Memorable B-Sides: Marissa Gaeta’s “The Sandbox
The Memorable B-Sides series spotlights writing and art submitted to us that weren’t selected for print, but that are fantastic in their own right. Each introduction tells you why we returned to the piece. As a disclaimer — we aren’t experts, only fans offering possible interpretations.
Are you a fan of mysteries? Do you find yourself intrigued by things that can’t be explained by mere science? Then Marissa Gaeta’s “The Sandbox” might just be the right fit for you. This fascinating short story, told through distinct, quirky dialogue, exudes an undeniable air of suspense. Because after all, not everything is as it seems… so dig a little deeper and give it a read!
“The Sandbox”
I guess you could say it started off like any other summer. The kids got out of school the second week of June or somethin’, if I remember correctly. And ya know how kids are when they get out of what they call a “prison”, all rowdy and excited ‘bout being free. Kinda reminds me of getting out myself when I was their age. Having so many plans for the summer, gettin’ as many of the neighborhood kids as we could to go on as many adventures as possible. Feeling like the summer was so long and then gettin’ so upset when it shot by so fast. Ha. Those are supposed to be the times a kid enjoys the most, ya know?… They were looking forward like we used to when we were their age… it’s a shame it got taken from them…
… Anyways, the kids must have been out ‘bout a week or so before Damion Miffin went missin’. Ya know, the kid on the corner of Oak. ‘parently he had been walking back home after playing with some of the other neighbor boys on the school’s baseball field. Couple of the other boys were with him, but he lived over the hill while the others didn’t… Two blocks… The boy only had to walk home by himself for two blocks… Wasn’t even that late, a little before six or so. Had to be home before dinner, I’m thinkin’…
By sunrise the next mornin’ the whole town was buzzin’ about the news. Rumors soon after, people pointin’ fingers, accusin’ everyone and their mother. Most of the rumors though surrounded the boy’s father. Man was the silent stoic type, ya know? Didn’t say or show emotion much. After his son went missin’, that didn’t change. If anythin’, he got more silent and stoic which rubbed people the wrong way. Unnerved them I guess, but I knew that was just how he was. I mean, the guy’s kid just went missin’ and people are accusin’ him just because he wasn’t cryin’ or somethin’? I get it to an extent, but I mean come on. It’s not like people didn’t know how he was. His wife on the other hand was the complete opposite. It wrecked her completely. Started feelin’ guilty, thinkin’ she was a bad mother for lettin’ her son walk home by himself. People in the town even accused her of bein’ a bad mother for allowin’ her son to do that. Hypocritical jackasses! They were doin’ the same damn thin’! It’s pathetic if you ask me. People insultin’ the both of them like that when their only child went missin’… all just damn pathetic… Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose my temper there…
As I was saying… The town had barely processed what happened to Damian before Chad Patel went missin’ two days later. Got taken right out of his backyard while playin’ on the jungle gym set his parents just gotten him for his tenth birthday. A day later Sophie Gray was taken off the playground in the mid-mornin’. Followed by Heather Espada at the mall, Drake and Melody Mamoa at the edge of the woods behind their house. The Craibel triplets, Brandon Lee and little Tia Brown were all taken from the park… It only took a little under a month for eleven kids to disappear… They were innocent… Didn’t do a damned thin’…
Mass hysteria shot through the whole town as more and more kids started disappearin’. Every parent scared that their kid was next. Caused all the schools to close and the parents feelin’ the need to take their kids to work with them. Can’t really blame them, ya know? I mean I probably would act the same way if I had a kid. The parents wouldn’t let them go outside to play or even in the yard without their parents keepin’ a close eye on them. Everyone was suspicious of everyone, but it was also hard since this is a small town. Everyone has known everyone for at least five years, ya know? It’s hard to be suspicious of people you’ve known for so long… people started to think that it was a stranger to the town. Maybe travelin’ through and stayin’ at one of the hotels or from a town or two over.
Me personally?… Well, I think it had to be someone here… Someone the kids knew and trusted… I mean, there was never signs of a struggle or anythin’. But maybe it was a stranger. Kids don’t know any better. They think they can trust everyone. It’s that innocence of theirs. Don’t know about the darkness that develops in people over time… But honestly, the whole thing was just so damn strange.
Eventually, a search party was formed to comb through the forest around the town. The first night we spent several hours walkin’ through 5 miles of the dense woods. 10 miles the second and 15 miles the third. I was part of the search party until then. I didn’t join the fourth or fifth one. Why? Well… this might sound weird, but I just knew that they weren’t in the forest. I can’t really describe it. It was just an overwhelmin’ feelin’ and that feelin’ was tellin’ me they weren’t in the woods. I didn’t give up looking though, but I spent more time walkin’ around the park where they use to play.
About the fourth night I was walkin’ around the park and saw this little girl. It must have been around 1 or so, so seein’ some little girl out late was a little jarrin’, if I’m bein’ honest. At first, I wasn’t sure what she was doin’, but as I moved closer to her I realized she was diggin’ in the sandbox. Now the sandbox is slightly behind the huge jungle gym they built a few years back, so she was in a pretty hidden spot if someone was drivin’ by or walkin’ on the side walk… why was I there? Well, the only reason I saw her was because I was checkin’ the jungle gym to see if I could find anythin’ from when Tia was kidnapped.
Anyways, she was diggin’ and the first thought that occurred to me was where her parents were. I mean, who would let their little girl be playin’ in the sandbox by themselves when there were children bein’ kidnapped left and right. Most people are in bed sleepin’ or maybe watchin’ TV at 1 in the morning. As I got closer to her, I was scanning the area and couldn’t see any adults or much of anything really. Even through it was a full moon, clouds covered most of it, only allowin’ it to shine a dull gray light makin’ it hard to see much of anythin’ in the dark light. Somethin’ right out of a horror movie if you ask me.
Then a thought occurred to me that maybe this was a trap that some parent set up to catch the kidnapper or somethin’. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past any of the adults doin’ somethin’ like that. I mean, you have to remember, people were startin’ to get desperate with tryin’ to figure out who was takin’ all the children. Settin’ up a trap would be a natural thought in a situation like that, right? At least that’s what I thought.
So about four yards away from her, I paused and scanned the area again, but still saw no one. She was facin’ away from me, crouchin’ over diggin’. Little piles of sand were flying to the left of her in a rather large pile. Maybe around two or so feet high, one foot wide. I thought it was odd how I didn’t notice that before, but I pushed it out of my mind and focused on the girl again. I didn’t want to scare her, but I had to find out what she was doin’ out her so late. A bench separated us, puttin’ five or so feet between. I leaned against it as I, as delicately as I could, asked her why she was diggin’.
When she heard my voice she completely froze and turned her head to look behind her. Her ice blue eyes looked at me and held me in their gaze. They shined like gems as the clouds moved allowin’ a sliver of moonlight to wash over her in an ether glow. I would be lyin’ if I didn’t say it creeped me the hell out. I mean, the creep factor was turned up to an 11 with seein’ her long black hair frame those cold sapphires. Gave ya a sort of an ominous feelin’, ya know?
But it was her eyes that got me. The surface of a pre-winter’s pond. Smooth and untouched by the world around it, but holdin’ a surreal air about it that even Robert Frost couldn’t quite describe. The deeper you looked the harder it was to hold her gaze. I felt the air constrict around me, sweat roll down my neck as the hairs there rose. All I could see was myself, distorting the longer I looked. Couldn’t hold her gaze… I had to look away…
Sorry… I um… I stifled the creeped out feelin’ I got from this little girl, and asked her again why she was diggin’. She tilted her head slightly and her mouth pressed into a hard, thin line before she replied that she was diggin’ to get to the other children as if that was the obvious answer. I didn’t respond right away as I processed what she was sayin’, but ’parently I took too long for her and she got back to work again. I moved around the bench towards her. Crouched down beside her to look into the hole, but could barely see the sand that made up the bottom of it. As I leaned forward more, she made a gruntin’ noise. I looked towards her and got caught by her gaze, now rueful gems. And I’ll tell ya I’ll never forget what she said. Damnest thin’ hearin’ it come out of a little thin’ like her.
She said, “If you aren’t going to help me dig than go the hell away.”
I was so shocked that I didn’t say a word as she waited for me to move. Not really knowin’ what else to do, I walked away from her and sat down on the bench. She seemed content with that and got back to work. I realize that I probably should have gone and gotten the cops or called them, but I just couldn’t brin’ myself to do it. No offense, but I don’t really trust you guys. Eleven kids went missin’ and you guys were pretty much sittin’ with your thumbs up each other’s asses. I mean, I know I’m only a librarian and don’t have the trainin’ you guys do, but come on. You guys could have done more and know it.
Anyways, I sat and watched her dig to make sure that no one tried to kidnap her. As the hours ticked by, I started to get more and more tired, but I couldn’t brin’ myself to leave her on her own. I felt like I couldn’t. I had to wait till she was done diggin’. Couldn’t stop her, couldn’t distract her, only make sure she completed what she was doin’. Can’t really explain why to be honest. It was just somethin’ I had to do, ya know?
About three hours of her diggin’ she called me over. Cautious to at first, I gave her a hesitant look, but her voice compelled me go to her. I stood up and walked over to her before she told me to stick my hand down in the hole and help pull them out. Now I realize that it probably wasn’t the smartest idea with the whole “bein’ creeped out by her”, but my body moved on its own by her command. I reached down into the dark hole until my face barely touched the edge of it.
Now if I wasn’t there I would hardly believe it myself, so I don’t blame ya if ya don’t, but I felt a small hand grip mine. Scared the hell out of me at first, but I controlled myself enough to pull whoever it was up out of the hole. Can you guess who it was?… Give ya a hint. He lived on the corner of Oak. Yeah, surprised the hell out of me too. No sooner had I gotten him out, the little girl was pushin’ my hand back down to get another of the missin’ kids. One after another I pulled out Chad, Sophie, Heather, Drake, Melody, the Craibel triplets, Brandon and lastly little Tia. I stared at them for a good minute in shock as they smiled up at me.
They looked a bit rough from bein’ under the sand, but otherwise looked fine. I asked them how they were feelin’, but none said a word. They all just continued to smile at me. It was a little weird, but I didn’t get the same creepy feelin’ I had gotten from the little girl earlier. Honestly, I was just so happy to see them smillin’ up at me. My whole chest filled with a feeling of warm apple cider on a winter’s day… I had saved them, ya know? Couldn’t help but feel a little joy at that.
Then, I felt the little girl touch my arm and tell me they were going to be okay. They just weren’t able to speak after what they’d been through… before I could finish tellin’ them I would take them home to see their families again, the little girl interrupted me. Said she’d guide them to where they needed to be. Before I could protest, her commandin’ voice told me something about how I had to stop acting like I knew what I was doin’ and just listen to her. Sassy little thin’ she was, but I agreed. Somehow, I just knew that what she said was true. That they’d be safe with her.
The little girl begrudgingly thanked me for helpin’ her before I watched her body start to curl in on its self, surrounded by her long black hair. Suddenly there was an explosion of feathers and I had to cover my eyes from the force. When I opened them, I saw nothin’, but black. Thought I had gone blind or somethin’ for a second before I looked up and saw a giant black crow starin’ down at me. Crazy as it sounds, I knew it was the little girl immediately from those two sapphire pools above that long sharp beak.
She lowered her wing and allowed the missin’ children to climb on her back. I had to help little Tia up onto her back. The children all sat in a row, smilin’ down from the her back. All of them smiled as she took off into the sky, causin’ sand to kick up. But it didn’t bother me much. I watched as she flew the children towards the full moon. Not a cloud in sight as the silver shine of the moon guided them through the dark sky. Almost like that light those people that nearly die talk about… After what those children went through, they deserved to go where they would be happy and at peace… Just wish they could have stayed a little longer, ya know?