by Boris Bacic
“Thank you, Violet. I’ll see you to the door,” Cheryl smiled politely.
As the two of them exited, Jill was left alone with her mother in the room. She looked at the will that Cheryl found under the bed and then at her mother. Jill tried to imagine what her mother would be like if she woke up right now.
Would she apologize to Jill for mistreating her? Or would she retract what she wrote in the will once she realized that she might live for another few years? Jill strode out of the room and grabbed the doorknob. As she closed the door halfway, she glanced at her mother one last time.
This is a small price to pay for the hell you put me through, Mother, she thought to herself and closed the door.
Chapter 17
The knocking on the door came less than a minute after Cheryl saw Violet out.
Must be Erika, she thought to herself with exuberance.
She could already practically taste the chocolate nut cookies. But it wasn’t just the cookies that Cheryl looked forward to. Erika didn’t just bring amazing cookies whenever she arrived. She brought an aura that filled the entire house with a contagious positivity—and Cheryl desperately needed a little bit of that right now.
Sure enough, when she opened the door, the kind old lady stood at the entrance, holding a tray of cookies.
“Hello, Cherry, sweetheart!” she excitedly exclaimed.
“Erika! Come on in!” Cheryl matched her tone.
Whenever Cheryl was in a bad mood, she wasn’t very enthusiastic about someone visiting, and she made no effort to mask that, but with Erika, it was impossible to stay indifferent.
As soon as Erika stepped inside, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted to Cheryl’s nose. The pleasant redolence was more than just the fragrance of a tasty dessert. It was a reminiscence of Cheryl’s childhood, of the days when she was carefree and happy.
“I’m so sorry for not arriving earlier, sweetie. Here are the cookies I promised,” Erika said, as she pushed the tray into Cheryl’s hands.
“You carried this tray all the way from your house?” Cheryl raised her eyebrows. “What if you tripped and fell?”
The road between Erika’s and Mom’s houses was not difficult, and there was a sidewalk connecting them, but for Erika to get here, she would need to go down a slight gradient.
“I’m more agile than you think, Cherry. I used to run some sprints back in the day before I broke my hip,” Erika winked.
“Hi, Erika,” Jill had come downstairs to greet the old woman.
“Hello, dear. I baked some cookies for you and your sister. Would you like to try some?”
“No, thank you. I wouldn’t want to eat Cheryl’s favorite cookies,” Jill sardonically said.
There was a moment of silence in the foyer. Cheryl started to feel awkward, so she spoke up.
“Well, how about we all go to the living room and eat some of these magnificent cookies? I could also make us some tea or coffee.”
“You’re very kind, sweetie,” Erika said warmly. “But if it’s okay with you, I would like to go see Annette.”
Her face turned stern when she said that.
“Of course. Do you need a moment alone with her?” Cheryl asked as she held the cookie tray from the bottom with one hand.
She used the other hand to grab one of the warm cookies and took a bite. The savory taste of nuts and chocolate was as heavenly as she remembered it to be. Over the years, Cheryl often tried various products with nuts in them, including bagels, pancakes, cakes, etc., and only a few of them managed to get close to replicating (but not surpassing) the recipe that Erika made.
“No, no. I have no dark secrets to share with your mother,” Erika chuckled. “So you girls feel free to join if you like.”
Jill nodded with a sour expression on her face. It was clear to Cheryl what that look meant—No, I’m good, you guys go ahead.
“Okay. I’ll go with you,” Cheryl said. “Jill, would you mind putting these in the kitchen?”
“Sure,” Jill said with a blank look, and took the tray.
Cheryl noticed her giving a subtle, pitiful glare to the cookies before turning around and disappearing through the door leading to the living room. Erika followed Cheryl upstairs towards Mom’s room.
For once, Cheryl was glad that she managed to grab a moment alone with Erika because she wanted to ask her some things related to Mom, the house, and perhaps Vodou. But she would take it slow—she didn’t want to scare Erika off, especially if she already suspected that something was going on.
From what little information Cheryl had about Erika, the old woman was somewhat superstitious, and if she really visited Mom weekly or even monthly, then there’s no way she wouldn’t notice if something was wrong. Cheryl just hoped that she’d be able to keep the conversation a secret from Jill. If her older sister heard Cheryl asking Erika about anything paranormal, she would surely make fun of her for it.
Cheryl opened the door to her mom’s room and stepped aside, allowing Erika to walk in first. As soon as she did, the old woman began speaking in a soft tone.
“Annie, hi. It’s me, Erika. How are you today?”
She took up a seat on the chair next to the bed. Cheryl walked in and closed the door. Erika continued whispering softly to Annette. She told her what wonderful daughters she has and how much they look like her. She also gave her words of encouragement, telling her that she was sure she’d wake up soon, and that she’s lucky to have such caring daughters to be here for her.
If only Erika knew how false that was. Cheryl and Jill haven’t discussed it yet, but the choice was pretty obvious. Mom would have to be put in a place where she would get full-time medical care. As for the house, that was no longer on the table for negotiation. The house now belonged to Jill, and she could do whatever she wanted to with it.
After Erika was done softly speaking to Mom, she and Cheryl remained silent for a few minutes. The low and steady beeping of the EKG machine was intoxicating, and Cheryl felt her eyelids becoming heavy with sleepiness. She didn’t have much time before either Erika decided to leave, or Jill barged in. She had to talk to the woman now.
“You knew my mother well, didn’t you?” Cheryl asked.
“I would hope so. We knew each other for years, even before you and your sister were born. I would even go as far as to say that we weren’t just neighbors, but really good friends.”
“It’s kinda interesting how you two became so close despite the age difference,” Cheryl smiled.
“Annette and I clicked right away. She is smart, really smart. Even when she was young and just moved here with your father, I felt like I could always talk to her at the same level as I would to some women my age.”
“Were you also good with my dad?”
Erika lolled her head from left to right.
“Kind of. We were never exactly close, but we didn’t have a hostile relationship, either.”
Erika looked at Annette.
“If you came to visit my mom every week, then you must have noticed some weird things going on in the house,” Cheryl blatantly said.
Erika continued staring at Annette, but Cheryl noticed her gaze freezing. The old lady raised a hand to scratch her cheek, and her fingers trembled violently. It could have been from old age, but it also could have been from something else.
“I have,” she finally said and locked eyes with Cheryl.
“You have?” Cheryl widened her eyes in surprise.
“Yes. Of course I have. Anyone who remotely knew your mother would have noticed it, let alone someone like me.”
Cheryl waited with bated breath. She had no idea if she and Erika were on the same page, and she was impatient to find out. Erika looked at Annette once more with a forlorn smile.
“Your mother and I went on a vacation together once, you know? It was a ladies-only vacation to Haiti a few years after Jill was born. Your dad insisted that Annette take some time for herself to relax while he took care of Jill. She didn’t even w
ant to hear about it at first, but with my help, your dad managed to convince her.”
Cheryl nodded.
“It was supposed to be a nice trip. It was supposed to last for just a week, but we returned only four days later.”
“Why?” Cheryl jumped in, far too impatient for Erika’s slow manner of speaking.
Erika turned to face her. She shifted in her seat momentarily and placed her hands on her lap. Her face suddenly turned dark and serious, which was even more exacerbated by the lack of light in the room.
“Your mother started to behave strangely. Back when we were on that trip in Haiti, we went to visit an ancient cave. Ancient spirits supposedly inhabited the cave, but it was all just an urban legend. The cave was open for tourists, and for a small fee, you could enter.”
Cheryl stood ramrod straight, her arms limply hanging next to her body as she listened with rapt fascination. Erika continued.
“It was a rainy day, and despite that, the temperature was very high. I remember it like it was yesterday. Your mother and I were the only tourists that day who went to visit the cave. We paid the man at the entrance, and he warned us not to leave the marked paths while inside.”
Erika raised one hand to her face once more, and Cheryl noticed that it trembled even more violently now.
“The cave was strange. Some people would describe it as beautiful, but to this day, I can’t think of any other way to describe it except ‘strange’. It had these unnatural-looking shapes, drawings, symbols… Annette was especially fascinated by the place, and driven by her enthusiasm, I suggested we disobey the rules and go outside the marked areas,” she shrugged with an expression that simply said ‘whoops’.
Cheryl knew that this was the moment when something bad happened in the story. She brusquely nodded and continued listening to Erika.
“The cave got even weirder there. The drawings we saw in the tourist section were more complex, and the symbols more detailed. Now, it was a large cave with wide passages, mind you, so there was practically no way to get lost or anything like that. At least we thought not. I honestly don’t know how it happened, but all I remember is staring at one of the wall drawings one moment, and then turning around and seeing your mom gone,” Erika’s voice took on a brittle timbre. “I shouted after her, but all I heard was my own echo. I panicked, and ran through the cave, but the deeper I went, the more I seemed to run in circles. I ran like that for what seemed like ages, calling out for Annette, and then… then I saw her.”
Erika’s eyes were wide now, and her hands which were still on her lap, trembled like a dog trying to shake off the rain. She also spoke in a much quieter tone, barely louder than the beeping of the machine.
“She was standing in front of one of the walls with the drawings. Just standing there. I remember thanking God that she was okay and telling her that she gave me a good scare. But she didn’t respond; just kept staring at the drawing on the wall. It was as if she was hypnotized,” Erika took a moment to compose herself. “You have to understand, Cheryl. I didn’t think this cave was really possessed by anything otherworldly, but when I stood there behind Annette in front of that gigantic, unnatural-looking drawing, I wanted nothing more than to run.”
Cheryl swallowed. It felt as if she had sandpaper in her throat.
“But I didn’t run. I couldn’t leave Annette there. Something was wrong, I could tell that much, I just didn’t know what. You also need to realize that there was no reason for me to get so scared. I had a fright losing her for a few minutes, yes, but I was so scared when I found her standing there, more than I’ve ever been in my life.”
“What happened?” Cheryl found herself asking breathlessly.
Her eyes started to sting from a lack of blinking.
“I approached your mother from behind, the entire time calling her. I said, ‘Annie, come on. Let’s go back, Annie.’, but she ignored me. Even as I stopped right next to her, she continued staring at the wall, even as I called out to her over and over. I did so in a whisper. It just felt wrong to speak loudly there. And I couldn’t look at the drawing on the wall. I only glanced at it briefly, but every time I did, it felt like it was staring right back at me.”
Cheryl felt her blood turning to ice. The way Erika described everything made her feel like she was really with her in that Haitian cave. Erika clasped a hand over her mouth for a long moment. It looked like she was about to vomit, but she then put her hand down and continued speaking.
“As soon as I touched Annette’s shoulder, she screamed. And I don’t mean screaming because she got startled. No, this was shrieking at the top of her lungs, as if someone attacked her. She fell on the floor and writhed and screamed, and I tried calming her down, but she was inconsolable.”
Erika put a hand on her neck and cleared her throat. She cast a furtive glance at Annette before facing Cheryl once more.
“She must have screamed for some five minutes or so, because at one point, the man at the entrance showed up. He yelled at us that we shouldn’t be here, and tried chasing us out. When he saw the condition your mother was in, he instead decided to help us. He spoke some words in a language I didn’t recognize over and over, and over, for minutes. Gradually, Annette’s screaming stopped, and she lost consciousness. We took her to the hospital right after that.”
Erika put a hand over her mouth once more and shook her head. Cheryl saw the glimmer of tears forming in her eyes.
“She was never the same after that happened. When she woke up in the hospital, she had no recollection of what happened to her. She didn’t even remember that we planned on going to the cave. We decided to go home earlier because we were obviously distressed—I more than her. On our way back, she kept looking around, like… I don’t know… like she was on the run from someone. A few times, she even asked me if I heard something. I never knew what she meant, but she swore that she heard something that wasn’t really there.”
“Is that when her dementia started?” Cheryl asked.
Erika shook her head.
“No, the dementia didn’t come for years. It was the paranoia that took over her life.”
“Paranoia?”
“Yes,” Erika nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Like I said, she wasn’t the same ever since that cave incident. I thought that it was maybe just trauma and that she would return to her old self soon, but as time went by, it became obvious that Annette as we knew her, wasn’t coming back. It was like a completely different person took her over, and yet, it was still her. I could see my old friend resurfacing sometimes, but those moments were so, so rare. Your dad noticed it, too, of course.”
“What did he do about it?”
“At first, he ignored it. Just like me, he thought that the paranoia would leave in time. But it only got worse. Annette spent more and more time in her office, read up on ancient religions and spirituality, and even engaged in some sort of rituals. Your dad ignored all of it, figured it was a coping mechanism for whatever scared her in that cave,” Erika sighed. “But when all of it became too much, he tried fixing her. Took her to all sorts of doctors and such, but nothing worked. Eventually, I think he just decided to live with her. In the meantime, you were born, and both your father and I thought that this would fix Annette’s paranoia. It only got worse after that.”
Cheryl nodded and crossed her arms.
“Eventually, your dad got fed up with it all and decided to leave. He took Jill with him because Annette treated her badly.”
“So, you knew about the Vodou rituals that my mother conducted in the house? But why? Why did she do it? What did she see in that cave that scared her so much that she couldn’t recover for years?”
A knock resounded on the door, startling both Erika and Cheryl. Erika hastily wiped the remainder of her tears away and forced a smile.
“Hey. Everything okay in here?” Jill asked softly.
“Yeah. We were just remembering stuff about Mom,” Cheryl quickly lied.
Jill softly s
miled and nodded.
“Sorry for interrupting. Cheryl, I just wanted to let you know that I made some calls, and um…”
“The will is the real thing?”
“Yeah,” Jill nodded. “But I don’t plan to have the whole house to myself, so I wanted to see if I could talk with you a bit later about what we should do with it.”
“Come on, Jill. You don’t owe me anything,” Cheryl scoffed. “Mom left the house to you, so you should do whatever you want with it.”
Right now, Cheryl didn’t care about anything as insignificant as a stupid, old house. She was eager to find out what happened to her mom, and Jill’s interruption wasn’t welcome.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Jill dismissed Cheryl’s last sentence.
Erika stood up.
“Actually, I should get going, too. I’m feeling kind of tired,” she said.
Dammit.
“I’ll see you out, Erika,” Cheryl said, hoping that this didn’t mean she was done talking about what happened to her mom.
Jill went down to the living room, while Cheryl saw Erika to the front door. On the way there, Erika’s mood returned to her usual jovial one, and she talked about what a nice day it was and how Jill and Cheryl should eat all the cookies and put on some weight.
Once she was outside, she grabbed Cheryl’s wrist—not gently this time, but with a trembling, and yet somewhat firm grip as much as an old person could muster—and spoke, “Come by my house tonight, Cherry. And I will tell you everything I know.”
Cheryl thanked her and said goodbye. As she closed the door, her mind raced a million miles an hour. She wanted to rush into the living room and tell Jill everything that Erika told her. But Jill was a skeptic, and she wouldn’t believe a word of it. In the best-case scenario, she’d dismiss Erika’s story as an old person’s paranoia.
She could hardly wait for tonight.
Chapter 18
Jill still couldn’t believe it. Her mother left the house to her! Even after she verified the information with the phone call, she still didn’t believe it. Why would Annette do it? Her mother never showed any regret for treating Jill the way she did, so why the sudden change of heart?