Bear in the woods

“Shit”

Claire pulled her fingers up over her mouth, she felt like her mother could hear her, despite being all alone. She looked at the flat tire and pinched her eyelids closed to supress the angry tears. Her Father had warned her.

“Bear, it’s important to check the tire pressure. Make sure you keep the level at-” Claire had spaced out, she didn’t care about tires. Claire cared about the ocean. She reached up to her head allowing her fingers to pull through the curls of her strawberry hair.

“Well. Fuck. I guess….I guess I could call an Uber? Maybe?” She walked around to the passengers side of the car, where she’d kept her back pack.

“Babs, it’s completely shot” She called out as she dug through her pack.

“Wwwwhhhhhhaat doooo yyooou mmmmean sshshshshshshot?” The slithery voice came from the backseat, soft and sleepy.

“I MEAN that we’re going to have to figure something out because I have a flat tire.” Claire pulled out a book collection of spooky stories for kids, a photo of her family that her mother must have shoved in there, and finally an envelope.

“Sssssssoooooo you muuuuuuusssst unnnnnflllllatten the tirrrre” Babs’s voice was louder now, Claire didn’t seem to notice.

“No shit.”

“Yoooooour mmoooooother woooould NOT caarrrre for succcchhhh lannnnguage” Claire ripped open the envelope revealing a long letter from her Father about remembering who she is, where she came from, those that love her ya ya ya ya

And then

Should you ever need help, all you have to do is call. And I left the instructions for changing a tire in the trunk. I had a feeling that you weren’t listening

Claire smiled to herself.

“Good old Richard McConnell. Always looking ahead”

“yoooooou arrrrre quuuuite lucky Little beeear. Many finnnnd that the woooods are daaaaark with nowherrrre to tuuuurn”

Claire looked towards Babs for the first time since they’d been stranded. It was beginning to get dark, so all she could make out were the two violet blue eyes softly staring into her own from the backseat.

“Nuh aw who wunder are loss” Claire butchered the phrase in a mocking teasing tone. Babs was always throwing out helpful tidbits, ever since Claire was small. Well, she was sixteen now and old enough to be able to make her own choices.

“Wait….eighteen” Claire said out loud. She wondered back to the trunk.

“Arrrrree yoooou eiiiigghteeeeen? Arrrrrre yoooou ceeeeertain?”

Claire ignored Babs for the rest of the tire changing event. She needed to completely focus on what she was doing, or else she’d mess the whole thing up.

“You arrrre a lit-tle Be-ar in the woods” Claire blinked and found herself on the road again, tire fixed going smoothly.

“Babs, I am a grown woman”

“Yooooou’vvve beeeeen saayinggg that fooooor fifteeeeen yeeeears” Claire blinked. The road looked red

How long had the sun been up?

“What are you talking about?” Claire rubbed her left eye with a closed fist.

“Itttt’ssss annnn i-d-i-o-m. Peeeeeeop ple say themmmm whennnnn they wannnnt to exp-”

“I know what an idiom is Babs. Are you saying that I’ve been telling you that I’m a grown up so often you’re sick of it? Is that it?”

“Yessssss aaaannnd Noooo,lit-tle Bear. I coooould ne-ver tire of yoooou”

Claire looked ahead. It was almost like a painting. Blue sky, the sun rising.

Or setting?

“Babs, where are we?” Claire couldn’t remember how far they’d come, and for a moment forgot where they were going.

“yoooooou ssssssssaaaaaid thaaaaat weeeee werrrrrre going to seeeeee the osh…...osh…...osheeeeeen”

“The Ocean, yes. I remember that part. What I don’t remember is where we are now. Where are we now, Babs?”

A deep unsettling silence radiated from the back seat of the car. It was unlike Babs to be quiet, especially when she knew something.

“Babs?”

“Sweeeeeeeeeet Beeeear. I promissssssed you thisssss day would commmmme. I jussssst didnnnnn’t think thatttt I would looooooove yooooou when it came”

Claire felt the hair on her neck rise up.

“what?”

“I knnnnnnnneeeeeew you wooooouldn’t lisssssten tooooo your fa-ther. I KNEW that you woooould driiiiiive until the suuuuuuun was set. My sweeeeet bear” Claire could hear the sound of slithering in the back seat until suddenly, Babs’ voice was right within her ear.

“When you were a little bear. A small one, your Mother beggged me not to take you. She ppppleaded that I let you stay with them. She sooooo wanted a lit-tle girl. She knew making a deeeeal with me meant thaaaat you would not be a foreeeever.” Claire looked around. She wasn’t in the car anymore.

“Oh I’m asleep. Of course I’m asleep” she looked around once more to see nothing but darkness, instead of the comfort of her car, she sat upon a hollowed log. She sighed

“this dream again. Okay, whatever. Just let it run it’s course I guess”

“No, my sweeeeeeet bear. Thissss is what life isssss”

Claire looked down at her legs, and saw nothing.

“Babs, this is the weirdest dream I’ve ever had” Claire’s mouth felt like sandpaper. She smacked her lips together over and over, trying to rid them of scratching.

“Your Mooooother wassss not a-ble. Sssshe could on-ly cry at night forrrr what might havvvvve beeeen” Claire rolled her eyes deeply. This dream was really getting annoying.

“Wheeeeen sssshe assssked meeee I told her. I sssssaid that havvvving a babbbbby came at a cosssst”

Claire put her hands on either side of her.

“Just press down. Feel something solid beneath you.” she whispered to herself.

“Havvvvving a babbbby isssss not alllll it is crackk-ed up to be my sweeeeeet bear. I ammmm sorrrrrry ourrrr time together hasssss ended” Claire closed her eyes

“Just ride out the dream. Just ride it out until the end…..”

 

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