“Alright.” Zoe smiled, kissed Henry on the cheek, and walked away from the outpatients department and down the long corridor that led outside.
She came out of the hospital and sighed. It was a beautiful day. The trees that served as a canopy over the entrance cast dappled shadows across the sandstone walkway. She smiled and leaned against the wall looking at the various shapes and patterns. She looked up through the trees as the sun twinkled in between the branches. It felt like it had been quite some time since she had actually taken a breath and sat outside for the simple pleasure of having the sun warm her face. Eva’s accident and her slow recovery made the simple things like a walk in the sun seem remote.
Zoe put her hands over her belly and looked down. She was going to be a mother and she felt guilty for not taking the time to think about that. Her focus was on Eva, and that was how it should be, but she had neglected the precious souls she was going to deliver into the world. She sighed and decided to take Henry’s advice and go for a walk. She walked quietly along the tree-lined walkway and the foliage got thicker above. She looked up at the canopy and took a deep breath. It was the most relaxed she had been since Eva’s accident. She rounded the corner and found herself outside a sandstone chapel. Zoe looked up into the heavens and then back at the chapel. With a heavy sigh she walked towards the doors.
The squeak of the door echoed in the room when she entered. It was a small beautiful chapel with sandstone walls and multi-colored glass that created a riot of color on the floor. Zoe closed the door and sat down in a pew. She looked at the crucified icon of Christ for a long time.
“Well, here I am again. I did say I wasn’t going to talk to you again after the last time, but apparently that’s not the case. Since you’re the All Knowing and Almighty, I really don’t have to say anything, right?” Zoe asked. A smile played on her lips as she looked up at the crucified Christ. “Yeah, I know it doesn’t work that way so…thank you for saving my Evy’s life,” she whispered. “It’s about time you actually answered one of my prayers. You owed me and now you don’t. I’m not going to ask you for anything ever again. If Father H was here he would be scandalized I’m talking to you like this, but I figure you already know my heart so…I’ve said what I wanted to say.” Zoe nodded. She got up off her knees and sat back in the pew.
She looked around at the empty chapel and wondered how many people had come here and prayed for their loved ones or had given thanks. “If these walls could talk…” she said. “I’m going to be a mama,” she added and put her hands on her belly.
“Congratulations.”
Zoe whipped around. Sitting in the last pew was a woman in a nun’s habit. Zoe was surprised she hadn’t heard the squeaky door open when the woman came in.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” the nun replied with a smile. “Congratulations on being a mother.” She got up and walked towards the pew where Zoe was and sat down. “Yes, if these walls could talk, they would tell a story of hope, of sorrow, of love and faith.”
“Of sadness? Of God not answering their prayers?”
“Yes, a lot of sadness as well. You sound angry with God…are you angry?”
“I was angry, but now I don’t care much about Him.” Zoe shook her head. “I thanked Him for keeping my…friend alive. He owed me.”
“He owed you?” The nun asked with a hint of mirth in her voice. “God doesn’t owe us anything.”
“Yes, He does. When He says ‘believe in me’ and ‘I’ll keep you safe’ and then doesn’t deliver, then He’s lying. He didn’t save my mama and He certainly didn’t keep her safe.”
The nun nodded and then unexpectedly took Zoe’s hand. “But He saved your friend, didn’t He?”
“He did, for once. If He is the almighty He can do both things and not be selective about who He saves and who He doesn’t save.”
“If you had the chance to meet Him face to face, would you say that to Him?”
Zoe glanced at the crucifix for a long moment. She turned back to the nun and nodded. “Yes. I would. I’d say more than that, but I would tell Him.”
“You are such a character.” The nun smiled and her eyes reflected her joy, which made Zoe smile back.
“How did you get in here?” she asked.
“I walked here.”
“I mean in this chapel?”
“Through the door.”
Zoe gazed at the nun’s warm brown eyes that held a hint of mischief. “I didn’t hear the door.”
“Oh, you were busy praying, and I didn’t want to interrupt you thanking God for helping your friend.”
“What’s your name?”
“You can call me Sister Abigail.”
“You’re a nun.” Zoe mentally rolled her eyes at the silly statement since it was obvious the woman was a nun.
Sister Abigail chuckled. “Who else walks around with a funny hat on? No, wait—nurses do as well. I keep forgetting that.”
Zoe found her very amusing. There was something delightful about the way Sister Abigail sat and serenely looked at her. “Is Abigail a common nun name?”
“I haven’t many nuns called Abigail but I suspect there are quite a few.”
“My friend Eva knew a Sister Abigail.”
“Oh, really? I do know a girl called Eva…”
“No, you don’t know this Eva.”
“How do you know that?”
Zoe smiled. “I know everyone Eva knows.”
“Is that right? Hm. You must be really good friends with your Eva,” Sister Abigail replied. “Are you sure she doesn’t know me?”
“She knew a Sister Abigail, but…that was in Austria.” Zoe shook her head at the quirky conversation she was having with the odd little nun. “Why are you here? I thought nuns usually went to the wards and spoke with the families.”
“We do, but I like coming to the house of my Father to have a nice quiet break. I didn’t know His other daughter was here as well,” Sister Abigail softly replied.
Zoe was so focused on Sister Abigail’s very calm demeanor, so similar to Tessa’s, that she nearly missed her words. “Oh, I’m sorry...um. I can go so you can talk…”
“No.” Sister Abigail reached out and cupped Zoe’s cheek. “It’s perfectly alright. He can listen to us both. I hear He is very gifted that way.”
“Gifted?”
“I was going to say talented, but saying that God was talented would be downplaying His abilities, don’t you think?”
“Um…I don’t know. I’m taking a lot of your time…”
“Goodness, you’re not taking up my time. I like speaking to young people.”
“I guess that’s what nuns do.”
“Some do.” Sister Abigail nodded. “Some take a vow of silence, although I could never figure that out, as our Lord was not one for being silent.”
Zoe didn’t know why, but she felt at ease with Sister Abigail. “Have we met before? You seem very familiar,” she finally asked.
“Um...” Sister Abigail looked up for a moment in thought. “I don’t think we’ve ever met here in Sydney before. I’m pretty sure I haven’t spoken to you here.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes, pretty sure.”
“All right,” Zoe said. “I have family who are both nuns and priests and you seem so familiar to me.”
“Interesting. I’ve never met a Nunny Priest before.”
Zoe didn’t know how to take the lame joke. “That’s not funny.”
“I thought it was—you said you had family that are both nuns and priests,” Sister Abigail explained. “It’s never as funny when you have to explain the joke.”
“That’s still not funny.”
“Harsh room.” Sister Abigail shrugged. “How is your friend Eva? Is she alright?”
Zoe sighed. “She’s alive and is recovering slowly from getting hit with a paint bucket.”
“Ouch,” Sister Abigail exclaimed and felt the back of her head. “That would put a dent in your hea
d. It’s too bad she isn’t a little bit shorter, like you—it would have sailed right over her head instead of crashing into it.”
Zoe’s eyes narrowed on hearing what the nun just said. “How do you know how tall Eva is?”
Sister Abigail smiled. “You told me.”
“Um…” Zoe looked up at the crucifix for a moment. “No. I didn’t tell you anything about Eva except she was in an accident.”
“Are you sure?” Sister Abigail replied. Zoe went from puzzlement to a deep scowl. “You shouldn’t scowl like that—you will get permanent lines. Trust me, that’s not an old wives tale. I’m an old wife and I can tell you it is real.”
Zoe nodded. “Oh, yes, I’m sure. Are you sure we haven’t met before?”
“I’m getting a little old, so we may have met at some point when you visited the hospital.”
“Eva wasn’t in this hospital, and you couldn’t have known how tall Eva is. How tall is she?”
Sister Abigail’s gentle laugh filled the room. “Ah, I like you, Zoe.”
“You know my name. I didn’t tell you my name.”
“I do know who you are. You are Zoe Lambros.”
“Who are you?” Zoe got up from the pew and stepped forward to confront the nun.
“Sister Abigail.”
“I’m getting a headache.” Zoe gently rubbed her temples with her fingers as Sister Abigail merely smiled at her. “WHO are you?”
“I see Eva’s amnesia has rubbed off on you,” Sister Abigail replied. “I’m Sister—”
Zoe blinked. “I didn’t tell you about Eva’s memory problems. I know I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t. Who the hell are you?” Zoe exclaimed loudly.
Sister Abigail smiled serenely. “Tsk, such language.”
Zoe scowled and took another step towards Sister Abigail. Brandishing the pencil she had with her, she pointed it at her. “You’re not a nun.”
“Are you going to draw on me?” Sister Abigail chuckled, which only made Zoe glare at her. “Oh, come now, that was funny!”
Zoe sighed heavily. “Just tell me who you are.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Sister Abigail reached out and caressed Zoe’s cheek. “You have a beautiful soul, Zoe. You are a precious, beautiful soul.”
“What?”
Zoe took a step back in shock when Sister Abigail began to glow. She was glowing a deep golden hue. Zoe’s mouth dropped open as Sister Abigail transformed before her eyes. The nun disappeared and in her place was a tall woman, taller than Eva. She had long, golden brown curls that flowed down her shoulders like a cascading river. Her eyes transfixed Zoe—they were the color of amber.
“Sweet Mary, Mother of God!” Zoe exclaimed, and dropped to her knees in shock. She crossed herself a few times, her gaze focused on the woman before her. “You’re…that…that woman!”
CHAPTER 32
A light breeze blew the lace curtain over Tessa’s head as she sat on the recliner knitting her soon-to-be grandchildren some booties. She stopped and brought the knitting up to her eye level. With a smile she nodded and went back to enjoying the peace that knitting brought her. The record player was playing Johann Sebastian Bach. She smiled. Bach’s violin concerto relaxed her and it was one of her favorites. She was about to pick up her cup of tea when she stopped and looked around her.
Tessa got up, placed the knitting on her chair, and closed her eyes. She sensed a presence and could feel it become stronger, but she wasn’t sure who it was. It was very familiar though. Her brow furrowed when a very familiar scent permeated the room.
She choked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her as she opened her eyes and looked around the room. She was disappointed to find she was alone. She shook her head and went to get the cup of tea.
“Hello, Tee.”
Tessa dropped the cup and it shattered when it hit the floor, but not before she whipped around and stared open mouthed to find her older sister standing by the record player. Tessa blinked back her tears and stared. She could not believe what she was seeing.
“Bach was always my favorite.”
“Bach…was your...favorite?” Tessa stammered. “You’re talking to me even though you’re dead, and that’s all you can say?”
Daphne smiled. “Come here, baby sister,” she said, her voice breaking. Tessa didn’t need another invitation. She took two strides to reach Daphne and enveloped her in her embrace. They held each other for a long moment. Tessa felt Daphne’s body as if she was flesh and blood but knew she was not, which made the embrace all the more bittersweet.
Daphne took a step back and gazed lovingly at Tessa. “You’re as beautiful as the last day I visited you at Saint Gregori’s.”
“You must be blind.” Tessa chuckled. ”I love you so much.” She cupped Daphne’s face and kissed her on the cheek.
“No, my eyesight is fine—you’re gorgeous. Look at that hair,” Daphne said through her own tears and ran her fingers through Tessa’s straight dark hair. “My god, you have grown into a beautiful woman.”
“You will never grow old, you old cow!” Tessa choked out as they gazed at each other and broke out laughing. “We are a pair.”
“A pair of gifted ladies.” Daphne took Tessa’s hand and led her to the sofa. “So, gifted sis, how’s life?” she said as she reached out and tenderly wiped Tessa’s tears with her fingers.
Tessa sighed. “I’m not possessed.”
“Didn’t I tell you that you were not demon possessed? You didn’t listen to your big sister, did you? No, you had to go to some asylum and get zapped.”
“I really believed it, Dee. I did.”
“I know you did, as did Mama and Papa. I knew you weren’t, but there was nothing I could do to convince you.”
“Pany said that too,” Tessa replied, making Daphne smile. “He still loves you so much.”
“My darling Pany.” Daphne sighed. “That’s for another time.”
Tessa gazed at Daphne. “I can’t believe the last time I saw you was in 1917. Do you remember when—”
“I’ve relived that day so many times, and I still see it now. You were so determined to believe that it was not the Mitsos curse and to believe someone had put the evil eye on you.”
“Sometimes I think we were all given the evil eye. Why didn’t you tell me you also had these gifts, Dee? Why?”
“I couldn’t confess because I didn’t want these gifts myself,” Daphne responded, her voice almost a whisper. “I didn’t want them and I didn’t want to tell the world I had them. They terrified me, and what I could do? It’s not something you want to declare to the whole world or to your family.”
“Were you afraid they would lock you up?”
Daphne shook her head. “No, I was afraid of what I could do. I was afraid that my life was going to change. I wanted to be a wife and a mother.” She stopped for a moment. “I didn’t want to be thought of as one of those Mitsos women who needed to be locked up. I didn’t want to know what lay in the darkness and be able to see it.”
“You could have saved me from myself.”
“Yes, I could have and I didn’t. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. By the time I found the courage to want to tell you, it was too late.”
Tessa stayed quiet for a moment and she took a deep breath. “It turned out that you saved me anyway. When did you know about my gifts?”
“I knew you had these gifts when you were five.”
“Huh?”
“You were five years old and I was looking after you because Mama had to go somewhere. I remember saying no to you about a ball you wanted and couldn’t get. I turned around to do something, and when I turned back I saw the ball move on its own accord. Then I knew.”
“I was five years old?”
“Yes. I was ten at the time and I knew what it was.”
“How did you know? How did you know at ten that this was some gift?”
Daphne sig
hed heavily. “Aunt Erika turned up when I was around seven or eight. We were very close and we would go on long walks together. She told me that she knew about my gifts.” She looked at Tessa and smiled. “She said she knew that I knew about them, and that they were nothing to be scared of.”
“Wasn’t Aunt Erika in an insane asylum?”
“She was in between visits and Papa didn’t want to leave her alone with me. Do you remember Uncle Clem?”
“Yes, sort of.” Tessa nodded. “I remember he had no hair, but not much else.”
“Well, he followed us just to make sure Aunt Erika didn’t do anything insane-like. I could see how much she was suffering and I vowed never to tell anyone about the gifts.”
“How did you hide them? What gifts did you have that terrified you so much?”
Daphne paused for a long moment before she responded. “I had the gift of languages and visions, which are your standard, garden variety gifts,” Daphne quipped, making Tessa smile. “If visions are not enough to send you screaming into the night, I also had the ability to see the darkness and those that walked there. That is a horrible thing to be able to see. Horrible and frightening.”
“I don’t understand what seeing into the darkness means.”
“I could see the demons that walk the earth, sis. Trust me, there are a lot of them, and normals don’t realize it. This gift hasn’t been given to you, and I thank God it hasn’t but…” Daphne stopped and took a deep breath. “I had another gift which you also possess.”
“What’s that?”
“I was around sixteen and I got a visit from Aunty Erika, which surprised me, because Mama had told me that Aunty Erika was now in heaven and would not be coming to visit anymore. I was outside and looking up at the stars when I felt a presence. I looked around and there she was.”
“How is that possible?”
“Turns out one of my other gifts is the ability to see the dead.”
Tessa blinked. “That’s not possible.”
Daphne’s eyebrows rose in response, making Tessa smile. “It is possible.”
Tessa watched her sister intently and asked, “Why are you here?”
Daphne stood and walked around the room touching various objects and smiling at the ornate embroidery on the wall. Tessa watched her with a growing trepidation. When her sister was so coy about anything, it usually meant bad news or major trouble. Tessa suspected it was both this time round. “Daphne, why are you here?”
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