Sisters of Sorrow
Page 30
“A school?” Anna said, flabbergasted. “We can live there?”
“Yes, Anna. Everyone except Donny. When you negotiated this deal, you insisted on a safe place for your girls, so Matilda is not obligated to provide anything for him,” Dolores said, her eyes still twinkling. She watched Anna absorb her words, waited until Anna understood. As soon as Anna was about to ask what Donny was supposed to do on his own, Dolores added, “Fortunately for Donny, he has a friend in Perth who owes him a favor.”
“You?” Anna asked.
Dolores lowered the brim of her hat and settled back in the lounge chair. “Yep,” she said, “Somebody’s going to have to look after me until my feet heal. I’ll make sure he gets fed, and has a warm place to sleep. Maybe you can come by and visit sometime?”
“Of course I will, but…” Anna said, “But, Dolores? Australia?”
Dolores said nothing. Her smile broadened under the brim of her hat.
“Dolores,” Anna asked, now in a hushed voice, “can I trust Matilda? You know that she set you up, right?”
Dolores’s smile faltered. She lifted the hat brim to look Anna in the eyes. “Matilda will not lie to you. She agreed to heal Donny and she agreed to take you and your girls to a safe place. You can count on her to do those things. You must make absolutely sure that you uphold your end of the bargain. She is being extremely generous with you. That makes me think she wants more from you than you agreed to. I would recommend that you settle on exact terms sooner rather than later.”
“What does she want from me?” Anna asked.
“Surely, I do not know.” Dolores raised her eyebrows. “But, in as much as she seems to think that you singlehandedly wiped out McCain and half her army, my guess is she wants you to help her do battle with the other half.”
“Dolores!” Anna cried. “I didn’t do that, you did.”
“Well don’t tell her that,” Dolores smiled. “Besides, I’ll be around if you need a little help – And really, Anna, what else were you planning on doing with your life, now that you’ve seen the ocean?”
That thought struck Anna as so profound that she could find no words. Her future stretched out before her as sparkling and limitless as the ocean itself. A rushing vertigo swept over her and she sat back on her heels.
“Anyway,” Dolores said, “This ship sails faster than any natural vessel, but it’s still a very long way to Australia. You have plenty of time to wrestle with questions about the future. Eat. Rest. Dream. Oh, and you might want to go say hello to your girls, rumor is they are anxious to hear how you’re doing…Donny, would you mind giving her a hand?”
Anna looked across Dolores, to the bow of the ship, where all the girls stood, looking toward her. Their faces were a mix of wonder and concern, amazement and bewilderment, and joy. She felt Donny lifting her to her feet, felt Dolores releasing her hand.
Anna floated across the deck, as if she were a hot air balloon and Donny was guiding her by a rope rather than by her hand. She looked back at Dolores as Donny walked her toward the bow. The hat hid the woman’s face, except for one corner of her mouth, which turned up in a sly, contented grin.
Anna’s balloon landed the second she touched the forward deck. The girls mobbed her, laughing and shouting and crying. She heard shouts about Australia, where they have raccoons with duck heads and rabbits that stand up as tall as a man. She heard shouts about a school where you can read as much as you like, where they feed you even if you don’t make enough shoes. Someone kept asking if they have blackberry jam in Australia. Anna collapsed in a pile of hugs and tears.
At the ship’s stern, the black haired woman still stood at the wheel, her white gown ruffling in the wind like a furled sail. Anna had unfinished business with that woman, but that would have to wait. At this moment, it didn’t frighten Anna in the least. It seemed that just now, there was no room in her for fear. Her heart was too full with joy and wonder and love.
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading Sisters of Sorrow. If you had half as much fun reading as I had writing, we are both the better for it. Many more hardships and adventures await Anna and her friends. If you’d like to be the first to hear about new releases, please sign up for my newsletter HERE.
I love hearing from my readers and welcome your feedback. If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com. Reviews are the real-world magic that keep stories like Sisters of Sorrow alive.
You can contact me directly by email at axblackwell@gmail.com. You might also find me flinging inane comments into the twitterverse or palling around with my writer buddies on Facebook.
About the Author
Axel Blackwell grew up in one of those small Indiana towns where the only fun is the kind you make yourself. Many ghost sightings and UFO sightings in the central Indiana area between 1985 and 1990, as well as several small fires, can be attributed to Axel and his brothers attempting to escape boredom.
Axel now lives with his wife in the Pacific Northwest. He still enjoys summoning ghosts and fires, but has learned to bind these creations within the pages of a book…most of the time.
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axblackwell@gmail.com
Table of Contents
Part One
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Part Two
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28