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1986
Maiden Leap
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“COMFORTABLE?” LUCY ASKED.
She had spread out a plaid blanket atop the grassy clearing and they lay next to each other under a full dome of stars that seemed close enough to grab.
“Relatively speaking,” Katie said, cuddling up next to her. “I can’t believe we really did it.”
After a few boastful letters of daring each other, the two had synchronized watches, snuck out of their homes, and rendezvoused at the lift bridge. From upriver, Maiden Leap jutted over the St. Croix like the bow of a haunted ocean freighter. In those days, the bluffs were less developed and the only home nearby was the Gainsborough estate, set back at the edge of the woods. As they hiked up the dark road, Katie had battled the urge to run back down.
“Are you scaaared?” Lucy asked with a giggle.
Tonight she wore a brass ear cuff on her right ear, replete with dangling feathers. She smelled of the citrusy cologne Katie had given her for Valentine’s Day. Underneath that, burnt vegetable oil and possibly ketchup, because Lucy said tater tot hot dish had been on the Van Buren supper menu.
Katie looked around. “Not anymore.”
Besides the night sky, Maiden Leap also provided a twinkling view of the new Riverton subdivision to the East, the onyx St. Croix winding around bends to the north and south and the ominous glow of the Twin Cities far out in the west. Below the bluff, Wicasa Falls flowed from a hidden spring in the cliff face. It created just enough condensation for steam to rise on a cool night.
“They do say the Gainsborough mansion is haunted by the ghost of Maiden Leap,” Lucy said, her teeth shining in the dark.
“Nice try,” Katie scoffed. “And which one?”
There were plenty of tales about the Leap, from legends to news reports.
“Wicasa, of course.”
“Oh, well, she’s probably just lonely.”
“Maybe she’s happy.” Lucy rolled up on her side and pressed a palm to Katie’s.
They shared a pulse, the tiny hammering at their fingertips, “two energies desperate to interact,” she’d said. Lucy was always talking up the paranormal to kids; more than Katie would have preferred. She wanted Lucy all to herself. As the first of four children, Katie longed for an older, wiser sister. Lucy filled the role—and then some.
“Go ahead. Tell me the story.” Katie had heard it many times but she knew this version would be totally better than her dad’s.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” Lucy said, her voice quiet and conspiring. “So this Lakota boy named Chelee and his Ojibwe girlfriend, Wicasa, used to come here to make out. You know, ’cause their tribes were at war and they needed some privacy.”
“Did they make out like paleface?” Katie giggled.
“I dunno. Maybe they rubbed noses. Lemme tell this.”
“Well, I need to be able to picture it.”
“Okay, here.” Lucy clasped Katie’s jaw and kissed her softly.
Yep, ketchup.
“Wow,” Katie said. “Now, see, I totally get their attraction.”
“Yeah, they were hot for each other. So anyway, Wicasa’s father planned to marry her off to some bozo cousin. Which was totally gross, I know, but this cousin was half Lakota, half Ojibwe, good politics.”
“Gosh, that is so typical.”
“I know. But listen . . .” Lucy flicked an eyebrow. “During their next meeting, Chelee said to Wicasa, you must meet me here tomorrow on the Great Mother’s breast and then we will fly off to Father Sky together. Forever. No, you will never see your family again, but you will never feel heartache again either. After many kisses, Wicasa said yes to Chelee. She told the wind spirits she had no choice but to follow the will of her soul. The next day, knowing it to be her last, Wicasa climbed this very bluff and waited for her boyfriend. But. Her cousin, who was totally obsessed with Wicasa, had followed her here too. When he saw Chelee reveal himself from those trees over there, he plucked an arrow.” Lucy rose to her knees, pulled an invisible arrow from a quiver behind her back, gracefully drew back the bow, and pointed it at the cliff. Her silhouette blacked out the stars.
Katie sucked in a breath.
Lucy held the stance, her arm shuddering under the pressure of the phantom bowstring, and said into her shoulder, “Blinded by jealousy, the cousin pointed his arrow at Wicasa and said ‘Run to her thief, run. If you can catch my arrow, you may take my bride. Otherwise she’s dead to both of us.’
“Wicasa just nodded all calm-like to Chelee and spread her arms, prepared to take flight from the cliff. Chelee sprinted forward before the arrow was set loose, but he could never be fast enough.” Lucy’ splayed her fingers. “The cousin shot Wicasa through the heart. As the cousin cried out in shock at what he had done, Chelee reached the girl. He grabbed her in his arms and the two fell into the soul of the Great Mother together. Just—beyond—there.” She eased back down onto the blanket. “And, sometimes, in that steam, you can see their souls entwined.”
The clearing went silent save for the simmer of insects.
Though Katie lay prone, knowing the craggy edge was only ten feet away inspired dizziness, as if the Leap were rotating beneath her. She sat up and the feeling subsided.
Katie rose to her feet and crept toward the edge of the lookout point, to the short fence that only seemed capable of hampering toddlers. Stubborn tufts of brush grew upward from the cliff face and made the drop seem less abrupt. But that outgrowth would hardly break a fall. Could that be how the 1950s suicide had happened? A misjudgment?
Cars, toy-sized from here, sped along Main Street and out into the night.
Lucy rose from the blanket. “Actually, the Ojibwe say the whole thing was made up by some white councilman in the twenties to pull in tourists. They’re trying to get people to change the name. Guess most river bluff towns have a suicidal Indian story. Pretty cheesy.”
“Well, maybe so, but I like the way you tell it, Luce.” Katie no longer felt dizzy, but still tingly. Maybe there was magic in the rising steams of Wicasa Falls. Happy ghosts.
Lucy chuckled softly behind her. “You know, I used to think Lake Superior fed the St. Croix. But I guess the river just starts up on some smaller lake.”
“St. Croix Lake.”
“Yeah, duh, right?” Lucy pocketed hands. “Anyway, I used to come up here and imagine my brother’s spirit running downstream. Yunno, from where his ship wrecked? Like eventually the same water molecules would drift through here.” She stared at the lift bridge, which was on the rise for a police boat. “Dumb, eh?”
“Must have been really awful to lose Daniel like that.”
“I was pretty young, barely remember what he looked like. And Mom and Dad sure don’t talk about it. It’s against the law or something. Doesn’t matter. Hell, all they do is sit and drink and smoke and watch PBS, who wants to talk to that? As if watching Masterpiece The-a-tah and drinking scotch is better than watching Knots Landing and drinking Schlitz.” Lucy looked up to the stars. “I can’t wait to leave this stupid place.”
“Yeah, me too,” Katie said quietly.
Lucy peered out over the edge. “My dad knew that last guy who jumped. Called him the n-word.”
“I didn’t know any black people lived here back then.”
“Yeah, can you imagine how hard it must have been to grow up here in the fifties? At least kids like us can blend in.”
At first, Katie didn’t know what Lucy meant. Like us. When she realized, it turned her stomach just a bit. She shook it off. “Well, I don’t see you blending into anything.”
“True.” Lucy chuckled. “Mark and I are starting a band, and if we pull it off, I’m outta here.”
“Hmm.” Katie frowned. She pressed her thighs against the railing, testing its strength. She teased herself with the idea of a somersault over the edge. “If I leaned over—if I slipped—do you think you could you pull me back up?”
“I would never let you go. Seriously, be careful, Katie. The Leap is magnetic. It’s got an iron core, yunno. Attracts the iron in our blood. But if you go too close to the cliff, that’s where the poles are reversed and it’ll repel you—bam—right off the edge.”
Katie knew this was utter bull, yet just convincing enough to suspend disbelief. After all, the Leap did seem to dare someone to jump every other generation.
Lucy hooked a finger through one of Katie’s belt loops and gently pulled her close, breasts pressing Katie’s back. “If you were too heavy for me, guess we’d both go down,” she said softly into Katie’s ear. “And I’m not okay with that.”
Katie’s heart thrummed. No better time than now to give Luce the surprise for once. She turned in Lucy’s arms and plunged her tongue into her mouth. Lucy squeaked a bit, pulled away for a moment then returned the kiss. They found a rhythm, got lost in it, and pressed tight. For the first time, Katie had lowered defenses long enough to feel something stirring deep down and within.
“You’re a very good kisser,” Lucy whispered.
“Thanks. You too.”
“You have to say that ’cause I said it.”
“No I don’t. You are so much better than Gary. He slobbers all over me.”
“Yeah, why do they do that? It’s like rubbing a sliced kiwi all over your face.”
“It’s foreplay. A promise. It’s like ‘I’m gonna do that to you—down there.’ Of course, they never get around to that. They do anything to get you all hot, except that.”
“Whoa.” Lucy leaned back. “How do you know all this?”
“I—overheard Anita Funk in the locker room.”
“Ah, a woman of the world.”
“She’s cool.”
Lucy shrugged. “She’s all right.”
“Not my type actually.” Katie bit her lip and wrinkled her nose.
Lucy made a little purring growl at the back of her throat. Her smile shown bright in the starlight, then it faded. “Wish I’d never suggested you date Gary. I can’t stand to think of it.”
“Aw, Luce.” Katie hugged her, and they stood like that for a while. “I don’t want you to leave town.”
“Don’t worry.” Lucy kissed her neck, her tongue darting behind Katie’s ear. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Katie let out a small huff, anticipating a night filled with more surprises. The hard denim flap of Lucy’s button-fly teased at her groin. Her ears rumbled with the sound of Lucy’s warm breath but something else as well, something mechanical.
She sensed bright light beyond her closed eyelids.
“Katie!” her mom screeched with the slamming of car doors. “Oh my God! Bradford!”
Katie pushed out of Lucy’s arms a bit more furiously than she’d meant to and backed away.
“What are you girls doing?” her father said with a boom.
“Katherine Louise Andern, you get in this car—right now! You are supposed to be in bed.”
The ground seemed to vibrate then, the Leap drawing Katie toward its edge. If she jumped, there would be no arguments, no punishments, no merciless shaming. If she jumped, would Lucy run to join her? She looked to Lucy who stared back with dark eyes and also began to back toward the edge.
If they jumped, would it be over quick? Would they stay connected until the end?
Her parents slowed their approach.
“Katie,” her father yelped, hand outstretched.
Something desperate in his voice shook her loose and she obeyed its greater power. Still, she skirted his grasp and sulked toward the car. The dewy grass had soaked her Converse All-Stars halfway up the ankle and the rubber was slick as a seal. She tripped on a mole hole, slid down the gulley toward the road, and landed on her butt in the rocks.
From the VW Beetle’s side window, she watched panting as her parents stomped up to Lucy and hovered nearly as close as Katie had been just moments before.
She pressed her fingertips to the window and her pulse pounded at the glass.
Her father thrust a piece of paper before Lucy’s face. Katie realized it was one of their letters—they’d grown careless, talking about Maiden Leap as if they owned it.
Evidence, her mother cried out.
Lucy nodded intently, staring at the ground.
Her mom thrust a finger at Katie sitting huddled in the car and a wave of embarrassment rose up from Katie’s stomach.
Lucy shook her head.
Then they left Lucy there in the red dark of the taillights, hand raised, fingertips reaching.