Oct 13th, 2083: The Serene Smile of Shaylee Weathers

Oar Ellis is a man in his seventies, with wisps of yellowing hair dusting his liver-spotted scalp.  He wears a threadbare black suit that barely covers his gut.  Like Charlie, he is always smiling, however sometimes there is something about his smile that unsettles me greatly. 

Sometimes, when the flickering campfire light catches his face in just the right light, his smile reminds me of Shaylee Weathers.  Shaylee was only a couple of years older than I.  She was the daughter of one of my father's cowhands, and far too often I would see her with bruises in the shape of fingers.  Her father disappeared one day, just didn't show up to work.  After two days of this, I was sent to check up on him.

I found Shaylee asleep on a cot in the one-room cottage, innards and shards of bone spread around the floor.  Blood was smeared on the walls.  Peace at last.  Over and over again, in her father's blood.  Peace at last.  She stirred and woke to find me standing in the doorway, taking in the gory scene.  She was no longer cowed or troubled.  She was peaceful.

Shaylee didn't fight when my sister led her out of the small cottage.  I remember the summer heat, it was almost warm enough to wear a single shirt.  The warmest summer I can recall.  Maybe it was the heat that drove Shaylee to the breaking point. 

She was quiet during the trial, not that there was much to it.  I was too young then, but I understand now.  How everyone knew what her father did, but no one wanted to talk about it.  No one wanted to help. 

That year, the first snowfall, there were no lots drawn.  Shaylee sat in the town square, the serene smile still on her face and her hands in her lap.  The next day, under the cold white blanket that had fallen through the night before, Shaylee sat with her hands folded in her lap.  Her eyes were black, her teeth sharp, and her skin white.  But she still had the same smile.  Not even Jack Frost could break that aura of peaceful serenity.

I know better than to discount my intuition.  I must treat Mr. Ellis with the same cautious grace as my sister used with Shaylee.  I don't know what horrific acts Mr. Ellis will perform to ensure that his peace is not interrupted.