Page 32 of Rise of the Melody
When we arrived home, the porch held a bunch of boxes, which made Aunt Lorna excited. She clapped her hands.
“Oh, that was faster than I expected! I placed orders yesterday with some of my vendors. Marcia Thompson says I can sell my goods at her store in town again. She’s letting me use an entire shelving unit. I’m doing candles and sage bunches to start.”
“That’s nice,” I said, wondering exactly how long she was planning to stay here. “What’s her shop like?”
“It’s called Apothecary at the Marina. Before we left, I was a half-owner with Marcia. It’s a lot like our store in New York. She’s very kind to allow me back after I went so abruptly.”
We all got quiet after that. Ron got out to help us carry boxes. To my surprise, Aunt Lorna slipped off her shoes.
“Go barefoot,” she told me. “The grass here is as lush as you’ll find anywhere. It’s good to ground yourself with Gaia.”
All right then. Off with my shoes. And she was right. We carried boxes around the house to the greenhouse in the back, and the grass was soft and cool underfoot. The greenhouse was medium sized and empty except for tables and some buckets. It was warmer inside than outside. Aunt Lorna stared around like she was looking at ghosts.
“You good?” Ron asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. She nodded up at him, her eyes shining.
“Feels like an old friend, that’s all. I spent so much time in here with Finella.” After a pause she cleared her throat. “Anyhow, thank you, Ron. For everything. It was good to see Motifa. I didn’t think she’d forgive me for not saying good-bye.”
“Of course, she would,” Ron said. “She knew you wouldn’t run off for no good reason. She’s the one who talked me off the ledge before I found your note.” He smiled down at her so sincerely that I felt like I should maybe leave. But then he said, “I’m off to work now. Let me know if you need anything.”
When he left, Aunt Lorna and I began to unbox her goods, and she went to grab a box of waxes she’d brought from the shop in New York. We set to cleaning and arranging things when two unfamiliar cats meandered up, a ginger and a gray chartreux.
“Um, hello,” I said to them, looking at my aunt, who shrugged.
“Strays,” she said. “We’ll have to catch them and make sure they’re spayed.”
They made themselves at home, sniffing and pawing at our things, then weaving around our legs, purring loudly. It was a comfort.
An hour later another shipment came, this time from a local plant nursery. So many amazing herbs and medicinal plants, along with bags of soil. Time to work. I pulled off my thin rings and bracelets, except the cuff, and slipped them in my pocket. From the corner of my eye, I saw something move outside and lifted my head. CooShee was sprinting unnaturally fast through the trees, his ears pinned back, appearing to be smiling. Aunt Lorna and I both giggled as he disappeared into the woods, looking like he was having fun.
“That creature,” she whispered.
I tried to imagine my mom and Aunt Lorna in here together, their hands in soil and clipping plants, extracting oils, scents, and colors with mortar and pestle. Our minds must have been in the same place.
“This makes me miss her,” she said. “Your mom. I don’t talk about her much. I don’t know if it makes you uncomfortable to hear?—”
“It doesn’t,” I assured her. “I like hearing about her.”
She gave me a small smile. “Sirens are known for their big personalities. Fearless. But your mom wasn’t like the stereotypes. She was a homebody. Shy and quiet. She loved it here, and more than anything she loved being your mom.”
My chest squeezed as I patted down the soil around a lemon balm plant. I tried to talk but it barely came out a whisper. “I don’t remember very much.”
“Of course, you don’t,” she said. “You were so young. But I can assure you, she carried you around on her hip long past the time when she should have. Whatever she was doing, you were right there watching.”
“But she never sang?” I asked carefully.
Aunt Lorna shook her head. “She never sang.”
As much as I didn’t want to admit that she entranced Stevens and Bryant MacCray, it was just too much of a coincidence. “I’m not saying she did, but if she did sing that night…what reason could there have been for it?”
Aunt Lorna’s head scrunched again, as if in slight pain. “I’ve racked my brain over the years. The only way she would have used her power is if she was trying to save them or stop something. But Bryant and Stevens swear they were all there for a celebration. Nothing out of the ordinary. It’s like trying to put together a puzzle when half the pieces are missing.”
I nodded, hating the mystery.
“Maybe something happened with the portal,” I said.
Aunt Lorna pressed her soil. “Perhaps. It does shift around. Who knows?”
Ew, it shifted? How creepy.
