The weight on my chest had eased when I walked out of the forest, my bag heavier than it had been before and my pants smudged with dirt from kneeling on the ground. It felt like I’d been under the welcoming branches of the trees for hours, keeping track of time always feeling unimportant when I was absorbed in the forest. It was a bad habit, a quick glance at my phone showed it had been almost an hour- and that I was running late, due to help out at my mom’s shop in the afternoon. Cursing under my breath, I shoved my hands in my pockets and put my head down, hoping I wouldn’t run into any more trouble on my way to fetch my bike from the rack in the campus courtyard.

Thankfully with classes in session, there were few people braving the cold air for a break. Digging my headphones out of the mess of my bag, I turned my bike toward the familiar roads to my mom’s store. It was pleasantly normal after my chaotic morning, and my mood lifted as I crossed the boundary from campus grounds into the small town which surrounded it. I could lift my head then, despite the morning’s headlines, because the college’s rumor mill didn’t often reach the locals- and when it did, my mom made her own opinions known so loudly it didn’t matter.

The sight of the familiar red door, the only polished paint on the street, brought a real smile to my face. I chained my bike to the bar my mom had installed on the weathered exterior wall, pulling the band out of my hair to work my wind mussed hair back into order before I pulled open the door to the shop. Bells chimed to signal my entrance, the sound as warm as the light lavender scent from the incense which burned at the front counter.

“Merry meet!” My mom looked away from her work with the usual cheerful greeting. Her hair was dark and thick like mine, tied back messily with loose curls brushing across her forehead; there were smudges of dirt and ground herbs on her face and apron, and her glasses perched precariously low on her nose. Her eyes lit up when she realized it was me, and she turned away from the grinding wheel to cup my face in herb stained hands. “You’re late! I thought you got lost.”

I grinned at her teasing words, finding it easier to forget the morning’s troubles when I laughed at her. “Never. I took a walk, and I brought you something.”

“Oh, how thoughtful!” She stepped back, grasping the bottom corners of her apron and holding them up to make a sort of makeshift basket. I’d been going on ‘walks’ since I was little, and my explorations always turned up something useful. 

I happily emptied my forages from the forest for her. “I found a whole patch of yarrow on my way back, and I remembered we were running low. I can get more if you need it.”

“You’re such a good boy.” She patted my arm, realizing her mistake quickly when sprigs of yarrow tumbled from her sagging apron. 

I laughed, picking them up to throw them back in the pile. “I’ll watch the front if you want to get them stored. Were you grinding medicine?”

She nodded, explaining where she’d been in the sore stomach cure she’d been making for one of the regulars. I took over the grinding for her; it was much easier for me, my wrists not giving way after years of hard work, and I was pouring the herbal mix into a small paper envelope marked with the customer’s name when the bells chimed again. 

My greeting died before it could pass my lips, my heart dropping. I couldn’t remember seeing police in my mom’s store before- at least not in uniform. We knew several of them, but I had a sick feeling this wasn’t another social call. I swallowed hard, putting the envelope down on the counter gingerly. Doing my best to look small and harmless, I smiled at the officer.

“Merry meet. Can I help you with anything, or are you here to browse?” I asked, hoping my suspicions were wrong, and the officer was just stopping by on a break. 

I recognized the policeman as he removed his hat, his face looking apologetic and displeased.

My breath pulled in sharply; this wasn’t a social call after all. "Oh… hello Mr. Stewart."

"Hi there, Lyn. I'm sorry to have to call on you like this," he said, sighing. "I'm sure you know why I'm here. And I don't want to do this Lyn, but I have to bring you in for questioning of Collin Harley's disappearance." 

I took a step back, knowing my disbelief was clear as I stared at him. “Because of the news article? Or did you get another complaint that I looked at somebody and they got the sniffles?” I shook my head. “You know I have nothing to do with this, don’t you?”

He brushed a hand through his light brown hair, looking uncomfortable. "Listen Lyn, I'm just doing my job. The fact is that a student is missing and you were there last night…" he took a step forward, lowering his voice, "Look. You're not being arrested, I have no reason to believe you had anything to do with this, okay? We just need to ask you some questions to rule out anything." 

My voice was stuck behind the lump in my throat, disbelief curdling with anger. I couldn’t blame Officer Stewart; of all the officers who I had dealt with, he was the most pleasant, and he was always on my side. He probably thought their complaints were as ridiculous as I did. But there was a difference between laughing over a complaint of a nonexistent hex doll, and being dragged to the station over a student’s disappearance.

“Lyn?” My mother’s voice cutting the tense silence made me jump; I hadn’t noticed her coming out of the storage room. She put her hand on my shoulder as she came to my side, her grip tight. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked at Officer Stewart, reading the tension in the room. “Is there a problem here, officer?” 

He cleared his throat, sighing as he said, "No ma'am, we just need to bring Lyn to the station to ask him a few questions."

The shop door opened as a second officer entered, who had been watching from outside the small store. He gave me a look, silently questioning why Officer Stewart was taking so long. His impatience made my mom step forward, frowning at him. “For what, exactly? My son has put up with enough of your questions-”

“Mom,” I spoke softly, pulling her back. “It’s okay. I can handle this myself; I don’t want any trouble. I’ll be back in time to help lock up the shop.”

She turned her glare on me, and I knew she was burning to tear into the officers. She’d helped me through the beginning of what she considered harassment; most of the time she was far less patient than I was. “Lyn-”

I shook my head before she could start. “Please don’t make it worse. I haven’t done anything wrong, no matter what people are saying about me. They don’t have any reason to keep me there, and I don’t want to give them one.”

That seemed to settle my mother, though the heat had only built in the glare she gave the officers. She muttered a few nasty words under her breath before she waved toward the door. I gave her a relieved smile before turning to the waiting officers, trying not to meet the gaze of the impatient one I didn’t recognize. “Lead the way. I’ll answer any questions you have for me.”

Officer Stweart held the store door open for me, smiling slightly with a look of gratitude. "I am sorry Lyn. We'll make this as quick as possible."