I gasp, tears spring to my eyes as I take in the cabin that at one point had been a place of warmth and love. There’s no life here. It looks as of it was abandoned years ago.
That’s when I see the three dust-covered skeletons cowering together in the corner.
There’s no way to tell if they are the aunts. Sure, one looks taller, and I could say that’s Blossom. One looks like it’s protecting the other two, which has Bambi written all over it. And I could easily say the other one is Misty.
But it doesn’t make sense in my mind. The skeletons look like they’ve been there for years.
“More magic?” Donovan asks.
I’ve never seen anything like this, but what else could it be?
“It has to be Sandra’s doing, but I don’t understand,” I say.
I cry.
I let it all out because I don’t know what else to do. My life has been an illusion. It’s been toyed with and twisted. If I think about it too much, I’ll start to question if this moment is even real.
How can I trust anything I see? Anything I experience?
“Astra,” Donovan says softly as he pulls me into his body.
I’ve gone through so much, but he’s real. I know in my heart. Sandra is dead. My father is dead. There’s no reason for me to doubt my reality now.
“What do you want to do?” Donovan asks me softly.
“One of my favorite places here was the flower garden in the far back corner.” I swallow thickly. “We’ll bury them there.”
I won’t ever know if they were in on it or helpless victims like me, though I’m suspecting the latter. They might not have even been real while I was here. But none of that matters now. I’m going to give them rest and move on.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” And as I take in a deep breath, I make another big decision. “And my mother, too.”
I don’t miss the look of surprise on his face.
If I’m being honest, I’d been thinking about it for a while. I want her to rest somewhere beautiful. Somewhere that has a part of me to watch over her. There’s no better place than with the resilient flowers that come back year after year. The ones that make the air smell sweet and bring a smile to your face the moment they come into view.
Donovan told me he’d find my mother’s ashes for me, and he didn’t let me down. Okay, so he had someone else search for her remains, but I can’t hold that against him because he was taking care of me and so many others at the time.
“Show me,” he says as he takes my hand.
Without hesitation, I lead him to the huge space where the flowers are dying out. I wish it were spring so he could see them in full bloom. It looks kind of sad now.
I point to a stone bench and tell him that’s where I would sit for hours sometimes.
“I’d get so lost in my thoughts I wouldn’t even realize the sun had gone down.” I let out a little wet laugh.
Torrin steps into view with two shovels.
He gets to work, and I’m surprised when Donovan rolls up his sleeves and starts digging up the soggy earth alongside him.
When I notice Torrin losing steam, I take over.
It takes a couple of hours, and by the time all four of them have been given their own resting place and covered up, the sky is glowing orange with the setting sun.
It’s beautiful.
As weird as it might sound, I feel like I’m able to close so many chapters of my life. I breathe in deep, filling my lungs with fresh air. When I release it, I let everything go. All the paths of my life have led me to here.
