Beyond (Book Two of The Whispered Tales)

Chapter 1

A middle-aged man holding his hat, his shoes covered in fine dust, joined the convoy. He greeted the woman with the umbrella and asked in a low voice. 'Pardon my audacity in this painful moment, but you haven't told me what to write on the tombstone...'

The woman looked at him as is awakened from a hectic dream. Her mouth shut, she gulped, but her words stubbornly remained unsaid, and she desperately looked at the old woman she was walking next to. The old woman's voice sounded somber, like a premonition, stopping the stonemason in his way.

'Write this: "Here lies the girl who saw beyond..."'

A month earlier...

The train was barely moving, each swing making the air in the compartment even more smothering. Victoria took small breaths, clinging to the chilly memory of the city she had left behind. She had accepted Aunt Alice's invitation with a heavy heart. What was there to do in a forgotten village, where everyone knew everyone else and every day was the same as the last one?

But since school had ended and summer was just beginning, she thought that perhaps two weeks of fresh air would suit her well. Especially since the last months of school had been exhausting. Admittedly, she had graduated among the top students of the Girls' Seminary, so she could ask her parents for almost anything.

The rest of the summer she would spend at home, her loving parents promising her that this year she could go, for the first time, at the Summer Ball held in August. The most anticipated event of the year for everybody in her city. But especially for the wealthy misses who could flaunt their fluffy dresses, tailor-made from the finest materials by the most famous tailor in town. And where, with ticking hearts, they hoped to find The One... Of course, one coming from a renowned family, with glamorous prospects, in shiny military attire. What else could a seventeen-year-old girl wish for?

She had been to her aunt's before, when she was a child. But, as the sweet childhood years drifted away, her desire to visit her grew dimmer. It was a stylish little white house, with a flower garden in the front and an apple orchard in the back. Behind the house, a walnut tree was growing old with every passing year. It had a thick trunk and hefty branches that seemed to protect the entire house, like in a hug. And from the thickest branch hung a wooden swing - the biggest attraction for the children coming by.

Aunt Alice, much older than Victoria's mother, had lost her husband when she was young and all she had left was the little house with the orchard and the swing. She was once a music teacher and now she was giving piano lessons to the wealthy children who spent their summers, along with their parents, in their country mansions. Every day, the little saloon echoed false notes and irritating piano clattering to the untrained ear. Not for Aunt Alice, though. For her, the children's visits were far more precious than the little money she received. During breaks, she would make them almond cookies and lemonade, and after the lesson was over, she would let them get a little dizzy in the swing under the walnut tree, with sky and land dangerously and irresistibly spinning around them.

When the train finally stopped in the little train station, Victoria gave a sigh of relief. The sun was much more daring in those parts and the three hour ride seemed to last forever. She had plunged into a boring book so she wouldn't have to take part in an equally boring talk with a fat and inquisitive lady. Who, believe it or not, had the same destination. This didn't stop the madam to jabber away the entire trip. She introduced herself as Virginia Pop and confessed that she had made the trip to the city for an important party, where she "had a ball with noble girls of the highest rank", as she put it. And, of course, to buy the latest outfits, hats and purses because: 'As you know, my dear, a true lady should keep up with the latest fashion, even if she were in the middle of nowhere.'