Page 64 of The Book of Unwritten Stories

She hugged him once more. ‘Thank thee.’

Then she left feeling much lighter than she had when she had walked here not thirty minutes ago. Her heart felt light and she softly stroked her belly and whispered, ‘All is right child, we are going to survive this storm.’

FIFTY-ONE

SALEM, PRESENT DAY

Clara carried the lumpy bag into her condo. The bird was squawking and flapping its wings so much she’d almost let go of it twice. When someone had asked her what she was doing, she’d had to tell them it was her daughter’s pet parrot that needed to go to the veterinarians. She slammed the front door closed and rushed to make sure the windows were all shut even though she knew they were. The bird was too clever for its own good, and it had managed to peck its way through the hessian sack and was now perched on the back of her couch, staring at her with its small, black beady eyes.

‘Don’t make a mess, you won’t be here long.’

‘Help, help.’ It screeched so loud it sounded as if it was being murdered.

She pointed her index finger at him. ‘Stop thy noise, I ask of thee, your voice so quiet, just let me be.’ A bolt of red light shot out of Clara’s finger, zapping Hades on the beak and silencing him.

He took off flying towards her, his wings beating hard as he tried to scratch her. She batted him away and sent another red bolt of energy towards his chest, stunning him and he dropped to the floor.

‘Stay there and do as you’re told, you don’t need to make this harder than it is.’

She had not by any means expected to walk past the bird sitting on the back of a bench outside Gulu-Gulu, but there he was and by a stroke of luck nobody else was in the vicinity to see her grab him and force him into the bag she was carrying. It was meant to be. She had been on the lookout for another small, black animal to use for her power spell when she had struck the jackpot, not quite believing it was him until he started speaking and calling Lenny for help.

Now he sat on the floor stunned but watching her every move. She hoped he stayed this quiet or getting him to the House of the Seven Gables later was going to prove a challenge.

Clara was just about ready to make her move. She had everything she needed, it was just a matter of waiting until the sunset then she could go and sneak in. If the spell worked, she would have the English women eating out of the palm of her hand and bowing down to her greatness as they should have been doing for all these years.

The first thing she would do with her power would be to strip them of their powers, take away everything that they held dear. They would have to do her bidding. She’d let Sephy keep her shop, she wasn’t that cruel, but there would be little point to the Englishes staying in Salem after this. They would hold no sway over anyone, and she was ready to watch their downfall. All this time they had looked down their noses at her because she wasn’t as good at magic as they were, well that was about to change. Starting with saying goodbye to their precious pet crow – see how they managed without him doing their bidding day in day out. In a way he should be grateful to her because she was setting him free from his life of being bound to them for all of eternity.

FIFTY-TWO

Shadows moved and swayed against the walls in the glow of the flickering candles that Sephy had lit. ‘I want you both to sit down and I’m going to try my best to explain to you how it was, and what came to be.’

Morana glanced nervously at Dora who gave a soft smile of encouragement, and they both sat down.

‘I really appreciate you all helping me, but can you tell me more about my mom and dad, how they got together, how we’re related?’ Morana was looking in Dora’s direction. ‘I don’t know anything about my family history.’

Dora smiled at Morana who grinned back.

‘Do you want to begin, Lenny?’ Sephy asked, but Lenny shook her head. ‘You started this, it’s your tale to tell.’

Sephy looked annoyed but she nodded. ‘Well then, girls. Dora, before your father met your mom, he already had a wife and child that he eventually told Lucine about.’

‘So, he was a good for nothing, lowlife cheat?’ Morana’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

‘Not at all, granted he had left you with his sister because he feared he could not give you the love you deserved, but in his own way he was doing what he thought was the best thing for you, Morana.’

‘How? If my dreams are real, he left me crying, running after his horse and he never returned. I have recurring nightmares of being abandoned and now I know why.’

Lenny held up a hand. ‘I fear we should explain more before you hold such judgement against him.’

Sephy nodded. ‘This is a short version, and I wish there was a long one but there isn’t. Your dad, John Hadden, was a travelling showman of sorts. He told Lucine his wife died in childbirth; back then it was unheard of for a man to bring up a child let alone a baby all alone without having a woman to help ease the burden. They would marry quickly or if they could afford to, they would hire someone to be a nursemaid. John made the brave decision to leave you with his sister who had no children of her own to bring you up while he…’ Sephy paused, her voice softening. ‘While he tried to fight the grief and guilt he felt, I suppose is the best way to explain it. He happened upon Salem village. He was lost and found us, Lucine, Sephy and I, just as we were about to go into the meeting house, and Lucine said later that he stole her heart that very first time they met.’

‘When was this?’

‘The year was 1676.’

‘Wow, I don’t know how to absorb this without feeling as if I’m losing my mind.’

Sephy reached out and gently clasped Morana’s hand. ‘We know, dear, this is why you and Dora are so alike and the more time you spend together the more I see the resemblance. He was a good man, lost in a world of grief that was lifted by meeting Lucine. You were a baby when he went out travelling again and left you to live your life. Back then it was different, things were much harder.’