Saving Rain

by Kelsey Kingsley

“Are you a bad guy?” Noah asked me one weekend as I pulled the weeds from the small plot of dirt I had to my name. I glanced over my shoulder and wiped the sweat from my brow. “Do you think I’m a bad guy?” He dropped his gaze to the gravel beneath his feet and seemed to consider his own question for a moment. “I don’t think so,” he replied, although he sounded unsure. “But you were in jail, and my friend Greg says that only bad guys go to jail.” With a deep breath, I sat back on my heels and rested my hands on my knees. “Good guys go to jail too, Noah,” I said, choosing my words carefully, still not wanting to divulge too much information. “Unfortunately, sometimes, accidents happen, and even good guys have to pay for them.” “So, is that what happened with you? An accident?” I still wasn’t sure that his mother wanted me to talk about this stuff with him. But he was curious, and his questions were incessant, and trying to steer him away from them was exhausting. “Yes,” I said with a held sigh. “It was a horrible accident.” “So, like … if it was just an accident, why did you have to go to jail?” I released my breath and squinted up toward a sky that looked like it was about to pour at any second. “Because … I made a decision—a really bad one—and I had to be punished for it.” I glanced over my shoulder at him again to watch the gears in his head turn. He was a smart kid, even in the things he didn’t understand. He reminded me of myself in a way—except his mom was better. His ...