Looking around, I notice I’m not the only one trying to find out where the bells are coming from. It’s not until I glance back at Knots that I notice him singing. His voice is the bells I’m hearing ringing in delicate and beautiful harmonies. His tone is so light and airy that I even forget that I’m supposed to be grieving. It’s as if his voice is calling me home.
Once one song ends, Knots easily flows into another, bringing my soul on a spiritual trip to Heaven. His songs bring tears to my eyes as his voice dips with emotion and his wings flutter. I don’t understand the words being sung, but there’s no need to; they move me with understanding. They speak of love, loss, tradition, and sacrifice. I find myself finally letting go and allowing myself to feel everything without judgment.
Looking down at my mother, I run my hand over her hand and blink, letting my tears fall.
Knot’s songs continue to weave beautiful ballads of love, loss, understanding, and family as my heart breaks. At some point, one by one, my loved ones come up and stand beside me, giving me strength by holding me or silently standing as sentinels while I cry. Before leaving my side, they place an array of all the beautiful colors mom loved from her garden on her casket. Each flower brings me a bittersweet sting, carrying a small memory along with it.
I don’t know how long I cry, but eventually my tears dry up, and I step back from the coffin, saving my goodbye. Next thing I know, Knots is by my side.
“Come on,” he tells me, turning me away from the casket. I catch sight of everyone gathering around the casket with shovels, and my heart swells that they are taking such good care of her. “Let me take care of you.”
CHAPTER 20
Hidden Past
Rez
As I walk out with Knots, I finally take notice of the setting sun.
“How long were we in there?” I ask, feeling bad that everyone wasted so much time on me, and that they are still willing to take care of my mother’s body.
“It doesn’t matter as long as you have closure.” He raises an eyebrow. “Do you have closure?”
As he continues to walk me over to the waterfall, I take a moment to search for how I feel. I had already buried mom once, but this time it does seem different, and I think it’s because I know therealher. The sacrifice she made for me and what she was part of.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling up at Knots. “I do. Thank you.”
We stop at the waterfall, and I lean against Knots as I take in the tranquil spot. “I came here before but didn’t really take in the waterfall part,” I admit with a snort. “I wasn’t in the mood to be soothed if I remember correctly. I had just realized that mom, orI guess Jillian, had lied to me for years,” I tell him, finding that it doesn’t sting as much as before.
“So you didn’t really check out the healing waters behind the waterfall either?” Knots questions.
“Healing waters?” I peer up at him in question.
He chuckles.
“Come on.” Taking my hand, he leads me up a small, wet, rocky path back behind the waterfall.
As soon as we clear the spray of water, I immediately take a step back as my breath falters, taking in the space.
“Wow.”
I’ve read about and seen movies where there’s a cave behind waterfalls that are dark and dingy, only lit by the light of lanterns, but this is something else. There are small gems or jewels embedded in the stone at random heights and intervals, reflecting the different lights to the back of the cave, giving it an ethereal appearance.
Knots gently coaxes me into moving deeper into the cave, but my head is on a swivel as I continue to take in the different jewels embedded into the stone walls. They look as if they grew out of there, not put there by supes. Reading my mind, Knots answers.
“It’s rumored this is one of the healing waters that appeared when a Fate was wounded and needed help to heal herself,” he tells me. “The cave appeared out of the ground, hidden behind the waterfall, because her enemy couldn’t cross the water, and the gems acted as another power source to hide her signature.” He chuckles to himself. “I don’t know how true that is, though.”
I step closer to one of the gems and slide my hand over it. There’s a slight warmth that pulses from it even though the cave has a slight chill, so there might be some truth to it despite Knots’ doubts. In this world, anything could happen.
Hell, I just buried my mother for the second time today. So anything is possible.
We reach the waters, and the first thing I notice is the calming smell of lavender and cedarwood. The pool is set into the ground and appears almost clear in some sections, but becomes darker the further you go toward the back. On the back wall, there’s a small trickle of water emptying into the pool, and on the far side of the pool is a grassy area set up with food for a picnic.
Turning towards Knots, I arch an eyebrow in question, and I bite my lip when I catch his blush.
“I—um… I wanted you to have a place to relax, and I wanted to make sure you didn’twantfor anything,” he explains, running his hand through his brunette hair, looking flustered.
I reach up and gently grab his jaw between my hands and guide him down to me.
