“I don’t know how I’m going to make it without him. I feel like part of my soul is missing now,” I said.
“Time will heal all things. Isn’t that what you always tell me when I’m upset about something? Like when my mom died, and I thought my life was over. You gave me Cherry Garcia, Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream, and you told me, ‘Sam, stop crying. Your mom would hate to see you crying like this. Just keep moving, keep breathing, and remember, time will heal all things,' remember?”
“Yeah I remember. I thought I was giving you great, scholarly advice. That was really terrible.”
“It feels really terrible now, but the advice was great advice, because as time goes by, it stops hurting as much. I promise.”
“How do you keep going in the meantime, though?” I asked, hugging my arms around my body.
She shrugged, “You just do.”
My stomach growled. I could tell I was dehydrated; my mouth and lips were incredibly dry. I guess burning at the stake would do that to you. I looked at my bedside table where I would normally have a bottle of water, but there wasn’t one there.
“You need something?” she asked.
“Water,” I said swallowing razors.
“Be right back.” She hopped off the bed and immediately returned with a bottle of Dasani and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Oh, this girl knew me alright.
I devoured the cookies and drank the entire bottle of water. Sam brought me two more bottles and I drank both of those as well. My eyelids were getting heavy and sleep was dragging me down. I was terrified I was going to have nightmares.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I asked her. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Of course, I will,” she climbed in beside me. I fell asleep pretty quickly. All night I dreamed of Matthew. I dreamed of him touching me, caressing me and I dreamed of the moment he told me he loved me. Except in my dream, there was no John and no witches. There was just us.
That morning I awoke before Sam did. I sat up and put my feet on the floor, marveling at the plush carpet beneath my feet. I stood and stretched my body out. The contents of my stomach flooded my mouth. I slapped my hands over my mouth and ran for the bathroom. I threw up until there couldn’t possibly be anything else inside my body and sat on the floor with my forehead against the toilet bowl.
The nausea was starting to clear, but I was dizzy from the heaving. Sam came rushing in. “Oh, my God are you ok, Taryn!” she pulled my hair away from my face and tied it in a pony with the elastic around her wrist. “It wasn’t the cookies was it? I made them myself.” At the mention of cookies, my stomach flipped over again. Then Mr. Toilet and I went for round two.
When I was done throwing up my guts, Sam helped me back to bed. “I’m fine, really. Time travel must just be hard on a girl’s stomach,” I said. I really was starting to feel better already. “Can you bring me my laptop?”
She retrieved it from my small writing desk. I flipped open the top and waited for it to boot up. I put in my password, and with shaking fingers I clicked on the icon for the internet. I typed Matthew’s name into the search bar, and I held my breath.
Sam sat beside me with her head on my shoulder.
“There! Look at that!” I exclaimed, turning the screen towards her.
She read out loud, “Mr. Matthew Hopkins abruptly ended his career as Witch Hunter General in the year 1647, after his wife was allegedly kidnapped by his partner who turned on him. It was believed that Mr. Stearne had been harboring homosexual feelings towards Mr. Hopkins for some time and went mad when he realized they were not reciprocated. Wife?” she looked at me full of accusations. “Is there something else you want to tell me?” she asked.
“History doesn’t always get everything right. He also didn’t just go crazy; he was a psychopath who liked to hurt women. Keep reading.”
She looked back down at the screen, “Mr. Stearne burned Mr. Hopkins' wife at the stake along with nine other women before he could be stopped. This event dramatically changed Matthew Hopkins’ life, and he dedicated himself to ending violence and began preaching love and understanding after the tragic event.”
I smiled, “He changed history. He was a truly great man,” I said.
She read further, “This ended the witch hunting inquisition in Europe,” Sam looked at me. She was stunned, “Taryn, do you know how many lives you may have saved?” she asked.
“It wasn’t me. Matthew just needed a nudge in the right direction.” I found a biography of Matthew on another page.
“Look at this, Matthew Hopkins married Ms. Taryn Guthry of unknown origins in the late fall of 1647.”
There it was. My name in history. My proof that everything I remembered was true. I was sane. Also, I needed to throw up again.
I hit the toilet running.
“I’ll be right back,” Sam said.
When she returned, she handed me something wrapped in plastic. “I’m going to need you to pee on this.” She had a sly smile on her face. Oh, my, God… Could I be pregnant? No way…
“Ok…” I said, more than a little shaken. I turned around and took a seat on the toilet after I heaved a few more times. I dropped my pants and took a seat to urinate. I quickly dipped the little stick into the flow and sat it on the counter while I finished my business. Sam watched the test with excitement radiating off of her.
I knew I was pregnant the instant her face lit up. “I’m going to be an Auntie!” She cried out.
I was shocked. Happy but completely shocked. I was pregnant by a man who had died hundreds of years ago. How would I ever explain that? I placed a hand on my belly. If only Matthew were here to experience this with me. He would have been an amazing father. I began to cry thinking of him.
“Don’t cry. Everything is going to be fine. I’m here, and I’ll be here every step of the way for my little niece or nephew in there.” She tapped on my belly softly, like I had on the microphone before my speech; it seemed like that was years ago. “Hello in there. Can you hear me? This is you Auntie Sam, just want you to know that I love you already and I can’t wait to meet you,” I smiled. I grabbed her in a hard hug and she squeezed me back.
“You’re going to be the best Auntie ever,” I said to her.
Someone was knocking on the door. We froze and listened. The knocking came again much louder this time. We looked at each other, “Are you expecting anyone today?” I asked her.
“No, I’m not,” She said.
We crept down the stairs. There were two figures we could make out through the opaque glass of the front door. The smaller of the two was knocking again. They were not going to give up.
“You stay here,” Sam said. “I’ll see what they want.”
“Be careful,” I said, releasing her hand.
Sam gripped the door knob and hesitated a moment before turning the deadbolt and opening it just wide enough to see what the person wanted. I couldn’t hear the conversation but I saw Sam nodding. “Hang on a sec,” she said. Turning to me, she said, “Taryn, you’re gonna want to come down here. You’re never going to believe this.”
I took the stairs slowly. One at a time. One foot in front of the other. My heart was about to explode in my chest. I made it to Sam. “You might want to sit down,” she said.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Suit yourself.”
She pulled the door open and Sarah Goodfield stood in my doorway. She didn’t look angry anymore. In fact, she was smiling at me and looked almost kind. “Taryn,” she said, embracing me. I stood completely still while she touched me. I didn’t know how to react.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“You did far better than I ever could have imagined. I sent you too late to save my mother, but you saved so many others from terrible deaths. I cannot thank you enough. I’m sorry I caused you so much pain. I couldn’t believe it this morning when all the history books miraculously changed. I knew you had set it all right.”
I looked at her in
amazement. I guess she didn’t want to hurt me anymore.
“I brought you something to make up for everything you went through,” she stepped aside. My eyes focused on the man who had been standing back behind her.
“Matthew?” I asked.
His eyes locked on me and the entire world melted away save for him. I threw myself into his arms and he gathered me up and held me to him. He buried his face in my hair, “Taryn, oh my Taryn! I watched you burn! I thought I would never see you again!” he set me on my feet and kissed me deeply.
“The score is settled then?” the witch asked.
I smiled at her so hard it made my face hurt. “Yes! Thank you so much! You have no idea how wonderful this is.”
“Good,” she said. “We are even. I truly hope you two have a wonderful life,” she smiled, turned and walked to her car.
“Matthew there is something I need to tell you,” I said looking into his amazing eyes.
“Yes?”
“Well first off, I love you more than any words could ever express. I couldn’t begin to fathom living in a world without you. And also, we are going to be parents.”
He dropped to his knees and placed his hands on my belly. He had tears in his eyes. “I’m going to be a papa?” he asked.
“Yes. I love you Matthew,” he threw me into his arms.
“I love you too. Times a million. Both of you.”
The three of us embraced, Matthew and I. Sam. My entire life in one place. And now a baby too. What an amazing journey for us all to end up in one spot.
The End
About the Author
Candace Adams is a Marine Corps veteran who lives in New Hampshire with her family. When she is not writing, you can find her curled up with the latest good book or hard at work with her husband. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
The Witch Hunter Page 31