STORM: IT'S A CURSE TO REMEMBER

by Gurpreet Kaur Sidhu

  Marvin, on the other hand, always wondered why the cat never came around to him. He would sometimes catch the cat staring, whether if it was during dinnertime, or out in the backyard sipping on iced tea—he was always staring at him.

  “This tastes delicious, Shadow. Even better, if I must say,” Marvin said, after taking his first bite. He smiled as he wiped the corners of his mouth.

  “Thank you,” she said without making eye contact.

  She took a sip of soda and her eyes fluttered over to the living room. Mr. Jingles sat like a statue. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Marvin since he’d sat down. Shadow felt Marvin’s eyes gaze upon her from his plate, which made her feel uncomfortable.

  She continued to eat, pretending not to notice.

  “Have you spoken to your parents since you moved here?”

  She forked around a piece of penne before responding. “No, I haven’t,” she said as she looked up.

  Why was he asking her this? He knew exactly the kind of relationship she had with them. Her mother was an uptight country club class act and her father was a biological scientist who was barely around.

  “You should call them. They’re worried about you,” he said, pinning down pasta with his fork.

  “I wonder why they’re so concerned now, since we barely even spoke all last year.”

  Marvin chewed, knowing why Shadow’s parents hadn’t kept in touch with her.

  Yes, they had a few dinners throughout the year and a phone call here and there when she lived in Pool View, but it was more of a formality than actually wanting to stay in touch. In reality it came down to this: Shadow wasn’t the child they’d hoped for. In their eyes, they wanted a scholar, a doctor—a neurosurgeon to be exact—and they weren’t too happy when she told them she was not going to marry Marvin. Her father surprisingly was more upset by the news than her mother was, from what Shadow recalled. The Hex family wanted their daughter to be the center of attention in Pool View. They wanted the folks of Pool View to speak highly of Shadow, to keep the legacy going. But, now, it was far from that.

  “I miss you, Shadow,” Marvin said, changing the subject. “You don’t belong here. Pool View…that’s where your home is. You are much safer there. That’s where you belong.”

  Shadow looked Marvin dead in the eye, knowing it was far from the truth. “Really?”

  Marvin wiped the corners of his mouth, reaching forward to his wine glass. He sensed the dead enthusiasm from the tone of her voice. He took a sip then placed the glass back on the table, keeping his focus on Shadow.

  “I love you, Shadow, and I will never stop loving you. You need to come back home,” he said pausing for a moment. “We’ll have the big wedding we talked about. Kids. We’ll have the whole picture perfect family you always wanted.”

  Shadow’s forehead wrinkled at the thought of having a family with him.

  “You kill people for a living and on top of that, you’ve been stalking me.” She threw her hands up in the air. “What makes you think I would ever come back to you, or to Pool View?”

  Marvin pushed back his chair, setting down his napkin on his plate. He leaned forward, keeping little distance between himself and Shadow. This was the Marvin she knew, the one who was going to make a threat, to make it clear who was in control.

  “You’re no different from me. You had our baby killed,” he said through his gritted teeth. Marvin’s veins bulged from his temples. He slammed his hand against the table, trying to control his rage, which had been building up since the moment he stepped through the door. “Either come home, or I’ll make your life so miserable, it will be the only choice you have. I’m the only one who can save you when everything goes to a shit storm, dear.”

  Shadow stared right back, not blinking. This was all too familiar to her. She remained calm but her heart thrummed faster and louder in her chest. At a certain point, she was sure Marvin was able to hear her pounding heartbeat. Marvin didn’t make empty threats. He would deliver on what he’d say he would do.

  Now, her life had just become more dangerous.

  Marvin got up and walked toward the door with a slow and steady pace. He glanced at Mr. Jingles out of the corner of his eye, who was ready to pounce if Marvin laid a finger on Shadow. Marvin picked up his blazer off of the couch, peering over his shoulder as he walked out of the door.

  As the door slammed shut behind Marvin, Shadow hurriedly got to her feet, trotted to the door and locked it. She gawked up the staircase and listened for a moment to see if there was any sort of movement coming from upstairs. She didn’t know every detail of the SEA or how they operated because Marvin shared only so little, but if there was a Secret Eye Agent present, most likely there were more around.

  Shadow headed upstairs, aware there was a possibility there was an agent who rummaged through her belongings and laptop. By the time she reached the last step, she was short of breath. She looked through each room. There weren’t any obvious signs of someone sneaking in. Everything looked in order. She examined her bedroom, trying to find something out of place; something she would know was out of place, but found nothing. Everything was exactly where she’d left it before she gone to work.

  The agents were excellent. If they wanted to be noticed, they would leave a trace. But Shadow found no trace, which meant one of two things: Either she was under their watch every second of the day or she was tricked into thinking she was being watched.

  Paranoia. One of the first tactics second floor agents learned to master.

  ***

  Venice sat at Bernie’s coffee shop, one of her favorite local coffee shops in Lake View. She knew the owner, Willow Marx, since high school. He had the biggest crush on Venice during their sophomore year, but at the time Venice had no interest in Willow, or any boy for that fact. Her parents geared her to focus on her education, knowing boys would come and go.

  Her gaze was focused on the brownie and coffee in front of her. The vision she had was still engraved in her mind. The scene kept replying over and over in her mind and every single time, it made her soul cringe. Last night, she tossed and turned, feeling restless in the morning. All she could think of was Evan. She was torn between telling Evan what she saw and keeping it to herself, hoping her vision was far from the truth.

  “You haven’t touched your brownie, Venice,” Willow said with concern, approaching her table.

  “I don’t really have the appetite for it, to be honest.”

  He took a seat in front of her. “What’s on your mind?”

  She noticed his eyes crinkled from the sides when he smiled. It was the first time she noticed it—odd, since she observed everything in sight. But Willow hadn’t interested her any more than just a friend. She noticed the laugh lines, which formed over the years, and how his nose curved at the tip. His hair was silver, and thick. All these observations made Venice contemplate whether or not she was starting to develop feelings for Willow if not a crush.

  “Nothin’.” She smirked.

  “Oh come on now, that’s what us men say when we don’t want to share what’s really going on.”

  Willow was a fine looking gentleman. Venice remembered how the girls at school would chatter about how his sea blue eyes twinkled when he smiled. Willow had charm. His baby face, curved smile, and fair skin made him appear trustworthy, which he was.

  “I just worry about Evan and Denise a lot. I know I shouldn’t, given that they’re all grown up now but I can’t help it.”

  He frowned. “Well, you practically raised them after their parents died. I don’t blame ya for worrying so much.”

  “Yeah,” she said, her voice trailing off.

  “I assure you everything will be all right, Venice. Think positive.”

  Venice nodded. “Do you ever do anything else besides babysit your employees?” she asked charmingly.

  Willow grinned. “Now, what
’s that supposed to mean?” He leaned back, enjoying Venice’s beauty.

  “You’ve been here your entire life. You should go out and explore the world. There’s so much to see out there.”

  “You’re the one to talk, Venice. We’ve both been here our entire lives and I know you haven’t been on expeditions yourself either.”

  “Well, that’s because I had to take care of the kids, remember? I never got the time.”

  “Yeah, I remember those days. You would bring them in here and they were the most well behaved kids I’d seen.”

  “It’s only because of all the time I spent raising them,” she said with a wink.

  Willow thought about Venice’s suggestion. “I don’t know, Venice…” He paused, collecting his thoughts. “I’ve gotten comfortable where I am and I never really experienced anything out of my comfort zone. It seems tempting, though.”

  “Well, I think it’s time to explore the unknown and before you say anything,” she said, chuckling, “I’ll also go on an expedition once I get things sorted out with the kids. And if you don’t mind, I’m going to need a to-go box a little later,” she said, pointing to the brownie.

  “Yeah, no worries,” Willow said, looking over his shoulder, making sure his customers were being attended to. “Are you waiting for someone?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Evan called to meet him here.”

  “How’s he doing, by the way?”

  “Kids,” she said. “They always have something new going on in their lives. I went by the other day and he had dug up the entire garden. He’s landscaping.” Venice chuckled. “He says he can do it on his own…I guess he’s going to have to prove me wrong.”

  “Now, I see how much faith you really have in me,” Evan chimed in, walking in from behind Venice.

  Venice looked over her shoulder then peered back to Willow.

  “You could have told me he was behind me,” she sneered to Willow.

  “Don’t look at me, Venice, I’m a loyal man.” He cackled. “I swear I would have said something if Evan hadn’t shushed me.”

  Evan kissed Venice on the cheek and pulled up a seat beside Willow.

  “How’s it going, Mr. Marx?” he said, giving a slight pat on the back.

  “Always doing good, son,” Willow responded. “I’m assuming you’re on vacation with all the teens who’ve been coming in and out of here for the last hour.”

  Evan snorted. “Yeah, we get a month off for winter vacation,” he said, thinking of how ridiculous it was for high school students to be on a one-month vacation. He saw no need for that long of a break when the workload wasn’t overwhelming. Wait until these kids go to college, they’ll experience the real stress, he thought. “It’s definitely difficult having nothing to do other than grading papers.”

  Venice and Willow both chuckled at Evan’s response.

  “Hey, if you need any help with that backyard of yours, give me a call,” Willow said, getting up from his chair. “I gotta take care of that customer,” he finished, looking in the direction of the man who’d spilled coffee all over himself.

  “Thanks, Mr. Marx,” Evan said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Remind me to get you that to-go box, Venice,” Willow reminded, grinning as he made his way toward his customer.

  Venice could not help but smile.

  “Clearly, he’s into you,” Evan said, pointing out the obvious after Willow was in the distance, “and has been for a while. I know you know, but you aren’t going to admit it.”

  “I don’t really have the time to date anyone.”

  He let out an exhausted sigh. “That’s a load of crap, Grandma. We both know it’s not true.”

  “Hush,” she said, trying to be stern. “You’re different today. What’s going on?”

  “Yeah,” Evan responded. “I think I’ve figured out why I’ve been having those memories.”

  She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Okay,” she said. “Go on.”

  “You’re not going to believe what happened today,” he said. “You know, the house that was for sale next door…”

  “Yes,” she responded, waiting for the big drumroll.

  “I met the neighbor and it turns out to be the same woman I married in a previous life.”

  Taken aback, she said, “Are you pulling my leg, Evan?”

  “No, no,” he said, leaning in closer, reassuring her he was in fact being serious. “Her name is Shadow. She moved here from Pool View.”

  She was confused. “Wait, hold on a minute. How do you know it’s her?”

  “When she looked me in the eye…I connected with her soul. I just knew it was her. She looked soo much like Samantha. I feel that the universe is giving me a chance to make things right.”

  “Hold on for a second there, hun,” she said. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

  “You’ve always said that everything happens for a reason, right?”

  Venice agreed.

  “I believe the universe is giving me another chance to make up for what I did in my previous life to her. I mean, it makes perfect sense. I’ve been having these specific memories of my past life for no apparent reason, and then out of all the possibilities, she’s my new neighbor. The two and two go together.”

  “Okay. I can see why you would think that,” she said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. She reflected on the vision she had of Evan and what Bruce had informed her about. Shadow was definitely bad news. Thinking about Denise, she didn’t want to see Evan get hurt. “Don’t you think that’s a little farfetched, though? You don’t know what this woman is like, Evan. You don’t know her story.”

  Evan sighed. “For the past couple of months, I felt like death knocked on my door and murdered my soul. I have to live with that pain every single day and even if I wanted to block it out by drinking or whatever, my mind replays that scene over and over again. I’m aware I’m not that same person, but I still feel that pain. As much as I want to block out every memory of my past, I can’t.” Evan remembered what he had put Samantha through. “Every day I wake up and I’m aware that it’s all a dream but even when I’ve tried to push away that memory of me hurting her, I can’t. I don’t want to feel that way again. I know in my gut that this is the right thing to do. It’s my chance to wipe my slate clean.”

  Venice looked at Evan, unsure about how to react to all of this. She knew Evan was the sensitive one. He always had been, but he didn’t need to get involved with Shadow. Just because he had done something in his previous life didn’t mean he was obliged to make up for it, now.

  According to Bruce, Evan was a person of interest for some sort of investigation, Venice gathered. It was one thing to have a vision, but having Bruce inform Venice about keeping Evan safe, it concerned her even more. Something was going on. She didn’t know exactly what it was but all she knew was Evan could not get involved with Shadow.

  “How are you going to make things right? You don’t know this woman. Are you going to tell her you were married to her? How would this work?”

  “No,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “That’s a little insane. There’s a reason why the universe brought her into my life again. Maybe she needs help?”

  Venice shook her head in disagreement. “Don’t you think this whole idea is a little insane? There’s no need to look back and dwell on what you did. Move forward and do better in this life. That’s what we’re all doing…”

  She took a sip, trying to keep her emotions in check. All she wanted to do was blurt out why he couldn’t get involved with Shadow.

  Evan observed Venice. She was more reserved than usual and not as talkative or friendly. Something wasn’t making sense.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me, Grandma?”

  “No,” she lied.

  “Then wh
y aren’t you being supportive?”

  “In order to make up for your past, you have to do good things—make good karma, as some say. Do good in this life. I don’t understand why you would want to get involved with someone from your previous life. Wouldn’t that be repeating history?”

  “I don’t expect you to understand it,” he said, agitated. “It’s obvious the universe is giving me a second chance and I’m going to take it. I don’t understand why you can’t be happy I got the answer I was looking for. Six months of agony and pain. Maybe this is what I’m supposed to do to put an end to it.”

  Venice sighed. She could hear the certainty in his tone and knew Evan wasn’t going to give up the idea easily. “It’s just better to stay away.”

  “Why?”

  She looked around, not wanting to bring attention. “This is not the place to talk about it.”

  “So, you are keeping something from me. What are you not telling me?”

  Venice was stalling. She didn’t want to tell Evan the real reason because of the consequences leading afterward, but she had kept so many secrets in the past that at times caused more harm than good. It made her debate what was really good in the long run.

  “This is not the place to talk about it and I’m expecting my last patient in about fifteen minutes. I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  Evan nodded.

  Venice got up, wincing at the cramps in her knees. She’d bruised them when she fell in the kitchen before she had the vision. She rubbed them gently, trying to ease the pain. And being as old as she was, didn’t help the matter much either.

  “You okay, Grandma?” Evan asked noticing.

  “Oh yeah,” she said brushing it off.

  “You can’t keep hiding things from us, Grandma. We can handle whatever comes our way. It’s all part of life.”

  She peered into his eyes, knowing he was capable of taking care of himself, being thirty-one years old. It came down to the fact she knew too much. It had become a basic instinct to protect her grandchildren since the day Bruce left.