Page 65 of Possibly Texas

He sighed. “Well, there’s an old wives’ tale that windchimes ring when the dead are around—it’s a way of letting the living know that the ones they loved that have passed are nearby and thinking of them. So, the people around here say that if they ring when you’re there, someone is thinking of you. And, if you want them to know you’re thinking of them as well, you can ring the chimes yourself.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah. Sometimes people add things to them. Makes it more personal. When they ring for you or you ring them for someone else. That’s why some are full of keys or bottle caps or…whatever.”

“Is it okay to just go whenever you want?” I asked, kicking at the ground. “Like, if you wanted to see if they rang for you? Or to ring them for someone else?”

Auggie smiled softly.

“It’s public property,” he said. “It’s open to everyone. Just don’t remove anything except trash on the ground. And never take something off one of the chimes. They’re important to people here.”

“Okay.”

Again, we found ourselves standing there in silence, not really staring at each other, but not exactly not staring at each other.

“So, eleven-thirty?” he asked.

I nodded. “Eleven-thirty. Let’s see the stars.”

“Hope you’re quick,” he said with a grin. “And good at mazes.”

Jack still wouldn’t converse with me when I tiptoed out of the house that evening. He had been up watching television in the living room when I crept downstairs. At first, I thought maybe he would wave me down and ask me where I thought I was going. Or he would give me a reproachful look that would send me scurrying back up the stairs to my room. Instead, he glanced over from the T.V. at the sound of my footsteps in the kitchen, considered me for a moment, then turned his sleepy eyes back to the television.

“Auggie’s going to show me his art installation at the barn,” I said.

Jack turned to give me a nod to acknowledge he had heard me, but then went right back to watching T.V. Apparently, my whereabouts in the middle of the night were of no concern to him. Of course, we were in Possibly, Texas. What kind of actual trouble could I get into in the middle of nowhere in Texas? Then again, it reminded me of being on the road with my mom. She had shows to chase, Jack had T.V. to watch.

There wasn’t enough concern left over for me.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll see you later.”

Jack waved at me over his shoulder.

That was it then. Jack wasn’t concerned that I was about to walk out the front door into the dark night of Possibly, Texas and stroll over to Auggie’s barn. It wasn’t far, and we were in a safe town, but it wasn’t like Possibly was known for its street lights. The only light I’d have for my walk across town was whatever light the full moon provided. Maybe my cellphone flashlight since it wasn’t good for much else out in the middle of nowhere. Reception remained spotty at best.

“Thank God I’m not on my way to school,” I said with my hand on the doorknob. “Most child abductions happen on the way to school.”

Jack’s head turned slowly to shoot me a look that conveyed everything he thought of my mental health.

“But I’ll be fine, I’m sure. No reason to worry.”

Jack rolled his eyes and smiled, then waved me off again.

Okay. So, maybe he cared a little, but apparently, he still didn’t think there was anything to be concerned about when it came to me walking to Auggie’s in the middle of the night.

“See you at breakfast, I guess,” I said.

Then I was out the door and jogging down the steps.

Possibly was warm during the day, as one would expect of Texas in summer, but at night it was pleasant. Maybe even a little cool. I had to believe that Susurrus Creek, and whatever body of water it was fed by, carried the breeze into town. Since the creek never seemed to drop by even an inch, and it was summertime, it had to be fed by a larger body of water. Probably somewhere further south since the water flowed north.

Just as expected, and as I’d observed from my dormer window for dozens of nights, Possibly was pitch black in the middle of the night. All of the businesses downtown shut off all of their lights once the business day was over and their doors were locked. Not that their lights would have illuminated the area by Jack’s place much. I would have had to walk in near darkness at least until I got further away from Jack’s place anyway.

On the road with Mom over the years, I’d walked in a million different towns at night. Even all alone. Mom wasn’t exactly a helicopter parent, to say the least. Some of the places were relatively small—not Possibly small—but small. Other places, like Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans were enormous compared to Possibly. Even though those places were usually well lit and had dense foot traffic well into the night, they weren’t safer than Possibly.

Walking in New Orleans at night alone was much more dangerous than laying in the middle of the road in Possibly at night.

But nighttime in Possibly, unless I was in my room, staring out of the dormer window, gave me the chills. It wasn’t that I expected Wyatt to jump out from behind a headstone in the graveyard and demand my money—of which I had none. It was just that I’d never been in a town that seemed to be as alive as Possibly at night. It had…a feeling. Once its residents turned in for the night, the town itself was allowed to breathe. And breathe it did.