"What did you say?" Melinda couldn't quite believe what she heard.

"You aren't guilty. I believe you were framed."

Melinda stumbled over to one of her kitchen chairs and sat down rather abruptly. After watching Greg fill the vase and trim the tulip stems before he arranged them like a rainbow and put them on the table beside her, she shuddered and took a deep breath. Then she asked the question she really wanted an answer to.

"How do you know? I have to find my aunt. I was going to try finding her as soon as I can get the money together. I don't even know if she changed her name or my cousins' or anything else about her. She disappeared right after the hearing which convicted me."

I'll just tell him what Lana and Dr. Elizabeth told me and showed me in trial transcripts and reports. Even if it turns out I can't trust him, he might be able to help.

"My brother was getting ready to retire from the Colorado State Troopers when the fire happened. He was the first one on the scene of the fire when the fire fighters and the local sheriff called for help with traffic control. Do you remember the forest fire that almost started?"

"No. I don't really remember anything except for the nightmare I keep having. And from what Dr. Elizabeth said in her last report, I had dissociative amnesia which is persistent from the day of the fire until now. I've never been able to recall anything except the nightmare."

"You lived on one of the rural roads outside of Keota, from what Anson said."

Melinda nodded. "That's what the police reports say. I don't even know where I went to school. I can't remember a lot of things from the years before the fire until after when they put me into a room I couldn't get out of."

"I'm so sorry, Melinda. It must have been hard."

"Frustrating is more like it."

Greg nodded. "Telling you you can trust me isn't going to be enough is it?"

"No, but something is telling me you are one of the good guys. But I'm not sure I can trust myself. I sure got suckered a few times." Melinda made a sour face as she spoke.

"Well then, I'll just have to prove it as we go along," he said with conviction.

"And I'll let you."

"Thank you, Melinda. I'm honored."

Melinda changed the subject and asked, "Do you want to know about the tulip story?"

"Tell me Mel, I have a sneaking suspicion it's very personal."

"I managed to cut a couple of them and bring them into my room. I put them in a glass I took back to my room after supper. By the time I got them in water they were limp, and I thought I killed them."

"There's more to it that that, isn't there?"

"You have to understand, I was going through a bad time with the other kids. They were teasing me and bullying me and telling me all sorts of crappy things like I should just give up. Brainiacs like you don't make it. I was fifteen and it didn't matter who was in juvie and how long, everyone always picked up the stupid teasing. Shorty's a Brainiac doesn't have the smarts to pick up her feet. She must be cheating. Hope you die next time you fall down the stairs."

Greg sat down across the table from Melinda, and she swiped at the tears which seemed to come far too easily.

"We took Arianna, one of my grand nieces, out of the first high school she was in because of bullying. What was with your teachers?"

"Most of them called me Brainiac too. Lana tried to get one of them fired for his attitude, but they cleared him. No one wants to teach delinquents."

"Reality sucks doesn't it Mel."

Somehow that resonated with her and she knew he would be straight with her. He understood truth when it stared him in the face. His next question brought her back to the present when he pointed to the tulips and spoke after a couple of minutes.

"So, how does this relate to the tulips?"

"It was my turn for a shower, and I left them sitting on the windowsill. It sucks when you can't see outside without bars over the glass."

Again, the nod, and she felt like he was really hearing her, as he watched her face. He stayed silent while he waited for her to continue.

"When I got back the flowers which were laying on the sill had lifted, and the stems were an arch. As I watched they slowly rose until they were straight up and when I went over to feel them, the stems were firm again. I felt like I was watching a miracle in action."

"Tulips are pretty special, aren't they?"

Melinda nodded smiling as she stroked one of the tighter buds in the bouquet. Greg waited for her to stop before he continued.

"I've seen them do that too. They need a lot of water. I added some sugar to the vase, and you'll need to keep an eye on them. But fill me in. What was so important about watching tulips bring themselves back to life?"

"If a flower can do it, I can too. They lived in my room for almost two weeks and it wasn't the only time they did it. Like you said, they need a lot of water. A little bit of care and they made it way longer than I thought they would. Ever since they've been a sign of good luck, or that I'm in the right place. Like the ones on the sign over the door at Cozy Corner."

"Did anyone give you that little bit of care?"

Geeze, he gets right to the point. He's as good as Dr. Elizabeth.

"Just Lana Cooper, and Dr. Elizabeth Harrow. They always believed in me. Even when I refused to talk for the first couple of years."

Greg nodded. "I'm glad you had them in your corner. Now I'm here for you too."

"What did your brother tell you about my case?"

"There was a second set of footprints in the snow no one paid attention to. He found them coming out of the woods into the ditch where he parked his car to block the road to your house. His theory was there was a vehicle there and whoever was in it knows a lot more about the fire."

Melinda's eyes went wide. "It might even be the real arsonist."

"He thought it was enough to cast doubt on the accusations against you. Because he was a police officer, he knew your name, and he had your pictures. He has all the speculative newspaper articles about you. They printed your fourth grade school picture and that's the one Dad showed me. It was your eyes I recognized. They're very pretty."

"Too bad no one listened to him."

"Well I'm listening now. Do you want to give me your phone number?"

She shook her head. She needed to run that by Lana first. She warned her about people trying to take advantage of her. She was probably crazy for telling him this much.

"Not right now. You know where I live and where I work. You can find me there."

Greg looked like she hurt his feelings, but she still wasn't totally sure about him.

"We'll do it your way. You're right. I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'll be back. I've got some writing to do about a restaurant I was at with my wife the other night. You might want to look up my blog."

"I'm sorry, I'm just not sure about you yet. I'm grateful for your help, and I want to be your friend too, but I just don't know."

"It's okay Mel. This day has been a lot to take in. Take your time deciding what you want to do. I know I can help you figure some of this out. Next time we see each other, you can tell me about your nightmare."

"I don't get in until afternoon tomorrow I have morning lectures I have to listen too. Elena was right. I can use the remote learning system CSU developed for COVID."

"You're not working tomorrow or the next couple of days after that. Maybe not even till next week. I'm not sure you didn't crack the patella on your right knee. We might need to get you an X-ray."

"It's not that bad," she protested.

"It's turning pretty purple. The bruise is bad. Ice it okay?"

"Yeah, I have some ice in the freezer. I just have to find the Ziploc bags I have somewhere. I use them to take my lunch with me to class."

"Good enough, then. I'll get out of here. I will check on you after lunch tomorrow, okay?"

Melinda smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He stood, zipping up his jacket as he went over to the door. "Lock up now."

She couldn't resist teasing him a bit.

"Yes, sir!"

Hegrinned and went out the door, shutting it behind him.

Word Count 7905