Molly Garrett had a brain tumor, and nobody knew about it. That's why she died. She was running after Tandar in the fall when they were eight, chasing him into the woods by Joshua's backyard when she tripped, but she hadn't tripped, she just staggered and she held her head with both arms and fell down, whimpering. Then Joshua was there and hands were all around her but all she could see was the pain, and by the time she started to understand what was happening the pain had mostly gone away.
Then Tandar was running even faster, back to Joshua's house, yelling help the whole time, and Joshua squatted by Molly Garrett with his face white and his hands wound together. She lay stiff and trembling, and the longer Joshua was alone with her, the more scared he got, but he stayed there.
When Tandar got to the house Joshua's dad was just opening the back door, and he stepped down out of the house to listen, not really worried yet.
"Tander, something wrong?"
C'monsomethinghappenedMollyinwoods Tandar said and was running again, sideways, hardly waiting for Joshua's dad to heave after him, rolling and bouncing, blowing hard. They kicked dry leaves all the way across the yard. Mayor, the big white dog next door, tried barking at first, but after that he just watched. Crows wheeled around above them, and sat in the bare branches, clacked their beaks, watched the big man haul Molly Garrett up in front of him and carry her, still convulsing, back toward the house. It was almost getting dark already, and some of the cars moving on the streets had their lights on. The stream across the golf course was dark and cold. A slow train pushed across the railroad bridge high over the Delaware, over where somebody was fishing at the edge, down under the highway. The train was longer than the whole bridge; it took almost forever to cross.