“No, but I know what desperation on a young woman’s face looks like. Hither, child. Let me see. My people—we have a saying about marks like this.”
“Let me guess. They’re marks from a previous life’s death.”
“That would be accurate. And look at yours—shaped like a crescent moon. So beautiful, don’t you think?”
“I’ve tried to hide it most of my life, so no,” I said. “I have never had anyone compliment it until I got here. Seems like everyone’s obsessed with it.”
“Well, darling, I’ve seen what I have to see. You wanted to know about the Night Market, yes? It’s an old story, of course, old as the sands of time. Before this place was called Chicago, after the New World had begun being colonized, this specific area was a small colony between four larger settlements. This particular place was known as the Crossroads. Because it was so tedious treading back and forth between settlements, a waystation opened, with supplies for the wary travelers, and to try and build a stronghold against invaders. They called this place the Night Market.”
“Ah, that’s… do you mind if I record this? This is good stuff, exactly what I need.”
“By all means.” Mel’s face was patience personified.
I fiddled with my phone. “Okay, go ahead.”
“At the time, there was a lovely young woman who lived here. Name of Elspeth Eloise Endeavourous-in-the-name-of-God. She was far before her time, of course—a lady, in most senses of the word, both academically and through birthright. It seems that the Night Market was the. Oh, how do you say it? Domain of this Elspeth. She and her family had established the waystation. It came to pass that she grew to birthing age, and soon her parents were trying to find a suitable man to marry her off to. It just so happened that Elspeth was blessed with a genial, open heart. She found herself being courted by four separate suitors, one from each of the surrounding settlements. Of course, there was a squabble. Some say she took her own life. Others say that it was the men—her suitors—who had fought over her and killed her in the aftermath of a fight amongst them. There were whispers that some of them had dabbled in the dark arts—one was a powerful Papist, a rumored devil worshipper. Another was a Wampanoag chief who claimed to be Christian in name alone, whose tribe’s beating drums were said to wake the very dead themselves. One man was a legendary soldier who had killed hundreds before fleeing the Old World for a new life to cleanse himself of his sins. And the last, an immigrant head of an immigrant settlement, who had come East from the West coast. These four powerful men wanted to claim her for themselves, each scheming and deliberating over who deserved her the most.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“She died. The men could not come to a resolution. And Elspeth’s heart was so open. She could not decide herself between them all. In her love for each of them, she lost herself. And so one could say that Elspeth’s tale was cautionary. That one should make up their mind—or perhaps that one should not date dangerous men, which I happen to hold as a personal truth.”
“It makes a pretty compelling case against being a woman in colonial times,” I said.
Mel smiled. “Agreed. That she was not burned at the stake for witchcraft is likely a miracle. I have to imagine if the men didn’t get to her first, then the villagers likely would have. She was a very progressive woman in her own way.”
“How did they say she died? Has anyone found out?”
“She had only a mark on her neck. A mark in the shape of a crescent moon. A mark much like your own, I should say.”
“Huh. And that’s a local story?”
“Yes,” Mel said. “Families here have passed down Elspeth’s tale for centuries. A caution against indecisiveness. A warning about the dangers of love. A parable about arguing amongst men.”
“Well, thank you for sharing,” I said.
“You would do well to heed the advice from that tale,” Mel said. “If you proceed further down your path, you may find yourself, as Elspeth was, entangled with dangerous men.”
“And that’s a downside?” I was trying to inject some humor.
“It could be. I just see you as Elspeth—a young, influential woman, a woman with an open heart, and a lack of fear.”
I looked around the shop, saw Tamara still doing her thing in the far corner.
“Look, are you Eddie’s mom?” I asked.
Mel laughed.
“Heavens, no!”
“His ex-girlfriend? Or current girlfriend?”
“Never,” Mel said. “Sal told me you were asking around about his group. I won’t warn you away, but I will caution you. Eddie is a charismatic man. He is also a dangerous man.”
“I’m used to dangerous men,” I said.
“Eddie is a champion of the downtrodden. He protects us here, at the Night Market. He and his associates. Yet as valiant and powerful as protection can be, it also comes with a price. As do all-powerful things.”
“Do you know where I can find him?”
