Mildred
September 13th
Iwatch Grace stiffen at my words. Her jaw clenches as her pupils dilate, hiding the calm she struggles to maintain. I feel the fear and confusion surge from her, washing over her like a tide she cannot hold back. I feel a flicker of regret for revealing this to her, though it has tormented me from the very instant our paths crossed.
Gently, I slide from her lap, coming to rest upon the ground in front of her. Grace’s gaze lingers on nothing as the echoes of my words linger between us. I cannot say how long has passed. I am no longer bound to the counting hours, for in this realm, time is a thing without meaning. It must have been some time before Grace gathers herself, drawing her knees up to her bosom, and lifts her gaze to mine.
“Explain,” she murmurs with a trembling voice.
I am gripped by panic as Grace recedes into herself. It is unbearable to think I might leave her feeling unsure. It seems each day delivers yet another revelation, and I find myself in shock and awe at how well she endures.
Where panic, tears, and cries might naturally follow a human, she remains seated and composed. Allowing me the grace to fill in the gaps.That’s my clever girl.
“Your back pocket,” I tell her as I motion gently in its direction. A single brow lifts before her hand slips behind, retrieving the worn photographs. I incline my head, and she places the pictures and notes upon the floor.
My finger drifts to the photograph where I stand, leaning against another whose face has been violently erased. For a heartbeat, Graceonly stares. Then her head jerks upwards, eyes wide and full of astonishment.
“No,” she whispers.
I swallow with difficulty, the gesture instinctive. “I didn’t know you’d find your way back, Shadow. I thought our story had ended. I believed I was doomed to linger here while you moved on without me. I can only assume you moved on past the veil, yet somehow you have found your way back to this forsaken place. I cast a spell?—”
“You did what?” she cuts me off, her voice laced with sudden alarm.
I offer her a sad smile. “I cast a spell. Magic exists just beyond your veil, and even now it wraps around us.”
I raise my hand and whisper an incantation. Tiny glimmering snowflakes descend, evaporating before they reach the floor. Grace’s jaw falls open, her shock melting into awe.
“Is this—am I dreaming?” She lifts her hand, catching a few of the delicate snowflakes on her fingertips.
I smile at her fascination. I form a larger flake just above my finger, bringing it closer to her. She taps it, and it shatters into shimmering rainbow fragments that vanish into the veil. A subtle laugh escapes her, though, when she looks upon me, and the joy fades slightly from her eyes.
I clear my throat, “Over the last century, I have devoted endless hours to uncovering what has been concealed from us. I have crafted wonders beyond imagining. I’ve called forth the elements, as you just witnessed, and…” my voice catches. I hesitate, unsure how she will receive this confession.
I raise my chin just a fraction. “Other things… such as summoning the dead.” Grace’s eyes grow wide, though I speak without pause.
“I did not call you from your grave. At least, I pray I did not. I cast upon the universe that your soul would return. I urged Heaven and Hell for the fragment of myself that you are. I shed tears into the circle, yearning for one more instant with you. You were gone so suddenly. Inever said farewell. I spent months, then years, searching for you. But you had long since gone. Your soul had moved on, leaving me behind. You made peace with the burdens and sorrows of your life, yet I have drawn you once more to this godforsaken campus.
I denied you your rest. For that, I am endlessly sorry. I cannot fathom what possessed me or how such a thing could come to pass. I cast that spell within the first year of your death, and now a century later, the fates have finally heeded my cries?” I shake my head in incredulity.
I begin to speak once more, but Grace’s eyes fill with unshed tears, and I am undone. Panic begins blooming where my heart once beat.
I lean forward, frantic to console her. “My shadow, forgive me. How can I ever atone for this selfishness?”
My hand takes shape as it trembles, gently touching her cheek. She leans into it, closing her eyes, as though some part of her remembers how my touch once brought her comfort long ago.
“How did we die, Milly?” Her brown eyes blink open, brimming with tears. I let my thumb trace her cheek, wiping them away gently.
“Warren Brown, Grace,” I whisper as tears begin blurring my own vision. Her face crumbles into anguish as my heart cracks, reliving the agony from that fateful night.
Suddenly, she launches forward. I solidify at once, finding unknown strength, as she folds into me. Her arms tighten around my waist as she begins sobbing against my chest. I hold her, helpless and aching, as the past washes over us. Closing my eyes, I stroke her back, surrendering at last to the grief I’ve kept at bay for many years. I break in her hold as my tears spill onto her beautiful black hair.
Two souls torn apart. Two souls longing for each other. Two souls, having endured too much sorrow, finally embracing the feelings once hidden in fractured shadows.
Chapter 19
Grace
September 13th
