When Cherry Blossoms Bloom

Chapter 5

Beth and her daughter had gotten into a comfortable routine while staying at her mother's home. Her husband would call every couple of days and talk to both of them. The first sign something was wrong was when the phone rang one evening. Beth answered expecting it to be her husband. Instead, a police officer answered and let her know that he and a fellow officer would be coming over to the house along with a handful of other government officials. When Beth hung up the phone, her hands were shaking. Ruth sensed her mom's distress and asked what was wrong. Beth put on a fake smile and responded, "Nothing sweetie. It was a wrong number." Ruth watched her mom for a moment, but soon smiled and they went back to coloring pictures. The next morning after Beth had dropped Beth off at a neighbor's house, the authorities showed up and asked her to sit down. It was only when she saw the priest, that she collapsed into the chair. The lead officer was nervous. He had no idea how to break all the bad news he had to this poor woman. An FBI agent saved him the trouble. "Maam, your husband was found dead in your home from a gunshot wound to the head." The police officers glared at the agent. Beth gasped and began to sob uncontrollably. The agent interrupted her grief to break more news to her. "Also, your mother was involved in an assassination attempt on the Ambassador to Japan. The Ambassador survived, but your mother ran head on into another car in the motorcade and killed his aides. Your mother died at the scene of the accident as well." Beth couldn't breathe. This was too much. The police officers demanded the agent to leave and allow the priest to comfort the poor woman. Beth felt like she had been swallowed by a black hole. She saw herself looking up from the darkness and a small pinpoint of light. Then she heard, "Mommy?" When she opened her eyes, she saw her daughter looking at her with worried tear filled eyes. Beth grabbed her daughter, hugged her, and cried. "Mommy, everything will be okay." She heard her daughter whisper. Beth took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes. She carefully got to her feet and found the folder her mother had left her. She handed it to the officials. "I believe my mother had intended that this go to you." The agent took the folder from her and opened it. Inside he found her mother's confession as well as a list and other information that caused he and his partners to start chatting excitedly. "Thank you, maam." The agent says suddenly. "We'll be in touch if we have any other questions." With that they left. The police officers there in regard to her husband's death gave their condolences. After the funeral, Beth had no choice but to sell the home her husband had bought for them. He had left them with plenty of money to live on for a while. The selling of the home would help stretch what he had left them. She had to pay extra money to make sure the potential sellers never learned that her husband had been murdered in the house. It was some years later that the authorities contacted her and informed her of all the nefarious things her mother had been involved in during her entire life. The criminal behavior was not a surprise to her. The involvement with Satanism and the deaths that stemmed from it was definitely unexpected. They learned in her confession that she had hired someone to murder her husband at almost the same time she had killed the Japanese official's aides. Before she had died, witnesses claimed that her mother had been ranting about the fact that her Master had kept his word. When someone asked what she meant, she stated he had promised her fame.

In the information her mother left behind, she had left instructions for Beth as well. She had taken this information out before handing over the folder of course. Her mother told her to look in the closet of her room. Inside she would find a locked trunk. The key was in her nightstand. When Beth opened it, she gasped. Inside she found a diary and a collection of her mother's Satanic paraphernalia. She took the diary and closed the trunk, relocking it. She contacted the local priest and asked if he could dispose of the trunk and possibly bless the house. The priest was more than happy to help. After the trunk was removed Beth felt much better. Her next task was to get rid of the rest of her mother's belongings. She intended to make this house into a proper home for her daughter. Beth walked into the living room. Her mother had an obsession with the color of red. Red drapes, red furniture, red carpeting. Within a week of getting the money she was expecting, she went through and made the home look like something out of a home magazine. She had movers clean out their old home and bring what she designated back to her mothers house. Ruth was happy to have her movie collection back. And as much as Beth loved her daughter, it didn't take long for the songs from the movies her daughter chose got on her nerves. She invested in a small television for her daughters room and gave her her own vcr to play them on. Before too long, they were both content. Beth would lay in bed reading her books or writing and Ruth watched her movies. They would cook dinner together and eat it in the kitchen. Beth enrolled Ruth in a school close by and stayed home to take care of the house and meal prep while her daughter was gone during the day. Ruth would come home after school, eat a snack and do her homework. After dinner, they would spend time together watching their favorite shows.