Fury's Ghost

by Sue Perkins

  “Stop eating those or there’ll be none left,” her mother cautioned. “I don’t think there’s any time period mentioned in Ellen Mune’s will, although apparently there’s a rumour she left further instructions, but the lawyer thinks it just that – a rumour.”

  Fury felt her spirits drop. Her mother must be talking about the mysterious letter.

  “Does rumour say what the instructions were?”

  “No. I don’t think anyone knows the details.”

  Fury realised her mother didn’t have any further information, and mentioning artwork which needed doing, she disappeared upstairs.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  With her drawing pad set out on the table Fury sat and looked at the tapestry. How could she persuade Ellen to tell them about the letter? Should she ask the ghost again if it existed?

  After several minutes of thought, she checked the stairs then lifted the tapestry and entered Ellen’s room.

  The ghost stood by the window but turned when Fury shut the door behind her.

  “Hello Ellen, I’m afraid I haven’t got any news about setting you free. We seem to have hit a blank wall.”

  Ellen looked confused for a moment, then the puzzled expression cleared. At least you tried. It’s the most hope I’ve had since I died.

  “We wondered if you could give us any more information about the instructions you left when you died.” Fury hurried on as a stubborn expression crossed Ellen’s face. “We know your will stated the house could be used by Margaret’s descendants as long as no alterations were made. Did you put any time constraints on how long they could use it? Either the length of time they could stay, or how many years it would go on. It’s been a hundred years now and we’re the latest descendants to use it. How much longer can it go on?”

  It will stop eventually. Ellen turned toward the window again. When the time is right my instructions will come to an end.

  Her words convinced Fury the time to end the restraints had arrived, and when this happened Ellen would be able to pass over, but how this would happen she had no idea.

  *****

  When lessons broke for lunch the next day Fury told her friends what Ellen had said. She’d spent a long time before going to sleep last night thinking about the ghost’s words.

  “I think this is the time for the will’s restrictions to end. I’m positive Ellen will pass over soon after, but I’ve no idea what we can do to make it happen.”

  “How long have your family got to go before you return to Christchurch?” Samantha asked. “It would have to happen before then.”

  Fury had been enjoying her new life and new friends so much she’d forgotten they were only here for six months and four of those months had already passed. Summer was almost over and they would return to the city before winter began.

  The three girls sat at the lunch table with sombre expressions on their faces. None of them had realised their time together would soon be at an end.

  “I have no idea where we go from here.” Samantha put her chin in her hands with elbows on her knees.

  “Something will happen to show us the way.” The other two stared at Cora.

  “Where did that come from?” Fury asked.

  “I have no idea.” Cora looked surprised. “I just feel sure it doesn’t end here. Maybe we should forget about Ellen for a few days and just enjoy ourselves. Let’s go camping this weekend.”

  “Camping! Where? My mum won’t let me go off without an adult.” Samantha frowned at Cora.

  “We could camp at my place,” Fury suggested. “We have a huge amount of grounds and can camp in sight of the house without parents interfering. I’ll ask my mum and give you a ring to tell you what she says.”

  It was a relief to talk about something other than the ghost and her problems. Fury eagerly approached her mother soon after she got home.

  “So you see, Mum, we want to have a weekend camping in the garden. Samantha and Cora’s mums won’t let then go too far out and I guess you’d feel the same. If we camp in the garden you can keep an eye on us without interfering.”

  Fury could see her mother trying to hide a smile. “What’s brought this on, Fury?”

  “We’ve just realised our six months here are nearly over. I didn’t like it here at first but I’ve made good friends and I really enjoy the freedom of not being in the city. This way we can talk and do things together without the parents worrying about us.” Fury saw the understanding cross her mother’s face as she came and hugged her.

  “Of course you can have a camp out. I’ll ring Cora and Samantha’s mothers to ask if it’s okay with them.”

  “Thanks, Mum, you’re the best.” Fury returned the hug then bounded up the stairs to her room.

  “My Mum is calling your mothers,” she told her friends on a multi call. “We should have a brilliant time.”

  All through the week the girls planned their weekend, from what food they were going to eat, the music they wanted to play and the magazines they wanted to flick through.

  “You’ll have to excuse my mother,” Fury explained. “She tends to think we’re still in the city and that there is danger around every corner. Then she flips the other way and goes all country on me. No open fires or barbecues without an adult present. I try telling her I’m almost an adult, but she won’t bend her rules”.

  “My mother’s a bit like that too.” Cora grinned. “I think it’s kind of nice. It shows they care.”

  *****

  Fury’s father pitched their large family tent next to the tree with the swing. Fury and her mother piled cushions and blankets on top of the groundsheet.

  “I hope you’ll all be warm enough.” Her mother frowned at the pile of bedding.

  “It’s okay, Mum, we’ll have our sleeping bags too.”

  Samantha’s mother’s car drove up to the house and Fury’s friends tumbled out of the rear seat and all three girls carried the sleeping bags and other paraphernalia across to the tent. The two mothers stood chatting and smiling at their daughters’ enthusiasm. Ten minutes later Samantha’s mother drove off down the drive and the girls finished sorting out their weekend haven.

  They spent the afternoon tramping over the hills behind the house. Fury had never bothered to walk this way before and was amazed at how beautiful the countryside appeared, along with the wonderful views across the hills. She happily snapped photos with her phone of both the landscape and her friends. The other two did the same so Fury would appear in their photos.

  Mrs Laing brought dinner out to them when they returned

  “See what I mean,” Fury sighed as her mother returned to the house. “I wanted to barbecue but Mum refused to even consider it. She said it hadn’t rained for weeks, and she wouldn’t take the chance we might start a fire.”

  Her mother had produced hot dogs, salads, crusty rolls, fruit and soda. They all agreed it was exactly what they needed at the end of their busy day. As dusk fell they snuggled into their sleeping bags with music playing softly in the background.

  “I’m going to miss this when I go back to the city,” Fury sighed. “I have to rely on Mum to take me places, and I catch the bus to school. There’s no freedom like there is here.”

  “Shame your dad can’t get a permanent transfer. We’re going to miss you too.” Samantha reached over and gave Fury a hug and Cora joined in.

  “I can’t believe how much fuss I made about moving here. I wanted to stay with my dad’s sister but Mum insisted the family had to stay together. Now I don’t want to go back.” Fury lay back and put her hands behind her head.

  “You can always come and visit.” Cora leaned forward, her arms hugging her bent knees.

  “Mmm.” Fury knew no matter what plans they made, they would gradually fade away to empty promises as they all grew up in different places.

  Sleep overcame them and soon the only noise was the gentle breathing of three very tired teenagers.

  Next morning they woke to find a basket of warm croissants,
preserves, orange juice and jug of hot chocolate sitting outside the tent.

  “Remind me to thank your mum.” Samantha spread marmalade onto a croissant. “She knows just what happy campers need to eat.”

  Over the weekend they never once mentioned Ellen and the problem of releasing her from this world. In fact Fury never even thought of the ghost who had consumed her interest from the time of her family’s arrival at the house.

  All too soon the weekend finished and Cora’s mother came to pick the girls up and take them home.

  “See you tomorrow, Fury.” Samantha and Cora hugged her. “We’ll have to think of what to do about Ellen.”

  Fury wished they hadn’t mentioned the ghost. They’d had such a lovely weekend and mention of Ellen had interrupted the pleasant interlude. Once the car disappeared down the drive, Fury went to help her father dismantle the tent and pack it away.

  “Did you have a good weekend?” Her dad asked.

  “Yes Dad, it was great. It’s going to be strange going back to the city after all this space.”

  “We can probably come for visits as long as nobody else is living in the house.”

  Fury didn’t understand her father’s words. If her mother was the last living relative of Margaret Mune how could anyone else stay in the house? She shrugged it off. It would probably never happen anyway. It sounded like one of those promises that were said on the spur of the moment, but never kept.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Their leaving day came nearer and nearer. To Fury it seemed as if time rushed by. She and her two friends spent every spare moment together, but found it difficult to do all the things they wanted to do in such a short time period. Fury did make time to go and see Ellen.

  “So you see Ellen, we were only here for a short while and now we have to go back to the city.” Fury desperately hoped the ghost would understand. “Cora, Samantha and I have tried hard to work out how to release you but we can’t think of anything we could do to send you on to the next world.”

  You cannot go yet! You are the one to release my spirit to the next world.

  “Sorry, Ellen. If my family returns to the city, then I have to go too.”

  To Fury’s surprise the ghost turned away and her figure dimmed until she could no longer be seen.

  Two weeks before their departure the packing began. This spelled the death of any hopes Fury had for them to stay a little longer. Her mother roped her in to help with the packing, despite her arguing she had homework to do, or had to meet up with the girls.

  “I know you want to spend as much time with them as possible Fiora, but I can’t do this on my own. I need your help.” Her mother gently pushed her toward a box of winter clothes.

  “So where’s Jonah? You can’t use the excuse he would break things when it’s only clothes.” Fury grumbled and turned to pack the box.

  “He’s packing up his exercise equipment. You know he doesn’t like anyone else to touch it.” Her mother pushed another box toward her.

  Her father came home early that evening and after a quiet word with his wife, they disappeared into his office.

  “What’s that about?” Fury asked her brother.

  “I have no idea. Doubt if it’s got anything to do with us though.” Jonah placed the dish he was drying onto the kitchen table, but he put it on the edge and it began to slide. Fury plucked it out of the air before it hit the floor.

  “You know sometimes I think you’re deliberately clumsy so you can get out of doing things. Not fair, Jonah, be more careful.”

  Her brother grinned at her, but she noticed he did slow down and placed the dishes on the table before he let go of them.

  They saw neither parent for about an hour, then their mother came bustling out to see to the dinner. Silence reigned while they ate, but when Jonah asked if he could be excused and began to rise from the table before he got permission, their father asked him to sit down again.

  “Today I was offered a unique opportunity, and your mother and I agree it affects all of us so we should make the decision as a family.” He smiled at his wife who patted his hand.

  Oh great, they’re going to get all soppy. Fiona shook her head

  “As you know, my transfer here was for a temporary period of six months while someone took extended leave. This is why we’ve been packing to return to the city. Now I’ve been offered a promotion and a permanent job in the office here in Timaru. We’ve checked with the lawyers for the house and they say as your mother is the only Mune descendant left, we will be able to live in this house permanently. What we’d like to know is how you two feel about this.”

  Their parents looked at them, but before Fury could speak Jonah answered, “Makes no difference to me. I’m off to college next year, so I won’t be here anyway. I must say though this house is a lot better than I originally thought it would be. Lots more room than our other house and plenty of land for running and training.”

  Trust Jonah to bring his training program into his decision.

  “Fiora, how do you feel?” Her mother gazed into her eyes, as if she were trying to read her daughter’s thoughts. “Remember, although this would mean you could stay with Samantha and Cora, you wouldn’t see your friends in the city.”

  “You know, Mum, my friends in the city haven’t bothered much with me since we moved here. They did at first but their lives have moved on and now they never call or email.” Fury tilted her head to one side as she thought back on the last six months. “I know they’d come around again if we went back to the city, but I believe Samantha and Cora would still be my friends even if I lived somewhere else. That’s true friendship. I vote we stay here.”

  “It’s settled then.” Her father beamed round the table. “Your mother and I wanted to stay, but we felt we had to give you two the opportunity to object. As we’re all on the same page I’ll tell both my boss and the lawyer we’re staying.”

  “I’ll start unpacking.” Fury leapt from the table and took the stairs to her room two at a time.

  The boxes standing against her wall were ignored as she grabbed her phone and multi called Samantha and Cora.

  “Guess what!”

  “You’ve figured out how to send Ellen on to the other side,” Cora suggested.

  “You’re leaving earlier than expected.” Samantha sounded woeful.

  “Neither. We’re staying here. Dad’s got promotion and a permanent place in the office in town and we’re allowed to stay in the house as long as we like. Isn’t that great?”

  After they’d all stopped talking excitedly over one another, Samantha brought the conversation to a halt.

  “Stop, stop. This calls for a celebration. We’ll have to go into town for ice cream sodas after school tomorrow. Have you told Ellen yet?” Silence blanketed everything as Samantha and Cora waited for Fury’s reply.

  “No, I wanted you two to be the first to know. I’ll tell her after I’ve calmed down.”

  For the next half hour they chatted about what they would do in the next school holidays now they knew Fury would still be with them. After they hung up, Fury wondered if she should go up to see Ellen. It might be best to get it over with or the ghost might get annoyed she hadn’t been informed.

  After checking to make sure none of her family were nearby, Fury climbed the stairs to the attic floor. Once inside Ellen’s room her mood sagged. There was no sign of the ghost. Had she passed on already?

  I doubt it, we haven’t done anything yet to release her.

  Her thoughts made her wonder what they had to do. Did it include some sort of ceremony, or would events clear the way for her to pass over?

  Have you any news?

  Fury jumped as Ellen appeared beside the bed.

  “Yes, well it’s news about me, not you.” Fury didn’t want to raise the ghost’s hopes. “My dad is now a permanent member of the office in Timaru which means we’ll be staying. The lawyer says we can stay in the house so I’ll have more time to sort out the problem of your
passing on.”

  The time is almost here.

  Without another word Ellen vanished. Fury shook her head in disbelief and left the room, locking everything up behind her.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Fury’s mother returned to the city to pack up the remainder of their things from their old house. She had intended to take her daughter with her, but school exams were fast approaching before the school holidays so Fury stayed with her father and Jonah.

  Mrs Laing returned just after the original six-month period expired. Luckily the Cave house had a huge barn so their furniture from the city could be stored there while they decided what to do with it.

  Exams came and went and the school term finished. To Fury it felt as if they’d always lived in Cave and she threw herself into holiday fun with Samantha and Cora.

  One morning she got up late, the girls weren’t meeting until the afternoon so there was no hurry to do anything until after lunch.

  As she passed through the hallway someone knocked on the front door and Fury walked over to open it.

  “Good morning, I wonder if I could speak to Mr and Mrs Laing.” A middle-aged man in a smart business suit stood on the doorstep.

  “One moment please.” Fury wondered whether to leave him there while she fetched her mother, or just call out. She decided on the latter and the man flinched as her voice rose in pitch. “Mum, there’s someone to see you.”

  “Don’t shout, Fiora.” Her mother emerged from the dining room and came to the door. “Good morning, Mr Dale. Please come in.”

  “Good morning, Mrs Laing. I wonder if I could have a word with you and your husband. I rang his office and they told me he would be working from home today.” The man shifted his briefcase to his other hand.

  “Of course. Come this way.”