Page 57 of Until the Stars Fall

Her door was at the end of the hallway, furthest from the kitchen. I had once thought it ridiculous for her to have to walk all that way each day, but then she’d explained how keeping work and rest separated—even by such a minimal distance—kept her sanity intact. Then she’d rambled on about boundaries. It had never made sense to me until now.

I needed boundaries.

I needed to find a way to work in this place without my feelings distracting me.

I rapped my knuckles on her door a few times and waited. Silence. Maybe she was asleep. Or maybe I had sulked longer than I’d thought.

“Sunshine?” Turning, I spotted Mrs. Bishop walking toward me. Flour was splotched on one of her cheeks. “What is it, Lieke?”

My mind went utterly blank, as empty as the shell of a heart that remained in my chest. I must have looked pathetically distraught, because her eyes swelled with concern and she cupped my face in her hands.

“What happened?” she asked, but I could only shake my head, my vision going out of focus as I searched for some way to explain this to her. “Come on in and we can talk.”

She quickly unlocked her room and ushered me gently inside. Pulling a chair out from the small dining table that sat off to one side, she gestured for me to sit. She poured a glass of water and set it in front of me.

“Drink up, Sunshine, and then tell me what is going on before I have to fetch a healer.”

I obeyed, gulping down the water greedily. Setting the empty glass back down, I finally lifted my eyes to find her staring at me.

“You were right,” I said quietly.

She flashed me a tight smile and shrugged. “I usually am, but you’ll have to be more specific.”

“About Brennan.”

Her face immediately fell. She didn’t say anything but reached out and took my hand in hers, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze.

“I knew better,” I continued. “I did, but I didn’t listen to you.”

“You may not believe me, Sunshine, but I wish I had been wrong. After your mother passed, your grief consumed you. Understandably so, of course, but I didn’t know how to help you except to wait and try to keep you busy. When you found Brennan though—when the two of you grew to be such close friends—I thought it was the best thing that could have happened to you.”

My chin fell to my chest as I closed my eyes. “Until I fell in love with him, that is.”

She slowly inhaled. I prepared myself for her admonishment, but she simply said, “You can’t help who your heart falls for, Lieke. Unfortunately, it isn’t always meant to be, and we have to live with that heartache.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

Sliding her finger under my chin, she lifted my face. “You can, Lieke, because you must. The alternative is to wither away, to become a living ghost until eventually your life leaves you. Your mother wouldn’t want that for you.”

“I know, but—”

“But nothing.” Her tone was firm but not unkind. “I won’t tell you to ignore this hurt, because that is no way to live either. But you cannot let it consume you.”

“How do I stay here though?”

For a long moment, she studied me. The longer she waited to speak, the more nervous I became. Would she send me away again? Would she insist I couldn’t stay here?

Finally, she nodded slowly. “Focus on your work—and I’m not just saying that as your boss. Throw yourself into something outside of your thoughts. If your hands are busy, your mind will be too. I know it’s tempting to want to lock yourself away in your room and hide from the world, and I’ll let you have today and tomorrow to wallow a bit. But after that, it’s back to work. Okay?”

I could do this. I could. I had to.

I managed a small nod and a half-smile. She patted my hand.

“And who knows, Sunshine. Perhaps the stars have someone in store for you yet.”

I had to work to stop myself from rolling my eyes at that. She was from an older generation, so it shouldn’t be surprising that she held onto long-gone traditions and beliefs. I hadn’t heard anyone speak of stars-guided matches in years, except to ridicule the idea. Mrs. Bishop, though, appeared as serious as ever.

“Do you really believe in all of that?” I asked.

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