The Secret My Mother Buried

r? Carol, dead in a cave? And the t

meone who knew Da

Mi

. His shop was a local curiosity, part store, part museum of strange trail

, my fingers fumbl

ers." His voice w

t's Maya. Davi

e, kid. How are you holding up? Heard a

thing's happened.

k? What do you mean

. But... it's not him. Not rea

ya. Tell me wh

ldness, the smile, Linda's

When I finished, there

your doors. I'll be th

o strong my knee

driveway. He was a sturdy man, weathered by years in the

behind him. The house still felt like a

d's study,"

s gaze sharp. "Felt the chill soon as I steppe

didn't act like I was c

table. I showed him th

rrowed. "Poor Carol. Always thought that trip was a bad idea

e hardened. "Linda isn't your mother..." He shook h

I knew... he was always a bit of a magnet for strange

of him and Dad, years ago, on a hike near Widow

" Mr. Miller s

was wrong. It seemed stretched, distorted, almo

trick of the light," Mr. Miller

. "There's something else, Maya. Someth

ial 'herbal tea' for David. For 'energy,' she sa

entry: "She's not herself. Keeps

. Found an old, forgotten tin of that tea. Never thought much of it. But a while back, I was cleaning out old stoc

. It contained compounds... stuff that, if a healthy person ingested it regularly, would cause prog

ed. Linda's tea.

had initially planned to go with him, then backed out, then decided to go again at the last minute. It was all very sudden. She was screami

was hers, not Linda's. Dad's journal say

forming a horrifying pictu

oor to Dad's st

tensed. We

e wider, if possible. His eyes, like chips of

, his voice a low rumb