Petey gave my hand a tense squeeze, drawing me back to the present day. "Sadie, we're almost there." Of course we were. Part of my superbly awful lot in life included living on the far side of Fortune Falls Cemetery. It was bad enough that my brother and I were forced to navigate the most treacherous stretch of sidewalk on a near-daily basis, but we also had to trek past the gates of the old graveyard each day on the way home from school. Fading ribbons were tied to the cemetery fence posts, and wilted flowers were scattered beside the path, but I knew that none of these memorials had been left for those buried inside. Pass the graveyard, hold your breath, Lest you wish to dance with Death, The rhyme was taught to all children in Fortune Falls, and yet people still perished along this route. Before they closed the street, cars would break down and the drivers would panic, forgetting to hold their breath while they ran towards safety. The road was now its own graveyard of abandoned vehicles . . . and skeletons laying a few feet away. Even the fire and police departments wouldn't respond to an emergency anywhere in the vicinity. Excerpted from Fortune Falls by Jenny Goebel All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
