“It’s not a curse – regardless of what anyone thinks.”
“But your own family — your brothers and sisters think that it is. You’ve seen the way they’ve treated me. They’ve barely spoken a word to me since I was born.”
“My family is in this house. Your family is in this house. No one else matters,” Joy replied. “Your aunts and uncles don’t understand, but they’d never betray you. Your father didn’t understand your gift either – and yes, I call it a gift – but he accepted you until he took his last breath. You must accept yourself and embrace what has been given to you.” She glanced at Stephen who was standing near the front door. “You’ve got Stephen to keep you company and to protect and love you as he’s done since you both were children. You are now twenty-one and he’s stuck by you the entire time and kept your secret close to his heart, as we all have. Go with him to another place where this awful trend hasn’t yet caught on. Make a good life for you both and forget about this place.”
Matilda looked at her sisters. “Will I ever see you all again?” she asked.
“If God permits it, yes, you will,” Joy said, fighting back the tears.
Unable to compose herself for any longer, Carlotta, the youngest, flew into Matilda’s arms and held onto her sister tightly. The others immediately followed suit.
“We’re going to miss you!” Betty said.
“We surely will,” Agatha, the eldest agreed. She kissed Matilda on the cheek. “You be strong, Mattie. Leaving us might be the hardest thing right now, but Mother’s right. Your safety comes first. Stephen loves you and he’ll shield you from whatever’s out there.”
“I do and I will,” Stephen said, as the family’s embrace came to an end. “I won’t let any harm come your way, Matilda. Everything will be all right.”
Matilda nodded as she dried her tears and mustered the courage to leave the house and town she had been raised in.
“The carriage is outside,” Stephen said. “Now is the best time to leave. By daybreak, we’d be far away from here.”
“Go, Mattie. Be safe and take this…” Her mother slipped a silver necklace with a heart-shaped pendant in her hand and closed Matilda’s hand tightly. Put it on when you get in the carriage and never take it off.”
Matilda attempted to look at it, but Joy closed her daughter’s hand again, concealing the gift. It was your grandma’s. All of you children were so precious to her. I believe she’s always been with you, Mattie, and is your guardian angel, as out of all my children, you had the most struggles. Having to hide who you are from the world for fear they would not understand.”
A tear slid down Matilda’s face as her mother’s words about the unfair struggles had rung true. She wrapped her white scarf around her head, then leaned in and kissed her mother’s cheek, while giving her one last firm embrace. Before following Stephen out of the door, she looked back and waved. “I’ll see you all again someday – no matter how long it takes.”
“Just go, my child. Go now!” Joy’s heart was breaking as Matilda turned to leave. They all watched near the doorway as the carriage started to make its way down the narrow clearing in the dark of night, leaving miniature clouds of dust in its wake.
“Do you think she’ll be all right, Mother?” Carlotta asked sadly.
Joy squeezed the girl’s hand. “I pray she will.”
“Do you think you’ve done the right thing by sending her away?” she asked again.
“I surely hope so, sweet child. I surely hope so.”
3
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Stephen glanced at Matilda as he drove the carriage. She was sitting quietly and looking straight ahead. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Matilda nodded slowly. “As fine as expected, I guess.”
He rested his hand, for a moment, on her thigh – a long, purple gown which fell to her ankles covered her unblemished white skin. Not feeling immediately accepting of his compassion, she gently pushed his hand away and positioned herself closer to the door.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s not you. I just need to be alone with my thoughts for a while,” she responded.
As they headed outside the town of Mizpah, Matilda soon fell off into a deep, impenetrable sleep.
* * *
“Mattie, wake up!” Betty was shaking her. “Mother wants us to hang the clothes out to dry.”
Matilda slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I’m tired.”
“I am too, but that’s not a good enough excuse for Mother. Get up!”
Betty left and headed outside to the clothesline while Mattie got ready as quickly as she could. She washed her face, then slipped on an old dress and a pair of sandals.
The four room house was deathly quiet as she walked through towards the back door at a quarter past six. She could smell breakfast cooking in the kitchen.
“Good morning, Mother,” Matilda said while passing.
Joy was busy at the stove. “Good morning, dear.”
Outside, Agatha was still washing the remaining clothes while Betty rinsed and wrung them.
“Aggie, Betty...” Matilda hailed.
The sisters both returned their morning greetings.
They were accustomed to humid summers, but this early in the morning was usually cooler than at any other time of day and according to the matriarch of the Curry family – the perfect time to get the washing done. Agatha and Betty took care of it twice a week after Joy started to complain of lower back pain. Struggling to manage going through the change of life and still keep up with the daily demands of survival as a single parent had begun to take a toll on her.
Back then, women hadn’t the slightest clue about Perimenopause as they label it in modern times. They only knew they were going through physical and emotional changes that were, for the most part, new to them. Some coped fairly well throughout, while others thanked God for every day they breathed as they never knew when this “change’ would shut their lights out for good. But Joy was as strong as they came. She’d vomit like crazy every morning for months as if she were ripe with child; coped with “bubbly” headaches and brain fog which sometimes made her feel like she was losing her mind; and struggled to walk in a straight line at the market when the dizziness and hot flashes overwhelmed her. Never once did she complain that life had suddenly become more unbearable than it ever was before. She took the lashes that accompanied normal aging although she often thought her portion of suffering was much greater than she noticed or heard other women around her age had to endure.
“Aggie, don’t move...” Carlotta uttered quietly as she eased her hand from the clothesline.
Matilda turned and spotted the rattle snake barely four feet away from where her eldest sibling stood. Agatha noticed it right away and Betty, following their eyes instantly screamed and took off several feet across the patchy yard. Agatha stood still, her heart pounding in her chest, causing her ribs to rise and fall deeply with every breath she took.
Carlotta, void of a plan only hoped the venomous creature would do a detour, and when her hopes seemed misaligned to the intentions of the reptile, she silently prayed that by some miracle, it would not attack.
Matilda’s stare intensified as she feared the worst for Agatha. She quickly felt her hands trembling, though slightly, and her mind taking full control of her most urgent will. Shifting her head slightly as the rattlesnake moved in ever so closely to her sister’s bare feet, she and the others watched as in a split second, the snake’s head jolted backwards all the way down to a few inches away from its tail and made a loop as one would make when tying shoe laces. It was soon in a perfect knot which, with Matilda’s gaze, grew tighter… and tighter – until the very life force ran out of its once slithering body. The girls, whose focus was now on Matilda, breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Agatha and Betty hurried over to Matilda, and Agatha hugged her.
“Thanks so much, Mattie! That was a close call!” She soon turned to Car
lotta. “And to you, Carrie. If you hadn’t seen it, things would’ve surely turned out much differently.”
Carlotta smiled.
“What’s going on?” Joy joined them outside.
“Mattie just saved Aggie from getting bit by a rattler,” Betty answered.
“A rattler?” Joy was shocked.
“It’s over there!” Carlotta pointed her to it.
Joy went to get a closer look. “My goodness! How did it possibly get in that position?”
“Your daughter!” Carlotta glanced Matilda’s way.
Joy looked around the area and after a few moments made her way over to Matilda. “Thank God you were out here at the right time.” She patted her on the shoulder. “Did you girls see anyone else outside when this happened?”
“No, ma’am.” They all agreed.
“Great! Well then, let’s get rid of the hideous thing. There’s enough bush around here to make it disappear.”
Betty immediately headed over to the cherry tree and snapped off a branch. She used it to pick up the creature, then quickly tossed it several yards into the bush.
* * *
The shaking of the wagon over a jagged surface woke Matilda from her sleep.
Stephen smiled as she peeled her eyes open.
“How long have I been asleep?” She sat straight up in her seat.
“A while.”
Matilda looked around. “Where are we?”
“We’re in Newport now,” Stephen said. “We’re in the clear.”
She gazed in awe as the sun slowly rose above the horizon. “It’s so beautiful.”
“It surely is.” Stephen nodded. “We’re going to have a wonderful life, you know – you and me, just like we always spoke about.”
Matilda shifted in her seat again, this time to the left. “I just thought that life we spoke about would include my family. It doesn’t seem...”
“Possible anymore?” Stephen asked, worriedly.
“I’m not sure.” She sighed. “We’ve just left and I miss them terribly.”
“I understand. And it will take a while for us to get accustomed to being on our own, but it will happen and we will be happy together. You’ll see.”
She reached for his hand. “I love you Stephen.”
It was only the second time in five years that he had ever heard her utter those words and they instantly rejuvenated him.
“Thanks for always standing by me,” she added.
“I love you too, Matilda.” He never shortened her name, as he adored every syllable attached to it, just as he loved every single thing about her. He knew her mother was right: he would, without forethought, give his very life for Matilda. Six years her elder, he had never felt such love before and had desired to marry her on her seventeenth birthday. But Matilda was not yet ready. Finding herself and coming to terms with her odd abilities were what governed her life. She had promised to be his bride later on if they made it through the earlier years and Stephen, like a child clinging to his mother’s every word, held on to that promise. Given the times, he was aware she had gone against what was normal for a young woman. However, he understood that in Matilda, he was getting more than just an ordinary young lady. If he stuck around, he would be getting something that is most cherished by every man lucky enough to find it in his lifetime – he’d be getting his soulmate. To Stephen, this is all that mattered.
They made a left turn and passed what appeared to be a local farmer’s market, then a church building. Further down were a number of clothing shops and a convenience store. The next turn took them into a quiet, residential neighborhood, lined on each side with quaint, single-storey and split-level houses situated approximately ten feet apart.
With interest, Matilda observed her surroundings as Stephen quietly drove. Minutes later, they pulled in front of a little, white cottage.
“This is it?” she asked, looking ahead.
“It is,” Stephen replied. “Uncle John said it was kept in fairly good condition by one of our relatives before he moved away. Do you like it?”
“It seems... lovely.”
Stephen exited the carriage and went around to help her out.
As they walked toward the front door, Matilda noticed a curtain slide back in the house to their right, but she could not see the person who stood next to it.
After mounting the porch, Stephen unlocked the door and once inside, he swooped Matilda into his strong, muscular arms.
“Whoo!” she cried, wiping a pebble of sweat from her brow.
He planted a kiss on her lips, then gently put her down. Now, in a better mood than when they had left home, Matilda immediately went to have a look through the house.
“I’ll go and grab our bags,” Stephen said.
“Yes, you do that.”
Moments later, there was a light tap on the front door.
Matilda advanced from the kitchen into the main room.
“Hi!” A woman was standing in the doorway. “I saw you arrive with your husband out there and thought I should introduce myself.” Fairly attractive, she appeared to be in her mid-twenties and had straight blonde, shoulder-length hair.
Matilda extended a hand to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name’s Matilda.”
“And I’m Stephen...” Stephen said behind the woman, which prompted her to immediately step aside.
“I’m sorry I blocked the doorway. My name’s Ann Sheffield. I live next door with my three children, Buster, Bradley and Ruth.”
“Ah, it’s great to meet a neighbor! Please come inside.” Stephen jammed a bag under his arm and extended his hand to her as well. “We’d love to meet your children. Won’t we?” Stephen looked at Matilda as he placed their bags on the floor.
“Yes! Yes, we would,” Matilda eagerly replied.
“By the way, just to be clear... I’m not her husband,” Stephen said. “We’re actually cousins.”
“Oh, I see! Where are you from?” Ann asked.
Stephen and Matilda glanced at each other.
“We’re from up north - a little town I doubt you heard of,” Stephen replied.
“Are you married?” Matilda quickly interjected, hoping to divert Ann’s focus in another direction.
“I’m a widow. My husband died two years ago of heart trouble.”
“I’m very sorry,” Matilda replied.
“That’s too bad,” Stephen added.
“How are your children coping with the loss of their father?” Matilda was concerned.
“At first, it was very difficult for all of them, but my eldest, Buster, went overboard trying to assure the others that we would be all right and their father was now looking out for us from Heaven. In time, they all started to adjust to our new life without him.”
Stephen and Matilda were momentarily at a loss for words. Matilda contemplated whether expressing her understanding of their plight would be a wise move or possibly to her own detriment.
“My father died when I was a teenager,” she finally said. “So I think I can understand how your children might feel. I have three sisters, and my mother had sole responsibility to take care of all of us after he passed. She was sick a lot, but still went out there to work in order to make sure we were provided for. So, I understand the struggles and would like to say that anything Stephen and I can do to help you with the children, please let us know.”
“Yes indeed,” Stephen added.
“How very kind of you both!” Ann’s face lit up. “My! I must say I could not be blessed with a better pair of neighbors. Seems like you two have really good blood running through your veins.”
Matilda instantly felt awkward. That family thing again!
“Well, I guess I’d better be going,” Ann said. “By the way, I would really love if you both would join us for supper this evening. I’ll be cooking lamb and potatoes, and that way you get to meet the children too.”
“Um… we would love to,” Stephen responded. He gave Matilda a slight nudge wi
th his pinky out of the view of their neighbor.
“Yes, that would be awfully nice,” Matilda agreed.
“Well, it’s set then! Please come over at five o’clock.”
“Will do.” Matilda walked her to the door and closed it only after Ann had made the turn for her house.
“We’re cousins?” She whispered loudly.
“I didn’t know what else to say,” Stephen admitted. “I would imagine they’d be shocked to know we are unwed and living together in this house. It’s practically unheard of.”
“I know that, but did you consider how we would explain ourselves if one day we do make that trip to the altar, Stephen?”
He lowered his head. “Hadn’t thought of it.” Then a thought crossed his mind and he dashed over to her. “Are you saying, you will soon be ready to wed?”
She shook her head. “I never imagined we would find ourselves in a situation such as this. I suppose if we are going to be together, just the two of us, then… maybe we should. But at the same time, we have to get settled here and I must not have any lingering doubts about whether I am ready or not.”
He snatched her into his arms, twirled her around and did not let her go without kissing her passionately.
“I did not say we’re going to wed now!” She stated after he put her down again. “So, I don’t understand your excitement.”
“You’ve never been this close to making this all-important decision, my love. And now you are. That’s why I am so excited.” He was smiling widely.
“But now, you have introduced me as your cousin. The problem is the townsfolk might not accept or respect us when they find out we’ve lied to them.”
“We will cross that bridge when we must.” Stephen replied. “When the time comes, I promise to take full responsibility in clearing up the entire matter.”
“I’m certain you will.”
Matilda walked away.
4
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The Cornelius Saga Boxed Set Page 54