by Dani Corlee
“Yes, I understand,” Lucille replied, nodding in agreement. “It's like when you hear a shocking piece of news which affects your way of seeing others and the world. Or yourself.”
“Do you ever think about, er, the afterlife? How do you think it will be?”
“Oh, I do! Not much, but sometimes I do. I've been taught there will be lots of clouds and angels singing and playing the harp...” Lucille laughed. “But I don't really think it is that way. It is probably something we cannot even imagine.”
“I think so too.” Kim paused for a moment, as to reflect on Lucille's words, then, as if remembering something, she continued. “Oh, talking about shocking news, my ex-husband called me yesterday, when I was at the equestrian center.”
“Did he?”
“He's coming soon to spend some time with Aurora.”
“At last!”
“Yes. He will probably take her to an amusement park. She is electrified!”
“She must be! Being with her dad again, and the amusement park are probably two of the most important things for her! Why did he take so long to come?”
“I told you. His job really takes a lot of his energies and time. He was supposed to come only a little after our move, but an emergency kept him stuck on duty. Working so far from home, every time in a different place, isn't easy...”
“Must be.” Lucille didn't seem too convinced. “Tell me about James instead.”
“What about him?” Kim replied, puzzled.”
“You like him, don't you, eh?”
“Oh, well, he is nice...”
“Nice? Nice? Oh, Merlin’s beard!”
“Must go now. I have to help Aurora with her bath.”
“And I have to go too. I'd better let Isidora know that Aurora will leave for few days. We need to study a strategy.”
“Darn! Will she be in danger if not close to the community? I didn't realize it. Now I feel really scared!”
“No, any place she goes there's a community which knows about her and will take care of her. We will too, even if we are distant. But we need to know where we will go to advise the appropriate community she will be entering their territory. Do you remember the burglar alarm?”
Kim nodded.
“We will announce her arrival, and they all will take care of her. I'm sure they will all want to be near her in disguise to help her and protect her. She will have a whole troop to care for her.”
“Good to know.” Kim shoved her hair back from her face, as if to remove not only her hair but bad thoughts too. “I've always been quite anxious, now more than ever. I suppose I won't sleep well when she is away from me.”
“Once again, don't worry. We have everything under control.” At least, I hope so, Lucille thought. Then she greeted Kim and disappeared while Kim waved goodbye to her.
“Aurora, it's ready. Wash your hands!”
“Coming!” Aurora rushed downstairs, holding Mrs. Daisy by her hands.
“Did you wash your hands?”
“Er... I had a bath few minutes ago!”
“It was two hours ago, and afterwards you played on the same floor you stepped on with the shoes you used today at the stalls. Go and wash your hands!”
“Mrs. Daisy too?” she replied with an innocent smile.
“No, Mrs. Daisy can stay here and help me with the table.”
Aurora hopped to the bathroom and rushed back exclaiming, “I'm so hungry.”
“Good, because I have a surprise. I prepared something you love. Roast stuffed pork.”
Aurora placed Mrs. Daisy on a chair, her head popping from the edge of the table, and sat next to her.
“Stuffed pork?” she asked.
“Yes, with roasted potatoes and pumpkin. Your favorite dish,” Kim replied with a smile full of motherly pride.
Aurora looked at her mom serving her the food, then looked at her plate, filled with two thin slices of the roasted meat and some potatoes and pieces of pumpkin.
The fragrance was delicious and Kim helped herself, mouth watering.
She then looked at Aurora and told her to start.
Aurora moved uncomfortably on her chair, still looking at her plate.
“What's the matter with you? You said you were hungry!” Kim exclaimed, losing her patience. It had always been difficult to get Aurora to eat. She was healthy and happy, therefore all her doctors had always told Kim not to worry about her eating so little, yet Kim had always been afraid Aurora might have some vitamin and mineral deficiencies because of malnutrition.
“Is it pork?” Aurora asked
“Yes, I told you so. It's roast stuffed pork.”
“Is it a pig?” Aurora insisted.
“Er... yes.” Kim started imagining what Aurora was getting at with her question.
“Is it dead?” Aurora continued. Kim’s heart sank. That was a difficult subject to handle.
“Mm... yes, we cannot eat a live animal, can we?”
“Who killed it?”
Now was Kim's turn to feel uncomfortable on her seat.
“I think somebody at the farm.”
Aurora's jaw dropped. “James's farm?” she asked in bewilderment.
“No, no! Another farm, I don't know which one.”
“Why did the people at the farm kill him? How could they kill their pig?”
Kim stared at Aurora glassy eyed, not knowing what to answer.
Aurora looked again at her plate. “We should care for animals, not eat them! They are our friends. They trust us. All the animals! Pigs are animals, cows are animals, chickens, sheep, doves, giraffes, horses, dolphins. They are animals. They are our friends.” Aurora's lips started to tremble and her eyes welled up.
“Can't we tell them they are wrong? Can we tell them they shouldn't kill animals?”
Kim shook her head. “It isn't that easy, you know?”
“Why not?”
“You cannot tell somebody he's wrong and insist that he change his mind just because you want to.”
“Why not?”
Kim felt uncomfortable. How could she explain it to a four-year-old?
“You just... you can't.”
“Have you tried?”
“Eh? No... we haven't.”
“Why not?”
“It would be very difficult to talk to them.”
“Do they speak another language?” Aurora sniffed up and dried her nose with her arm.
“That isn't the reason.”
“So, why it is so difficult?”
“I guess they don't want to listen.”
“How do you know?”
Kim held her breath. “So, you are not going to eat the roast, are you?” she said, more as a statement than as a question.
Aurora gestured a determined no, looked again at her plate, and sobbed loudly while big tears fell from her eyes.
Kim breathed deep, then stood up and went to Aurora, hugging her. “OK then, have only potatoes and the pumpkin instead. I'll cook a fried egg, too. Do you feel like having an egg? I'll have one too instead of the roast,” she said while drying Aurora's eyes with her hand.
“Is there a chick inside?” Aurora asked holding her breath, fearing the answer.
“No, there isn't.” Kim smiled. “Come with me and look, we will break them together.”
“Yeaaaaa!” Aurora stood up as quick as she could and ran after her mother. When Kim bent to show her the open eggs, she smacked a kiss on her cheek.
Lucille! Kim called. What about some roast pork?
CHAPTER 5
“Dad!” Aurora ran down the path toward her dad who got out of the car and picked her up in a flash.
Leaning against the front door, Kim observed the scene. Aurora was giggling and kissing her dad, who reciprocated the effusion in a way Kim didn't remember him being able to do. It was a nice, heart-warming scene, but something about it made Kim's heart constrict.
She knew her decision to divorce was something that had affected Aurora's life heavily. Althou
gh very little when it happened, Aurora understood her mother's reason, even though Kim obviously couldn't explain everything about it. Having a very close relationship with her daughter made her talk to her as an adult, and Aurora had always acted that way. Or maybe it was the opposite. She had always acted in such a precocious way that Kim came to think of her as somebody who could understand everything.
At 41, Jason was even more handsome than when she had met him. His olive skin and emerald eyes were now complemented by some gray on his sideburns and here and there among his hair. He had been a master at fascinating women of every age, and Kim could only barely imagine what he could do now.
She re-emerged from her thoughts and attempted a smile to her ex-husband who in the meantime had approached her, still holding Aurora in his arms.
“Kim,” he said as a greeting. His cold, emotionless eyes discomforted Kim, who remained silent and only hinted a greeting with her head.
“So, this is the house,” he said, entering and putting down Aurora, who kept looking up at him with a wide grin.
He turned around, getting a long and wide glance at the place and with a condescending air said, “Mmm, nice.”
Kim knew what he meant, although she was sure he didn't believe it. Awful, cheap house. That was what his eyes said. Kim felt her blood boiling, but she put on her best smile and answered, “Thanks, I know. Aurora and I love it.” It had only been a few months, and she had forgotten how bad she felt at his harsh remarks. She had forgotten how he tried to make her feel less important and less capable than she was. Psychological violence, they called it. But now Kim was starting to understand that it was only to boost his ego, and that probably he was less self-confident than he had always pretended to be.
Jason lifted his eyebrow with a scornful expression. He knew well how to make her upset, but Kim looked at him still with a calm, innocent smile, even though she would have liked to kick his butt out of her house.
“How's the new job going?”
“Great. I like it and my new colleagues. Even my immediate boss and the CEO are very nice people. I think I couldn't do any better.”
“Good,” he replied, caressing Aurora's head. “Aurora needs stability and I don't like you moving around again and again to look for your own achievements.”
“I won't move, and I've never been the kind of person who keeps on moving places!” Kim replied in a high-pitched voice.
“Well, you moved here, didn't you? Regardless of what Aurora might feel. Her world, her kindergarten, her friends. Her house!”
“Her house? May I remind you that I had to leave because you weren't going to leave the flat?”
“I was looking for a flat; I just hadn't found a suitable one yet. You didn't give me the time!”
“You had months to look for a flat and the due date was well behind. You hadn't any intention to move.” Kim breathed heavily. If he wanted to keep on at the same old game, she wasn't willing to play it with him. Especially not in front of Aurora. She looked at Aurora, who wore an embarrassed smile. Children should never witness arguments between their parents, and she had always done her best to avoid it. My poor love! she thought and sent her the warmest smile she could, to reassure her.
“We like it here and Aurora already has more friends than before,” she said and Aurora nodded vehemently. “My mother came to see us, and as far as your parents, they were distant before and are distant now. It doesn't make any difference to them. And they are welcome in my house, as they were in our old house. They know that.”
Not knowing what to answer, Jason could only look smugly at her. Kim held his gaze, feeling very brave. She couldn't have done it once.
“Do you want to see my room?” Aurora asked, ending the painful conversation between her parents.
“Yes, let me see it.”
Aurora slipped away from her father's arms and run upstairs. He rushed behind her laughing and shouting, “I'll catch you, I'll catch you!”
“Ugh!” Kim snorted and pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. He hadn't changed, but she felt he could say anything but wasn't going to harm her like before.
They say that nobody has been killed here for centuries, but for a few minutes I might have made this town lose its Guinness record!
CHAPTER 6
Did Aurora leave? Lucille asked.
Yes, she did, Kim answered to the thin air. I feel lost! she exclaimed. I'm so used to having Aurora around and organizing my time in relation to her that I don't know what to do now. Cheeses! I hadn't realized I'm so addicted to Aurora till now.
Paint something, her friend replied. You often complain you don't have enough time to devote to your hobby.
You are right. But I'd rather get up earlier and paint in the morning. Or late at night. Kim snorted. I don't feel very creative right now. I think I'll do the little laundry that’s left.
Lucille laughed. Shall I take you downstairs? she asked, knowing how Kim felt toward basements in general and hers in particular. Having grown up in flats and having her marriage house in a flat as well, her only experience with basements were in horror movies.
Kim laughed too. No, thanks, I don't need any help anymore, now that the basement has been remodeled and furnished. It looks cheerful and sophisticated.
Sophisticated? A basement? Lucille giggled. Oh, well, I'll leave you to your laundry, then. Enjoy it!
Kim felt her friend had closed the connection and went to pick up the laundry basket to bring it downstairs.
She was proud of how she had fixed up the basement. The large room was now furnished in a functional way, with a large basin, modern machinery, and roomy lockers. There was also a nook for Aurora to play in while Kim was ironing.
She had only made it a few steps down when she heard a noise. Holding her breath, she stopped. What the hell... Could it be a mouse? She shivered. She hadn't seen mice in the house since it had been checked and totally fixed up.
Cautiously, she tiptoed downstairs. She caught a movement in one of the bare walls and hurried there. She inspected it carefully but there was no sign of whatever, yet she was sure she had seen something, like a closing door after a vague shape had passed it. She touched the wall, pressing it gently, then pushed it harder with no result. She leaned her ear to the wall and heard some noises. With her heart pumping fast thinking about mice, she thought she should probably call somebody to inspect the house again, before her house became infested.
She leaned against the wall. Bah, I wish I knew what’s behind it without having to wait for a workman. The thought had barely hit her mind when suddenly a door formed which opened under her weight, and she fell headlong inside a hidden room.
Kim stared at it open-mouthed. There was no doubt that was a witch’s room. One side was totally covered by a tall, dark wooden piece of furniture, similar to those used in old pharmacies. It was full of bottles of any kind and size. Some were made of carved glass and decorated with elaborated silver tops; some were simple, transparent bottles with cork stoppers, all of them filled with colorful liquids, some of which seemed to sparkle. Some others looked ceramic, with delicate drawings of butterflies and flowers. There were also many jars made of glass, filled with what looked like dried herbs, and also ancient cans.
A movement caught her attention. On the highest shelf there were a few jars with pulsing colorful lights. Could they be fireflies? Kim felt pity for them. How could they live as prisoners in those little containers? She looked around in search of a ladder, but couldn't see any. Her attention was diverted by the other side of the room, which surprised her as much as the one she had just looked at. The furniture there was modern and looked like a chemical laboratory.
There was a fridge with a glass door so that she could see little vials inside in plastic stands, and a big table full of modern alembics and old mortars, test tubes, and a green liquid bubbling over a gas burner. She smelled the air and recognized a slight mint aroma.
On a little table beyond the big one there was a be
autiful crystal ball. It was showing opalescent figures, like an origami that endlessly kept on changing, opening, and closing in different shapes.
The ball stand was made of three silver hands crafted so well they looked real. Each of them wore two rings. The one on the thumbs were flat wedding rings, engraved with unintelligible signs, probably ancient letters. The middle fingers wore a ring with one gemstone each, a ruby, a sapphire, and a emerald, which were shining, sending sparkles at any change of the ball figures.