the heavy backpack with the water bottle and fruit and candy they’d stashed inside.
    “There’s a clear spot up ahead,” Seth called out. “We’ll stop and rest there.”
    Sara smiled. Seth was reading her mind again. “I brought some candy bars,” he said. “Let’s stop and eat them.”
    That sounded good to Sara.
    “How far do you think we’ve come?” Sara asked.
    “Not very far,” Seth said. “Look, out there, isn’t that the top of the gas-station sign?”
    “Oh, geez,” Sara muttered. It was truly discouraging to see what a short distance they had traveled. The gas station wasn’t
     anywhere near the edge of town.
    “This is slow going,” Sara said. “I wish we could just go out on the street and walk. This sneaking around is hard work.”
    Seth laughed. “Let’s follow the river a little more, and then we’ll take off through the pasture behind the graveyard. I don’t
     think anybody in there will tell on us.”
    “Don’t bet on it.” Sara laughed. She had a new respect for the dead. It turns out that they aren’t as dead as she always thought
     they were. Then she again thought of Solomon.
    They finished their candy, drank some water, pulled the big boots back on, and continued their upstream trek. And before long,
     just as Seth had guessed, the stream made a sharp turn and straight ahead lay the cemetery. “How many dead people are in there, do you think?” Seth asked.
    “I think all of them,” Sara kidded.
    “Sara,” Seth groaned.
    Sara giggled. “Well, some old jokes are worth digging up over and over again, don’t you think?”
    Seth groaned again.
    “Some jokes just seem to take on a life of their own.”
    “Sara, stop, I’m begging you.”
    “Some jokes just seem to live forever.” Sara laughed.
    “Sara, I’m dying here. Please, stop!”
    Sara laughed. Seth laughed, too.
    “There’s some real neat old headstones in there. Wanna go see?” Sara asked.
    “Nah. Not today. Maybe later. We better keep moving if we’re going to find any caves.”
    Sara was relieved. She never liked going in the graveyard. It always felt weird. Not because of the dead people, but because
     the visiting adults seemed sad and depressed there. Sara’s views on death had changed dramatically, thanks to Solomon, but
     she could feel, especially when they visited the graveyard, that most people had serious issues about death.
    “Hey, Sara, look, there’s that owl again.”
    Sara looked out into the graveyard, and on top of the tallest monument . . . in fact, the only monument in the graveyard,
     was the owl. He sat there like a statue, like he was part of the monument, too.
    “It’s like he’s following us,” Seth said, surprised.
    “Yeah, it does seem like that,” Sara agreed, and when she looked back, the owl wasn’t there.
    “Did he fly away?” she asked.
    “I didn’t see where he went. Ready to go?” Seth asked, not nearly as interested in the owl as Sara was. “Give me your boots,
     Sara. I’ll carry them.” He tied them together and draped them over his shoulder with his own. Sara felt relieved.
    “Do you think we’ll come back this same way?” Sara asked.
    “Most likely. But sometimes when you get up high on the hillside, you can see a better trail back. Why?”
    “I just thought maybe we could stash the boots here and then pick them up on the way back. They’re so heavy, and don’t tell
     your father I said so, but they’re smelly, too.”
    Seth laughed. “Your secret is safe with me, Sara. That’s a good idea.” Seth looked around for a place to leave the boots.
     “Let’s check out that old tree up ahead!” Sure enough, just as Seth had guessed, the tree had a big hollow on the back side.
    “What makes a big old tree like this die, anyway?” Sara asked.
    “Oh, I don’t know, lots of things, I guess,” Seth said. “This one looks to me