Connie glances in her rear-view mirror at the shrinking cityscape. She leans into the gas pedal, picking up speed. Her eyes are set on the open road ahead, leading her to Cayder Bay.
A piece of her is still in that room, staring at the secrets Mary left behind. A lump sits at the base of her throat as the words and pictures reel through her mind, most of which she doesn't understand– the veil, the realm, the 6's. What's it all mean?
She is certain that some of the pictures were of Dr. Banes, looking as young as he did when Mary first joined his research team. He used to call Mary his rising star – said she was his top student. When she got ill, Dr. Banes was devastated. He spent a lot of time talking with her about her symptoms, her treatment plan and her medications. He said that if she stuck with the plan, she could have complete symptom relief and live a full, healthy life. He said they could work along-side each other again, and accomplish great things for the field of childhood and adolescent psychiatry.
Mary refused to follow the treatment plan. She refused the medications. When she found out she was pregnant, she refused all the more. Then, she dropped out of grad school and cut ties with Dr. Banes. The lump in Connie's throat swells.
The days after Maggie was born, were hard. Mary was exhausted and overwhelmed. She seemed sad. And who could blame her? Maggie's father – some professor she met on the research study, up and left her the moment she told him she was pregnant. She was on her own – a first-time mother caring for a newborn.
When Connie offered to spend a few nights to help, Mary waved away her concern. "I'm fine," she told her. "Really. I'm getting used to this mom thing – I'll be an old pro in no time. Call me tomorrow."
Connie did call. When Mary didn't answer, she thought nothing of it. But when she didn't answer the next call or the next, Connie's concern grew. She drove straight to Mary's apartment.
Tears blur Connie's eyes as she pulls over to the side of the road. She smooths her hands down the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, as memories of the worst day of her life come flooding in like a tidal wave.
She arrived to Mary's apartment and rang the intercom. When Mary didn't answer, she waited until another tenant opened the building door. She made her way up the stairwell. She knocked and knocked, and when no one answered, she slipped the spare key from underneath the welcome mat and let herself inside.
"Hello! Mary?" she called out. No one answered. She stilled and listened for a moment. She heard a sound coming from down the hall – from Mary's room. She paced toward the sound, pushed through the door, and that's when she saw her – Mary.
Connie rests her head on the steering wheel. Sobs erupt from somewhere deep inside at the memory of that scene.
The room was dark, and full of shadows. It was still and chaotic all at once. Despite it being July, a cold wind poured through an open window. A sliver of moonlight shone down on Mary's bed. Curtains were slapping violently against the window frame. Mary was lying still – too still, an empty bottle of sleeping pills by her bedside. Her sister – her twin – her best friend – was dead, and by her very own hand. Connie fell to her knees and in that moment, a part of her died too.
Then, a whimper from somewhere in the room shook Connie out of her grief. A cry from the closet pulled her to her feet. She turned the knob, opened the door, and there on the floor was a flurry of tiny hands and feet. Maggie! The part of her that died alongside Mary was born again into someone different – someone new. For better or for worse, she would never be the same.
Connie lifts her head from the steering wheel and wipes her face. "Maggie." Her eyes narrow, and set with a determined, focused gaze. She presses the gas pedal. She merges onto the road – the one that will continue to lead her forward. To Maggie. She has a daughter to find.
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Blue on Blue
ParanormalSixteen-year-old Maggie Krane is tormented by sleep terrors and debilitating panic attacks. When she discovers that the people she believes to be her parents are really her aunt and uncle, her entire world is turned upside down. The news is just eno...
