When I Knew You by Desireé Prosapio

The sound of running footsteps again, this time running away from us.  
    "We should wait a little longer, don't you think?" she said quietly, taking her hand away slowly, then lifting her head and glancing back to the street through one of the camper windows.
    "Definitely," I said. "Besides, I don't think I can drive until I can breathe."  
    We lay there in the quiet of the camper, red and blue lights strafing the camper's interior.  
    "So. Antonia."
    She turned away from the narrow window. "Yes, Kati?"
    "How did you know?"
    "About the man?"
    I nodded. "His name's Eliah."
    She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. Climbing stickers covered the ceiling, creating a mosaic of bad puns and hipster drawings. "It was... it was the lady. Like I told you. She told me."  
    "What lady?"  
    Antonia sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "The lady. She... tells me things. She always has."
    I was startled. "I don't remember you ever talking about a Lady..."
    "I did, I think, at first. Maybe not. But I had to stop talking about her." She pulled out a yellow piece of notepaper from her pants pocket along with a cassette tape. She handed me the paper and tucked the tape back in. "It's right here."
    I unfolded the note. The handwriting was Antonia's simple script, careful and neat.
    Antonia,
    Do not take the white pill – not in the morning or at night. Hide it and pretend you did. Then throw it away in the toilet.
    Listen to the Lady, but do not tell anyone about her. No one.
    Listen to the tape. That way you can remember all the important things.
    Always take care of Kati. Always.
    From Antonia
    "I don't understand. This is a note from..."
    "From me. It was something Margie suggested, to keep me from forgetting things that were important. I have a tape and I play it every morning, make new ones every now and then when things change."  
    She held out her hand and I gave her the note back.  
    "The Lady is... she's in here." She tapped her head. "She has been talking to me for a while. Right after the accident, I think. Margie said I got excited about her one day and I told Mother, your Abuela. That was a mistake because I guess she thought I was..."
    "Crazy?"
    She nodded. "That's what the white pills are for. To silence her. To make the Lady go away. But they made me... I don't know the word. Blank. Like a blank piece of paper every day. I couldn't think at all, I couldn't do anything. I had to start again with the pennies."
    "I remember the pennies."
    Antonia looked grim. "I don't remember, of course. It was too long ago. But I tell the story... I mean, it's on the tape, I listened to it today, so I know. But I don't remember. Anyway, I stopped taking the pills for a month when they were running some tests—I think it was seven years ago. That's in my tape. The Lady came back, and right about then Margie started helping more. We worked on making tapes and notes so I could be more ..." She knitted her brows in concentration. "On my own."
    "Independent, " I offered.
    "Right. Independent." She said the word slowly as if savoring it. "The note and the tape, they helped. I can do more, remember for a little longer. As long as I don't take the pills and don't talk about the Lady, I can do more." She folded the note and put it back in her pocket. "I never talked about the Lady out loud. I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you to get scared."  
    "Did you think I'd tell Abuela?"  
    "No, not really. At least, I don't think so." She shrugged. "It was just a bad idea, you were a child, then you were busy." She paused, then continued. "The Lady told me about that man, the tall man and that he would lie and try to hurt you. She said I needed to keep you safe."
    We lay there in silence for a minute. Voices. She's hearing voices.  
    "Mom. Who do you think is the Lady?"
    "I don't know. I thought she might be a special angel. A guard... guard... guardian angel. But I'm not sure. Maybe..." She raised her hand to her lips as if to stop