Singleton

Once at home Olivia headed straight to her room without even being told. Jack stood outside his daughter’s door listening to her cry. This had been going on for about an hour now. It was an even steady cry, which was odd. Olivia had always been a tough young girl, and for her to be crying this much was unusual. She had always been prone to playing rough, and Jack and Melissa were used to the perpetual scraping of knees and bloodied lips.
But this cry was different. It had a sense of mystery behind it. Jack wondered, What could have happened today? This was not the cry of an injury or a cry of sorrow for disobeying her father.
Olivia had always had a spirit of independence about her; always looking to explore and discover new things. She had always been a sort of tomboy, and these woods definitely lent themselves to exploration.
The woods at Covington Park were thick, and the talk of hidden caves was too enticing for Olivia. The park proved to be nothing special and Jack knew that Olivia hadn’t spent any time on the few pieces of play equipment or the overgrown baseball field. She was exploring the woods the whole time she was there.
Something happened in those woods earlier that day and Jack was determined to figure out what transpired. Olivia was the toughest twelve-year-old girl he knew, and for her to cry like this was definitely peculiar. Finally Jack had had enough–he couldn’t take the crying anymore. He was determined to figure out what was wrong with Olivia.
The door creaked as it opened into the dark room. The way the door opened brought light right onto the bed, seemingly putting a spot light on Olivia. Her face was stuffed into the pillow. Her muffled cry could still easily be heard.
Jack walked quietly over to the side of her bed and had a seat. “Olivia, are you ready to talk about what happened today?”
Jack waited for a response, but all he heard was Olivia’s muffled cry.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
No response.
“Were there some kids at the park that hurt you?”
No response.
“Listen Olivia, if we are going to make this new life work here, you have to talk to me….please.”
Olivia’s crying eased up just a bit. She picked her head up just enough to wipe her eyes and nose.
Jack reached over to her dresser and grabbed her a couple tissues. She took them, giving him a faint “Thank you.”
“Now, are you ready to tell me what happened today at the park? Did something happen while you were in the woods?”
Jack didn’t even have to ask her if she went anywhere else in the park. He knew his daughter well enough to know she was in the woods.
“Dad, I don’t think I can,” she said in between sniffs.
“Please honey, let’s talk this through, you know you can tell me anything.” Jack had always been a tender man, always talking to his daughter with deep affection in his voice.
“Dad, I can’t, I really don’t think I can,” she said burying her head back into her pillow.
“Fine, when you are ready to talk, you come find me and tell me what happened today,” Jack said, standing up with frustration in his voice.
He walked briskly over to door, and opened it rather hastily. The outside light poured in with the creaking of the door.
“Dad!” he heard as he opened the door.
He stopped just as he was about to walk out.
“Yes, dear,” said Jack, stepping back into the room and half way closing the door.
“It’s not necessarily what happened today in the woods…” said Olivia trailing off.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s not what happened in the woods, but it’s what I saw.”