The Tree Goddess

by Tom Raimbault

  “I love you, too.”

  As Wayne gave the young girl a taboo kiss, he enjoyed teeth that hadn't been brushed since 7:00 that morning. Even so, they were probably lightly grazed with a modest amount of toothpaste; backs were most likely neglected. The young girl had the greasy, cafeteria pizza for lunch and Mother's broiled salmon for dinner. While waiting to meet her boyfriend, she snacked on Doritos, candy and soda. These things should have served as a strong repellent against older men like Wayne. But Wayne didn't care. He only combed the young girl's hair with his fingers and could feel how cold she might have been.

  Wayne quickly suggested, “Let's get in the warm car.”

  They drove off together, holding hands.

  Wayne further suggested, “What do you say that tonight we go back to my place? I'll put a pizza in the oven and we'll watch a movie.”

  Alexi agreed, “Sure.”

  And that's just what they did.

  But there was one, small item that Alexi left behind. Being that she changed into a tighter, fitting pair of jeans that evening, the original pair that was worn on Friday afternoon still had Wayne's ring in the pocket. And as I'm quite sure you are aware, this was the same ring that Mother had worn some 15 years ago.

  But Mother didn't discover the ring that late, Friday night. She did peek her head in Alexi's bedroom, on her way to the bathroom, and discovered that her teenage daughter was not in bed.

  While Wayne and his young Eileen sat on the sofa with a frozen pizza cooking in the oven, the young girl's cell phone sounded the musical ringer. Pulling the noisy device from her pocket, the look on her face turned to that of horror. “Oh no! It's my Mom!”

  “Your mom?”

  I'm not answering it." She quickly selected the option to ignore the call. But Mother would only try again and again, each time her daughter had ignored the call.

  A text message came in, “WHERE ARE YOU?”

  Wayne finally spoke up against the rude mother's interruptions from his evening with the young Eileen. “Why don't you just block her?”

  “I'd love to right now!”

  A second text message came in, “ANSWER ME! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WHEN YOU GET HOME!”

  Wayne continued his urging, “Just block her!”

  “I want to, but she's my mom.”

  “What? You can block me, but you can't block her?” The alarm on the oven sounded, signaling that the pizza was done. Wayne stood up while shaking his head in disgust at the young girl. While he was in the kitchen, Alexi powered down the phone so no further messages would be received.

  Moments later, Wayne returned with a large pan of evenly sliced pizza and two plates. “You know, earlier this week I was thinking of how sick I am of Mapleview. I've lived here my whole life and had to put up with everyone's crap.” Then he suggested to his young Eileen, “How about you? Aren't you sick of it all?”

  The young girl helped herself to a slice of pizza while agreeing, “Yeah!”

  Wayne continued, “I mean look at you! You can't even go out on a Friday night with your boyfriend. Your mom is calling you and asking where you are. I bet they come down on you hard because of your grades, grounding you and stuff. I was there, once. I know all about it.”

  “Mmm-hmm!” She continued to agree while eating her slice of pizza.

  Wayne put down his plate and looked at his young Eileen with a serious face. “What do you say that you and I move far away from here, out of state? I was thinking about that. We can go to a place where no one knows us and start a new life, together. We can move where it's always warm and I can probably get a construction job. We'll get an apartment and just tell everyone that you're my daughter. What do you say?”

  She was so frustrated with her parents, not to mention dreadful of returning home to face the music. “Seriously? Sure, I'll do it! Yeah, when do you want to go?”

  Wayne answered, “Tomorrow morning; we can leave in the morning once I get a good night sleep. I don't feel like going to Big Boy's anymore. I got some money we can live on while traveling to Florida or somewhere warm. It'll be easy for me to get a quick job for some cash and save up for an apartment. In the meantime we can live in a hotel. You sure you're up for this?”

  His young Eileen affirmed, “Yeah!”

  Don't even think that this was to become another tale of “What to do with Little Lolita”! Wayne wouldn't dare sleep with the young girl! He had more class than that. Although the couple decided to start a new life, together, the young Eileen remained a young girl in Wayne's eyes. When they finally did get that apartment, it would be best if she had her own room and bed. Wayne also realized that he was now responsible for the young girl's education, probably even supporting her through college as she was very bright with promise to be someone great in life. When his young Eileen finally grew into adulthood, Wayne could marry her and start a family. Only then would it be appropriate to sleep together. Tonight, she would sleep on the sofa.

  It's interesting how a couple hours of sleep can provide proper insight into life's problems and crises. Originally laying on the sofa with a pillow and blanket that was provided by Wayne, Alexi breathed in deep and exhaled, imagining all her problems roll off and fade away. Mother and Father no longer had their stranglehold. And although their daughter was still such a young girl, at only 13, Alexi believed herself to be a woman. She needed her independence. Many women (she imagined) crossed this threshold in life which required leaving the safety and comfort of a mother's wing.

  But thinking was much different upon awakening in the middle of the night. Suddenly, Alexi could feel her worried mother fret in agony over her missing daughter. She probably thought that Alexi was an addition to the mysterious Mapleview disappearances. And although frustrated with the control of Mother and Father, Alexi realized that life would be very different without her loving parents.

  What was she doing? Was this decision realistic and wise? She was so young with still much to experience. Angela and all her friends would no longer be seen. And what about school? Alexi was wise enough to understand that one couldn't go far with only two months of an 8th grade education.

  Perhaps it was best to return home. But how? Alexi dreaded angering her boyfriend; but if he truly loved her, he would understand. Returning home would guarantee much music to be faced. It would involve furious parents who scolded along with a harsh sentence of a month or two being grounded. But these things were so small in comparison to a life of hardship and the absence of dear, old friends.

  Lying there, a strange clarity overcame Alexi which allowed her to see that Wayne would refuse to understand. He expected her to leave in the morning and follow the decision to start a new life. Perhaps if she tricked him it would be possible to return home, which provided safety from a persistent and angry boyfriend. He would cool down, eventually. But how could he be tricked?

  It flashed before her eyes like an answered question: The ring was still at home! Surely Wayne would not want it left behind in Mapleview. It was special and purchased just for her. She crafted a clever lie while imagining, “Wayne, I should return home and get the ring. I'll let my parents yell and ground me. Then when I'm alone, I'll run out to meet you.” Of course the real plan would involve staying at home and blocking Wayne's text messages. After some weeks he would cool down and she could call in hopes to make him understand.

  And so Alexi slept through the night while awakening every 45 minutes or so. She bounced from having empathy towards her worrisome mother to worrying, herself, about the morning's plan of escape.

  In the predawn hour, Wayne awoke with an unsettled feeling brought on by the realization that he had abducted a teenage girl. He also had the peculiar sensation that perhaps the young girl changed her mind, overnight.

  Wayne quietly walked into the 2nd bedroom which he often referred to as the computer room. Really it was just a small bedroom with a PC and monitor that sat on an old desk. He opened the bottom drawer and removed a commando knife with blade he
ld in a sheath. When removed, the sharp blade was seven and three quarter inches in length. He tucked half of the undrawn knife inside the waist of his pants and covered the remaining sheath and handle with his coat. Wayne quietly passed the sleeping girl and carefully stepped out of the apartment. From there, he would hide the commando knife under the driver's seat of his midnight-blue Mustang.

  The apartment door that closed had awakened Alexi. She assumed he had stepped out to load some luggage or belongings into the car. She arose to use the bathroom. Upon returning she took sight of Wayne's second bedroom with PC seated on the desk. There were pictures of what she originally thought to be family members and loved ones. Curious, the young girl entered to see who they were.

  Shock and fright overcame Alexi upon viewing multiple photos of Mother; some alone, some arm-in-arm with Wayne. Mother was much younger in the photos, but it was still Mother none-the-less.

  It didn't take long for Alexi to understand the reality. But her reactions were a mixed rush of terror, anger and disappointment that Wayne was in love with Mother, not her. This would certainly explain his insistence of calling her by Mother's name. Just how old was Wayne? How long ago did he date Mother? And was this the same man who Mother claimed to have beaten her with a tire iron?

  Alexi must not have heard the sound of the apartment door opening. While she gazed at the photos in horror, Wayne entered the room. “Good morning!” His young Eileen looked seriously disturbed. Surely she had second thoughts. “What's wrong, Honey? Everything okay?”

  The young girl pointed at the photos, “Why are you with my Mother?”

  Wayne's face turned a shade of white while pausing before speaking. At times he fancied the idea that perhaps the young girl was Eileen's daughter. She looked so much like her, the spitting image! All Wayne could do in that moment was stall the frightening reality. “Are you Eileen's daughter?”

  She nodded in near tears. The poor girl was distraught and confused beyond anything Wayne could imagine. This was truly bad. Not only had he abducted a teenage girl, but it was the very daughter of the woman he was in love with.

  He heavily sighed, “I loved your mother, once. But she left me for your father and it really hurt. Years later, I found you. I didn't know that you were Eileen's daughter; but you reminded me of her, except better. I'm happier in our relationship than the one I had with your Mother. Please try to understand.”

  It was a lousy excuse for Alexi. Suddenly, she didn't like him and desired to be as far away as possible. But he wasn't about to set her free; Alexi knew this. And perhaps you, the reader, now call out to Alexi, “Run! Run out of the apartment, Alexi!” But Alexi was a very, bright girl and realized that the captor trusted her. If she ran away in that moment, Wayne would surely seize her. Escape would have to be done out in the streets, maybe flash open the passenger door while at a red light and run to a gas station for help. And what if it was necessary to rely on the ring escape plan? Wayne would no longer trust her and wouldn't allow temporarily returning home. Alexi swallowed her fear in the presence of danger and pretended to love Wayne. He trusted her and that was the best weapon for the moment.

  The streets were not as Alexi imagined. It was a dark, cloudy, early-dawn, Saturday morning with no one in sight. She knew how Wayne chased after experiencing those frightening nights of the midnight-blue Mustang that nearly cornered her. Running away in the condo complex was too risky. There wasn't a soul, and the young girl was unfamiliar with the small streets and alleys.

  Mapleview Road and the entire downtown of Mapleview were unlike what Alexi imagined. Again, no one was in sight. Surely there were gas stations open, but the traffic lights remained green which allowed Wayne to sail through downtown Mapleview and into the older section of forest.

  Perhaps if Wayne hadn't discovered that he now possessed Eileen's daughter, the issue of a ring left behind wouldn't have been so important. Now in the wooded section of Mapleview, Alexi exclaimed, “Oh no! I left the ring back at my house!” The young girl desperately hoped the plan would work.

  Little did she know the effect it would have! The ring was more important than imagined. Such an item would immediately be recognized by Mother and provide evidence of who might have abducted the young girl. Wayne shouted, “You left the ring? How could you do that?”

  She apologized, “I'm sorry; I'm sorry; I forgot. I don't want to leave it behind. Maybe just drop me off at the park and I'll go home. My mom and dad will yell at me and stuff. Wait a while and I'll come back.”

  Wayne was furious and panic-stricken. “You're damn right you'll get that ring! You can't leave that alone!”

  But his mood suddenly shifted so that the ring was not so important. How many times in life had Wayne lost Eileen? The very town, the very forests of Mapleview symbolized the dead-end scenes and moments of his own life. Freedom was only a drive up Mapleview Road and a left turn onto Creek Highway where the interstate highways would appear some several miles down the road. The only thing that trapped him in Mapleview was his life that had been robbed nearly two decades ago. Now in some reincarnated form, that life had returned and sat beside him. Only now, she was asking to go back home. Although his young Eileen promised the return to be temporary, Wayne wasn't taking any chances.

  The midnight-blue Mustang traveled past the entryway to his girlfriend's subdivision and past Vine Road. The young girl carefully looked over, “Aren't you going to drop me off?”

  “No.”

  “What about the ring?”

  “I'm not losing you again, Eileen!”

  Just like Mother, the young girl's frustration and anger suddenly appeared. “Why do you keep calling me by my mother's name? My name is Alexi, duh! Eileen is in her thirties and is married to a man named Curt. Can't you get it straight?”

  These moments of challenge would have to be endured. At times, Wayne would need to play the father. He looked over and calmly spoke, “No, since we're starting a new life together, I think it's best that you have a new name. People will be looking for a girl named Alexi. Your name is no longer Alexi Saulmon, it is Eileen Brockman. It sounds prettier, anyway.”

  The young Eileen slapped her thigh in disgust while sighing, “Whatever! You know, you can't get away with this; they will find you!”

  Girls that age can be rebellious. And they often require reminders of who and what to answer to in life. The girl needed discipline and would thank Wayne later in life. He remained calm, but the tone of anger could still be detected, “You know, years ago I took your mother to a place where I set her straight. It was when I caught her cheating on me. She was just as rebellious as you are, now. I think it's time we pay that place a visit. It's time I establish who's the boss around here.”

  The car passed Hotlicks Sports Bar and Grill where it stopped at Creek Highway and made a left. Alexi had her cell phone and contemplated calling for help; but Wayne would only seize it when nearby. If there was some way to escape, she could run and then call for help.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “That's for me to know and you to find out.”

  It was a strange moment for Alexi as she realized that this is what it felt like to be abducted. Although not in a trunk, she was still in fear of whatever her captor was about to do.

  15 years ago, Eileen was beaten at the entryway of a closed forest preserve on a dark, summer night. 15 years later, it was a cold morning in November. That same entryway was now open and it was best to travel inward to stay out of view of onlookers.

  Alexi's anxiety intensified as she found herself traveling on a heavily, forested, narrow road. You could almost imagine how petrified a child would appear in a moment of being trapped, in danger. How she wished she had obeyed Mother and Father. Mother's very words of warning echoed in Alexi's mind of a jealous man who beat in a fit of rage. Little did Alexi know that on that evening of being grounded, Mother had warned of the very man who now sat beside her.

  Mother was punished with a tire iron. The youn
g girl would instead experience the fear brought on by the sight of a commando knife with seven and three quarter inch blade. That's what Wayne planned. But the child was quick when the Mustang parked. She never saw the blade as her captor reached under the seat. Instead, Alexi flashed open the door, the way Mother should have done at Grandma and Grandpa's house on that frightening night, 15 years ago. She ran off into the forest, fueled by desperation and a desire to be free.

  With the knife in hand, Wayne quickly exited the vehicle and chased after the running girl who was now in the forest. “Eileen, get back here! You're making me mad!”

  Alexi continued running while cursing the fallen, decaying leaves of autumn which now crunched under her feet. How could she run and hide? The noise would surely signal her whereabouts.

  Back at home, Mother had such a sickening feeling of danger. Mothers can sense when a child is in trouble. Where was her baby? What was happening? She pulled out her own cell phone and tried calling Alexi. No answer as usual! Alexi's phone had been powered down.

  Frantically, she rummaged through her daughter's room. Somewhere the answer was in there!

  Curt entered, equally frantic. “Eileen, we've got to call the police! She ran away and will get in trouble sooner or later.”

  But his wife was unresponsive while rummaging through Alexi's belongings.

  Curt continued to call out, Eileen…? Eileen…?"

  Gripped by instinctive anxiety, the worrisome mother was lost in the sensation of her daughter now in trouble and unable to respond. Somehow she managed to say, “Call 'em; call the police.”

  Back in the woods, terrified Alexi continued to run and run. Although Wayne remained thin all those years from neurosis and other emotional problems, he was in poor shape and had difficulty keeping up with the young girl. But he had determination and continued behind. And just as he was near giving up, he realized an opportunity to outsmart the young and speedy girl.

  There is a wide stream that Alexi needed to cross. The dreaded thought of walking through the cold water was quickly overcome at the sound of Wayne's approaching crunch of fallen leaves.