The Fallen Silk

otherworldly

In the quiet hours of the middle of the night, Effie sat on the couch in the living room, wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea in her hands. The journal rested on the table before her, pages stacked in a neat pile. She had skimmed over them again, after Vincent had dropped her off after their meal. There was something about the journal that struck her as odd, but she wasn't quite sure if it was the writing itself, the odd way her mother jumped from feeling to feeling, or the manner in which it had been brought to her attention.

She had wanted to connect with her mother again, but she felt that whatever she was doing was wrong – there was something cold, something foreboding about the entire situation, but Effie couldn't quite pinpoint the cause of the feelings.

She broke her stare with the pages and glanced at the stairs, at the paintings that hung on the wall leading to the second floor. A landscape, a portrait of her mother, a vase with a bouquet – her eyes drifted back to the portrait, and could feel Theola's eyes watching her. A calmness washed over her, and she found herself wrapping the blanket more tightly around her shoulders, remembering all of the times that her mother had comforted her in the middle of the night, all the times she had woken from nightmares just to find her mother already by her side, whispering and cooing and soothing her. It was that same feeling that covered her under the gaze of the portrait – Effie felt that her mother was there, shielding her from the darkness that threatened to come in through the cracks in both the walls and her psyche.

Having had enough of the journal and the strange woman and the cold night, Effie stood from the couch and left her cup, still half full, on the table beside the papers. With a yawn, she made her way to her bedroom, still holding the blanket around her shoulders, and fell against the pillows and comforter with no other thoughts but a desire to sleep, dreamlessly, through the night.

***

Theola...

The name echoed in her mind as she rolled over and drew the blanket closer. Had she left a window open?

Theola...

Again, the name echoed. She stirred, but did not open her eyes. She must have left a window open, it was too cold in the bedroom for it to be anything else, but she struggled with the thought of leaving the comfort of her bed.

I have come for you, Theola.

The feeling of cool fingers against her cheek jerked her from her dreamlike state and she sat up to find that the room was empty – to ease her nerves, Effie reached out and turned on the bedside lamp, which illuminated the corners of the bedroom. No one lurked in the shadows; she checked her bathroom and the closet, and even opened her door to check the hallway. There was no sound in the house, it was quiet and safe and warm – Effie noted the change in temperature between the hall and the room, but she was convinced she had opened one of the windows at some point, and forgot to close it before falling asleep. Unconcerned with the coldness, she crawled under the comforter and closed her eyes. She covered her face with the blanket, unwilling to turn the lamp off – even though she was sure that there was no one in the house, having the light on to chase away the shadows helped to calm her as she drifted back into sleep and dreams.

***

My darling daughter, I know you will solve every puzzle you are faced with, and that there is no obstacle too large for you to overcome.

She opened her eyes to the soft white and pink and yellow light of morning. She couldn't remember closing the window, but when she glanced to either side of the bed, she noticed that neither window was open. It was warm and bright in the bedroom, nothing like it had been only hours before. Nimbus had found her way onto the bed and had curled up under the comforter against Effie's side. She ran her hand over the kitten's fur and along her jawline, cooing to the feline to wake her.