“Well, it’s better late than never, as they say, Sofia. I think you were supposed to meet her, so here you are.” Ricky pointed at his mother and gave a huge grin. “Meet my mother, Margaret Lennard but, if you prefer, you may call her Maggie. That’s what her friends called her back in the day.”
Sofia’s jaw dropped and she froze on the spot. Unlike her, quivering, and fluid like a river, Mrs Lennard let out a pained sigh and took Sofia in her arms, leaving a multitude of kisses on her face.
Chapter 41
“So now, Sofia, do you see why I asked you to meet my mother?” said Ricky. “There is no better person than her to talk to if you want to know all about Laura Mayfield.”
The three of them were sitting together in the same room, having tea. Sofia had explained all about The Lady sending her poems through her dreams, and she felt lighter and more relaxed in the company of Maggie.
Sofia nodded with a smile and took another sip of her tea while Maggie watched her, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “Sofia, I noticed one of your sketches depicts a young man wearing a scarf. If you were to add colours, would you paint the scarf rusty brown, by any chance?”
Sofia brought a hand to her mouth, staring back at Maggie, lost for words.
Maggie’s eyes lit up. “You would, wouldn’t you? I knew it!”
Sofia simply nodded, shocked to silence.
“Did you get inspired to sketch that man in the scarf from a dream perhaps, the way you get inspired to write the poems?” Maggie leaned closer. “Or do you, by any chance, actually know a young man who looks like that?”
“I do . . . It’s my boyfriend, Danny.”
“Danny?” said Maggie and Ricky in unison.
Sofia leaned closer, and said in a hushed tone, “You think this is Christian, don’t you?”
Maggie gasped and placed a hand over her heart. “How do you know Christian’s name?”
“The Lady told me . . . She showed herself to me on the promenade one day and spoke of Christian.”
“What did she say about him, Sofia?” asked Ricky.
“She referred to Danny as Christian. She knows I love him; she is helping me win his love.”
“But you said he’s your boyfriend?”
Sofia shrugged. “We’ve had problems. But I think we’re on a good track at the moment. We’re happy; he loves me and is not afraid to say it any more.”
“I’m very pleased to hear it, Sofia. Because, you know, Laura told me many times she was determined to find Christian in another lifetime and never let go again.”
“She did?”
Maggie wiped a tear from her eyes and nodded, her lips pressed together, her mind brimming with tragic old memories.
“Mrs Lennard—”
The old woman raised a hand. “Please. Call me Maggie. I can't have it otherwise. To look at you is to see an old friend. You have no idea what your darling face means to me.”
“Okay then . . . Maggie . . . Do you believe I . . . I am Laura? Your old friend?”
Maggie gave an easy smile. “Sofia, I know you are.”
“And you think that Danny . . . my Danny . . . is Christian?”
Maggie gave a bright smile. “Of course. Judging from the sketch, they look identical. Oh, Sofia! You’ve made me so happy today! Don’t you see? You two have found each other again! Thank the Lord it happened early enough for me to see it before I go!”
Sofia threw her hands in the air. “But . . . But Maggie, it sounds so bizarre!”
“I’ll tell you what; why don’t you bring Danny over one day? I’d love to meet him. I’ll take one look at him and I’ll know if there’s even a smidgen of Christian in him. He was such a cheeky rascal! Is Danny mischievous? Does he love a good joke? That would be a good sign!”
Sofia gave a chortle that dissolved the last traces of apprehension and doubt in her heart. She issued a lopsided grin. “Maggie, you just described Danny.”
***
Two days later, Sofia returned to Maggie’s house, this time with Danny. She had only told him she was the mother of her publisher who loved her poetry and had become a friend. Danny couldn’t wait to meet her. His agreeable smile, as he offered his hand, caused Maggie to freeze at the threshold for a few moments. She knew there and then Christian had returned from the dead.
Maggie led her guests to the living room. Danny and Sofia sat on the sofa, and Maggie sat across from them in an old armchair. Ricky had arrived earlier, not wanting to miss the chance to see Sofia and Danny together. He’d just greeted them and gone to the kitchen to make tea. Over the years, Maggie told Ricky all about Laura and Christian, showing him a multitude of photographs and Laura’s poetry that she left behind.
This is why when he saw Sofia’s face the first time, Ricky was astounded by the resemblance. When he saw Sofia’s sketch of Danny wearing the scarf, he knew he had to tell his mother. All these years he hadn’t believed her whenever she talked of Laura’s determination to meet Christian in another lifetime and to do right by him. When the locals spoke of The Lady of the Pier, Ricky used to think it was just an urban myth. But, of course, all that changed the day Sofia landed on the tarmac right in front of his car.
Maggie gazed at Sofia and Danny sitting side by side in front of her, her eyes lit up. She couldn’t get enough of the sight of them together. It was a lifelong dream come true. Oh, just look at them! How can I help them realise what they are to each other? And if Sofia is aware of the spirit of Laura inside her, is there a way I can make Danny aware that Christian is inside him too? Maggie had an idea but wasn’t sure if it was appropriate. If it didn’t work, it could come across as awkward. But why not? It was worth a try.
Ricky came in with the tea, breaking Maggie’s reverie. They sipped from their cups and began to exchange pleasantries, the atmosphere easy and friendly. A few minutes later, unable to wait any longer, Maggie stood and excused herself, saying she’d be back soon. When she returned—it took only two minutes to fetch something from upstairs—she was wearing an expression of caution mixed with suppressed enthusiasm. When she first saw Danny, she noticed he wore a brown scarf that looked exactly like Christian’s, the one Laura loved and had kept to remember him by. Now, back in the living room, she held in her hands the very article neatly folded.
“This is something I’d like to show you both,” she said without offering a reason or an explanation. She placed the old scarf in Danny’s hands and returned to her seat.
Taken aback, Danny placed the scarf on his lap and, after looking at it for a few moments, looked up, his expression puzzled. He gave a polite smile and said nothing, then turned to Sofia and was mystified to see that, unlike him, she seemed enthralled by the sight of the scarf.
“Oh, Danny, look. It’s the exact same colour as yours,” said Sofia, a hand over her mouth, her eyes dancing.
“Yes . . . I can see that . . .” he replied, not sure what else was there to say.
“Why don’t you give it a closer look?” said Maggie.
Danny obeyed, although he didn’t see the point. He opened it up, held it in his hands, turning it this way and that. Sofia put out a hand and caressed it with her fingertips, a tingling sensation coursing down her spine. Unlike her, the vacant look in Danny’s eyes suggested he was totally unaffected.
“What are these dark brown marks here and there?”
“That would be blood, Danny,” replied Maggie, deadpan.
Danny did a double take. “Blood?”
“That’s right. This scarf belonged to someone special to me. I kept it to remember him by.”
“Right . . .” mumbled Danny and folded the scarf quickly, making sure to place it on his lap in a way so he couldn’t see any marks. He ran a hand through his hair, then threw Sofia a penetrating look. It telegraphed to her he couldn’t wait to go but she looked away and smiled awkwardly at the other two.
Determined to put the message across, and as the other two sipped from their tea, Danny pointed at his watch with one shar
p finger, then raised his brows at Sofia suggestively but she shook her head, declining to budge. What’s the matter with her? These people are weird!
Danny felt increasingly unnerved as the scarf rested on his lap. The idea of it being stained with blood was starting to freak him out, so he took the initiative to offer it back to Maggie.
“No, Danny. You can have it.”
“What? No, I’m all right, thank you.”
“Please. I insist.”
“That’s . . . erm . . . kind of you, but I have one already.” Danny pointed at the scarf around his neck, but Maggie refused to take it. He placed it on the coffee table and looked away, pretending to gaze outside the window, his eyes glinting with annoyance. Crazy old bat!
For the next few moments there was silence as the other three watched him, deflated.
“Erm, Sofia, shall we go? I have this appointment, remember?” Danny said finally.
Sofia registered the urgency in his expression and her heart sank. She was thrilled to see the scarf that had once belonged to Christian and wished she could tell Danny all about it. Still, she couldn’t. Danny would never believe her. He always made fun of anything concerning spirits, ghosts, or even the afterlife.
Five minutes later, having left in a hurry, he was shouting at her in his parked car, too vexed to start driving just yet.
“Where have you brought me, Sofia? These people are mad! It’s like the Twilight Zone in there!”
“Now, you’re exaggerating!”
“Excuse me? Were you not there? She tried to give me as a present a scarf covered in blood stains!”
“Fine. If you don’t like them, you don’t have to visit them again. I’ll come visit my friends on my own next time. Can we go now please?”
“How can you be friends with that old bat? Can't you see she’s off her rocker? And her son, I could have duffed him! He kept staring at me funny! Didn’t you see?”
“Just drive, Danny . . .”
Spent, Danny started the engine and pulled away, shaking his head and chewing his lips to stop himself from speaking any more. Beside him, Sofia was disappointed that it hadn’t gone well. Still, inside her tote bag she had a secret that left her with a tiny hope. Maybe, just maybe, the old, blood-stained scarf could work a miracle for them, even if he didn’t want to know about it.
While Ricky exchanged a few words with Danny on the doorstep, Maggie had dropped the scarf in Sofia’s bag, a finger on her lips to ask her to keep it a secret. “Keep it. You never know how Laura’s spirit may use it to bind you together. If there’s one thing that could work this miracle, then this is it,” whispered Maggie in the girl’s ear as they kissed goodbye. “I know you’re my Laura . . . And Danny is Christian, for sure. I can tell. Stubborn as always!”
Chapter 42
Sofia and Annika hopped on the bus and found two adjacent seats. They’d just visited a clairvoyant that had come recommended by a mutual friend from college. The previous day, Sofia had relayed to Annika all about Maggie and the blood-stained scarf she brought with her to the dorm. Annika insisted it was high time to seek professional assistance. To make sure Sofia would go through with it, she invited herself to come along. As it turned out, the clairvoyant was gifted; he guessed many things about Sofia’s peculiar situation.
“So, he said you and Danny are sister souls . . .”
“Yes. But apparently, he’s waiting for something; what did he call it now? . . . Oh yes! An awakening.”
“An awakening? What on earth does that mean?”
Sofia shrugged. “He said something inert inside him needs to wake up, and then he’ll see the light, once and for all.”
Annika snapped her fingers, her eyes igniting. “Now, that makes sense . . . seeing that you’re aware of Laura inside you, but he wouldn’t know Christian from Adam!”
“Yes, exactly.”
“And what’s that weird thing he said about the horse again? I didn’t get that.”
“That’s the one thing I find the most intriguing. You see, he said ‘white horse’. And the only connection I can find is Rocking Horse Publishing. The logo of Ricky’s company is a white rocking horse.”
In the ensued silence, Sofia looked out the window, her expression heavy with concern. The world seemed grim. The wind beat trees, shop fronts and passers-by with the same ferocity, competing with the torrential rain to cast misery upon the world. By the girls’ feet, their umbrellas lay drenched, just like their clothes.
“And what of it? What about the horse?” said Annika, breaking the silence.
“Well, the clairvoyant said the horse is the key.”
“The key to what?”
“I don’t know, just the key. He said the horse will lead me to the person who can help me win Danny’s love and right the wrong. But this doesn’t make sense. How can Ricky help us?”
“From what I’ve heard, he’s a rich man. He can always give you a few of his millions,” joked Annika, causing Sofia to give a faint smile. Like her friend Loula, Annika never missed a chance to see the funny side of things. The girls peered out the window again. The rain was subsiding.
“Thank goodness,” said Sofia. Then, out of the blue, her eyes lit up. “The rocking horse! Of course, that’s what it is! That’s what’s been nagging at me!”
“What? What is it?”
“Annika, it’s right here!” said Sofia, a triumphant expression on her face as she took her notebook out of her backpack. She opened it to a random page and gasped. This was the exact one she wanted to find. The poem written there was the one Maggie had questioned her about, the first one The Lady had given her in Vassilaki: ‘Loving You Forever.’
“Sorry, Annika. I’ve got to run!” Sofia picked up her umbrella and hit the stop button.
“What’s the matter? Where are you going?”
“I have to see Maggie. Now. I’ll explain when I get back.”
LOVING YOU FOREVER
It took a million days
To seize another chance
And yet the day she found him
She knew from just one glance
Beyond the dreadful end
She yearned some peace to find
His look just scratched the surface
Retrieval left him blind.
Oh don’t you know that I’ve been loving you forever?
This love grows strong and burns the eternal light
Loving you forever; once here, now gone
But never out of sight.
She hides deep down inside
For bitter errors cries
She claims they’ll lead to toys
And rocking horses rides
Revenge they say is sweet
But are you satisfied?
When passion leaves us cold
We fail the truth to find.
Bereft of all my dreams
I’m wretched; hard done by
I’ll fly and chase the wind
That’s blown and passed me by.
Outrunning sad mistakes
I’ll reach the cragged hill;
Love yields when sorry tears
Go burning through the mill.
And when I feel the clouds
It’ll rain a million toys
The laugh of merry children
Will bring what time destroys.
Oh don’t you know that I’ve been loving you forever?
This love grows strong and burns the eternal light
Loving you forever; once here, now gone
But never out of sight.
Chapter 43
Sofia apologised when Maggie answered the door, saying she was sorry for dropping in unannounced but it was an emergency. Maggie kissed her on the cheek and hugged her, over the moon to see her again. She led Sofia to the living room where the girl declined the offer of tea. Instead, she took out her notebook and showed her the poem she now thought was the most important The Lady had ever given her.
“Oh, yes. One of Laura’s best,” sa
id Maggie.
“I thought you knew of it. You made me realise that during my first visit here.”
“Well, it’s identical to the one Laura wrote, except for one verse. I thought that was odd when I first read it.”
“You mean, when I left the notebook with you to read at your leisure?”
“That’s right.”
“Maggie, I meant to ask you if you had any comments about it . . . What can you tell me about the rocking horse in it?”
“That’s just it, Sofia, this is what’s new. In Laura’s notebook, there is another verse in its place.”
“Will you show it to me please?”
Maggie led Sofia upstairs where she opened one of two bedroom doors, turned on the main light and beckoned Sofia inside. “This was Laura’s room once.” She gave a ghost of a smile. “Or should I say . . . your room? I don’t use it and left it exactly as it was when Laura still lived in it.”
The moment Sofia walked in, a sense of familiarity washed over her. The room felt well known as if it were an old childhood room she’d just recalled as an adult. All of a sudden, fragments of ancient memories flooded her head, coming from nowhere. Tears streamed from her eyes. “Maggie, I remember . . . I remember so much from this room!”
Maggie placed a hand on Sofia’s shoulder, her eyes wide. “You remember?”
Sofia nodded. She moved away from Maggie and took a few numb steps forward, standing between the bed and the wardrobe. She turned away, went to a small cabinet by the bed and took out a notebook from the third drawer. “Don’t ask me how, but I knew it was here.”
“Oh Sofia, come here and look at it with me.” Maggie gestured to the bed and Sofia perched on its edge beside her, her fingers caressing the old notebook, knowing it was as precious to her as solid gold.
“I cannot believe it,” she mumbled. She leafed through the pages, her fingers trembling, and found the poem she wanted. It had the same title. She skimmed through the lines and read the passage she yearned to find.
She hides deep down inside / for bitter errors cries
The Storm Page 22