The Ring

Part 11

Dominique felt a chill travel over her body, as she contemplated the tragedy that had befallen Frederick. She looked around the little beach with new eyes as the faint breeze cooled her skin amidst the soft shuffling sound of the waves rolling onto the sand. She felt that this little beach was sharing something with her. It had it's own story to tell, and while it was sad, it somehow comforted Dominique. It took the focus from her own story and let her contemplate the myriad of stories, some happy, some sad, which have unfolded throughout history and that are continuing to unfold today. Untold stories, where a certain balance is maintained between joy and sorrow. She thought about the stars in the sky that were just now starting to show as the light faded. So many stars, so much beauty, so much empty space, and yet, is it all connected, is this where all the stories go? One day, will her story be sprinkled like dust into the night sky? She felt comforted by the thought.

It felt strange to be told that you were seriously ill, but to not really feel sick. Apart from the bruising, and a general feeling of tiredness, especially in the morning, Dominique thought that she was fine. It was like she was wearing an invisible cloak of sickness that no one else could see, apart from the telltale scarf that she wore to hide her bald head. However the treatments had been stopped and fresh new hair was starting to grow. Dominique had been to the hospital once more for more tests and questions. She sometimes felt like she didn't belong there, that she should give her place to someone who was really sick. However, the demeanor of the hospital staff, the nurses and the doctors told a different story. But how could they really know her story, thought Dominique, as she was driving back to her mother's cottage.

When Dominique returned, she realized that she had forgotten the keys to the cottage, and her mother was out somewhere, probably searching for more truffles. Rather than just wait for her mother to return, she thought that this would be a good time to get lost in her thoughts once more on the little beach. On the way to the beach Dominique noticed Samuel's car driving down the rough gravel road. He must have noticed her as well, as his arm reached out of the car window, waving frantically. The car approached her and stopped. His head appeared, with his usual broad grin, and he told Dominique that he was just on his way to the old mansion to check on things and asked if she was interested in having a look. By this time, Dominique had become so engrossed in the story of Frederick, that the invitation was most welcome.

Time had not been kind to the old mansion. In her minds eye, Dominique could still see the beautiful whitewashed exterior that changed colour like a chameleon as the sun marched through the sky, starting and ending each day reflecting the precious golden rays. However, the reality was that the ground itself seemed to be devouring the once great edifice. Vines snaked out of the ground and had already covered one side of the manor and were encroaching in other places as well. Dominique thought the vines as the hands of nature herself drawing the mansion back into the ground, trying to restore the equilibrium.

Dominique followed Samuel up the stone stairs that led to a pair of large wooden doors that were shackled together by a large chain. Samuel withdrew the keys from his pocket and unlocked the chain and then using another rather more ancient key, opened the doors to reveal a rather dim and murky interior, certainly not what Dominique had expected, nevertheless she was still quite excited. There was neither electricity nor other forms of lighting inside, so the only solution was to draw open the rather heavy curtains in front of the windows and weathering the resulting storm of dust that was liberated. As the sunlight spilled into the rooms, Dominique could see the flashes of the once grand sitting and dining rooms that had succumbed to the ravages of time. It seemed that no one had lived in the mansion for probably many decades, as the furnishings were old and more reminiscent of the period that Dominique had visited in her dream. Dominique's heart skipped a beat when she noticed the piano sitting in the corner of the room, precisely where she expected it to be. Samuel saw Dominique's reaction and asked if she was afraid of ghosts. This broke her concentration and she smiled. Samuel needed to check each room of the mansion and Dominique followed him to the grand stairway. There was a large painting on the wall at the end of the first flight of stairs, but the lighting was not good. Dominique asked Samuel about the painting and he said that it was a large portrait of two men, and was quite old. He supposed that it was probably a past owner and, in order to show Dominique, he shone a torch beam on the painting from the foot of the stairs, and Dominique saw Frederick, standing next to his father, the same Frederick as in her dream. She let out a short involuntary shriek, which quite surprised Samuel. He laughed and said that maybe she was afraid of ghosts. Dominique just said that she was shocked because they looked so real.

The discovery of the painting and the piano made Dominique feel as if she was walking amongst ghosts, although she was not afraid. Now she was extremely curious. She remembered from her dream, the grave where Cleveland, Isobelle and the baby Cleveland were buried and so set out to see if she could find it. She recalled that it was at the rear of the mansion, but some distance away. Samuel said that he didn't know anything about it, but offered to help her search for it. The land behind the mansion was now quite wild and overgrown, so Dominique found it difficult to orient herself. However, she had a good idea of the distance and direction, so they started to make their way. It wasn't easy as there were thorn bushes and otherwise rather dense vegetation to somehow get through, which meant that they had to find a path through the mess as the thorns scratched their legs and arms and caught their clothes. Still Dominique persisted and Samuel did his best to forge a path through the tangled mess of bushes. Dominique finally thought that she recognized an old tree that marked to place of the graveyard and they made their way in that direction. The tree seemed to be the same as in her dream and it pointed to where the grave should be found. It was still difficult, as the vegetation was just as thick and unforgiving, but with Dominique's directions, Samuel finally found a stone almost completely covered by thorn bushes. He ripped and tugged at the bushed to reveal the stone and Dominique stood there and stared as if time was frozen. There was the stone making the last resting place of Cleveland Faircroft, Isobelle Faircroft and Cleveland Faircroft Jr. Samuel was impressed, and asked Dominique how she knew that the grave was there. Dominique simply lied that she'd read a little about the family history, which satisfied Samuel.

Dominique pondered the revelations of Faircroft manor, the dream and the old sea-worn ring on her finger. She felt the presence of Frederick now, more than ever and felt a strong desire to return to the little beach once more to learn the final story of Frederick.