The Sky Way

3

The woman continued to cry while Kate ushered her in and made her a cup of coffee, and sat down beside her in the kitchen. She sent Rosie to sit on the steps and wait for Daniel to come, which should have been soon after.

"What can I do to help?" Kate said, putting a hand on the woman's back and handing her a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her eyes. Kate took this time to take in the crying woman and saw that she was older, with grey streaking her hair and wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. She didn't recognise her, but with the apparent growth of the town since she had left it did not worry her and the woman might have known Nana Sky.

"I know that Nana Sky is gone, but I need help," she snuffled, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, "there were rumours in the area that Nana Sky helped when unnatural things happened, but I never believed them until it started to happen to us." Kate nodded her head and gestured for the woman to continue. "Me and my husband live outside the next town over so don't have much business over here, but when our daughter Charlotte died, things started to happen in the house I knew I had to come and see Nana Sky. Finding out she was dead was devastating, she was our only hope. I'm sorry for barging in and disrupting your morning but I just had to make sure."

"I might be able to help there," Kate said and the woman perked up, turning her water eyes to her as she continued to snuffle and wipe at her eyes. "I'm Nana Sky's granddaughter, and work in the same line as my grandmother." At that the door opened, and Daniel walked in with Rosie in his arms, blabbering away and telling him about her dream, or some story she must have heard. He saw the strange woman sitting at the table and tipped his hat at her before speaking,

"Have I come at a bad time? I can come back later." He sounded confused, and didn't seem to recognise the woman, which supported her story. Kate shock her head and stood up to offer him a chair and to put the kettle on for tea.

"Actually Daniel, I've just been told an interesting story and I was wondering if Mrs-"

"-Jacobs-" Mrs Jacobs interrupted

"-If Mrs Jacobs could retell it to you. I may have to go out of town to help." And so she retold her story, having stopped crying with the possibility of help being on the horizon. When she had finished she placed a cup of tea in front of Daniel and placed Rosie onto her knee with her own small cup of tea.

"I think I need to go and sort this out," Kate said, looking to him for an opinion, and maybe an offer to go with her. He thought for a moment and then nodded, before stating

"I'll go saddle Birch and then we can go. Mrs Jacobs, can I ask how you got into town this morning?" He stood, and put his Cup on the counter top, besides the basin I used to wash them and turned to face the woman.

"My son-in-law dropped me in this morning but rode back home to help in the fields." She told them and he replied

"Would you like to ride with me then? Or we could saddle one of Kate's horses if you like?"

"I would prefer riding with you, if that's alright. I'm not all that confident on a horse." He nodded and left so Kate excused herself to go and get dressed for the day, have only remembered that she was still in her nightclothes. Coming back down, carrying a now dressed Rosie as well she found that the cups had been washed and that there was no one still in the house. She sighed and put the book she had found the night before into the pocket of her pinafore before going out the front, holding Birch's reigns and talking quietly with Mrs Jacobs, who was sitting side saddle on Daniels horse.

When he spotted her coming down the stairs, he dropped the reigns and came over to help tie Rosie to her back, so that they could ride comfortably together, before giving her a boost onto Birch and getting onto his own horse.