[Intertwined Souls 05.0] No Good Deed

by Mary D. Brooks

  “I like your Stella. She reminds me a little of that girl that followed you everywhere you went. She was smitten with you.”

  “What girl?” Tessa asked and got up off the sofa.

  Daphne pursed her lips as she looked up at the ceiling as if trying to remember the girl’s name, but Tessa knew better. “Agnes Eliopoulos.”

  Tessa blinked. “Wow, that’s someone I haven’t thought about for quite some time. She was just following us because of her big sister.”

  Daphne chuckled. “Is that what you think? It’s not because Louisa was her big sister. She was smitten with you,” she replied. “Stella reminds me of her. Agnes loved to wear the brightest of clothes; you could spot her from the other side of the valley. You do have a weakness for girls who shine like the sun.”

  “Girls who shine like the sun?” Tessa repeated and then chuckled. “Yes, Stella does shine like the sun and some days I think she outdoes the sun in brightness.”

  “She does and she’s such a firebrand.” Daphne laughed. “I watched you and Stella at the asylum and I could see you were going to get kissed.”

  “Did you know I wasn’t normal?”

  “You were never normal, Tee. You were gifted.”

  “No, not about that. About…um… that I liked girls.”

  Daphne’s smile widened. “Yes, I knew. I had the misfortune of seeing a vision of the two of you…erm…let’s just say there was a lot of kissing.”

  “You did not!” Tessa exclaimed, feeling a rush of heat spread across her face.

  “I did too!” Daphne responded with a gentle laugh that filled the room. “You want me to prove it? Let’s just say you were not wearing much and your Stella had that ridiculous pink…”

  “Stop.” Tessa took two strides towards her sister and put her hand over her mouth. “I believe you.” She laughed as the memory of the first time she made love to Stella came flooding back. It was a very pleasant memory that once again brought a rosy hue to her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “When did you find out that I liked girls, other than what you saw in your vision? I have to say that as visions go, that was very intrusive.”

  Daphne laughed as she put her arm over Tessa’s shoulders and brought her in for a kiss on the cheek. “You sure looked like you were having a great time!”

  “Stop that!” Tessa giggled. She cradled her face in her hands and felt a little exposed.

  “Oh, come on now, little sister; nothing to be ashamed of. You were in love and that’s a good thing. At one point you were wearing the shirt I had given you with blue eyes on them.”

  Tessa put her hand over her mouth and shook her head. “I told you those blue eyes did nothing to ward off evil spirits.”

  Daphne laughed. “Yes, but it got you the girl, although Stella did make short work of that shirt…”

  “You are terrible.”

  “Yes, I am. I knew Stella was the one for you. I saw how she was looking at you and I said to myself, that’s another Agnes! The last time that I came to see you, Stella was the one to escort me into the ward. She was so nice and I felt at peace with her. Right in the middle of her telling me about your progress, I had the vision. Very inconvenient,” Daphne said and fanned herself with her hand making Tessa sigh. “I knew you were in good hands…really good hands,” she added mischievously.

  “I can’t believe you saw us making love!”

  “Who said anything about the two of you making love? I was talking—” Daphne didn’t finish the sentence due to Tessa throwing a pillow at her and hitting her flush on the face. They both laughed at the silliness of the moment.

  “Your Stella told me she wanted to take you for a walk in the gardens.”

  “She did?”

  “Oh, yes.” Daphne grinned. “I bribed the guard to allow Stella take you out.”

  “Really? Wow, I did wonder how Stella had managed that.”

  “Yes.” Daphne nodded. “I wanted you to be safe and I wanted Stella to kiss you and do all those other things I saw her do, because you were never going to kiss Stella.” She laughed lightly. “I knew my baby sister.”

  “Did you arrange for the asylum gate to be left open?”

  Daphne smiled and buffed her nails against her shirt. “Those were the best drachmas I’ve ever spent.”

  “You bribed Horace?”

  “Oh, yes, that was me. I bribed him and he was more than happy to do it.” Daphne laughed. “My goodness, Theresa, you should see you face.”

  Tessa cupped her face in shock. “I didn’t know…I thought Stella arranged for the gate to be open.”

  “Who do you think gave me the idea?” Daphne chuckled. “Stella had it all planned, and I wanted her to take you out and never to take you back.”

  “You arranged for a breakout?”

  “That was my birthday present to you.” Daphne kissed Tessa on the cheek.

  “Oh…wow,” Tessa exclaimed. “You saved my life from the fire that engulfed the asylum. Did you know that was going to happen?”

  “No. I didn’t know.” Daphne shook her head. “All I wanted was for you to be happy and safe.”

  “Did you think I had died in the fire?”

  Daphne shook her head. “No.”

  “Why?”

  “I could feel you. If you had been dead, I know you would have appeared to me. You didn’t, and I could feel you were alive. I knew you weren’t dead, and I could feel the child growing within you. I thought that Stella would be with you and everything would be alright.”

  “You saved my life.”

  “You saved my baby’s life. You and Thomas, that beautiful boy, saved my little girl. If it weren’t for you, Tommy, Aunt Irene, and Uncle Johan, my baby would have been lost. You saved my Evy.” Daphne put her arms around Tessa and hugged her. Tessa couldn’t contain her tears any longer and she sobbed on Daphne’s shoulder.

  “Those people were evil,” Tessa managed to say after she stopped crying. “They were evil, Dee. How could you have married that despicable man?”

  “I didn’t have a say in it. Mama and Papa wanted the scandal of their pregnant unwed daughter to go away and they arranged it.”

  “It was wrong and they should have let you marry Pany.”

  “We sometimes don’t get what we want. Other times we get what we’ve always wanted and never expected. Like your Stella. She is perfect for you—the woman has fire and isn’t timid. Her dress sense is a little intense, but that’s alright.”

  “I love her fashion sense and I love her fire,” Tessa said passionately. “When things were going horribly wrong, Stella was there. She’s not the most patient woman, but she knew what to do. You wouldn’t know it now because my wife is anything but calm but…” Tessa realized she had forgotten to censor herself.

  Daphne crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. “I love hearing your voice. You are so passionate.”

  “Did you hear what I said about Stella being my wife?”

  “Theresa Rosa, I’m dead, not deaf,” Daphne responded and had a quiet chuckle. “I heard you. What do you want me to do? Run around bemoaning my baby sister is a lesbian?”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “I’m dead. How will it bother me that you are a lesbian? It didn’t bother me when I was alive. Of course it doesn’t bother me.”

  “Do you like Stella?”

  “Do you want me to kiss her? She’s not my type,” Daphne responded with a smirk. “She’s perfect for you. I told you I like her fire.”

  “You knew about Evy being a lesbian, didn’t you?”

  “I knew.”

  “Eva also has her own mini Stella…”

  “She most certainly does.” Daphne nodded. “My baby girl...” Tessa could see she was choking back the tears.

  “She’s going to be fine now, Dee, she is.” Tessa got up from her seat and put her arm around Daphne. She took her hand and brought her to the sofa.

  “After everything that those animals did to her…”
Daphne’s voice wavered and she tried to clear her throat.

  “Have you spoken to Eva?”

  “I did a few days ago, but you know how well my Evy does on drugs. She thought I was a dream.”

  Tessa couldn’t help but smirk. “She’s a little…um…”

  “Fruitloopy is the phrase Zoe uses.”

  “Ah, Zoe.” Tessa pursed her lips and nodded. “What do you think of Zoe?”

  Daphne laughed through her tears and then wiped her eyes. “Zoe. Oh, my goodness, that child is nothing like her mother. She looks like her, but oh, that fire! She’s perfect for my Evy. She lives life with such fervor and passion. When she gets angry, she truly gets angry, and when she loves, she gives all her heart. She is so artistic, and you know how much I love artists.” She smiled at her sister. “You artists are such passionate people. She loves my Evy so much. There’s so much love in that child.” She gently squeezed Tessa’s hand. “They have been there for each other.”

  “Have you spoken to Zoe?”

  “No.” Daphne shook her head. “Not yet, but I am looking forward to it.”

  “Zoe calls it the—”

  “Pentasense,” Daphne finished. They looked at each other and laughed. “I’ve watched her, Tessa. She’s so interesting to watch, because you never know what she’s going to do next! I love her quirky little way of naming inanimate objects—that just tickles me. I’ve also seen the way Evy looks at her,” she said. “She is so in love with this woman…it’s just…”

  “Why are you here, Dee? Why now? I asked you earlier and you changed the subject.”

  Daphne took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It’s about Evy. We need to talk.”

  “What about her? I told you she’s fine now. It’s going to take her some time to recover, but she’s going to be alright.”

  “It’s a lot worse than you realize.”

  “Oh?”

  “Evy, Stella, and Zoe need to be in the room when we explain.”

  Tessa frowned. “Who is the ‘we’?”

  “Tonight you will find out what your big sister did that was a colossal mistake. It could cost my baby girl her life,” Daphne replied.

  CHAPTER 33

  Zoe crawled backwards and hit the sandstone wall. She kept crossing herself, staring at the woman, who dropped down to her haunches and gazed back at her with a serene smile. “Hello, Red. That was some show, eh?”

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Theresa...”

  “Oh, my god,” Zoe gasped. “No, you can’t be…”

  “Why can’t I be? My name is Theresa Eva,” Theresa replied and sat on the floor cross-legged facing Zoe.

  “Oh, my god,” Zoe repeated and crossed herself again. “I’m having one of Eva’s hallucinations and I’m not even on drugs.”

  “No, you’re not having a hallucination.”

  “What are you?”

  “Well, that makes a change from ‘who are you.’” Theresa shrugged. “Do you know the story of Pentecost?”

  “Uh...”

  “Well, in 33 AD, in a little room—”

  “Stop!” Zoe put her hand up. “I know the story.”

  Theresa gazed at Zoe for a long moment. “My name is Theresa Eva. I was and still am a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am one of the chosen to rule with Christ in heaven. I am known as Saint Theresa,” she said solemnly. “My friends call me Tee,” she added with a twinkle in her amber colored eyes.

  “You’re THAT Theresa Eva.”

  “How many of us are there?” Theresa asked and giggled. “Yes, I am that one.”

  “You’re…You’re….Mama Saint!”

  “Well, that’s different, but alright, if you want…I’m Mama Saint.”

  “Can I touch you?”

  “Oh, sure,” Theresa replied and reached out her hand for Zoe to touch.

  “You’re flesh and blood.”

  “No, unfortunately I’m not. I just appear that way to you. My physical body is no more. I don’t hunger or thirst like I used to,” Theresa explained. “It’s a shame really—I would love to eat some chocolate with a little bit of caramel.”

  Zoe blinked and then pinched herself. “Ow.”

  “Did that help?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t think so. Why is it so hard for you to believe?”

  “Because you’re dead!”

  “Hm, yes, other than that?”

  Zoe frowned. “You don’t act like...um…”

  “How many saints have you met?”

  “Um…none until today.”

  “Do you think we are all straight-laced and boring? You would be very surprised to learn that some of the funniest people ever born were early Christians.”

  “Okay.”

  “Who’s your favorite apostle?”

  “Peter,” Zoe quickly replied.

  Theresa giggled. “Ah, my favorite as well. Saint Peter, a gentle, kind soul. That man makes me laugh all the time. He tells some lame jokes.”

  “Worse than yours?”

  Theresa’s eyebrows rose. “We go from awe to sassy in minutes? Well, I must be losing my aura.”

  “You are really not what I imagined you to be.”

  “No? Should I apologize?”

  “No.” Zoe shook her head. “Evy has your sense of humor.”

  “She has inherited more than that.”

  Zoe watched Theresa for a long moment and mentally compared her to the artwork. She tried to memorize her features in detail.

  “You’re memorizing me, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think the adorable Theresa Rosa got my good side in her art?” Theresa turned to her left and then her right, which only made Zoe narrow her eyes. “Oh, come on.”

  Zoe blinked and stayed quiet until she couldn’t control herself any longer. “Where were you in Aiden? Why did you let her suffer like that?”

  “What makes you say I abandoned her?”

  “You didn’t stop those animals.”

  Theresa came forward and assumed the same position as Zoe, her back to the wall. She took Zoe’s hand into her own. “You know how the early Christians were persecuted.”

  “Yes.”

  “Many of my friends met brutal deaths. Your favorite apostle was crucified upside down, and others were stoned, beaten, and eaten by animals. We all suffered, Zoe. Do you know how I died?”

  “No.”

  “I was crucified and then for good measure, torn asunder. Do you know what that means?”

  “Torn limb from limb.”

  “Yes, that’s how I became this tall,” Theresa said and glanced at Zoe. “Just kidding. I was always this tall.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “No, it wasn’t funny at all. My body fed to animals. Not a nice way to die,” Theresa quietly explained. “Our Savior, our redeemer, our King died a horrible death. I was there. I saw it with my own eyes.”

  “You saw Jesus.”

  “I still see Jesus,” Theresa quipped. She looked at Zoe, who was gazing up at her in awe, and chuckled. “Yeah, that impresses you, doesn’t it?”

  “Wow.”

  Theresa smiled. “He is as wonderful as you have read. I know you still believe in Him even though you say you don’t. You’re just having a hard time at the moment and that’s alright.”

  “Wow.”

  “Are you going to say more than just ‘wow’?”

  “Uh…”

  “Well, that’s more than just ‘wow.’” Theresa nodded. “Our Lord is the most perfect of beings. He suffered. Why would we be any different?”

  “You could have saved her.”

  “Did you want me to?”

  “Yes, of course. What kind of question is that?”

  “Hm. So if I had stepped in and saved Eva from Aiden, as you wanted me to, how would she have been sent to Larissa?” Theresa watched Zoe’s face. “How would she have found the love of her life, the woman that gives her so much
joy, the woman that is willing to kill to protect her?”

  “You know about that?”

  “I know about you, Zoe,” Theresa cupped Zoe’s cheek and smiled. “I’ve watched you for a long time, and when the two of you met, I knew Eva had found someone who was as brave as she was.”

  “You saw us in Larissa?”

  “Indeed. I was there…”

  Zoe suddenly realized why Theresa’s eyes were so familiar. “You were the woman that told me you were Aretha Palakalios!”

  Theresa grinned. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out. Yes that was me. You looked like you needed a friend to talk to and I was that friend.”

  “So you were in Larissa and watched over Eva?”

  “I was also watching out for you as well. I have watched over Eva from the moment she was born. You still haven’t answered my question.”

  “She wouldn’t have found her way to Larissa.”

  “Hm.” Theresa nodded. “Do you still believe it would have been a good idea for me to have stepped in?”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Sadly, my darling Zoe, life isn’t fair,” Theresa replied. “Eva’s ordeal has made her stronger. You can’t go through severe trial and survive it without suffering and becoming stronger.”

  “One doesn’t need to suffer through hell to be strong. My mama was strong and she didn’t go through hell. Is it a requirement that God wants us to undergo so we can be deemed worthy?” Zoe replied and found her heart beating a little less quick than it did moments before. “What kind of God wants someone to suffer like Eva did? That’s not a God I want to follow.”

  “I’m not going to take offence at you being angry with God, especially since you thanked Him for saving Eva,” Theresa responded. “You have a right to be angry, but it’s not God’s fault. She went through hell, but it wasn’t His fault.”

  “Whose fault is it? Those bas…er…” Zoe stopped midsentence and blanched. She was about to swear in church and to a saint. The corners of Theresa’s mouth curled slightly.