In my dreams, it will creep,
A confused remembrance of innocence ripped away,
The demons don’t rest, as the child appears to sleep,
And they hide inside the victim and control the day.
CHAPTER ONE THE BROKEN HEART
The pink quartz, speckled with feldspar and mica, was polished to a smooth shine. Teya held the necklace in her hand. Each time she went through the same ritual, carefully unfolding the softly tanned, deer hide cloth, then slowly uncurling the long silver chain and then circling it back again in the palm of her hand. The stone was the shape of a heart and its crafter had delicately ornamented its silver cradle. She stared at the stone and thought, Where does all this sadness come from? Every time I’ve held you it creeps in. This sadness. Nature had given the heart shape a vein crystal from the top of one side of the heart, trailing down to the bottom of the heart as though the heart had been broken. As she gently stroked the surface of the stone she could feel the pink rock’s influence on her spirit. It seemed to guide her through a spiritual journey and even though it carried the sadness of a broken heart it still brought hope as she struggled to face the challenges in her life. It was a secret shared only between the two of them, Teya and her twin. Teya and Jamie had discovered the necklace in their grandfather’s trunk when they were little girls. But, the trunk had been forbidden to them, making it all the more mysterious. When no one was around, they spent many childhood hours curiously searching through the trunk for the hidden treasures it held. Of all the things in the trunk, the necklace was their favorite. Grandfather was dying now and the two young girls were now grown. Only Teya has stayed behind. I can’t let this secret die with him, I need to know, she thought as she sat beside him, holding his leathery, dark, tanned hands. So many of the stories of our people had died with the ancestors. I can’t let this secret die. Suddenly she felt her cell phone buzz, her sister’s text…