Twisted Realms (Sequel to Mara: A Charmed Affair)

2: What Happened To Her?

“What happened?” Andrea had hardly sat down on the brown upholstered couch when Mara asked her the question.

The little girl otherwise known as Myrtle as Andrea called her settled by her mother’s side and eyed Mara with a strange curiosity. It was strange how much the two of them looked alike, but Mara reckoned that it was because Rafe was her father and since they both came from the same family tree of dark haired beauties and high lifted cheekbones that could be the answer.

Andrea sighed as she held her cup of green tea above it’s saucer, she blew across the surface and lifted the tip of the cup to her lips. Mara mirrored her actions, taking a sip of the light tea that was in bad need of sugar and lemon.

Bleh.

“We don’t know.”

Her eyes closed and she bit her lip hard as sudden rage tore through her body, when she opened then back up little Myrtle was eyeing her once again. She gave the girl as slight smile and spoke through clenched teeth, “How could they not know how she died?”

Andrea warily set her eyes on Myrtle, the little girl had piqued up in interest and had rested her tiny elbows on her knees and her head between her hands as she listened to Mara talk, “Mommy who died?”

“Up, up. Up you go,” Andrea shoo’d her daughter away, “Go watch veggie tales baby. Mommy is having a very adult conversation.”

“But I wanna hear,” little Myrtle stood beside the armrest, but her mother continued to wave her away.

“Not now baby.”

“Hmph!” the little girl crossed her arms and stumped into the hallway, the slamming of doors was audible enough for Mara to cringe.

Jeeze, I’m not having kids.

“I don’t know,” Andrea sighed heavily, “I just don’t know Rafe is torn up over it that’s for sure.”

“And he should be, that’s his mother! God!” Mara pushed away her hot tea and place her face in the palm of her hands as she groaned, “I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. I never said goodbye Andrea.”

She thought of her aunt then, somewhere in a grave that no one had told her about, somewhere decaying under six feet of rich soul and a multitude of bugs. What if they crawled inside the coffin and ate at her face.

The tears she’d held in on the ride back home fell like waterfall, she shook and cried into the palms of her hands and grieved. She grieved as if that was her own mother….because she was like a mother to her. She was.

And she had left only to be brought back six years by news of her auntie’s death.

Andrea waddled over and plopped on the seat next to Mara, she wrapped her arms around her old friend and shook her gently, “It’s ok to cry, I know that you had to go. Rafe knew, she knew it too. She never blamed you for leaving Mara, I swear it.”

But Mara blamed herself, maybe if she had been there her auntie wouldn’t have died.

Foolishness!

She wiped away her tears and sniffed in anger.

Something wasn’t right about her aunts death, she was healthy, she was lively. She couldn’t have just died, and why did no one know how she’d died.

“Where is her grave?”

The note had simply implied that her aunt had died, but it had failed to tell her where the grave site was. It only made mention of the addresses wish that Mara come home and gather the things bequeathed to her in her aunt’s will. That’s why she was there.

But as she sat there and stared at the mirror above Andreas wall she knew that she couldn’t just leave. She knew that she had to stay and find out.

She owed it to her aunt to find out.

She owed it to herself.

She owed it to her mother.

“There is no grave.” Light and haunting Andrea’s words rained upon Mara like icicles, they froze and they cut until her blood had turned icy.

“What do you mean no grave? They buried her didn’t they?”

Or had they left her in the open for other wild animals to feast upon, like vermin!

“N-no, sweetie they cremated her body.”

Mara turned her head quickly to the right and examined her friends face for any sign of the sick joke that she was obviously playing on her. Cremated! It couldn’t be, she never would have wanted that! Nonsense! But Andrea’s face contained no hint of any jokes, it only contained lines of worry and tired eyes.

“But…”

Andrea stood up, she grabbed her belly and wobbled to the left where the fire place resided. Just above the brick fixture rested framed photos of her and Rafe and an urn, red with intricate gold designs, “It’s all in here. Do you want to hold it?”

Mara shook her head and held her stomach, she was too nauseated, “No, no thank you.”

It was enough to learn that her aunt had died, but to know that she had been cremated? To know that there was nowhere on earth that she could visit her body.

Cremated.

“No, no thank you.” She repeated again, though Andrea remained with the urn in her hands.

“Are you ok?” Andrea asked though she knew the answer.

“I’m fine,” Mara lied as she stared down at the rug.

She lifted her head to speak again but before she could a loud knock at the door startled the both of them.

“Who is it?” Andrea called out.

“The Alpha needs to speak to Mara.”

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A/N: Very, very, very short update, yes I know. Bad Rory, bad Rory, but I'll make it up to you in the next chapter...or either I'll add more to this chapter but I think it's fine as it is (albeit short) you have just a tiny bit more insight to whats going on and why Mara is back home.

Comment/Vote/Whatever/Just Do The Damn Thang :D