Synopsis: Rabid

Mae
We found out yesterday that we have a cousin. Is there some reason he never told us before? Whatever. It doesn’t signify, because he’s coming to live with us, now his parents—our aunt and uncle—are dead. He’ll go to school with Aaron and have to deal with Carrie and the children—for all purposes he will be a new brother. This is absolutely what I do not need right now. Not since Mama and Christine have I needed or wanted anyone but Aaron and Megan. But now he’s coming. Perhaps I’ll change my mind. Oh, his name’s Jacob. Jacob Finnegan.

Aaron
He’s been living with us for a couple months now. Mae hasn’t cut him down yet, which could only be a good sign. I think she actually likes him, which is probably the greatest surprise of all, since she only likes about a half-dozen people in the whole world. Jacob’s adjusted well, what with his parents dying and all. Our mother died, but we had each other, and we stayed here. He was uprooted and moved to a new country without any say. So I don’t worry about him, but now I’m beginning to worry about Mae. She talks about death a lot. I don’t think she has a problem with the idea that we’ll die some day, not after Mom and Christine, but still, she’s got some sort of feeling at the back of her mind…

Jacob
I’ve been here for months now, and it doesn’t feel so strange anymore. It’s easy to see why people like my cousins, Aaron especially. But they and their friends have been quite accommodating and, well, nice, especially given the circumstances. Can’t say much for the rest of the family, but Aaron and Mae are something else. Mae, she seems to exist on a different plane than other people—just the way she thinks and sees things; Aaron says his head hurts when she tries to explain something, but I don’t know. She and that jungle of a garden seem like they should be in a different world, closer to the heart of things. I used to think she was pretty normal, but now she’s begun to talk about a “touch of destiny”. Aaron says it’s a feeling she gets sometimes, a thought or idea that won’t go away until it comes true. Something’s wrong…