Mirror of Shadows

• Title Page
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  

By T. Lynne Tolles

Troll Publishing

Copyright 2012 T. Lynne Tolles

Version 1.1SW August 26, 2012

ISBN
978-1-4524366-6-1

Smashwords Edition.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Publisher’s Note:

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are the work of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, locales or events is coincidental.

Cover Art:

Mirror by Aleksie – Aleksie O’Konner

Quote

In the depths of every heart, there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music, and revelry above may cause us to forget their existence, and the buried ones, or prisoners whom they hide. But sometimes, and oftenest at midnight, those dark receptacles are flung wide open. In an hour like this, when the mind has a passive sensibility, but no active strength; when the imagination is a mirror, imparting vividness to all ideas, without the power of selecting or controlling them; then pray that your griefs may slumber, and the brotherhood of remorse not break their chain.

Nathaniel Hawthorne -
Haunted Mind

(1804-1864)

Chapter 1

It was a perfect day for a funeral, if there is such a thing—gloomy, gray, and cold. With steady tears of rain, the heavens seemed to be mourning along with the funeral guests. Though Ella stood strong as the pastor droned on, she would never be consolable for the loss of her beloved grandmother, Rose Grey McKaye. Ella had known for a while this day was coming as her grandmother combatted bouts of cancer, a stroke, and dementia, but all of that was not enough to prepare her for the overwhelming loss she now felt.

Ella heard no voices of condolences from those who one by one took her hand in sympathy. She only heard the rain tapping on the shiny mahogany casket covered in a blanket of chrysanthemums and peonies in front of her. Occasionally she would nod her head to the speaking sympathizer but she never took her eyes off of the coffin. Instead, she watched as a drop of water hung to the tip of a fern frond, gathering more volume until it could no longer hold on and dropped down the curved lid of the casket, and then meandered down the side stopping only for a moment by one of the carrying handles. It continued down to mingle with other drops at the base of the aluminum stand. It lingered and swelled until it could no longer resist the relentless tug of gravity and it fell to the fake green grass carpet laid out to disguise the recently excavated mound of dirt from the grave into which her grandmother would soon be lowered.

The long line of umbrella-toting guests passed before her then scattered among the graveyard to their warm, dry cars to go on with their lives.
How odd
, Ella thought,
that time doesn’t stop for a moment to acknowledge the passing of one so loved.
She felt sure that she hadn’t taken a breath since she had received the call two days before, notifying her that her grandmother had died. How would she ever survive life without her grandmother?

Ella’s childhood had been hard and she’d grown up fast and insecure in herself. The only happy memories she’d had as a child were in those blessed, short-lived visits to Grandma Rose’s house where Ella knew without a doubt she was welcome, safe, and loved.

Ella’s mother had not been a bad person, but Ella had learned at an early age that she was an anchor to her mother’s freedom. Patricia had been widowed when Ella was a toddler. She had no family of her own to speak of, and found herself a single mother with no job and no real skills. First the parade of men came, none of which ever seemed to measure up to her late husband, and then came the drugs which made the unhappy, lonely woman lost and unstable. Needless to say, this brought about a rather turbulent life for Ella’s early years.

A warm hand touched Ella from behind, guiding her away from the men now lowering the casket into its new home. They cleared away the fake grass carpet, revealing the reality and finality of what was happening.
Goodbye Grandma Rose
, Ella said without speaking
. I love you so…
and the car door shut on Ella’s words and pulled away from the curb as its wipers slapped the sides of the windshield with a squeaky but constant beat.

Chapter 2

Back at the house, the incessant procession of sympathies from the mourning guests was wearing on Ella. Thankfully, her mother stepped in like a trouper. She must have sensed Ella’s growing agitation, and directed a good number of the guests to the waiting food in the dining room. For Ella, it was a great relief to not have to put on a brave face for all the words of comfort being strewn upon her.

It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the well wishes and show of concern, it was just so exhausting. It was hard enough not to ball her eyes out right there in front of everyone, but being pummeled with the recounted memories of so many people was unnerving.

When she was not the center of attention for a brief moment, she made her way to a dark hallway on the backside of the stairwell, where she leaned her back and head against the wall and sighed heavily with relief, but that relief would be short lived as Marlin Howard rounded the corner, apparently looking for someone.

“Aw, my dear, there you are. I was hoping we could have a little chat in private,” the burly gentleman said.

He looked like a retired defensive lineman in a very fine suit. His hair was thinning on top, and a he had a slightly bent nose, possibly from a long ago break, but he had happy eyes—the kind of eyes that were full of concern and kindness Ella couldn’t help the tiny smile emerging from her lips when the lawyer opened his arms wide for a hug she truly needed. His thick, warm arms embraced her and held her tightly to him. She melted in them and could not help but quietly cry for a very short moment within the comfort of his arms. Marlin was like an uncle to Ella and it felt good to let his strength take over for a few minutes.

“Can we talk?” he said when her tears waned.

“Sure, Marlin. I think the den is clear,” she said as she turned and led him down the hall, wiping her cheeks of their wetness. “What is this about?”

“As you know, I was your grandmother’s probate attorney as well as her friend. I thought we could talk about the contents of her will,” he said as if this was a conversation about sharing a recipe or something else not life altering.

They entered the den and Marlin shut the door behind him as he made his way to a chair near the window.

“Is it necessary to talk about this today?” she said wearily.

“No, but since I’ve known you all of your life and have been more like an uncle than the family lawyer, I thought you should know that your grandmother loved you very much. She’d want you to know that you will be very well taken care of.

“She told me when you were a child and your mother was having such a hard time dealing with the loss of your father, that she wanted to take you away from all of that, but for her son’s sake, she thought it might push your mother over the precarious precipice she was balancing on.

“The loss of your father, her son, too, had been very hard on her. No parent wants to outlive their child and Ken was so young when he passed. She hated that your childhood had been so hard and she wanted to make sure that you should never want again.”

“I don’t understand, Marlin? Grandma didn’t have any money. She lived in an, albeit, cute little apartment in town, but it’s not like she was loaded or anything,” Ella said.