Hailey’s POV
The cemetery felt colder than usual that night, as if the moment we stepped through the iron gate the temperature dipped just to warn us. I followed Roy and Ryan between the headstones, each step sinking softly into the damp earth. My flashlight beam wavered every time my hand trembled. I kept glancing at my mother’s name on nearby graves as though she might speak to me from beneath the soil and tell me to run. Roy stopped at her grave and lowered his voice, telling us we had to work quickly. Ryan didn’t hesitate. He plunged the shovel into the loosened ground, and the noise seemed too loud for night. I crouched beside him to help, clawing at the softer patches with my hands. Every layer of soil we removed smelled fresh, disturbed recently, and the realization that someone ha
