why she had even remembered themâand these combined with replayed episodes from the dayâs diabolical journey, echoes of the lunaticâs singing outside, and the looming shadows in the bleak bedroom that formed sinister apparitions.
Fernanda Ponderosa experienced a strange sensation that she was no longer alone in the room and reached for the light switch to dispel her fears. In the sudden glare she found Silvana sitting right at the foot of the bed, watching her. Fernanda Ponderosa screamed.
âSo you finally showed up here,â Silvana hissed. âWhy?â
âI had a feeling, Iâ¦,â Fernanda Ponderosa stammered.
âStill trusting your crazy feelings, huh?â Silvana interrupted. âStill drifting? Some things never change. So what do you want?â
âOnly to put things right between usâis that so bad?â Fernanda Ponderosaâs heart was thudding. âI was up at the cemetery just now, trying to talk to you, to explain. Didnât you hear me?â
âI donât spend much time up there myself; the place gives me the creeps. Anyway, save me your explanations. Some things can never be put right. Just because Iâm dead doesnât mean you can think everythingâs fine now.â
And with that she vanished, leaving nothing but a hollow in the counterpane where she had been sitting.
âCome on, canât we try?â Fernanda Ponderosa called out, although the room was empty, and she was talking to herself.
âSilvana?
âWhere are you?
âCan you come back?
âCanât we just talk?â
But Silvana had had the last word, as she always did, and was gone.
CHAPTER THREE
F or the rest of the night, Fernanda Ponderosa was jittery and watchful. Would Silvana come back? It took a long time for her heart to regain its normal rhythm, for her breathing to slow. Again and again, she spoke out to her sister, going over the things she had wanted to say but hadnât got the chance. She was met only with silence, stillness. Every sound in the creaky old house, and the countryside beyond, made her start up in anticipation.
Eventually, though, toward dawn, sleep stole up on her, but it wasnât the restful sleep she so desperately needed. She was beset by horrible dreams. She was being beaten by someone she couldnât see and so was unable to defend herself. She was fighting through layers of sleep to tear herself awake but couldnât reach the surface. She was trying to flee but an overpowering force was holding her back.
She finally awoke and felt a surge of relief that these were only dreams. But what about Silvanaâwas she a dream, too? Or had Fernanda Ponderosa really seen the ghost of her sister in the night?
As she lay thinking, she became conscious of a voice inside her urging her to stay, at least for a while, and she always listened to such voices. A free spirit, she went where her visions drove her, submitting to the will of the time and tides, and the breezes that sent her in new directions.
Although she was fanciful, Fernanda Ponderosa was also practical. She reasoned that since she had come all this way, she had to try to make peace with Silvana. If she didnât, she knew she would continue to be haunted by regrets. Fernanda Ponderosa also knew that the family business could use her help. In her travels she had gained experience of all kinds of occupations, and working in a pork butcherâs would be easier than many things she had done. She hoped this would please Silvana and give her an understanding of her sisterâs life. Finally, as she didnât feel drawn to anywhere else just yet, she considered this as good a place to be as any other.
So she climbed out of bed, opened the drapes, and threw back the shutters to find the sun was already shining, and from the window she beheld the beauty of the countryside: the plain stretching out ahead of her, its vastness divided neatly into
Fernanda Ponderosa experienced a strange sensation that she was no longer alone in the room and reached for the light switch to dispel her fears. In the sudden glare she found Silvana sitting right at the foot of the bed, watching her. Fernanda Ponderosa screamed.
âSo you finally showed up here,â Silvana hissed. âWhy?â
âI had a feeling, Iâ¦,â Fernanda Ponderosa stammered.
âStill trusting your crazy feelings, huh?â Silvana interrupted. âStill drifting? Some things never change. So what do you want?â
âOnly to put things right between usâis that so bad?â Fernanda Ponderosaâs heart was thudding. âI was up at the cemetery just now, trying to talk to you, to explain. Didnât you hear me?â
âI donât spend much time up there myself; the place gives me the creeps. Anyway, save me your explanations. Some things can never be put right. Just because Iâm dead doesnât mean you can think everythingâs fine now.â
And with that she vanished, leaving nothing but a hollow in the counterpane where she had been sitting.
âCome on, canât we try?â Fernanda Ponderosa called out, although the room was empty, and she was talking to herself.
âSilvana?
âWhere are you?
âCan you come back?
âCanât we just talk?â
But Silvana had had the last word, as she always did, and was gone.
CHAPTER THREE
F or the rest of the night, Fernanda Ponderosa was jittery and watchful. Would Silvana come back? It took a long time for her heart to regain its normal rhythm, for her breathing to slow. Again and again, she spoke out to her sister, going over the things she had wanted to say but hadnât got the chance. She was met only with silence, stillness. Every sound in the creaky old house, and the countryside beyond, made her start up in anticipation.
Eventually, though, toward dawn, sleep stole up on her, but it wasnât the restful sleep she so desperately needed. She was beset by horrible dreams. She was being beaten by someone she couldnât see and so was unable to defend herself. She was fighting through layers of sleep to tear herself awake but couldnât reach the surface. She was trying to flee but an overpowering force was holding her back.
She finally awoke and felt a surge of relief that these were only dreams. But what about Silvanaâwas she a dream, too? Or had Fernanda Ponderosa really seen the ghost of her sister in the night?
As she lay thinking, she became conscious of a voice inside her urging her to stay, at least for a while, and she always listened to such voices. A free spirit, she went where her visions drove her, submitting to the will of the time and tides, and the breezes that sent her in new directions.
Although she was fanciful, Fernanda Ponderosa was also practical. She reasoned that since she had come all this way, she had to try to make peace with Silvana. If she didnât, she knew she would continue to be haunted by regrets. Fernanda Ponderosa also knew that the family business could use her help. In her travels she had gained experience of all kinds of occupations, and working in a pork butcherâs would be easier than many things she had done. She hoped this would please Silvana and give her an understanding of her sisterâs life. Finally, as she didnât feel drawn to anywhere else just yet, she considered this as good a place to be as any other.
So she climbed out of bed, opened the drapes, and threw back the shutters to find the sun was already shining, and from the window she beheld the beauty of the countryside: the plain stretching out ahead of her, its vastness divided neatly into
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