I never told Mama or Papa what happened that night, for the sole reason that Tiffany begged me not to. That was the way I learned of Tiffany’s unusual ability. I can’t say it wasn’t memorable. This explained why she never cried or screamed or seemed to feel pain when she was hurt. I learned later that this wasn’t her first time attempting to end her life. But I was determined to make sure it would be the last. I kept Tiffany by my side every minute of every day after that. Then one day, she came up to me and said as sweetly and kindly as possible that if I didn’t give her more privacy, she was going to lose her mind. But I would still keep her very close. She was a delicate little baby who needed to be protected no matter what. However, as time went on, I found myself asking her to let me know when and if I was overdoing it. I almost always did.

  I remember most clearly the time I burned one of the books she was reading because I deemed it too depressing for her. Another time I flung a cat down the hill because it was hissing at Tiffany. I also gave a kid from school a black eye because I heard him say that Tiffany was pretty. So yes, I overdid it. I’m sure I drove Tiffany up the wall many times. But I think she also found my protectiveness endearing and comforting. Maybe I flatter myself, but what Tiffany needed during this time was evidence that she was loved. I gave her that, but in the way I had taught myself. I protected her by flinging myself at any person, place, or thing that showed any sign of hurting my little Tiffany.

  According to her, I did slowly but surely mellow out as I got older. I’m not sure I really did, but she swears I’m much more mature than I used to be. I guess I have changed a little bit. But I haven’t changed half as much as Tiffany. It was wonderful to see her grow and change. It was amazing to see her learn to laugh and to smile. It was wonderful to see her find places and things that she loved. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice the things that held her back as well.

  “Why don’t you want to go? You worked so hard to get this far. But you don’t seem to want to move forward anymore. I thought this would be like a dream come true for you, Tiffany,” I said. We were sitting in a pool of sunlight under our tree, watching the leaves toss in the wind. She let out a long, slow sigh and leaned back.

  “No. It’s nice, knowing that I could get into these fancy schools if I wanted to. But my home is here. I should stay, in case something happens to you or the folks.”

  “Like what?” She shrugged.

  “I don’t know. Like…well, you know, what’s been happening with people in Pines City.” That was a good point. The stories about what had been happening up there were very shocking. But the fumes couldn’t hurt Tiffany, and they had a nice university. Why did she do this? Why couldn't she just relax and enjoy the sunlight?

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  “You worry too much.”

  “You’re right, I probably do. I guess that’s not a smart thing to wonder about. The air is much cleaner out here. But that’s just one more reason to stay.”

  “You’re so lucky, Tiffany! I’d give anything to have grades half as good as yours,” I said, silently thanking my lucky stars she wouldn’t be moving away. Tiffany laughed her light, airy laugh.

  “You’ll do just fine in college. You know, you don’t have too much longer to wait. Where are you planning on going?” I grinned and sat up.

  “That’s a surprise. You’ll just have to wait and see.” She rolled her eyes. In truth, I was just going to do whatever Tiffany decided to do.

  “If you say so.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to look at any of these schools again?”

  “No. I must stay here. Tyla…” Oh no, I knew that tone.

  “Yes?”

  “I know it’s bad for me to think like this… but I keep on imagining leaving for school and coming back to find the house has burned down, or something.”

  “You really do worry too much.”

  “What if I don’t? If something like that happened, where would I be? I’d be alone, totally, utterly alone.” Her hands were shaking now. “Tyla! When the world ends, do you think I’ll go on living, on my own? All alone? With nothing but my own thoughts and a dead world?” I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

  “You can’t think like that!”

  “I know, I’m sorry.”

  “Take a deep breath.” She did so. “For all we know, there are other people like you out there in the world. I mean it. It would be kind of strange for you to really be the only one.”

  “I’ve thought about that before,” Tiffany whispered. I smiled. “Sometimes I find myself dreaming about going out into the world and finding those people.”

  “Do you want to do that?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “I can’t leave this place.”

  “But you want to?” Tiffany nodded very slowly.

  “I guess so. But it doesn’t really matter,” she said. Tiffany’s voice sounded sad and distant now. Only a moment ago, when talking about seeing the world, her voice had been filled with joy.

  “You should do what you want then.” She didn’t answer. She just looked away and fixed her eyes on the horizon as a look that I could only describe as yearning crossed her face. The will to fight had left me. It was useless. There was a chance I'd just end up making her feel worse. It wasn't worth the risk. That was the last thing she needed right now.

  “Have you ever thought about telling Mama and Papa about your thing?” I asked.

  “Thing?”

  “The you’re not dying, thing.” Tiffany shook her head.

  “No. They don’t need to know. No one needs to know. I wish you didn’t know, Tyla.” No, don’t say that. Can’t she trust me? “I’d have to tell them about that night after Connie’s death. I don’t want to hurt them. Besides, that was years and years ago. It’s in the past. Let’s talk about something else, please?”

  “Alright.” We spent the rest of that day chatting about the clouds in the sky, happy memories, and college before heading down to visit little Connie’s grave. It was only much later that evening that my thoughts circled back to our plans for the future.