The Gabrielle Series Boxed Set
Page 13
“First off, if you find yourself needing to cry for Heather and Fionn, I will give you a moment. I know when I first woke up, I cried deeply for their loss. As well as for the loss of Aideen.”
It was as though Gabrielle had entered a conversation halfway through and didn’t know exactly what was being discussed. Seeing her confusion, Alexandra tried to explain.
“Aideen was the girl that you possessed, so to speak. I know it’s confusing, for they all seemed to call you by name, but in fact, the bracelet was translating things for you. You were living Aideen’s life.”
Gabrielle sat in silence, using all of her might to try to comprehend what Alexandra was telling her. She was talking about possession, people she had never heard of, and her experiences with it. Alexandra, again sensing her thoughts, slowed her pace in explaining what had happened.
“Well, let’s start from the beginning. Do you remember coming into my shop on that morning? You didn’t know why, but you were strangely drawn to this place. Well, it was not you that brought you to my home; it was the bracelet that you wear right now.” She motioned to the bracelet and smiled.
Gabrielle looked at her wrist and then back at Alexandra. Not knowing what to say, she sat in silence.
“It’s true that I had been gone for some time before you stumbled into my home. You moved through my ‘maze’ and found yourself at the center where you came across the bracelet. Once you had the bracelet on, it showed you things. Remember when I told you that there were things in life that held stories, and that they demanded to be able to tell those stories? Well, this particular bracelet has a very interesting tale to be told, indeed.” Alexandra paused to let the concept sink in.
“Why did it call to me? Why am I special?” Gabrielle posed as she wondered why she had been chosen for this adventure.
“It sensed something within you. Something that it knew it could use to further its agenda. Perhaps it felt that you would appreciate what it had to say. The lives that have been through this bangle are far too powerful to simply wither away.”
“So, it chose me? Chose me to tell its story? This doesn't make any sense. Magic isn't real. This is all just a strange dream!” Gabrielle yelled, feeling like she was being lied to.
“I’m not exactly sure how it works, but from what I have discovered, it seems the strength of the spirits that owned the bracelet are strong enough to allow this. Of all the objects that have stories to tell, this piece of silver has one of the most entrancing. So much so that it has developed a sort of ‘bard’ spirit, fueled by the lives of those that have worn it. It further continues to add to its tale with the lives of each person that wears it. You put it on, so now it must tell you where it’s been in the past, what it has seen as well as what it has felt. You have only just seen the first part of its life. Just as there are many different chapters within a great novel, there are several different chapters to be told, different souls living within that small piece of jewelry.”
Gabrielle nervously shifted positions in the chair. She was starting to calm down a little, but her mind was buzzing as it tried to determine what was real and what was a dream.
“Why does it show me these things? How does it work? Is it magic?” Gabrielle went from being aggravated to entranced by the story of the bracelet.
Even if this was a strange dream, it was an interesting one, and what was the harm of playing along?
“My dear, magic has nothing to do with it. It’s alive. It feels, grows, learns, and fears just as you do. It, like many of my oddities, has a life force of its very own. It shows these things because that is its purpose in life.” Alexandra sipped on her tea and crossed her legs.
“This is what it does to stay alive. Keeping the tale alive keeps the bracelet, and all of those who have worn it, alive. Our past is the most important part of us; what we have done often negates what we will do. If we cannot learn from our past, we are doomed to repeat it,” Alexandra continued.
“But why does it tell these particular stories? What else has it seen?” Gabrielle asked, leaning forward nearly knocking over her cup and saucer again. She quickly adjusted them and placed them on the table next to Alexandra.
“Well, think of Fionn, Heather, and Aideen as an example of this. If you lived a life that tragic, wouldn’t you want it to serve as a warning, so that others don't meet a similar fate? So that you are not forgotten? Tossed into the woods as the nameless girl that was found by the villagers? I will wager that until this moment, you had forgotten about her.” Gabrielle wanted to disagree with her, but she couldn’t; she really had forgotten.
“Yet, when tales such as this one are told, they fall on sympathetic ears, and the people of the land rise as one and fight their oppressive class system. That’s the lesson to be taken from this life. It served as an example of why the people should have fought.”
Gabrielle sat in silence and thought of this. She thought of Fionn and Heather, William and Aideen. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She had dreamed of having an adventure her entire life. Her father groomed her for such thinking, but when she was presented with such a chance, she wanted nothing to do with it.
“So those people, Heather and Fionn and the others, they were real? As in, that all actually happened?” Gabrielle reluctantly asked though she knew she didn’t truly want the answer. Alexandra’s face changed as she looked at the fire and then back to her.
“Yes, they were real. Those events that you experienced all happened. Fionn was killed fighting for the love of his life, Heather died to protect her sister, and Aideen killed herself so that she wouldn't have to leave either of them. It was a tragic tale that needed to be told.” Alexandra looked away, toward the fire, and again sipped her tea.
“What happened to the rest of the village? What of William? Did Fionn kill the officer that I saw charging him?” Gabrielle was speaking so fast that her sentences were starting to blend together.
“Just as you cannot see everything as you are experiencing it in life, relying on hindsight to explain what you missed, the bracelet takes you through what the wearer experienced; nothing more. Believe me, those very questions drove me mad as I went through my tales as well. There are so many questions left unanswered in the end.” Alexandra paused, noticing that she had piqued Gabrielle’s attention.
“Tales? As in there are more than one? Have there been others, like me, or other pieces of jewelry like this?” Gabrielle begged, wanting to know what was to come next. Alexandra laughed and sat back in her chair, uncrossing her legs only to re-cross them.
“There have been tales of such pieces in many different cultures. While I have not personally come across pieces other than the one you hold now, I can assure you that they are there. Though the other traveler’s experiences’ will differ greatly than yours, they have the same cause as you.” At the mention of other travelers, Gabrielle felt her heart quicken.
“It appears as though I have gotten ahead of myself. I think I may be saying too much. You see, you’re not to know what is to happen until it is happening. Knowing the end of a tale before it’s told ruins the ending, does it not? It’s safe to say that the bracelet enjoys a bit of theatrics with the dreamer.” Then as if remembering something she had forgotten, “You have heard the clicking, correct?”
“Yes, I have,” blurted Gabrielle, excited that someone finally knew what she had been going through. “Do you know what that is?” she asked, thrilled that she could freely discuss the topic. Alexandra laughed, leaning forward and reaching out for her hands.
“It’s the bracelet. It does that on certain occasions. I cannot tell you why it does it because it’s different for everyone. You must determine its causes by yourself. Just know that it’s only you that can hear it. It’s something for you and you alone. It differs for each of us.”
“Us?” interrupted Gabrielle, pulling her hands away from Alexandra. “There are more of ‘us’ that know of this?” she questioned, feeling a strange bit of jealousy.
“Should I choose? I thought you told me that the tales must be told?” Gabrielle found herself nervously chewing on the tips of her fingernails, and she reluctantly pulled them away from her mouth.
“Just as in life, you always have a choice, but perhaps that’s why the bracelet chose you. It knew you would want to hear what it had to say.”
Gabrielle sat in silence for a moment. “What if I don’t decide to listen to all of the tales the bracelet wants to show me? What happens if I decide that I just want to go home? What should I do then?” she asked finally, as though she had already decided what she wanted to do next.
Alexandra stood, and lightly brushed the wrinkles from her long black dress. Gabrielle gave a small smile when she looked down and saw that Alexandra was wearing running shoes.
A snort escaped her as she looked at them, thinking back to the conversation the two of them had the first time they met.
She stopped and recalled all the instances she had recently been through with Heather and Fionn and how Alexandra was right the last time they talked — she could have used running shoes once or twice.
“The answer to that question,” Alexandra began, nodding her head down to Gabrielle, “relies entirely on you. What’s going to happen will only happen when you choose it to.” Alexandra placed the teacup and saucer on the small table in front of her.
“Please excuse me for a moment, my dear. There are a few things that I must get before I forget.” She then turned on her heels, causing her black dress to flare, and walked away toward the kitchen.
Gabrielle reflexively opened her mouth to warn her that she would find a dead body in there but then stopped herself. What a strange notion, if Alexandra's spirit was in the kitchen with her corpse. It was a morbid thought that she flushed from her mind.
After a moment in the kitchen, Alexandra emerged carrying a small porcelain plate that contained more small cookies of varying varieties.
She sat the cookies on the table between the two of them as she slid back into her chair with a smile on her face.
“You wanted to know what you must do to go home and not see the many tales the bangle has to offer, the stories of past lives both great and mournful. All you must do is choose. It’s quite simple. Just as you didn’t have to enter the shop and find the bracelet, you don’t have to continue on this adventure.”
Alexandra broke from her gaze and again looked into the fire, thinking back on stories Gabrielle couldn’t even imagine.
Frustrated, Gabrielle turned to peer into the flames to try to understand. In the center of the flames, as though they were forming a frame around a window, were Gabrielle and her mother.
The two were cuddled on her father’s old sofa in his study. She could feel a tear roll down her cheek as she saw herself sleeping deeply next to her mother as if none of this had ever happened.
Sunlight trickled through the window and inched toward her face. She turned to face Alexandra whose brow was furrowed as she watched the images in the flames.
“This is you,” she stated as she continued to peer into the flames at the undeniably strange image. “At this very moment, you are sleeping in your mother’s arms on the sofa of your father’s office, safe and warm. Your mother received word of what you had been through that day and rushed home to find you sleeping in your father’s office.”
At this, Alexandra gave a small, almost unnoticed glance at the area in the kitchen where she died, and a look of despair washed over her face.
“She crawled in next to you, and this is where you two are now. You can choose to go there if you want. You can choose to have all the stress you encounter with Heather and Fionn vanish from your memory. Of course, that means all the love you felt for and from them will also vanish.” Alexandra fell silent, and although Gabrielle didn’t remove her eyes from the fire, she could feel Alexandra’s gaze on her.
“So, I can choose to go home right now? To end all of this as though nothing happened?” Gabrielle questioned, finally bringing her gaze to the old woman.
“Yes, you can. You can wake up right now, holding on to your mother. All you must do is wish it to be so. Having lost nothing, except for the adventures that you had with Heather and Fionn. Or you can make another choice and see where it takes you. An adventure so grand that it has yet to be seen by many others.” Alexandra took another sip of her tea and cleared her throat.
“Your adventure, Gabrielle, one that has called to you and brought you right to its home, is waiting for you. The adventure that let you meet your adoring sister, Heather, and her wonderful love, Fionn. An adventure that allowed you to make friends with these two and hear their tragic story. You needn't go looking for any more adventures my dear, for it’s here, the best and most wonderful adventure of them all!” Alexandra explained as though she were trying to convince Gabrielle that following the lives of the bracelet was the right thing to do.
It was working. I wonder what other lives this bracelet has seen? I wonder what other people I’ll meet and if I will love them as surely as I loved Heather and Fionn?
“The choice is yours to make, my dear, but you must know, this will be the only choice that you have in the matter. Once you chose one way or the other, you can’t go back. You can’t change your mind. Should you choose to go home, you will awaken in your normal life with your mother sleeping by your side, and that will be the end of that. I will simply be a dead old lady, and you will never be bothered by me again,” Alexandra rambled as her tone changed from excitement to foreboding.
Gabrielle thought about what was being told to her. Now that she knew this sort of magic existed, could she really go on living and pretending it didn’t?
“Now, should you chose to follow the bracelet’s will, you can’t stop until the story is completed. No matter how sad or painful the lives are, you cannot change your mind and decide to go home. You will leave this world and go into others; however, I cannot stop time from progressing forward in this life.” With this, Alexandra pursed her lips.
“Time being relative to the seer, life will move forward without you. Your mother will mourn your loss. She will be saddened, and you will not see her again. Yet would this not turn out to be the best result? You are a fantastic girl capable of amazing things, and this is your chance. Your mother will recover. Her life will ease without needing to work to care for you.”
With this, Alexandra smiled brightly, but a small hint of loss was still visible in her eyes.
“Where the bracelet will lead you, I cannot say. It may take you down a completely different path than it took me. The mysteries are kept until the very end, my dear. Just know that this is the one and only time this choice will ever present itself. The decision that you make here is final.” Alexandra leaned back in her chair and took a large gulp of her tea, all the while keeping her eyes trained on Gabrielle.
“Do I have to choose right now? Do I have time to decide?” Gabrielle hated making choices because they always seemed so permanent—and this one was worse, because it was permanent.
“I’m sorry, Gabrielle, but the choice must be made now. The sun will soon be upon your face, and you will wake up, and at that point, the decision will be made for you.” How could she possibly choose to leave her mother, but then again, how could she deny herself this adventure now that she knew it existed?
The life she just lived was short, sad, and violent, yet she had grown to love them. She was glad that she got to know Fionn and Heather, even though she really didn’t and couldn’t really know them.
Gabrielle peered into the fire and saw that the sun was nearly on her face.
“How do I make my decision?” she asked, feeling the knots in her stomach tighten as she continued to internally debate what to do. Alexandra motioned t
o the table that sat between them.
“All you have to do is simply choose one or the other.” She motioned to the cookies and tea that sat before her.
“Choose the cookie, and you will awaken with your mother. You will live a long and happy life, I’m sure. If you drink the chamomile tea, on the other hand, it will work as chamomile often does. You will become drowsy and drift into a deep slumber. When you awaken, you will be off on your next adventure, where you will journey as far as you have to for as long as it takes until the tale is told.”
Gabrielle sat for a moment and thought about what was at stake. She was afraid. What would happen if she drank the tea and went through all that it wanted to show? Not knowing what adventures she would see and what horrors she might endure terrified her.
On the other hand, what if she chose to go back home with her mother, but regretted it every day?
Looking to the fire, Gabrielle saw that the light was now on her cheek. Reflexively, she reached to the table and snatched the tea from its saucer.
“Wonderful!” Alexandra exclaimed as Gabrielle brought the rim of the cup to the tip of her lips. She was paralyzed with terror. Thinking one last time of her mother, she slowly looked over the top of her cup at Alexandra.
“Will they all be as sad as this last one?” Gabrielle asked, looking deep into Alexandra’s eyes who smiled a small but eternally sweet smile. She reached out and brushed the hair from Gabrielle’s face, placing the tips of her fingers on the base of the cup.
“As you embark upon this journey, it is fitting that I do leave you with a warning. As the winds leave a tree’s limbs after a harsh summer’s storm, you’ll be left changed by what you see. Returning to what life is now won’t be an option. You will forever be changed by this moment.” Gabrielle began to shiver.
“This journey must remain your secret even in your lives. Telling another soul who you are or what is happening will result in the magic being broken. The world will collapse around you, and you will be cast into the one place that will always accept you: your nightmares. It is a horrid result, but it is the only way to protect the tales of those lost. In this, know that you will not be alone.”