Dense fog slows your travel. It’s spring. There’s still patches of snow in the corn and bean fields that were prepared and fertilized prior to winter. You are returning from taking a burglary which turned out to be part of a rash of daytime heists. Money, guns, prescription drugs and oddly enough.....music cds are the serial burglars favorite items.
Its becoming clear he is not working alone. Interviews of neighbors, postmen, UPS Driver’s and a little bit of personal digging reveal he has a girlfriend who is driving for him. They are bold. One retired school teacher answered her doorbell and found a scruffy looking guy on her porch. He asks for directions to the Interstate. The teacher tries to help but not too much. He gives her the creeps. She points him the right direction and closes the door. She also makes sure he gets out of the driveway and down the road before she feels comfortable enough to go back to reading and her morning coffee.
Today, you don’t know who he is. You only know what he is. He is a dangerous and desperate criminal working your county. It’s just a matter of time before a confrontation turns violent. You hope you catch him before that happens but if you don’t .....you hope he comes out on the wrong end of the violence. You will eventually nab him and his girlfriend but not before an exhaustive investigation that covers the entire northwestern part of your state, numerous police departments, a gaggle of search warrants and a few lucky breaks. He has been in prison before for the same thing and this time he’ll go back for 20 years.
But that’s not what’s on your mind as you drive back to the station. It might be the fog, it might be the time of year, or it could be a certain coincidental birthday. You are thinking about a little child. Her first name appropriately is a weeping tree. Her middle name, a word for eternal flower. And the little plastic dolphin in your cup holder. It’s been there for several months. You haven’t paid much attention to it but it’s not been forgotten. These things seem to be calling you to stop and visit.
You are going to be travelling right past. It would only take a few minutes. Maybe talk to her. Tell her how sorry you are. Or just quietly keep her company. The dolphin seems to be staring at you with one eye. You pull up and park, staying on the asphalt. There is some snow still but little tiny flowers are forcing their way out of the ground. They are brave purple upstarts.
Now you are standing before her. The birthday.....the same as yours. The day she left.....five very short but precious years. In your hands...the dolphin. There are other things on the ledge. A penny, little dolls and a picture. You have seen the picture before. It was the one you used at the trial. She is bouncing on a trampoline. Her blonde hair has just passed the apex of her launch and is sticking straight out. She is on her way down and her mouth is open in excitement. It captures her as she enjoyed the tickle in her stomach. The jury couldn’t help but connect with her.
You place the dolphin on the ledge. You whisper “Happy Birthday”. Her mother had been holding the dolphin throughout the trial. At the end, she handed it to you and thanked you. This is where it has belonged but this is the first time you could bring yourself back. It is here now. You apologize that the person who hurt her, would only be locked up ten to twenty years. It hardly seems enough. You promise to come back on a sunny day, when the snow is gone and the trees are green.
You are back in your car now pulling away. Passing under the cemetery entrance sign you meet a car going the other direction. You recognize the driver. She recognizes you. You are sure she’ll notice the dolphin. The fog is being lifted by the sun.
The fairest bloom the mountain knows Is not an iris or a wild rose But the little flower of which I'll tell Known as the brave acony bell Just a simple flower so small and plain With a pearly hue and a little known name But the yellow birds sing when they see it bloom For they know that spring is coming soon Well it makes its home mid the rocks and the rills Where the snow lies deep on the windy hills And it tells the world "why should i wait This ice and snow is gonna melt away" And so I'll sing that yellow bird's song For the troubled times will soon be gone
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cufWYp4D28Y#