The Dark Sire Issue 8 (Summer 2021) - PREVIEW | Page 17

Six Feet by Julie Zack

As with most things , it was the mother ’ s fault . It had been her idea , after all , to start their daily trips to the cemetery . The playgrounds were closed that summer , she reasoned . How could it hurt to let the boy run and play through the headstones ? Besides , it was a good way to maintain social distancing when all the residents were at least six feet under .
The cemetery sat on Farewell Street , something the mother assumed had to do with Victorian whimsy , but instead referenced the fact that the road ultimately led everyone out of town . The walk to Farewell Street took a few minutes through narrow Newport streets , the stroller sometimes veering into the road where the sidewalk couldn ’ t accommodate . The boy sat upright , gripping his snack tray , eager to arrive .
Upon entry , he kicked his legs , waiting for his mother to unlatch his straps so he could run free . His limbs were just beginning to thin , losing the rounds that defined his babyhood . As soon as his Mickey Mouse shoes were lifted from his stroller and set on the hallowed ground , he was off . Each shoe barely brushing the earth before lifting again , nearly in flight , as he flitted between graves .
It started with flags . The game was to find all the American flags on veterans ’ plots . Each evening he ’ d start : “ Gonna go play , go run around , gonna find the flags , gonna find ALL the flags .” He ’ d run and point , sometimes scouting the horizon , and shielding his eyes from the late summer light , searching for the glint of red ,
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