Heartbreak

Nadia Bennett saw the last of the customers leave Handloom Treasures, and flipped the Open sign to Closed the moment the embellished wooden clock up on the far wall chimed softly at 5pm. The sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon, giving the clear skies a pretty golden glow. Nadia locked both the front door and til, then walked slowly, checking that everything was in its place, before she headed to the small office to retrieve her bag and jacket. Another door at the back, revealed a set of stairs which led to a two bedroom apartment. This space had been her home for the past year and a half...

Meyrick and Daphne Bennett agreed to raise their daughter Nadia in the home Daphne had grown up in. It had passed along to her when her mother Jolene died after a battle with breast cancer: she’d fought it back once before, unfortunately she wasn’t able to do so again. Nadia was an only child, but she was never lonely; she had her cousins on her dad’s side of the family and the friends she made in primary school, most of them were still her friends.

The year Nadia turned twenty one, Aunt Gracie, who was Daphne’s older sister, split from her husband Dario Lewis. She was finally given evidence of his cheating. She’d had a feeling for a while now, that things just weren’t the same between her and Dario anymore, but she hoped to be wrong about why. Sadly, she was proved right. What hurt more, was the identity of the person that he ended up involved with; a woman named Delilah Rothstein, whom Gracie knew and had lived across the street from, for over a decade.

They were spotted by Dario’s work colleague Travis Frost, when the two of them went away on a business trip. He saw Dario and Delilah exiting a hotel room their company had paid for, kissing each other goodbye passionately. He snapped several photos and sent them to Gracie. She moved out of their house before he returned that weekend. Dario did a wise thing, owned up to it and chose not to fight her. There was no trouble once all the necessary papers were signed. The former couple never had children, so that was something else they didn’t need to argue over; in the early months of dating, Dario confessed that he was infertile, which much to his surprise, did not bother Gracie.

Once the divorce was done and dusted, she quit her job at the local library and bought a vacant building on the main street in Grendel Crescent. The top floor she renovated into comfortable, stylish living quarters. The room below would became a store that displayed and sold handmade items. The walls were painted a soft pale grey, the trims in darker tones. Wooden shelves were placed on both sides of the store, while tables got set up in the middle. The cellar was emptied out and properly cleaned.

Gracie decided to use some of the bits and pieces she’d found, as decor, like the large brass key hung on a hook next to the front door, a lamp now sitting in the left back corner, random artworks, rugs laid out on the floor, plus a pretty black and silver jewellery box; inside was a gold locket pendant, with the initials JS engraved on the inside, which she gifted to her niece. Nadia became her first employee and also her roommate. She helped Gracie to create a website and advertise the business. About a month later, Handloom Treasures was fully stocked. It was officially opened on the 23 of January. ..

PRESENT DAY.

Nadia switched on the kitchen lights and the lamp in the lounge area. She could hear piano music coming from down the hallway. Gracie’s voice called out to her. “Is that you, Nadia?” “ Who else would it be?” She came into her aunt’s bedroom. Gracie was propped up in bed, the bandage on her leg a reminder of her clumsiness a few weeks ago, when she missed her footing on the stairs. She hit the pause button on her I pad. “ I know. Old habits. How was your day?” “Busy on and off. Some unfamiliar faces, who of course did a double take when they saw me.” Her aunt smiled. “It is a special girl indeed, who can rock greyish white hair, yellow cat eyes and sharp canines.”

“Most people here know I was born like this, the ones who don’t, usually just assume it’s a look, how I express my individuality and are shocked once they realise that’s not the case.” “My sister’s abnormal genes run strong in you. I know it hasn’t always been easy for you guys. We’re very lucky to live in a town that seems to go out of its way to embrace the strange and unusual. Does she still turn into different animals and wander around in the wild?” “Not when I was a kid. As I got older, she would sometimes vanish for days. If she’d travelled a great distance and was tired from her adventures, Dad simply waited for the inevitable phone call, so we could go pick her up. ” “I often wish I had an ability of some kind, alas I am only ordinary.” “You have your own brand of uniqueness. Don’t ever doubt that.” “Thanks, love.”

“Oh by the way, there was a guy who came in, he wants to have some of his work in the store; Marc Dawson? He sent me his contact details and left a portfolio behind for us to look at.” “The surname rings a bell... I wonder if he is related to Jeffrey or Camilla, a brother and sister whom I went to school with; I remember he skipped town before graduation, but was known to be a bit of a rascal with the young ladies. She never got married The last I heard, she came out of the closet in her late twenties. Both siblings had kids, but I am unsure of their genders or which ones still live here.” “Interesting. Perhaps we shall find out soon enough. What would you like for dinner?” “Let’s get some pizza.” “Great idea. I’ll place the order.”

SEVEN WEEKS LATER...

 7:35 pm on a Saturday.

Nadia came out of the bathroom, dressed in pyjamas, her hair still dry, having no need to wash it for another day or so. She had taken off the gold pendant her aunt had given to her, along with handmade flower earrings and a matching bracelet, placing them on the dressing table. The usual glass by her bed was empty, so she went into the kitchen to get some water. She also checked on Gracie, who was back in the store earlier, now that the sprain in her foot had healed just fine. Marc Dawson had showcased his paintings on canvas and in frames. They were of keen interest almost immediately.

When Nadia returned to her room, she noticed that the pendant was on the floor. This and a few other minor incidents had occurred more than once, ever since she started wearing it, to be precise. Small objects were moved from their original spots, the lights would flicker despite the new bulbs, every now and then she caught a whiff of a faint trace of unfamiliar perfume, and at night she heard the footsteps definitely not from an animal. Something wanted her attention. Her aunt hadn’t said anything, perhaps deliberately ignoring what she could have heard or seen herself.

Nadia knelt down to pick the pendant up and nearly dropped it again when she saw what was in the mirror staring at her. A fully white figure, in the shape of a woman. She had long curly hair and was gesturing to her neck. No sound came from her moving lips. Nadia held the pendant out to the lady, who then nodded.

She might have freaked out big time and screamed, if she hadn’t known for most of her life, that two of her ex- next door neighbours Kaylee Torres and her aunt Dora Hathaway, were legit mediums. Nadia was open-minded on the whole ghost phenomenon and had witnessed enough proof with her own eyes. She sensed she wasn’t in danger, so she said out loud “I will deal with this tomorrow.”

The very next morning, she pressed Call on Kaylee’s number.  “Hey Nadia. What’s up?” “I have a spirit appearing in my bedroom mirror. I think it’s the lady whose pendant I currently have in my possession.” “I can be there in ten minutes.” Nadia informed Gracie of what was about to happen. She had no objections, shivering slightly. “I shall wait in my room until its finished.” Ghosts really weren’t her thing.

Nadia answered the door and welcomed Kaylee in. The medium glanced around. “She is definitely here. Let me see what I can do for her.” The girls entered Nadia’s bedroom. When she saw Kaylee, the female ghost passed through the mirror, becoming more solid with each step. She now sat on the wicker chair in the corner. Kaylee introduced herself. Then she asked the ghost to tell them her story. Her voice soon became as clear and easy to hear as any normal living human being.

“What year is it?” “2013.” “I’ve been dead for only eight months? It seems so much longer. Okay, so where do I begin? My name is Jessica Strange. My father is Laurent. My mother Eloise died giving birth to me. He met another woman not long after my fifteenth birthday. They started dating. Selina had a daughter as well, who was my age. I didn’t get along with my stepsister Holly but I tolerated her for my father’s sake. Her mother made him happy, I couldn’t deny it. We formed a sort of truce but I knew we’d never be close. She met the man who would become my fiancé before I did, and they seemed to hit it off. So it must have come as something of a surprise to everyone, when Carlton Winchester chose me. I was totally besotted with him and assumed our feelings were mutual. I was so happy when he proposed.

I soon discovered the truth at our engagement party; he and my stepsister were fooling around behind my back, for who knows how long. I caught them at it, in our family kitchen of all places. I turned my back for a split second and was struck from behind. I lost consciousness. I’m sure they thought they had killed me. I was carried to the well in the back garden and thrown down into the dark. I woke up just in time to see the lid slide closed. I guess I then realised neither of them really cared about me, if they did they would have actually checked to see if I was still alive and gone to get help.

My heart shattered into pieces. I cried myself to sleep often as time kept on passing by. I began to lose hope of ever being found, since the well on our property hadn’t worked for ages. I would always wake up cold, hungry and thirsty. My strength was failing and my screams continued to go on unheard. In the end as you can plainly see, I did not survive.

The necklace or pendant whatever you want to call it, was one of the few things my mother left for me and my stepsister claimed it. I don’t know exactly what kind of story he and Holly cooked up, probably that I ran away. Father had nothing to go on, although he did contact the police after 24 hours. They searched all the areas close to home and some places I always liked to visit, but of course nobody thought of checking the well. I certainly couldn’t point them in the right direction. Relatives weren’t able to offer up any clues when asked about me. I’d hidden, perhaps rather foolishly, my feelings about Holly from my friends, so the idea that she might be involved in my disappearance did not cross anyone’s mind. Carlton played the part of grieving fiancé to perfection.

I used to be scared to leave this realm which has become like a second home. There are others who remain attached to Earth like me. I am on friendly terms with most of them. Eventually I figured out what I must do, if I ever got to a point where I was ready to let go and move on; tell someone about my death and have my body found, so it can be properly buried. I did not pay much attention before, when spirits I used to talk to were suddenly gone, until one of them who still lingered told me about humans that could both see and interact with us. You Nadia, have some sensitivity but your friend here is on another level. She can assist me in crossing over. ”

Kaylee leaned forward and carefully put her hand out for Jessica to take. “I do believe you are ready. If it will make it easier, feel free to close your eyes.” The ghost did what she suggested and slowly began to fade. A soft “Thank you,” were the last words the girls would hear.

From then onwards, the apartment was quiet again and totally free of spirits; Kaylee did a white sage cleansing at Gracie’s insistence just to be sure. The police were informed of where to find Jessica’s body. Her remains were recovered and she was positively identified. Carlton and Holly were brought to the station, after the suspected murder weapon was also discovered not far from the well and they were the last two people to see Jessica alive. Holly soon broke down from the relentless questions and admitted to everything. Both of them were charged and would be locked up for quite some time.

Laurent and Selina Strange couldn’t believe they had lost two children and a future son in law, all within a year. Once they’d attended Jessica’s burial, they sold their home and planned to leave Grendel Crescent for good. An uncertain path now lay open for the couple. Nadia gave them the pendant back. She knew there were all kinds of grief and it affected each person differently. She hoped and prayed, even though she wasn’t religious, that the two of them would be able find a way to heal and go on with their lives; they deserved it.

THE END