The Girl Beneath the Trees
She stood barefoot in the shade, wearing a simple white summer dress.
Her hair moved gently in the wind.
She looked no older than seven.
But when every biker saw her, their faces changed.
Rowan slowly sat up, his hands trembling.
“No,” he whispered. “That can’t be.”
Caleb turned to him.
“Who is she?”
A younger biker answered from the grass, his voice breaking.
“That’s Mara.”
Caleb frowned.
“Who is Mara?”
Rowan stared at the child the way a man stares at a memory that has learned how to breathe again.
“Elias’s daughter.”
Caleb looked back at the girl.
“Where has she been?”
Nobody answered at first.
Then Rowan lowered his head.
“She was returned to heaven six years ago.”
