I don’t know how long my eyes stayed shut. My body still feels numb…but I know I’m surrounded by something good…
‘Carr? Sweetheart?’
‘Mom?’ I can hardly see much, except for a beautiful light.
‘You did well, honey. You protected your sisters.’
‘Dad?’ Despite my shuteyes, I could feel them water. ‘I…I’ve been a coward… I distanced myself from Joe, Roxy and Del for a year…how did I do well? I couldn’t stop Annie from the transformation…I…I don’t even know if she’s alive…or any of the others…’
‘You displayed so much strength of character...’
I then slowly open my eyes…and behold my lovely parents standing in front of me. ‘How are you alive? Am I dead?’ I ask in disbelief.
‘No darling…’ Mom, with her gorgeous midnight-blue eyes, came towards me, ‘We’re here to visit you…and tell you how proud we are of you.’
‘You have been there for your sisters, taking care of them. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Annie’s safety...you didn’t hesitate…you just knew.’ Dad puts his gentle hand on my shoulder, sitting next to me. ‘And you destroyed my evil sister-in-laws…that was by far the best.’
I laughed. Joe really has inherited dad’s amazing sense of humour. I haven’t felt this feeling of warmth in a long, long time… The tears in my eyes reign supreme…and finally drop down. ‘I love you, please don’t leave me…’ I hold my hand out to them, but they get up and go higher and higher.
‘Darling…we’ll be waiting for you…for all our five daughters when the time is right…’ Dad’s angelic, soothing voice says to me, as the light becomes stronger and stronger.
‘Five?’ I ask.
‘Your sisters need you.’ Mom smiles. ‘That Ricky…he seems nice…’ She winks at me. And I can feel the life pump its way back into my heart.
I am overpowered by the binding light that takes them away from me…but feel comfort all the while…
‘We’ll always be there for you.’ With that mom blows me a flying kiss. And their waving at me becomes dimmer and dimmer against the backdrop of the beautiful light.
-- CHAPTER 15 --
On and Beyond
After some time, I wake up and realize I’m in the orange orchard…besides that same tall tree. I smile. It’s 5:00 a.m. and the twilight is transitioning into dawn. The cuts on my arm have stopped bleeding…and I know I’m being thoroughly examined by a group of peering eyes as if I were a dissected frog.
‘Carr?’ Joe pulls me by the shoulders. I groan. ‘You’re okay!’ She flung at me. Ouch. Her hugs are tight. My chest still has the bruises.
I stare at Joe. ‘You’re back to normal!’ I exclaimed enthusiastically.
‘We all are!’ She excitedly shook me, and backed away. There stood Roxy, Del…all normal…and there stood Annie.
I get up quickly. ‘Annie?’ She’s not dead. She’s okay too!
‘Carr!’
We all embraced, laughed, cried, and, rejoiced.
The Manor had deteriorated completely. The final explosion coupled with the self-corrosive acid had demolished the physical structure and caused it to dismantle…the horrific building no longer stood before us.
I turned to the basement, just in case, and saw there were no surviving mirrors. The witches had been expunged forever.
‘So-ho…’ Joe began with a raised eyebrow. ‘Ready for our victory walk, detective?’
I let out a laugh. ‘Ah, never gets old, eh?’
But right at that moment, Delilah motioned us to Ricky’s car that had appeared at the gate. To our aid and Delilah’s romantic ebullience, we were rescued by her worried fiancé.
Relaxing in the comfort of the deluxe car recovering from our adventure…we gave each other wistful smiles. Remembering suddenly, I turned to Ricky, who was eyeing Del with admiration and relief from the front seat, and mentioned to him, ‘Ricky…I’m glad you’re going to be a part of our family. Something tells me mom would have approved.’ Both turned to face me, the delight overflowing from their elated faces.
I pulled my sisters close and hugged them. ‘Now can we please officially start planning the wedding?’ Everyone agreed unanimously. ‘Yeah!’
‘So Del and Ricky, what kind of music should we play at the reception?’ Joe, who began exuding her uncontrollable energy asked, grinning.
Delilah, jittery as the bride-to-be she really is, replied, ‘Um, I don’t know Joe! Whatever you girls like!’
I put my arm around Annie and smiled. ‘Oh, I’ve got a few songs in mind…’
And with that, we sang away…because after all, we had all the right reasons to celebrate.
###
About the author:
Shaanzaè Shahid is a budding Pakistani author, who has ventured into the writing sphere for the second time with this thrilling novella. Also read her other ebook publication, “The Magic Building”, available online.
Connect with the Author:
Email:
[email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaanzaeshahid
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