Norma?”
Before he could answer, I was close enough to see the truth for myself. The painting was a portrait of Norma and Fergus, with Scarlet Heights in all of its glory. They both held a loving gaze, with their arms holding each other. How did I miss this? Fergus and Norma? I thought he was a widower.
“Yes,” he said from across the room.
“Why did you…?” My brain was trying to trace back to all of the times he had spoken about missing his wife. He never once mentioned that she was still alive.
“It was the only way.”
“Stop saying that. Only way for what?”
He looked down at the bottom of his empty glass, not saying a word.
“For what, Fergus?”
“To protect my granddaughter,” he said, and then clarified. “It was the only way to keep you safe.”
Fergus is my grandfather . I directed my gaze toward the window nearest the painting. There was only silence while we each waited for the other to speak. A part of me wanted to throw my arms around him and never let go, but the other part, the more prominent part, was angry. I was hurt by the lies, by the secrets.
“Don’t be upset,” he said, reaching for my hand.
“All this time…” I swallowed, clearing the lumps from my throat while I backed away. “I can’t do this right now.”
I felt his eyes on my back, following me until I made my way into the dark hallway. The stairs seemed endless as I stomped to my bedroom. I s anything in my life real? Or is it all a lie? I could actually feel my face getting hot again from frustration. I swung the heavy door to my room open, and a nice rush of air cooled the heat on my skin.
I’d been naive all along. Is Alice even my aunt? Is she really missing? I shuffled my feet over to the windowsill to sulk against the cold glass. A loose curl fell to my face as I watched the dark waves of the ocean ripple effortlessly across the deep abyss. It made sense now, why he brought me here. They were my father’s parents. This is where we lived.
I watched the waves for hours, trying to find logic behind the secrets, when my eyes spotted someone in the darkness. Someone from the party, I imagined.
I stood up to get a better look. That’s when I saw her face. This someone wasn’t just a guest from the party. It was a young girl. And she was walking straight for the edge of the cliff. Just like my dream.
How can this be happening? Am I dreaming again? She had the same long brown hair. The same oversized scarlet cape. She stopped when she reached the edge, turned, and looked up at the window. Then she was gone.
I panicked. I grabbed my bag and flew down the stairs. The hall that had been crowded once before had cleared to only a few small groups of loud guests. I managed to slip past the vigorous chatter to the empty hall with the wide silver doors.
The crisp night air glided around me as I stood outside the walls. I threw my bag over my shoulders and in the moonlight flew to the cliff’s edge. I was fearful for what I might see, but knew that I had to look. I leaned over to look down at the jagged rocks and fierce waters.
At first, I saw nothing but white sprays of water. But as I turned to leave the cliff’s border, a red streak sliced through the darkness. I swiftly focused my attention back on the water. I peered down the cliff. A beam of moonlight struck a small rock in the water. Next to the solemn rock, red material floated to the surface.
With deliberate cautiousness, I followed the slope of the cliff down toward the raging water. Once the green grass of the slope turned to rock, my high heels became unsuitable for the occasion. With a fast and fluent motion, I removed my heels and placed them to the side. I could feel each black rock jab into the soles of my feet as I continued my descent. I did not slow down.
Right before I reached the water’s edge, I noticed that the wet rocks formed a rugged path that twisted back under the castle. At the end of this path is where I had spotted the red
Before he could answer, I was close enough to see the truth for myself. The painting was a portrait of Norma and Fergus, with Scarlet Heights in all of its glory. They both held a loving gaze, with their arms holding each other. How did I miss this? Fergus and Norma? I thought he was a widower.
“Yes,” he said from across the room.
“Why did you…?” My brain was trying to trace back to all of the times he had spoken about missing his wife. He never once mentioned that she was still alive.
“It was the only way.”
“Stop saying that. Only way for what?”
He looked down at the bottom of his empty glass, not saying a word.
“For what, Fergus?”
“To protect my granddaughter,” he said, and then clarified. “It was the only way to keep you safe.”
Fergus is my grandfather . I directed my gaze toward the window nearest the painting. There was only silence while we each waited for the other to speak. A part of me wanted to throw my arms around him and never let go, but the other part, the more prominent part, was angry. I was hurt by the lies, by the secrets.
“Don’t be upset,” he said, reaching for my hand.
“All this time…” I swallowed, clearing the lumps from my throat while I backed away. “I can’t do this right now.”
I felt his eyes on my back, following me until I made my way into the dark hallway. The stairs seemed endless as I stomped to my bedroom. I s anything in my life real? Or is it all a lie? I could actually feel my face getting hot again from frustration. I swung the heavy door to my room open, and a nice rush of air cooled the heat on my skin.
I’d been naive all along. Is Alice even my aunt? Is she really missing? I shuffled my feet over to the windowsill to sulk against the cold glass. A loose curl fell to my face as I watched the dark waves of the ocean ripple effortlessly across the deep abyss. It made sense now, why he brought me here. They were my father’s parents. This is where we lived.
I watched the waves for hours, trying to find logic behind the secrets, when my eyes spotted someone in the darkness. Someone from the party, I imagined.
I stood up to get a better look. That’s when I saw her face. This someone wasn’t just a guest from the party. It was a young girl. And she was walking straight for the edge of the cliff. Just like my dream.
How can this be happening? Am I dreaming again? She had the same long brown hair. The same oversized scarlet cape. She stopped when she reached the edge, turned, and looked up at the window. Then she was gone.
I panicked. I grabbed my bag and flew down the stairs. The hall that had been crowded once before had cleared to only a few small groups of loud guests. I managed to slip past the vigorous chatter to the empty hall with the wide silver doors.
The crisp night air glided around me as I stood outside the walls. I threw my bag over my shoulders and in the moonlight flew to the cliff’s edge. I was fearful for what I might see, but knew that I had to look. I leaned over to look down at the jagged rocks and fierce waters.
At first, I saw nothing but white sprays of water. But as I turned to leave the cliff’s border, a red streak sliced through the darkness. I swiftly focused my attention back on the water. I peered down the cliff. A beam of moonlight struck a small rock in the water. Next to the solemn rock, red material floated to the surface.
With deliberate cautiousness, I followed the slope of the cliff down toward the raging water. Once the green grass of the slope turned to rock, my high heels became unsuitable for the occasion. With a fast and fluent motion, I removed my heels and placed them to the side. I could feel each black rock jab into the soles of my feet as I continued my descent. I did not slow down.
Right before I reached the water’s edge, I noticed that the wet rocks formed a rugged path that twisted back under the castle. At the end of this path is where I had spotted the red
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