27/1/1944
Dear Marjorie,
As I write this letter, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by homesickness. It’s been over two weeks since I arrived at this facility, and the days seem to blend together as we work tirelessly. With the war at full tilt, we have been overrun with paperwork. The long hours and lack of fresh air or sunlight are taking their toll. Despite the challenges, I’ve managed to make some influential friends here and called in a favor. We’ve uncovered a fascinating revelation about our family’s history that I think you will find interesting.
According to the last page of handwritten text in the book, Cora was reincarnated in 1775 and believed she would be reborn again in 1883. With the help of my friend, we traced our family’s lineage back to that year and discovered something remarkable. There were only two Darrow women who gave birth in 1883: our mother and a cousin named Millie.
It turns out that Awen, Aunt Millie’s daughter, was the one we were looking for. Unlike Mother’s first child, who sadly died at birth, Awen survived. But her life took a tragic turn when she turned twenty. Her fiancé, Charles, drowned in 1903 during a holiday trip to Wales. Overwhelmed with grief, Awen took her own life. To think that the curse may have claimed another victim is heartbreaking, and this time, Awen was unaware of its existence.
This discovery has shed light on another aspect of the curse. The verse “In shadows of frost, love entwined, adance of souls, through time confined” suggests that the love between Cora and her beloved always blossoms at the onset of winter.
I’m still piecing together the rest of the puzzle, but I’m hopeful that we’re making progress. With any luck, I’ll be able to unravel the curse completely, and we can move on with our lives without breaking our promise to Mother.
Until next time, dear sister.
With love, Colin
PS Thank you for the idea of giving Edith a sweetheart brooch. I found a wonderful silversmith in Edinburgh who crafted me a brooch with a dove surrounded by a Celtic knot and a thistle. I gifted it to her the day she left for London, and she adored it.
After finishing the letter, Nora realized she had the sweetheart brooch that Colin spoke of. She had pinned it to her scarf the day before she left for Scotland. It was one of her gram’s favorites, a cherished item Nora knew she couldn’t part with as her parents sorted through her belongings in the sugar shack after she passed. It broke Nora’s heart to think of her gram keeping so many things to remind her of Colin throughout the years. She wished her ankle wasn’t hurt so she could retrieve the brooch from the peg board by the door and inspect it now that she understood its significance, but she would have to wait until Alistair came back. Instead, she grabbed her notebook and pen off the table and began to write.
Scribbling down notes eagerly, Nora delved deeper into the letters. The correspondence mainly revolved around Colin’s long days spent working with a man named Kurt, whom he didn’t get along with, and his longing to be back with Edith. Nora realizedwhat a true hero he was, hiding his identity behind the facade of a mundane paper pusher, while in reality, he was breaking codes and saving countless lives. One particular letter stood out, detailing Edith’s special clearance to visit him. Colin’s excitement at seeing her again was palpable, and he proudly shared news of her promotion to work alongside a surgeon in London. The passion with which he spoke of Edith stirred a bittersweet emotion within Nora, feeling the echoes of their love upon the paper despite knowing that their story didn’t end well.
She was on the verge of opening the second-to-last letter when a flicker of blue from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning to face the bookshelf, she noticed a faint blue glow emanating from the third row from the top, nestled between two books.
Scooting herself down to the other end of the sofa, she tried to stand, but her ankle was still too sore to bear any weight. That wasn’t going to stop her, however, so she propped herself up on the armrest and hopped on her good leg a few feet over to the wall of books. Wedged between a large green book about natural medicine and a 1982 world atlas was a thin leather-bound book that emitted a faint blue glow. Doing a balancing act, she was able to grab the edge of the book and pull it down from the shelf above her head. Tucking it under her arm, she turned to hop her way back to the sofa when the door opened, and Lochland came bursting into the house, Alistair following closely behind.
“Whoa, boy, easy there,” she said as she hopped a few more steps and then made a dive for the couch, landing softly on its middle.
“Nora, what are you doing? That ankle isn’t going to get better pulling those kinds of stunts,” Alistair scolded as he stripped off his jacket and removed his boots.
“How’s Betty?” she asked, setting the book on the table in frontof her. She would have to wait to open it now. Lochland sat at her feet, and she began to stroke his soft ears.
“A bit better now there’s heat in the cabin. I tried to convince her to come back here and stay the night so that we could keep an eye on her, but she is stubborn as an old goat. She won the fight, but I told her I would be back over to check on her later tonight.”
“Well, if she won the argument, she must be feeling better.”
“I heated up another can of soup for her, but we need to figure out something that we can give her to help with the fever. The medicine is wearing off, and it’s only a matter of time before the fever comes back.”
“Maybe there is some extra aspirin in the medic kit in the hall?”
“I’ve already checked. Nothing left there other than bandages and a few antiseptic wipes,” he said, walking over to the chair next to the fire and warming his hands. Deciding Alistair had the right idea, Lochland made his way over to the rug in front of the hearth and laid down.
Nora looked back at the bookshelf. There was a book next to the one I just removed that might help, she thought.
“I have an idea. See that large book on the third shelf up? It has a green spine,” Nora said, pointing at the bookcase. He stood and pulled the large book from its dusty place on the shelf.
“Bring it over here,” Nora said, patting the cushion beside her.
Alistair sat next to her and handed her the large book. “Nature’sApothecary,” he read off its cover as she flipped it to the back and began looking through the index.
“How can you read in this light?” he asked as he picked up one of the candles and held it up so that the flickering light cast down across the page. Her finger traced down the paper until it landed on the word “Fever” and the corresponding page number 108. She flipped to it and began reading the passage aloud to Alistair.
“When it comes to naturally healing a fever, several plants immediately come to mind, such as willow bark. However, there are lesser-known herbs that are equally beneficial in reducing fever. Elderflower (Sambucus nigra), with its delicate blooms, carries potent anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic properties. Another noteworthy herb is yarrow (Achillea millefolium), known for its astringent and fever-reducing attributes, making it a steadfast companion in the journey to alleviate an unwanted fever.” Under the passage were drawings of the two herbs. Nora’s eyes widened as she stared down at the drawing of the yarrow.
“Alistair, can you hand me my jacket?” she asked.
He reached over and pulled it from the chair and handed it to her. She reached into her pocket gently and pulled the head of the large dried-up flower the old woman on the hillside had given her on their way to collect wood.
