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Authors: Sandra Carrington-Smith
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depth of his feelings for her.
Take care Natalie, and take your art all the way to the moon. If I am reserved a place in Heaven, I promise that I will always look out for you. I disappointed you in life, but I will not do so in death.
Yours always,
Aunt Catherine.
Below the closing was Tom’s full address in London and his phone number. Natalie gently folded the letter and quickly brushed away tears. Poor Aunt Catherine…only now Natalie understood how filled with pain her life had been. The baby in question was by now a thirty-something-year-old woman living in another country – good luck finding her.
She stood up from the couch, tucked the letter inside her skirt pocket, and literally ran up the stairs leading to Aunt Catherine’s room. She went straight to the closet and searched with her hand behind the linens. She immediately felt a latch and her heart skipped a beat. She pushed the linens aside, opened the door, and ran her hand on the wall to find a switch or a pull cord; she was happy when she detected a small plastic knob. A sudden flood of white light washed away the darkness and exposed a sparsely furnished studio; she stepped in saw an easel situated in the center of the room, the stains of paint on it dried and filmed with dust. Some of Aunt Catherine’s paintings adorned the otherwise bare walls, and a few sketches were laid out on a table nearby. Natalie ran her hand gently over the sketches, strangely worried about disturbing the layout, before heading toward the shelf adjacent to the wall. She opened one of the doors and saw a generous supply of different colors and brushes; below the paint, a stack of paintings were laid against the back of the shelf. The portrait of a child smiled at her from the shadows – the daughter Aunt Catherine lost? She pulled out the painting and looked at it. The child was happy, and was portrayed looking up toward a blue balloon, smiling gleefully.
The other paintings were mostly abstract, and Natalie felt that Aunt Catherine had used brush and canvas to express her most hidden feelings. They were all quite sad and void of bright colors, but their quality was striking. And finally she found the velvet pouch. She opened it and pulled out an exquisite rosary with gems of different colors. Instinctually she held it to her heart and she was suddenly transported back to her dream; once again she was standing in front of herself. After a moment she was back in the room, scared but also feeling strangely empowered. She put the rosary back into the pouch and slid it into her pocket near the letter, then picked up a few of the paintings and headed out.
With the paintings obliterating her view, she didn’t notice Lakeisha standing quietly behind the door of the adjacent room. Lakeisha was now quite certain that finding a job at Catherine Bouvier’s home was all but random. The prophecy was indeed on its way to being fulfilled.
Chapter Five
When she finally reached home and checked her messages, Natalie was mortified to hear five of them were from Ryan Wheeler. Although he tried to be polite in all of them, it was clear that he was quite annoyed with being stood up. She decided to call him back right away, and almost wished he wouldn’t answer. But, of course, he did.
“Hello”
“Ryan, this is Natalie Sanders. I am so sorry about today, but there was an emergency and I had to leave in a rush.”
Ryan cleared his throat before replying. “An emergency? What happened?’
“It was Aunt Catherine, Ryan. She was taken to the hospital this morning, and she passed away this afternoon. Acute congestive heart failure, the doctor said. It appears that her heart was already damaged by mild heart attacks she suffered in the past.”
“Oh my God, I had no idea. Are you okay?”
Natalie swallowed the knot she felt in her throat and tried her best to remain in control of her emotions.
“I’m as good as can be expected, I guess. She was a nice
Take care Natalie, and take your art all the way to the moon. If I am reserved a place in Heaven, I promise that I will always look out for you. I disappointed you in life, but I will not do so in death.
Yours always,
Aunt Catherine.
Below the closing was Tom’s full address in London and his phone number. Natalie gently folded the letter and quickly brushed away tears. Poor Aunt Catherine…only now Natalie understood how filled with pain her life had been. The baby in question was by now a thirty-something-year-old woman living in another country – good luck finding her.
She stood up from the couch, tucked the letter inside her skirt pocket, and literally ran up the stairs leading to Aunt Catherine’s room. She went straight to the closet and searched with her hand behind the linens. She immediately felt a latch and her heart skipped a beat. She pushed the linens aside, opened the door, and ran her hand on the wall to find a switch or a pull cord; she was happy when she detected a small plastic knob. A sudden flood of white light washed away the darkness and exposed a sparsely furnished studio; she stepped in saw an easel situated in the center of the room, the stains of paint on it dried and filmed with dust. Some of Aunt Catherine’s paintings adorned the otherwise bare walls, and a few sketches were laid out on a table nearby. Natalie ran her hand gently over the sketches, strangely worried about disturbing the layout, before heading toward the shelf adjacent to the wall. She opened one of the doors and saw a generous supply of different colors and brushes; below the paint, a stack of paintings were laid against the back of the shelf. The portrait of a child smiled at her from the shadows – the daughter Aunt Catherine lost? She pulled out the painting and looked at it. The child was happy, and was portrayed looking up toward a blue balloon, smiling gleefully.
The other paintings were mostly abstract, and Natalie felt that Aunt Catherine had used brush and canvas to express her most hidden feelings. They were all quite sad and void of bright colors, but their quality was striking. And finally she found the velvet pouch. She opened it and pulled out an exquisite rosary with gems of different colors. Instinctually she held it to her heart and she was suddenly transported back to her dream; once again she was standing in front of herself. After a moment she was back in the room, scared but also feeling strangely empowered. She put the rosary back into the pouch and slid it into her pocket near the letter, then picked up a few of the paintings and headed out.
With the paintings obliterating her view, she didn’t notice Lakeisha standing quietly behind the door of the adjacent room. Lakeisha was now quite certain that finding a job at Catherine Bouvier’s home was all but random. The prophecy was indeed on its way to being fulfilled.
Chapter Five
When she finally reached home and checked her messages, Natalie was mortified to hear five of them were from Ryan Wheeler. Although he tried to be polite in all of them, it was clear that he was quite annoyed with being stood up. She decided to call him back right away, and almost wished he wouldn’t answer. But, of course, he did.
“Hello”
“Ryan, this is Natalie Sanders. I am so sorry about today, but there was an emergency and I had to leave in a rush.”
Ryan cleared his throat before replying. “An emergency? What happened?’
“It was Aunt Catherine, Ryan. She was taken to the hospital this morning, and she passed away this afternoon. Acute congestive heart failure, the doctor said. It appears that her heart was already damaged by mild heart attacks she suffered in the past.”
“Oh my God, I had no idea. Are you okay?”
Natalie swallowed the knot she felt in her throat and tried her best to remain in control of her emotions.
“I’m as good as can be expected, I guess. She was a nice
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