by Bree Wolf
“Maybe,” Martin whispered.
“But if that were true,” Quinn said, “then why didn’t his parents say something after she died. They must have known. And besides wouldn’t the baby have died with her?”
“Not if it already had been born,” Soo-Ji said.
“Okay, then what happened to the baby?” Quinn asked. “I mean if there ever was one. If she died after the baby had been born, wouldn’t his parents have taken care of it? Wouldn’t they have told him? Wouldn’t Martin have seen the baby when he came home? I’m not sure any of this is making sense.”
Soo-Ji shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we should ask someone who does.”
“His parents,” Quinn mused. “I’m still not used to having that option.”
With gritted teeth, Arnaud asked, “Can you call them from here?”
She shook her head. “If they don’t find me, I need to go to their graves. It’s the only way. Sorry.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Arnaud said, turning to the door.
“Wait,” Soo-Ji called. “There is one more thing we need to do first.” Again her eyes shifted to the potted plant by the couch.
“Right,” Arnaud nodded, and his face took on a softer expression. Walking over to Quinn, he took her hands. “Listen, maybe …eh … you were wondering how we knew you were in danger.” His eyes darted to Martin, traces of anger back in them. “How we knew to come for you.” He held the dangling amulet in front of her face.
A frown showed on Quinn’s face as she understood. “Now that you mention it.”
Before Arnaud said anything else, he put the amulet back around her neck in one fluid motion. As the chain closed, Quinn thought she felt something. A presence. Without it, she had felt alone. Vulnerable.
With a hand under her chin, he made her look at him. “Don’t you EVER … take it off again! You hear me?”
“I promise,” she nodded. “But I didn’t think …” Arnaud shook his head. “I promise.”
“Good. Well, let’s see … eh, Julia came here. Maybe you—”
“Yes,” Quinn nodded eagerly. “I heard her but I couldn’t …say anything.” Her eyes darted to Martin.
“I see,” Arnaud said, casting another angry glance behind him. “Well, when you didn’t answer, neither door nor phone, she thought something might be wrong and so she came to find me.” A slight frown appeared on his face. “Did you tell her something? She seemed—”
“Stay on topic,” Soo-Ji reminded him.
“Sorry. Well, the thing is, when Julia came to my house, she wasn’t alone.”
“Luke?” Quinn asked. “What about him?”
“Not him,” Arnaud said. “There was someone else. Someone she didn’t even know was there.”
The frown on Quinn’s face deepened. “Okay, you’re not making any sense.”
Arnaud’s gaze shifted to Soo-Ji, who stepped forward, holding out her hand. “There is someone here who wants to say hello.”
Eyes going back and forth between them, Quinn finally understood what they were saying. “A ghost? Eh …spirit, I mean. His dad?” She looked at Martin, who’s face took on a terrified expression at the mention of his father.
“Not him,” Soo-Ji said, smiling encouragingly. “Take my hand.”
Something about the situation and the way they were looking at her made Quinn feel uneasy. A part of her even thought to reject the offer. Maybe every now and then not knowing was better. But in the end, her curiosity won out.
Taking a deep breath and bracing herself for whatever was coming, she slowly slit her hand into Soo-Ji’s. As she followed her gaze, Quinn felt her mouth drop open as she stared at the spirit, standing beside the potted plant in the corner by the couch.
Although she looked as she always had, the expression on her face was different. Gone was the carefree lightheartedness and the numbingly lack of own thoughts. Her eyes shone with things seen and memories made that could not be taken back. A faint smile hung on her lips as her eyes met Quinn’s and she lifted her hand in the attempt of a friendly wave.
Shocked at what her eyes saw, Quinn stupidly waved back at the blonde cheerleader, who had died in her place only a few weeks ago.
“Amanda,” she whispered.
Chapter 42 – What Once Was Lost
Unlike Julia, whose movements were hindered by physical barriers, Amanda had been able to walk through the closed door of Quinn’s home. Inside, she had found her friend, pushed against the wall by a man she didn’t recognize and who’d had a hand over her mouth to keep her from calling out.
Knowing that she was unable to interfere with the world of the living, Amanda hadn’t known what to do. There had been nothing she could have done. It had been one of her darkest moments, she told them.
When Julia had left, Amanda had gone with her. She had sensed that Julia, although she had no idea what had been going on inside, was worried too. Julia had driven across town, straight to Arnaud’s, asking if he knew where Quinn was. It had quickly become clear that something was wrong. But neither one of them had known what, until the short Korean woman had joined them.
Shocked almost out of her wits, Amanda had seen Soo-Ji’s eyes focus on her. By then she had been so used to people seeing through her that it had taken her a moment to notice.
Relieved, Amanda had told them everything she’d seen and Arnaud had darted out of the house instantly, with Soo-Ji heading to the garage following on his heels.
“Thank you,” Quinn whispered, after Amanda had told her story. “And … and I’m sorry. So sorry.”
“For what?”
“For what happened to you,” Quinn said, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. Amanda had never been a good friend. They had never been close. It was that more than the fact, that she had asked her to take her place and deliver the food, that made Quinn feel guilty. She had never valued Amanda until she’d died, and now she owed her her life. The world truly was a weird place.
Amanda shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I asked you to go,” Quinn insisted.
“You didn’t know what would happen, and I could’ve said no. It was my choice.”
Eyeing her friend’s spirit curiously, Quinn found that although only a few weeks had passed, Amanda was not the person she used to be. She held her head with a new sense of self. Suddenly she seemed to know who she was. The submissive look in her eyes was gone, replaced by one of self-value.
It made her more likable.
“Let’s not talk about it any more,” Amanda suggested. “We can’t change what happened. So there’s no point.”
A sad smile on her face, Quinn nodded. “You’re right.”
For a moment they just looked at each other. To Quinn, it felt like neither one of them had ever really known the other. It felt like they had only just now lain the first foundation stone for their future relationship – as bizarre as that was, considering that Amanda was dead.
“Everything alright?” Arnaud asked, only having heard one half of the conversation.
Quinn nodded. “Yes, it’s just … I never expected this.”
“Neither did I,” Amanda said, her eye shifting to Soo-Ji. “I’m so glad to finally be seen … and heard. You have no idea how lonely it is. I felt like I wasn’t really there. Not even that. I felt like I didn’t matter. I’ve never felt so awful in my entire life.”
His gaze traveling from face to face, Arnaud turned to Quinn again. “Would it be alright if we left now? I …I need to know.”
“Sure. What about him?” she asked, nodding at Martin.
“We’re all going,” Arnaud clarified. His eyes still held a hint of anger whenever they turned to his friend. “This concerns him too.”
“Wait,” Amanda called as they all turned to the door. “Can I see the picture?”
“What?” Arnaud asked, as Quinn stopped and looked back at the potted plant by the couch.
“She wants to see the picture.”
“Why
?” Arnaud asked, pulling it out of his back pocket. Looking a little annoyed, he walked over to Soo-Ji and took her other hand. When Amanda appeared in his view, he repeated the question.
“I thought she looked familiar too,” she said, coming to stand beside Arnaud. “But I didn’t get a good enough look at it.”
He held up the picture so she could see.
All eyes were on her, waiting curiously. Only Martin stood motionless, a solemn expression on his face, but his eyes too held a hint of curiosity.
Squinting at the small picture, Amanda frowned. “Yes, she does look familiar. If I could only remember where …” Thinking, she rubbed her temples. It was such a human gesture that Quinn had trouble keeping a straight face. “Oh, I know!” Amanda suddenly called, eagerness in her voice. “At school. It was at school. That girl … What’s her name? That featureless girl your sister hangs out with! What’s her name again? She looks kind of like her, don’t you think?”
And then it hit her. “Jo!” Quinn said. “Yes, you’re right. She looks like Jo.” A frown appeared on her face as she conjured up the face of her sister’s friend. “Well, at least a little.”
Arnaud’s eyes had grown big. “Her name is Jo?”
Quinn nodded. “Yeah, weird isn’t it?”
“Maybe they really are related,” Arnaud said, his voice a bit shaky. “Maybe she did have a child.”
“Maybe,” Quinn said, smiling at him. “But, Jo …she’s just …In a way she looks very different.”
“What do you mean?” Arnaud asked.
Quinn shrugged. “That’s difficult to explain. You’ve never seen her. Jo is … she doesn’t seem to care what she looks like. She slumps around in baggy jeans and washed-out shirts. More often than not her hair is a mess – I’m not sure she even owns a brush.” Again Quinn looked at the neat appearance of Arnaud’s sister.
“Well, I’m not surprised,” Soo-Ji objected. “They are not the same person. Jo might be a descendant, that’s all. Keep in mind, Joséphine died over two hundred years ago. Even if they are related, then there still are generations between her and Jo.”
Seeing her point, Quinn nodded. “You’re right.”
“I need to see her,” Arnaud said. “Where does she live?”
“The northern end of Willow Street,” Quinn said as another thought struck her. “But right now, she’s at the carnival. With my sister.”
“Then we’ll go there,” Arnaud said. “I can’t wait.”
***
In the car on the way to the high school, the tension in the air was tangible. No one said a word. Everyone was staring out the windows, occupied with their own thoughts.
Without a connection to Soo-Ji, Quinn couldn’t see Amanda any more but was sure she was still close by. After spending weeks without any kind of contact, Quinn couldn’t imagine Amanda would ever stray far from Soo-Ji’s side. She was her only way of getting in touch with the world around her.
Still staring out the window, shoulders slumped, face drawn, Martin suddenly sighed. “I might have had a child,” he mumbled. “And I never knew. I never saw her … or him. And now that child is already dead. Just like her.”
“I’m sorry,” Quinn said, not sure he heard her. “But if Jo really is a descendant of Joséphine, then … a piece of her survived.”
Martin lifted his head, turning around to look at her. A faint smile crossed his face before his head turned back to the side, almost leaning against the window.
Looking at Soo-Ji, she asked, “Do you think that name-thing is a coincidence?”
“I have no idea. I guess anything’s possible.”
“Can you call your sister and ask her to meet you?” Arnaud asked, pulling onto the parking lot in front of the school.
“Sure,” Quinn mumbled, feeling excitement crawl over her skin. She’ll think I’m insane, but whatever.
Squeezing through the crowd, past stands selling cotton candy, caramel apples and other tasty foods that would only put additional weight on those brave enough to indulge, they approached the Ferris wheel.
The sun was already setting but the atmosphere still buzzed with exuberance and not yet exhausted energy. Cheerful and delighted voices echoed across the field, thrown back and forth between stands and rides. Only now and then they were interspersed by fearful screams coming from the direction of the rollercoaster. Flashing lights of all colors of the rainbow mingling with delicious smells turned the otherwise green, wide field into a replica of Candy Land.
“There she is,” Quinn said, pointing at her sister, standing about twenty feet away by the ticket booth. Right next to her, leaning on the rail, eyes following the passenger cars slowly moving up into the darkening sky, stood Jo.
Again Quinn frowned. The girl before her eyes maybe had a few features in common with the young woman from the picture, but the essence of what set them apart appeared an insurmountable canyon.
“Do you see her?” Quinn asked, turning around to look at Arnaud. “Do you really think she looks—?” Seeing his face, she stopped.
Staring at her sister’s annoyingly featureless friend, Arnaud’s face seemed to be frozen in place. He didn’t even blink, or breathe. The tension in his shoulders was visible through his shirt, his hands balled into fists.
“Are you alright?” she asked anxiously, her eyes shifting to Soo-Ji, who was looking at Arnaud with the same worried expression on her face. When Quinn turned to Martin, she found almost the same thunderstruck mask on his face as well. “What is it? Does she look that much like her?”
Again her eyes turned to Jo, trying to see what Arnaud and Martin were seeing. In that moment Cora noticed her and giving Jo a nudge, pointed them out.
The second Jo’s eyes fell on their little group, the smile on her face vanished. Her features grew hard. Her eyes narrowed into slits, lips pressed together in a tight line.
Quinn was surprised to see her react like that. She didn’t think her sister’s friend despised her that much – after all she had agreed to meet her there. But when she focused on her face, through the darkening air and the flashing lights, Quinn finally realized that she wasn’t staring at her.
Jo was staring at Arnaud.
Suddenly their faces looked so much alike. But while Arnaud’s face was held immobile by shock alone, Jo’s eyes burned with anger – fury even.
While looking back and forth between them, Quinn saw a similarly confused expression on Cora’s face as she spoke to Jo, trying to shake her out of her sudden trance. But Jo didn’t move. Like Arnaud, and Martin too, she seemed completely oblivious to her surroundings.
“Arnaud,” Quinn tried again. “Are you alright? What is it?” Putting a hand on his arm, she shook him.
“I …I,” he stammered. “She …it’s …her.” Suddenly he took a step forward, holding out a hand.
But the moment he did, Jo was shaken out of her paralysis. Still staring at him, she shook her head, taking a step backwards. Then from one second to the next she turned around and ran.
A moment later she was gone, with Cora calling after her.
“What was that?” Quinn asked, turning back to Arnaud. “What is going on?” she asked, stepping in his line of vision, trying to get his attention. “Talk to me!” Not knowing what else to do, she slapped him hard across the face, doubting that it hurt him, but her hand was burning.
Pain or no, he blinked and then he saw her. “It’s her,” he whispered, now staring into Quinn’s eyes.
“You sure? I don’t think the resemblance—”
“No,” Arnaud interrupted. “It’s her. It’s Joséphine.” Again he stared after her. “It’s my sister.”
“What?”
About the Author
With a deep love for literature, Bree Wolf became a writer early on when she discovered that many of the books she wanted to read hadn’t been written yet.
While obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English/Education and a Master of Arts in Specialized Translation, she followed her fan
cy across different genres, deciding on a whim what to write about.
Although she herself is her own toughest critic, she is always on the lookout for inspirational assistance. Help her work out the bugs in her writing by leaving a comment on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/breewolf.novels, and/or writing a review on Amazon (by turning the page, you are led to a link which will take you where you need to go).
Your opinion is much appreciated.