“What a charming young chap you are.” She nodded in thanks as she sat, the sun brightening her dark grey hair. We sat as she continued, “So what does that house mean to you?”
“I’m not sure.” I absently cracked my pointer finger’s knuckle with my thumb and chose to be more straightforward. “I was hoping you could tell me not only about its past, but who had lived there.”
“Yes,” she hummed. “There was a family that lived there many years ago. A very nice family. It was such a tragedy the home became a haunted attraction.”
My spine went stiff at her words and Ender’s hand slid over mine underneath the table.
“What happened?” I cleared my throat, my voice calmer than I had expected.
“Only those that were involved know what happened, but I have my surmise.” Her shoulders drooped. “They had two beautiful little girls—one a baby and the other barely over a year old. The family mostly kept to themselves but would still wave and say hi to their dear neighbor over the years they lived there.”
I assumed she was the neighbor in her story, and my guess was the two little girls were me and Viv.
“One horrible night,” she continued, “someone broke into their house. I could hear screams, but by the time I was able to get outside, the house was engulfed in flames. The back gate creaked and I was able to make out two figures, both holding two little girls. The young woman looked right at me, horrified, before they ran. I had a feeling something horrible happened. It was later that I had found out she had lost her sister and brother-in-law.”
“Her sister?” I recalled Mr. Hastings mentioning Mom’s sister had died.
“Yes,” she said. “Her twin sibling. When they left with her sister’s child, I could only assume the baby’s parents were gone.The fire was so intense, I had to back away. No one could’ve survived that fire. There was so much pain in the young woman’s eyes.” She glanced back up at me. “I venture you’re here to ask what happened that night—what happened to your family?”
“How do you know who I am?” It felt like the fire was still next door; sweat dripped down my spine—and not just from the hot weather. “And the baby and the little girl weren’t sisters?”
Her brow furrowed slightly at my question, but she continued, “You look just like your mom but have your dad’s nose and cheekbones. I remember your mom always smiling, working in her gardens while pregnant with you. You look just like her.” She let out a gentle laugh as she clasped her hands together. “The baby, on the other hand, looked more like her father than her mother, with her head full of black hair. Her mother would walk down the street and back every night while she was pregnant with her. I distinctly remember each couple having one baby.”
I gaped, and it took me a second to put the puzzle pieces together. An idea hit me as I remembered and I pulled my mom’s yearbook out of my backpack, flipping through the pages until I found the one with Mom, John, her twin, and some other guy named Nathan who I had suspected was a possible father candidate. Now, though, it was clear he wasn’t the father of both me and Viv.
“Are you referring to her as my mother, her as the sister, and him as the youngest girl’s father?” I turned the yearbook over to her, pointing to each one. Even though the picture was black and white, it was clear that the boy had ink black hair—just like Viv’s.
Ender casually glanced at it. I hadn’t shown him yet, but he looked on in silence.
“Ah.” She adjusted her glasses as she leaned closer. “Yes. Such lovely young couples they both were. They look the same as when they lived next door.”
“Couples? They?” I squeaked. “As in … this man was also involved?” I pointed to John.
Her forehead wrinkled as her frown came back. Clearly, she didn’t expect me to not have known this, but what she was referring to was that Headmaster John was my father and Viv was not my biological sister.
It couldn’t be true. This entire time…
“Dear…” She held out her hand and I blankly stared at it, unsure what to do.
I glanced at Ender, who shrugged—a movement I doubt the lady could’ve seen. I gave her my hand, hiding the small bout of unease at touching a stranger.
“If you don’t know any of this and are going to a stranger about your family’s history, that must mean you lost your parents?”
I gulped and nodded, not wanting to give any more information away. She didn’t need to know about …my father. To me, he was gone.
“The baby?” Her eyes became watery as she squeezed my hand tighter.
“She’s okay.” I squeezed her hand, then pulled mine away, feeling awkward. “If they kept to themselves, how did you know so much about them?”
“I didn’t.” She shrugged. “Just the regular waves and observations from friendly neighbors. I didn’t even know their names—I don’t even know yours.”
And you aren’t going to.
“Would you like me to get the tea?” Noretta offered after silence fell between us.
“No. Thank you for the story of the haunted house.” I grabbed the yearbook and stood there awkwardly as I glanced at Ender, afraid if we stayed any longer, one of the many emotions bubbling inside me would burst.
“Thank you for your hospitality, but we best be going.” Ender stood, following me as I began walking away.
