Cate guided Micki’s fingers to her mouth. The gleaming white fangs felt like any other teeth, and they weren’t particularly sharp like some white-faced creature in a late-night B horror movie on television.
“They are a part of me, Micki. Who I am. They are no different than my hands, or my lips, or my breasts.”
Odd teeth were one thing that could easily be explained as biological. A spirited friend from school had pointed teeth that her parents were insistent the dentist file down to look normal. They were completely natural. After the procedure and taking away something that made her different and special, the girl lost her spark.
If it were only the fangs, Micki could accept that. Yet Cate was so much more.
“Vampire?” Micki choked out through a suddenly dry throat.
Cate’s beautiful face took on a bemused expression, like she heard the term many times before. “That is what I have been called…what my family was accused of. I don’t like that word.” There was a certain agitation to her voice now. “What I am not, Micki, is a blood drinking ghoul. I did not stalk the night searching the streets for my next victim to drain. Not to say I couldn’t do it, or that I didn’t have strong urges. I satisfied my urges in other ways. In 1912, I was a lady. I was determined to fit into society. It was others around me who made that impossible.”
Cate’s story was starting off like a gothic novel of suspense. Unfortunately, Micki had the distinct feeling that it would soon turn into one of horror.
“My family -- my parents, an older brother and sister, and a younger sister, lived well enough. We were taught to keep to ourselves and stay out of the public’s eyes. My older sister, Geneviève, who was twenty-two years in 1912, grew increasingly rebellious. She wanted friends, to attend debutant balls, and to marry. She would sneak out of our home against our parents’ wishes. Soon, the blood thirst became too great for her, as my father warned, and she attacked people indiscriminately.
Her indiscretions led the authorities straight to us.”
Cate removed her hand from Micki’s and wrung them together.
Micki placed a protective arm around Cate’s fragile shoulders. “If you don’t want to talk…”
“I have to, Micki. I feel if I do not unburden myself, my heart will explode in my chest. Perhaps I should allow it, I might finally die.”
“Don’t wish for death. You’ve just reawakened. There is so much life for you to live now. Unburden yourself, Catherina.”
She exhaled deeply. “The authorities…the police services, and the townspeople…they did not even ask for an explanation. They barricaded our family home from the outside, and burned it to the ground, with my family alive inside.”
Micki’s body shivered at Cate’s revelation. An entire family, burned alive.
“How…how did you survive?” Micki’s voice was a mere squeak.
“I was alone outside walking on the grounds. I loved to be among nature. The trees, and the flowers, and the bees and bunnies. I especially loved daisies, and they grew all over the property. That evening, there were dozens of tiny, baby bunnies all around. They were so beautiful! I imagine, they all died, too.” Two fat teardrops fell from her eyes and dropped onto her alabaster cheeks. “For days, I ran, but the police found me, and one man dragged me to the crypt and tossed me inside. Before he sealed it, he said he would be back to cut off my head and pry open my mouth with a stick, and…and…and put my head under my feet so I could not come back to life. But…he…he never came back. I was trapped in the stone box, alone in the dark for days, weeks, maybe months before I feel into my deathly sleep.”
Micki could barely comprehend the horror Cate endured. Her family burned alive, and her fate, possibly worse, sealed in a stone crypt, no escape, and only fear of wondering when the horrible police officer would come back to decapitate her. No wonder she was so frightened at the mention of the police.
All the doubts about Cate now washed away. The fear and the agony Cate felt was so acute, it pulsed from her body and filled Micki with her anguish. She didn’t mind, it was Cate’s only way to release her pain.
Micki held out her arms. “Come to me, my precious girl, let me hold you tight.”
Cate practically flung herself into Micki’s arms and sobbed. To Micki, as pitiful as it was to hear her cry, she knew it was a much-needed release. Finally, her sobs slowed to little gasps and hiccups, while Micki clucked little affections in her ear.
After some time passed, Cate pulled back and connected her blue eyes to Micki’s brown. “How can you be so lovely to me knowing what I am?”
Micki smiled. “Because, as I said earlier, Fate brought us together for some reason. Who am I to question why? I want to embrace this miracle of having you arrive in my life.” With that, she gently kissed Cate’s delicate lips.
4
For Micki, it was the most incredible few weeks of her life. Getting to know Cate, and all the special things that were exclusively Cate was a unique experience for Micki. She was unlike anyone Micki ever met. She didn’t know what would happen in time, but she would enjoy the time they shared together.
And, she was slowly, but surely falling in love.
Could it last? Micki’s brain whispered they were too different. That Cate would continue to regain her strength and independence and be off to explore the world without her.
As she boxed the individual orders of chocolate Easter eggs, lollipops, and decorated cookies, all wrapped in pastel cellophane and tied with beautiful bows, the thought of Cate leaving crept back into her mind.
She vowed she would never try to stop her from living her “forever” life. After what she endured, she deserved to be free.
It was Friday, and Micki had so many deliveries to make. She hoped to coax Cate into accompanying her. The way it was, Cate was still too frightened to leave the cottage.
It was such a beautiful spring day, with the sun shining, and the birds singing. Nature was simply bursting with new life. Micki decided to load the child-size red wagon she had in her garage and make the deliveries on foot.
“Cate? Would you like to take a walk, and help me to deliver all the orders?”
When she started her all too familiar wringing of her hands, Micki knew the answer was no. But she had to deliver the orders. People were expecting their sweets, and she would not let them down, no matter what.
She placed a gentle hand on Cate’s shoulder. “You must get out sometime. It’s so beautiful outside, and you will be with me the entire time. You helped me so much with the orders. You should be with me to deliver them.” A thought struck Micki. How was Cate surviving without blood? She ominously said she wasn’t a blood thirsty ghoul, but she had to be craving something…didn’t she? The thought was certainly unsettling.
“You go on, Micki. I will be fine here alone. Maybe it is a good thing for me to learn to be on my own.”
Micki wasn’t so sure, but she had no choice.
“Okay then. I will be back soon.”
Micki’s final stop on her delivery route was the church. While she was there, the secretary had something waiting for her.
The old book of records for the graveyard.
She had requested the record book shortly after Cate’s arrival, hoping to glean some further knowledge of the Cabot family.
When she stepped back into her cottage, Cate was still in the same position on the sofa where she left her. “You missed a lovely walk, Cate. The nature is beautiful, and I know you enjoy being in nature.”
She shrugged her shoulders in response.
“Will you please think about coming with me to the church Easter event Sunday?
She shrugged again.
“What are you afraid of? Is it the church?”
“No, I like churches. They are peaceful places.”
“Then what is it?” She sat beside her on the sofa. “This cottage is safe, yes. But it can soon become no more than a tomb if you allow it. Just a nicer version of what you experienced in that cry
pt for so many decades.
“Do you want me gone?”
A bolt of shock rocked through Micki. “Of course not, of course not, Cate! I love having you here, and I love you! I worry for you. For two reasons. One, because I don’t want you to end up like me! I find it so incredibly difficult to leave the cottage sometimes. I was raised by two loving but smothering parents who never allowed me out of their sight. I had no friends. They monitored my phone calls, my coming and going. Then they died six months apart. Though they left me well provided for, their overprotecting ways did me no favors. I find it almost impossible to be comfortable, or even speak in group situations. So, I still have no real friends. People perceive me as rude and standoffish. I try and try to be friendly at events, especially at the church, but it’s…not easy. What is easy is staying indoors or tending to the little graveyard.”
It was a mix of relief and almost an embarrassment to admit the truth. To admit her past and her weaknesses to Cate. Cate took her hand and held it to her cheek.
“Don’t you see, Micki? You once talked about how Fate brought us together for a reason. Now I understand the reason. It is so clear.”
“You do?”
“Yes! It was kismet – meant to be. I was in my dead sleep for so many years, and nothing woke me. Until you did. It was your singing at my crypt that woke me from my slumber. Fate sent first the most beautiful you, and the powerful storm of nature to destroy the crypt and finally free me from my imprisonment. You and I are alike – we know what it is to live in an enclosed little world full of shame and secrets. We understand each other, and now I feel so…I don’t know…lighter and liberated from my own prison both the physical, and the one in my mind. I am strong, and I am free, and you need to know you are strong and free, too. Together, we can even be stronger. I promise to celebrate a marvelous Easter with you, to go out among the people and the nature I love. And that is because of you, Micki, and I love you so much!”
Cate peppered Micki’s face with kisses. “Thank you for setting me free, and for loving me.”
Micki giggled at the kisses tickling her skin. Like Cate, she now experienced the same new sensation of lightness and liberation. It was Cate’s arrival that triggered the immense change in both of their lives. Fate brought them together. Now they both understood why
Later that evening they lounged in bed, in each other’s arms. The emotion flowing over her was so acute it was palpable. She was sweetly drowning in love and happiness.
“Micki?” Cate asked suddenly.
“What is it, my love?”
“Earlier you said there were two things you feared for me. What is the second?”
“Oh…” She now remembered. “I am terrified you are going to be overwhelmed with the need for blood and become sick. You must tell me if that is happening. You can take it from me.”
Cate propped herself up onto an elbow, her honey blonde hair falling forward. “Interesting offer, and I thank you, but unlike my sister, I can sustain myself nicely on the energy force around me. Trees, plants, old books…even the electricals. People, too, but know it does not hurt them. They might become a little dozy afterward, but they don’t even realize it happened.”
A sense of relief flooded Micki. “I was so worried, I didn’t want you to get sick.”
Cate’s eyes grew soft and moist. “I know you love me, but offering yourself to me is the most selfless act of love and compassion I’ve ever been shown. And, about the blood…if at some time in the future you wish to enter this never-ending life with me, we can discuss it then.”
A never-ending life with the woman she loved. What a wondrous thought! “Now, that is definitely something to look forward to.
Easter Sunday
The day couldn’t be more perfect. The sun shined high in the sky, casting a warm glow to the earth below, and bringing with it new possibilities.
The church’s Easter event was in full swing. Little girls in pastel dresses, and little boys in adorable suits, ran around the courtyard and the church grounds collecting the hidden chocolate Easter eggs. The parents looked on with beatific smiles.
There was delicious white cake, and the beautifully decorated cookies Micki made with Cate’s assistance, and sparkling fruit punch.
Micki couldn’t remember being any happier as she strolled the grounds with her love, walking hand in hand. Sure, it was still a struggle for them both. Cate was wary of people, but she smiled and spoke eloquently when spoken to. For Micki, it would be a process to break out of her shell, like the chocolate eggs, when cracked open, sometimes revealed a tiny surprise inside. With Cate in her life, she knew anything was possible.
For the first time in a long time, Micki looked forward to the future.
Before the event ended, the raffle winners were announced, and no winner was more surprised than Micki. She already felt like a winner.
Cate gasped and turned to Micki. “You won something, my angel!”
Her smile was brilliant and genuine. Just when she thought Cate couldn’t possibly be any more beautiful, she was. It amused Micki that Cate knew how to hold her lips so her little secret was never exposed to the public.
Micki gave her hand a little squeeze and went to collect her prize. As it was handed to her, Micki smiled. It made the perfect day even more so.
A tiny, pink, plush bunny. The memory of Cate’s tears when she talked about the baby bunnies she loved, who died in the horrible, horrible fire that took her family while she hid among the nature. Now, she had a sweet little bunny to give to Cate.
Whether it was Fate, or God, or some higher power, it continued to bless her with messages that she was being rewarded.
She walked back to where Cate waited. Her smile was glorious. Micki held the bunny behind her back.
“Happy Easter, Catherina!” She held the bunny out.
Her expression became almost childlike as her quivering hands took the bunny from Micki and held it to her heart. “Thank you, my Michaeleen. I cannot think of a more perfect way to end this beautiful Easter Sunday.”
Micki wrapped her arms around Cate and smiled. “I can think of a few ways. Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Micki had kept the church record book of her graveyard safely hidden away until Cate was ready to see it. They sat on the couch that summer, the breeze floated through the open window filling the cottage with the sweetness of honeysuckle and jasmine.
“Are you sure you want to see this, Cate?” She asked for the tenth time, concern lacing her voice.
Cate leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m ready. I’m not that brittle ghost of a woman who first entered your life. I can handle anything that might – or might not – be written in that book.
Micki inhaled deeply and opened the ancient tome that hadn’t been cracked for decades.
The records began at the mid nineteenth century and ended shortly after the first decade of the twentieth. Written in faded, flowing handwriting, it would be a challenge to decipher.
The records they needed to see would be near the end of the book. Micki carefully opened the back pages and scanned for the year 1912.
There weren’t many burials that year since the graveyard was full, and ready to be closed and relinquished by the church.
Micki used her index finger to scan down the list of names. Gleason, Amos, Peacock, Tollison…She paused her finger and let out a small gasp when she found it.
Cabot.
“There it is, Cate. Your family plots.” She turned her. “Are you sure you want to go on?”
Cate nodded.
Micki knew this was probably one of the hardest things Cate would face of late. Micki was proud of her, and it made her love Cate a little more, if that was even possible.
“Will you read it for me?” Cate asked.
Micki detected a tiny quiver in her voice.
“Of course.” She moved her index finger to the first name under Cabot. Although it was faded quite a bit, it was still readable.
“It first lists, Matthew Cabot.”
“My father.”
“Ellen Cabot.” She paused. “Your mother?”
Cate nodded.
“Geneviève Cabot. That is your older sister?”
“Yes.”
Micki looked at the next name. Her brows drew together.
“What’s wrong, Micki?”
“It lists Andrew Cabot, but in parenthesis is says the word presumed, followed by three question marks.”
“What do you think it means?” Cate asked.
“I’m not sure.” She looked at the next entry, which was plot 212, which held the above ground crypt where Cate had been held.
“Plot 212 – Unknown interment.”
“What does that mean?
Micki shrugged. “It means that they knew you were there, but the information was not recorded for whatever reason.”
“No one is there anymore, so perhaps it is fitting.”
“Yes, that is true.” Micki prepared to close the book.
“Wait, Micki!” Cate stopped her. “What about my younger sister, Christina?”
Micki took a second look, running her finger up and down the page, the following page, and going backward. “There is no Christina Cabot documented…anywhere. How odd.”
“I don’t understand, Micki. First the word presumed beside my brother’s entry, and no notation for my little sister.”
For a moment, silence fell over the room. Could it be possible? Micki closed the book and sat back on the sofa. “I’m not saying this is true, Cate. But…” she hesitated.
“What is it, Micki? Please say it.”
She took Cate’s hands into hers. “It is possible that Christina is not in the family plot. Perhaps Andrew escaped as well. On your crypt is engraved with little daisies. It had to be someone from your family who had those daisies engraved. Only Christina, and possibly Andrew would have known you love daisies.”
A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas Page 41