Clod

Billie rolls up in her chair as quietly as she can, careful to avoid a clod of mud/shit and a beer can pyramid. She finds a vantage point and wedges her torso between the blossom-heavy branches of a red rhododendron. She imagines herself a stealthy forest sprite in search of a lost hiker to terrorize. This is when Billie sees Lyla in conversation. Lyla stands in the park, in front of the fountain, and talks and laughs to the air. Or the stone statue that takes up residence at the center of the sputtering water feature. Or her imaginary playmate to whom Lyla never bid farewell when she should have. None of the options Billie pieces together after she watches her friend for several minutes sit well in her belly. She pulls out her phone and hits video. Billie feels it's important to record what's going on, for her own sanity, if not to confront Lyla with the evidence.