An Ancestry of Secrets

Chapter 5

When Josephine awoke again, she wasn't sure what time it was. Daylight trickled past the closed slats of her blinds. Without opening her eyes, she moved her hand around the side of her in search of her phone. After a few blurry blinks, she could see it was one in the afternoon. She had been asleep for seventeen hours and felt like she could sleep seventeen more.

There was no where she needed to be today. Scott more than likely would be over when he was done at the bakery. She was glad to have one constant in her life. It helped her stay grounded. The first call she made after she found Edie's body was to Scott. He came straight over, called the mortuary, and helped wrangle in the chaos of neighbors sprinting over to see what was happening.

As they grew older and remained single, the more flirtatious their friendship became. Scott was considered Odenville's most eligible bachelor. Part of his allure was that he left Odenville for a time while he attended college and tried to make it up the corporate ladder. He said he came back because his heart just wasn't there. It always remained in Odenville.

Josephine was constantly pestered with requests to fix up the single ladies in town with Scott. When she started charging for the request, the quickly died off.

It wasn't that she couldn't see herself with Scott, it was more of the fear of losing him if their relationship went south. He has been part of her life for almost 20 years. That wasn't something you gave up lightly for a fling. Josephine rolled over. She wasn't in the right head space to have this argument with herself today.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a book on her night stand. Immediately, she sat up and grabbed the book. It was the one from Edie's bedroom. The one she had left on her desk. The one that was in her dream last night.

Quickly she opened it again and thumbed through each page. They were still blank. But one page was dog eared which made no sense. It was blank. She closed the book and tossed it toward the foot of her bed.

Josephine questioned her sanity for a moment. It's the grief. She needed a hot shower to wake her up and get her thinking clearly.

Her phone pinged that she had received a text message. She grabbed the phone. It was from Scott.

You awake?

Yup.

Want company?

Will you have coffee?

Of course.

Then yes. Come on over.

See ya in 20.

Josephine quickly showered and filled the bathroom with steam. As she stepped out of the show, the fog seemed heavier than normal. She went to the sink to start her routine of contacts, hair, and teeth. The mirror was fogged, and she could barely make out her shape. She grabbed the wash cloth and swiped it over the mirror. A blurred shape reflected in the mirror right next to her. Startled, she jumped back and started to look around the bathroom.

No one was next to her. Josephine looked back at the mirror and saw the blurred shape again. It raised what appeared to be a finger to the mirror and started to write U-N-B-I-N-D. Josephine closed her eyes. "Go away. Go away." After a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked in to the mirror. The blurred shape was gone. But the letters it wrote remained, fading as the fog spread across the mirror again.