“Oh, the …” he gestures again to the door and its sign, “the news about Miss Perhonen.”
“What about Lilja?” Therese demands.
Billy looks at her, still showing signs of awkwardness with his inability to remain totally still. He finally exhales, shoulders slumping.
“She was off on another of her trips, somewhere exotic, out in nature. She does that, you know, and … she just … never came back.”
“She’s disappeared?” Therese asks, incredulous.
Billy nods. “That’s what the official report says.”
“What! Where?”
“Somewhere in the Himalayas.”
“The mountains?”
He nods.
“There were searches, but they never … uhm found a … body. Maybe she’s okay, and she’ll come-”
Therese has silenced him with a shake of her head. He just looks at her. She can see it in him. He’s crushed. She can also tell he is about to reach out to her, so she just turns and leaves.
She ought to feel free.
But she doesn’t.
*****
“She is varjolilja, shadow Lilja, because she has left a shadow over you, over your heart. What comes after such a woman? What can there be beneath the cast of such a shadow? Who is not eclipsed by it? You are broken, but do not give up. Do not surrender. The shadow may drown the light, but you are not yet done.”
Skothiam looks at his sister. She sits with him on the couch, returning his sorrowful gaze with a strength he does not possess. There is silence.
He finally nods.
The End
Author Bio
Born in Houston, Texas into the temporary care of a bevy of nuns before being delivered to his adopted parents, Scott discovered creative writing at a very young age when asked to write a newspaper from another planet. This exercise awakened a seeming endless drive, and now, many short stories, poems, plays, and novels (both finished and unfinished) later, his first book, Dance of the Butterfly, is being published.
The seeds for this tale began with dreams, as many often do, before being fine-tuned with a whimsical notion and the very serious input of a dear friend. Before long, the story took on life of its own and has now become the first book in a planned series.
Having lived his whole life in the same state, Scott attended the University of Texas at Austin, achieving a degree in philosophy before returning to the Houston area to be closer to family and friends. During this time, he wrote more and even branched out into directing and performance art, though creative writing remains his love.
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