Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers by JeanNicole Rivers Page A

they passed all of the places that were a distant memory to Regina. Regina closed her eyes for just a moment allowing her to breathe deeply and she could remember the days when all four girls would set out on their bikes on Saturday morning and would not return home until the sun had begun descending into the West. They would race up and down the residential streets, stop off at Klein Park for a couple of rounds on the swings, or a game or two of hopscotch. Marrying all of the money that theyhad been able to snaffle the night before from the couch cushions or forgotten change left on the kitchen counter from that afternoon’s errands in order to buy snacks, candies, and cakes from the bread store. Occasionally, they would take a break at one of their homes to use the bathroom, maybe get a drink of water and then it was on the road again.
    Regina was snapped from her sweet memories when she realized that they were suddenly face-to-face with the dead.

7
    A s they passed under the beaten metal entrance of Rose Thorn Cemetery, the girls dismounted the bikes and pushed them along the narrow gravel path that led into the heart of the sacred ground.
    Cemetery visits were not one of Regina’s favorite ways to pass a morning, but at least Rose Thorn was peaceful, almost welcoming, and Regina did not regret agreeing to come along. Brightly colored fresh flowers were placed in front of several of the run-down tombstones that huddled close together under the shade of the tall trees.
    “I wish they would a put real road through here,” Regina thought aloud.
    “Who?” Nikki chuckled. “Mayor Parks and Sheriff Handow? Yeah, right. Don’t hold your breath,” she snapped.
    “It’s not too much farther. You remember, don’t you?” Nikki asked.
    “Yes,” Regina lied. She had been to this cemetery a few times to visit the gravesites of her grandparents, but only once for an actual funeral, which was that of Fayleen Valentine, Nikki’s mother. When Regina’s grandparents died she had been too young to attend the funerals, but she was ten when Nikki’s mother died and Mrs. Dean struggled with whether or not to allow her to attend the funeral. Mrs. Dean hated to expose her to such a thing especially with Nikki’s mother committing suicide, which made it even less of a situation that Mrs. Dean wanted to open up for discussion, but she knew that if she took her daughter to the funeral, she would have to answer any questions that came up as a result.
    “She is old enough, Pat. She will have to experience the rituals of death at some point in time. It may be better for poor little Nikki to have Regina there. That is my opinion, but I willsupport whatever you decide,” Mr. Dean told his wife when she asked him.
    No one ever knew exactly what happened that snowy winter morning in the Valentine home. The family was getting ready for church as they did most Sunday mornings. As they settled in the car and began to pull out of the snow-blanketed driveway, Fayleen stopped her husband; she had forgotten her purse. Without a word to her daughter, she left the car and disappeared into the home to retrieve the missing bag and when she had been gone for over five minutes Mr. Valentine assumed that she had misplaced it, as she had misplaced several things lately. He began to tell his daughter to go and find out what was taking her mother so long, but in a sudden change of heart decided to go himself. He advised his daughter to stay in the car as he stepped out. The sound of the winter wind whipped the trees and there was the resounding fire of one lonely blast. From the car, Nikki could see Mr. Valentine’s eyes fill with horror before he entered the home. Nikki sat in the car for ten minutes not knowing what was happening inside, but sure that it was something awful. Soon she heard the sirens wailing in the distance, and only seconds later, the police cars crashed down on the house. There was too much commotion for her to make anything solid