Chapter Thirteen
Carolina pressed herhands to her mouth, with the sensation of Joseph’s kiss still on her lips. It was a kiss that she had been dreaming about and wishing for; one that she didn’t think was ever going to happen. In a flash it was over, and now she found herself at the edge of the dark woods surrounding Jacaranda Manor, face-to-face with the only thing that she feared in the afterlife.
The wall of great, gray mist had returned. Dark gray billowing puffs of ominous mist surrounded the property, slowly edging toward her. She looked back at the manor and wanted to run. She wanted to be back in the circle of Joseph’s arms, safe from the unknown. However, unlike all the times she had faced this strange entity before, Carolina wasn’t frozen in fear. Her heart was fuller now that it had ever been in all of the years that she had been trapped in the manor. Her art was out in the world for all to see. A nice man and his son were going to care for her family home. She had felt the sweet embrace of someone she loved once again, no matter how brief. Carolina didn’t have anything left to fear.
“Well,” she shouted out to the mist. “I’m ready, I suppose. Do what you will with me.”
The great gray mist continued to billow and churn but was unmoved. Carolina took a step forward. Then another. It was then that the mist began to recede and pull back into the trees, until nothing was left but the soft silver moonlight and the song of the stars. And then, from deep within the woods, a small bright beam of light shone, beckoning to her. It illuminated her entire being and delivered love and joy directly into her heart. It called to her to walk toward it.
Carolina pursed her lips and tasted Joseph’s kiss again. She remembered the weight of his hand on her hip and the cinnamon spice smell of his cologne filling her senses. Now, after all of this time, she wasn’t ready to leave. She shook her head and slowly began to back away.
“Sorry,” she whispered to the brilliant, beckoning light. “Not yet.”
With every step she took back towards Jacaranda Manor, the beam began to dim, until Carolina reached the front porch and the light shone no more. She passed through the door, into the foyer and up the stairs toward her safe haven on the third floor where she would stay and hide until the ache in her heart eased and her mind was at peace once more.
***
Bong, bong, bong.
Carolina heard the sound of the mantle clock’s familiar metallic trio echo through the halls of the manor but continued to ignore the calls. She heard Joseph and even poor little River yell out her name again and again, but she closed her eyes and shut them out. She wanted nothing more than to be with them. Shelovedthem. How desperately she loved them. It was because she loved them that she had to let them go.
Many days had passed when the sporty red car belonging to the vivacious art dealer rolled into the shadowy arms of Jacaranda Manor once again. The sky was February gray and a misty rain floated down as the woman emerged from her car. Carolina heard the words “check” and “coffee” carry up the stairs from her painted red lips. She also heard Joseph kindly decline. In another moment, the front door was closed and the little red car crunched down the gravel drive never to be seen again.
More weeks passed. Roofers came to replace the ancient shingles over the third floor, their hammers banging incessantly for what felt like days. Joseph began to work on the second floor of the manor, replacing flooring and painting room by room, but keeping his music at a respectable level.
The light beyond the trees called out to her often.Come home, it said.It’s time. Carolina continued to ignore the light. Her heart said that it wasn’t time. It didn’t feel like it. Even if she knew that it would be best to leave Joseph and River to live a normal life without her, she still wanted to watch over them. As long as they lived in the house, she wanted to be there making sure they were safe. Enjoying the feeling of just having them around.
As soon as they move, I’ll go to the light,she reasoned with herself.I just want to stay with them a little longer.
Winter gave way to spring and the jacaranda trees came into bloom once more. Blue jays nested outside her window and Boomer the dog resumed chasing squirrels in the yard. River left to stay with his aunt and cousins for spring break, and the house fell quiet again. It was only her and Joseph now in the manor. Only her, and him, and the vast expanse of time.
***
Bong, bong, bong.
Carolina looked up from her dark corner of the attic and blinked at the soft daylight that streamed in through the double window panes. River was still not home, but the chimes on the clock mantle continued to clang away just the same. Her heart ached from missing the only family she had known since her own had been lost to circumstance and time. Carolina could tolerate the silence and loneliness no longer.
As she passed down the stairs to the second floor landing, Carolina regarded the work that Joseph had accomplished. The walls still needed to be repainted, but new flooring had been installed as far as the eye could see. Things were really coming along with the manor, and despite her initial hesitance, Carolina was truly pleased. She braced herself for what Joseph might say as she neared the sitting room.
Joseph looked up as she entered the room, his hands balled into tight fists at his side. His entire body relaxed and his eyes opened wide as she approached. His hair was longer now, nearly in his eyes and his beard had filled in even more. He was dressed plainly, but nicely, and that same warm cinnamon smell she remembered and craved wafted toward her as she approached.
“I thought you had gone,” he said, finally managing a smile.
