Southern Lights

“Hi” was all she said. She had a serious expression, and the nightgown had bows and teddy bears all over it. She looked like a little doll. “I know who you are,” she said solemnly.

“Hello,” Sava

“I didn’t know about you till today. My mom told me. She said my dad was married to your mom a long time ago, for a few months, or something like that, when you were born.”

“More like seven years,” Sava

“My mom tells lies,” Daisy said simply. It was a tough thing for a ten-year-old to say about her own mother, but it was true. “She does it a lot. She never told me about you. She said Daddy was embarrassed to tell me about you, so he never did. And you’re here now because your mother is in trouble with the law.” It was exactly what Luisa had said, and Sava

“No.” Sava

“Is prosecutor a bad word?” Daisy looked worried, and Sava

“No, it means lawyer. She’s an assistant district attorney. She puts criminals in jail. She’s going to be the lawyer in a trial, and put a very bad man in prison, who did a lot of nasty stuff.” She knew enough not to frighten Daisy by telling her he had probably killed seventeen women and maybe more. “Probably one of his friends wrote me some creepy letters, so my mom wanted me to go away until after the trial so he wouldn’t write to me anymore, so here I am.”

“Does he know you’re here?” Daisy looked worried, and Sava

“No, and he won’t find out. That’s why our dad brought me here, so no one knows where I am.”

“Does your mom know you’re here?” Daisy was interested in everything she said and took it all in. She believed her. She knew better than to believe her mother, as sad as that was. She had lied to her before, about people she didn’t like, or to make herself look good. She had fired a na

“My mom and our dad agreed that I should come here.”

“I don’t think my mom is too happy about it,” Daisy warned her with huge eyes, and Sava

“I think you’re right.”

“I heard her yell at my dad. She does that a lot. They fight,” she a

“Do you want to listen to my music while I unpack?” Sava

Daisy was still sitting on the bed and took the iPod off so she could talk to Sava

“I like shopping too,” Sava

“I thought judges were men.” Daisy looked puzzled.

“Nope,” Sava

“She must be smart.” Daisy looked impressed.

“She is, and nice. I love her a lot.”

“My grandma is the president general of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.” It was a mouthful for a ten-year-old, but she whipped through it, never realizing that she was Sava

“Me too.”

“That’s odd.” Daisy looked surprised.

“Same brothers, because we have the same dad,” Sava

“That is soooo weird,” she said, smiling. “I always wanted a sister.”

“Me too.”

“Did you know about me?” Daisy asked, as she lay back against the pillows and looked at Sava

“Yes, I did,” Sava

“I better not. Mama might hear me and not let me come back.” She was smart, and right. “I can sleep with yours.”

Sava

“Are you scared to be here?” Daisy asked her in a whisper after a few minutes. They were both lying on their backs in the dark, looking up at the blue silk canopy on the bed. The question made Sava

“A little,” she answered in a whisper. “That’s why I asked you to sleep with me tonight.” In answer, Daisy slipped her small hand into Sava

“You’ll be okay,” she reassured her. “Daddy won’t let anything happen to you, and the bad man won’t write to you anymore, and then your mama will put him in jail. And we have each other now,” she said with the sweetness and i

“Thank you,” she said softly, and leaned over to kiss Daisy on the cheek. It was soft and felt like a baby’s skin to her. Daisy smiled and closed her eyes, and kept her hand in Sava

It was after midnight when their father knocked gently on the door. When there was no answer, he opened it a crack to peek in. He saw that Sava