Chapter 46: Ghosts

Chapter 46: Ghosts

The Primrose landed on the beach that afternoon. Wendell hurried down the ramp to take the rope from Samantha to tie up the boat. “Do you suppose everyone else is all right?” Prudence asked as they descended the ramp.

“I hope so,” Samantha said. They joined Wendell and then started along the path towards town. Prudence and Wendell walked a step behind Samantha, holding hands and pressing so close to one another they were like one person.

Samantha walked alone, hugging herself. Joseph had stayed behind in Seabrooke with his father, which at the time she hadn’t disagreed with, but now she wished he were here. She didn’t know what they would find in Eternity. Although the timeline had changed, something equally dangerous could await them. Reverend Crane and Pryde might still be alive or perhaps something even worse lay in store for them. She longed for Joseph at her side so his love could strengthen her.

Before they reached town, Samantha saw a pale girl sitting on a log, staring at them. The girl was as heavy as Prudence at her peak and wearing the same loose-fitting gray dress. A veil of brown hair obscured her face. Only when she brushed it aside did Samantha recognize her. “Rebecca?”

“I figured you would be along sooner or later,” Rebecca said. She heaved herself off the log, approaching Samantha with the caution of a stranger.

“But you died!”

Rebecca took Samantha’s arm. “There’s something you need to see,” she said. “Then it will make sense. Or about as much sense as any of this can make.”

“What’s happened?” Samantha asked.

“You’ll see.” Rebecca led her away from town, Prudence and Wendell following behind with wary expressions. Samantha knew it could be a trap set by Veronica, but this girl looked and sounded exactly like Rebecca, not the Rebecca-Veronica hybrid Samantha had raised for three years. How had she managed to overlook the subtle changes in skin and hair color and, even more importantly, the difference in Rebecca’s eyes? While Veronica had always looked away from Samantha, Rebecca met Samantha’s gaze, her eyes clouded with sadness.

She led them to the fountain cave, or rather what had once been the cave. A mountain of rubble stood in its place. At the base of the hill sat a granite marker. Samantha knelt down to examine the writing carved into the stone. She traced the letters with one finger, not comprehending the words for a moment. “In This Cave Lies Molly Brigham. She Died So We May Live,” read the marker.

Samantha fell backwards into a sitting position. “My God. Molly did it. She’s the one,” Samantha said. Prudence cried out at this, burying her head in Wendell’s shoulder. Samantha looked up at Rebecca, who stood with her head bowed as if in prayer. “What happened here?”

“It was three years ago,” Rebecca said. “Molly had run off again and I came here to meet David so we could look for her together. She was hiding in the cave, underneath a sweater.”

#

“Molly, that’s enough. You’re coming back with me this instant,” Rebecca says. Then she notices a little brown girl lying on the ground, clad only in a shirt that droops down to her ankles. “Who’s this?”

“This is Veronica. She’s my friend.”

Rebecca holds up the oversized sweater and pair of pants. “You two have been playing with the fountain, haven’t you? Molly, how did you get in here? Did someone leave the door open?”

“Veronica and I got in here all by ourselves,” Molly says, puffing out her chest with pride.

Rebecca kneels down beside the brown girl, who hasn’t moved since Rebecca found them. “Veronica, can you hear me? Can you talk? Are you all right? Nod for me if you’re all right, sweetie.” Veronica nods her head slightly. “Good girl. Molly, where did she come from?”

“Across the sea,” Molly says. “Her grandfather had a map leading here with all sorts of riddles for her grandmother to solve. She never solved them, but Veronica did.”

Rebecca examines the clothes in her hands again. “How old was Veronica when she came here? How long has she been here?” Molly says nothing. Rebecca takes her by the shoulders and shakes her. “Molly, answer me! This is important. We could all be in terrible danger. If anyone else finds this place—”

“Veronica isn’t going to hurt anyone. She took care of me when I got sick, before you found me.”

Rebecca glances over at the little girl, feeling the heat of raw hatred from Veronica’s eyes through her curtain of wild hair. She shivers and says to Molly, “We’ll talk about this more later. For now I better get you girls out of here. Veronica, can you walk? Do you need me to carry you, sweetie?”

Veronica gets to her feet, holding out a tiny brown hand. Rebecca takes her hand and then leads her towards the opening with Molly following behind. Veronica stops at the fountain to stare into the water. Whatever she sees in the Fountain of Youth is enough to make her cry.

“You can’t change me back, can you?” Veronica asks.

Rebecca kneels down beside her, parting Veronica’s hair to look into her eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I wish there was, but there isn’t. It’s not so bad, though, to grow up again. You can live with Molly and I in our house. You and Molly can share a room. I’ll have Wendell make you a bed all your own. You two can work with me in the bakery. We’ll be one big family. You’ll see.”

“No,” Veronica says with a woman’s firmness.

“No? I know it’s difficult now, sweetheart, but in time—”

“In time? I’m a baby!” Veronica’s eyes narrow into angry slits. “If you think it’s so easy, let’s see you do it.”

She shoves Rebecca with more strength than Rebecca thinks possible for a toddler to possess. Rebecca stumbles back, teetering on the edge of the fountain. She reaches out to grab Molly’s hand, her fingers grazing the edge of Molly’s jacket.

Molly reaches out to take Rebecca’s hand. She pulls Rebecca away from the edge, the two of them ending up on the ground. “I did it,” Molly says.

Rebecca looks over at Veronica, whose body quivers beneath the oversized shirt. She lets out a high-pitched scream of rage an instant before she dives onto Molly. Her tiny hands tear at Molly’s face like sharpened claws. “Traitor!” Veronica says.

Rebecca grabs Veronica by the shirt, pulling her off Molly. With another scream, Veronica turns her rage onto Rebecca, twisting out of Rebecca’s grasp and then kicking her in the back of the leg. Rebecca collapses to the ground with a whimper of pain. Before she can get up, Veronica is on top of her, seizing her head with both hands. She snarls like an animal as she bashes Rebecca’s head onto the ground over and over again until stars explode in Rebecca’s vision. She tries to fight back, but her limbs refuse to obey her commands.

“Veronica, no!” Molly says. “Becky didn’t do anything.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Veronica says.

Molly charges forward, bowling her friend off Rebecca. Veronica rolls onto her feet to face Molly. “How can you take her side?” Veronica asks, pointing to Rebecca. “She doesn’t care about you like I do. She only cares about herself.”

“Becky loves me,” Molly says. “She’s my mama.”

“You little fool. I’m going to put both of you in there.” Veronica finds her pants and reaches into one pocket, pulling out a knife almost as long her arm. She grips the knife with both hands like a sword, swinging it at Molly’s midsection. The blade tears the fabric of Molly’s dress before she hops back.

With each swing, Veronica drives Molly back another step. At the edge of the fountain, Veronica tries to knock Molly sideways into the water, but Molly jumps the opposite way. She backs away towards the wall across from Rebecca. Molly holds out her hands in supplication. “Veronica, please, don’t do this. I’m your friend.”

“You’re not my friend,” Veronica says. She swipes the knife across Molly’s midsection, leaving a blood gash across Molly’s stomach. Molly cries out with pain, dropping to her knees on the ground. “You’ve never been anything more than a baby, letting Mama Becky nurse you. She can’t help you now.”

Feeling has returned to Rebecca’s limbs. She pushes herself up to her feet, wobbling a moment before steadying herself. She staggers towards Molly, ready to throw herself on the knife if need be to save her child.

Veronica stands over Molly, the knife poised to strike. Molly looks past Veronica, her eyes meeting Rebecca’s. In that moment, Rebecca sees not the little girl she’s raised since infancy, but a grown woman. Rebecca follows these adult eyes to Molly’s right hand, which rests on a trip wire. “Molly, no!”

“Goodbye, Mama,” Molly says as she pulls the wire. A rumbling sound fills the cave. The knife drops from Veronica’s hands; she covers her ears and whimpers like a small child, dropping next to Molly on the ground.

Rebecca takes a step towards the girls, but then the rocks suspended over the fountain begin tumbling down. Through the dust and debris, she makes out Molly for a moment. Molly smiles at her and mouths the words, “I love you, Mama.”

The rocks continue to fall all around Rebecca, one coming within an inch of crushing her. “Molly!” she screams and then stumbles towards the cave opening. She collapses at the foot of the hill, where she later rests the plaque as a final testament to Molly’s sacrifice.