When Darkness Falls - Six Paranormal Novels in One Boxed Set

by Shalini Boland

  But the following night, they re-appeared. There was a tap on the window and as I looked up from the book I was reading, I saw them both sitting in the same spot looking in at me again.

  This happened every night until my move to Canada. Why they visited me there I had no idea. But there they were, every night, sitting on my windowsill, as if protecting me from something.

  Although I had the feeling that they were friendly and their presence was soothing, they also frightened me a little. I dared not open the window. I never closed the curtains because, although I was fearful, I was also comforted by them. They became a constant in my strange, lonesome life.

  I almost wished they could go with me to Canada, a country that I had few expectations of. I hadn't always known that my grandfather Gabriel was Canadian. In fact I hadn't even known of his existence until my thirteenth birthday, nearly a year earlier. Oddly, I had bumped into the postman at the bottom of the stairs and so I had taken our mail directly from him, instead of letting him place it in our post box as usual. I hadn't intended to look through it but a Canadian postmark had caught my attention and it was addressed... to me.

  So I sat down on the edge of the step and had almost torn it apart with eagerness. I had never received mail before. I started to read it...

  My dearest Lillian

  It is thirteen years since you were born and you are missed terribly.

  I have written to you before but I can only imagine the letters have not reached you. I wish I could see you again, Lillian. I am your paternal grandfather after all....

  But before I had the chance to read on, the letter was cruelly ripped from my hands and torn into shreds by my mother. She had been so angry that I had opened that letter. More so when I told her it was addressed to me. I tried to ask her about my grandfather but she refused to say a word. So all I knew was that I had a Canadian grandfather yet I longed to know more about him. I couldn't ask my father because, on the rare occasion that I did see him, he was never alone. My mother never seemed to allow us to be together, just the two of us.

  All I knew about my grandfather was that he was Canadian. I didn't know what to feel. There was a sadness there. A numbness too. I missed my parents so much that I had a deep ache in my stomach. Yet during those weeks, I didn't miss the life that we'd had at all. But that didn't detract from the fact that they were my parents and I needed to know where they were. Even though I had December, Dorothy and June – and their beautiful cat Iris – I still felt lonely, as if a huge piece of me was missing.

  As I boarded the plane to Canada, I knew I had been completely left in the dark and that my life was about to change, possibly forever. I wished to know what I was going to... and to whom. If my parents had filled me in on their backgrounds, their childhoods, perhaps I would know where I was heading. My only knowledge was that I was boarding a flight to Vancouver and that someone was collecting me. On the brief telephone call with Gabriel, he had told me (for reasons he neglected to explain) that he was unable to come and collect me but that a 'very close family friend' would be picking me up. That friend was called Ben. I didn't even know to where I was going after Vancouver.

  The airport was hugely confusing to me. Dorothy and June had wanted to come with me but I confidently told them that I'd be okay. That I'd manage. They were old ladies, they didn't need the hassle. Eventually, they agreed to let me go alone and had arranged it with the airline, and as we said our goodbyes, I thanked them for everything. I promised I would stay in touch and let them know how everything was going. They cried as I waved to them from the back of the taxi cab and secretly, so did I. I waited until they could no longer see me and then the tears that I had managed to keep at bay for so long, began to stream down my face. I don't know how I'd managed to keep from crying for so many weeks, but I felt as though the tears had been building up as I sobbed and sobbed in the back of that car, as I drove away from the only life I'd ever known.

  I cried not only for my missing parents and for leaving my home behind, but because I would desperately miss those two ladies who had become like family to me. I would miss them, and I would miss my best friend, December.

  I didn't know how I would live without her, but she had promised to keep in touch. “Lilly Taylor, you're my best friend in the whole world. I can't imagine life without you but we'll manage... for now. It won't be too long until we're together again. We'll see each other soon,” she'd said the day before as we'd hugged goodbye. It had sounded so rehearsed but I figured it needed to be, otherwise we would have just been in floods of tears. She was the brightest star in my life and I couldn't imagine being without her.

  The airport was bigger and brighter than I imagined it to be. It seemed to go on for miles but after reading my ticket, and with a little help from the taxi driver, we figured out where I was supposed to go. I felt like a very tiny fish in a very big sea, but as soon as I had checked in and asked a few questions, I was told that the airline staff would make sure I was in the right place at the right time.

  The next few hours were spent watching people coming and going before I finally climbed aboard the plane that would take me to my new home. Excitement, as well as panic, flowed through me.

  Soon after take-off, darkness clung to me and I felt cold. I shivered.

  As I sat there alone, cold and dazed, a friendly flight attendant approached me with a warm blanket and a pillow.

  “I couldn't help noticing you shivering,” she said warmly as she handed them to me.

  I took them gratefully and wrapped myself up tightly.

  “Would you like some hot tea or hot chocolate?” she asked. I opted for some hot chocolate and she smiled and turned away.

  I was pleased the flight was quiet. I had the back row to myself so I put up all the armrests and stretched my legs out as I watched her walk towards me bearing the hot drink a few minutes later.

  She looked a little like me. At least like me when my hair had been its natural colour. Jet black hair, bright eyes that were wide apart, pale skin and of delicate build. Her face was pretty and friendly and I was glad of the attention. It was as if she was taking extra special care of me.

  The hours soon passed by and it seemed like no time at all when the pilot announced to the crew that they should prepare the cabin for landing. I must have looked frightened as the kind attendant came over to reassure me.

  “Don't worry. You're almost home now,” she whispered.

  It was odd. It was as if she knew something that I didn't.

  I smiled nonetheless and nodded. Perhaps she was just being kind. Although I couldn't shake the feeling that she knew of my fate.

  So I had landed in Canada. I guessed this was my home now. But for how long? When my parents returned, would I go back to London? What if they were never found? What then?

  At least for now, Canada was my home.

  As I stepped off that plane, I felt helpless. I felt as if I had no control over my life. Perhaps I no longer did.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I didn't have to wait. The moment I stepped out into the arrivals hall with my luggage, I heard someone calling out my name. My eyes searched the crowd until they stopped on a young man who waved avidly at me. I tried to smile but probably failed.

  “Lillian? Is that you? I wasn't sure if I'd recognise you from the photo... you look very different! It's the hair, I guess. Although you're a lot younger in the photo. Anyway, Gabriel - I mean your grandfather - couldn't make it as you know and so he asked me to pick you up. I'm Benjamin. It's great to finally meet you,” he gushed enthusiastically.

  “Hi,” was all I could muster as he delved into his pocket and pulled out a photo of what looked a little (and I mean a little) like me from when I was just a baby. He turned the image to show me and I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

  “Er... I'd like to think I have changed, a lot. I'm amazed you recognised me at all,” I said, starting to feel comfortable with the stranger, but wondering where the photo had come fro
m. It wasn't one I was familiar with. That said, no photo would be one I was familiar with. We didn't have any family photos at all.

  Together we laughed as Benjamin easily lifted my bag from the luggage trolley and asked me to follow him. I stumbled behind him, not sure what to say as we walked through the car park until we stopped in front of a large dark green, slightly rusty pick-up truck.

  Luckily Benjamin was the chatty type so I needn't have worried. All I had to do was listen and give the occasional reply.

  As we climbed into the pick-up and he started the engine, Benjamin told me a little about Canada, what the weather had been like and eventually he broached the subject I had been dreading: my parents.

  “So, Lillian...” it was coming.

  “Please Benjamin... call me Lilly. Nobody has called me Lillian since, since, well probably since that photo was taken.”

  He laughed and nodded, “Okay, Lilly, but only if you call me Ben.”

  We smiled and were both silent for a moment but I knew he was going to try and ask me again.

  “Lilly. I just wanted to say how sorry I am about your parents going missing. I can't imagine what you must be going through. It must be absolutely awful...”

  I didn't really know how to respond. So I chose not to.

  “It's okay. I get it. If you don't want to talk about it, that is. You barely know me after all,” he said with a sad smile as he pulled onto a busy motorway.

  Feeling a little guilty, I nodded, “Why don't you tell me about you then?”

  “Not a heck of a lot to say, really,” he took a breath before continuing, “my name you now know. I'm 27 years old. I've lived in the same town pretty much all my life. I've recently opened a vet practice on the outskirts of town. Yes, I'm the local vet, in case you were wondering why the truck is covered in dog hair. What else would you like to know?”

  “Brothers, sisters?” I queried.

  “Oh, yeah. I have a younger brother, Oliver, who'll be 17,” Ben looked at his watch, “in about 36 hours,” he laughed. “I think your grandfather is hoping you'll join the party, the day after tomorrow. Nothing grand. Just family and a few friends. I guess he's hoping you'll make some friends of your own.”

  I cringed slightly and Ben noticed. “Sorry, too soon, I guess. You know, everyone will completely understand if you'd rather not join in. You need some time to settle in and chill out and... er... never mind.”

  I nodded. I didn't think Ben had the slightest clue how grateful I was. At the same time, I wondered who he meant by 'everyone' but I didn't ask. I thought about what he said about making some new friends and I sighed quietly, remembering my sheltered life in England with so few friends. Just December and me. What if people didn't like me? Having never made any other friends it was hard for me to imagine meeting people and being all... well... friendly. But then this life was going to be completely different from my old life. Perhaps I'd fit in perfectly. Perhaps I could change. I struggled with the thought.

  It was just after midday and the sky started to cloud over. I hadn't noticed how cold it was. I shivered.

  Ben immediately whacked up the heat without saying a word.

  We drove in silence for quite a while until I noticed we were approaching a ferry terminal. It dawned on me then that I had barely asked any questions, not even the most important one.

  “You know, Ben, I haven't got the faintest idea where we're going.”

  “I love your accent, Lilly. It's so damn cute... just give me a sec while I sort out the ferry ticket,” he wound down his window and while he chatted to the friendly lady with a big grin in the ticket booth and paid for our crossing, I read the signs around us and concluded we were going to a place called Langdale.

  “Is that where you live? Where I'll be living? Langdale?” I asked as he wound the window back up again.

  “No, we need to get a second ferry afterwards up to Powell River – that's where we're going.”

  I felt like such a child asking silly questions. I wish I had known more about this journey before it had begun.

  “Sorry, I just haven't got a clue,” I choked, as I felt as if those tears might finally emerge.

  Luckily I managed to hold them at bay, and offer what was probably my most pathetic smile yet.

  “Don't be sorry, Lilly. It's not your fault that nobody shared any of this with you. It's such a shame, really. It would have been great for you and your grandfather if you'd been able to meet each other before... and under better circumstances.”

  Ben was so kind. Just from this short trip, I knew that we would undoubtedly become friends. My first Canadian friend. I also got the impression that he understood me. More than anybody had understood me since the vanishing. Probably more than anybody had understood me at all. Ever. In my life. Why he could possibly understand what I was going through was beyond me, though. But I just had the feeling that he did, probably more than December had done over the past few weeks.

  I hoped that I would find everyone in Powell River as understanding and kind as him. If they were, I would have no problem making those friends I was so worried about.

  CHAPTER SIX

  It wasn't until the following day when some home truths finally started to trickle into my head. It turned out that my father and my grandfather hadn't spoken to each other for years. This explained why we never had anything to do with Canada, or why my parents never even spoke of it. Perhaps it was also why my mother had become so irate when I discovered the letter from him.

  “You need to sit down and have a proper talk with Lilly, Gabriel. She is totally in the dark. She's been through enough recently. Don't you think she deserves to hear the truth?”

  I could hear the voices through the thin walls. I guessed that both Ben and my grandfather assumed I was still fast asleep because of my jet lag. Actually I had barely slept a wink. I had found it difficult to fall asleep with no noise surrounding me. The silence had kept me awake for hours.

  “There is a reason why things happen in this life, Benjamin, and my son must have had a reason not to have told his daughter about our life here. I do not feel that I should break his silence,” replied my grandfather.

  “But she's nearly fourteen years old, Gabriel. What if Jack never comes back?”

  “Don't you say that, Ben... don't even think it.”

  When Ben and I had returned from our almost five-hour journey the previous day, I felt so nervous about meeting my grandfather for the first time. But I was in for a huge surprise... there was much more to my family than just a grandfather. In fact I soon found out that I had a much larger family than I could ever have dreamed of. It wasn't just Gabriel I was meeting, there were aunts and uncles and cousins I never knew existed.

  I needn't have been nervous, of course. I was treated like the long lost granddaughter, cousin and niece that I was.

  As soon as we pulled into the long gravel driveway, a group of people bundled out of the house and stood on the porch, awaiting my arrival. All looked more nervous than me, if that was possible.

  “Don't worry, Lilly. This is your family. They won't bite. Come on. Come and meet them,” said Ben with a smile and a gentle pat on my shoulder.

  Tentatively, I climbed out of the truck. Ben collected my bags while I walked up to these strangers who suddenly burst into smiles and rushed over to me and began hugging me enthusiastically. I noticed that one person remained behind them all and stayed quiet while they all made their noisy introductions.

  “Hi Lillian. I'm your Aunt Meredith,” said a rather short cuddly middle-aged lady with long black hair, and a tear in her eye.

  “And I'm your cousin, Cormac. Meredith is my mum,” said a chubby and spotty boy in his mid teens, shyly.

  “Hello Lillian. I'm John. I'm Meredith's husband. It's a pleasure to finally meet you,” said a tall grey-haired man with glasses as he shook my hand energetically. “We have two other sons, Shayne and Bailey, but both are away studying at the moment and couldn't be here, I'm afraid,”
he added.

  An attractive man with an uncanny resemblance to my father stepped forward next. He had long black hair tied at the nape of his neck and was probably in his early 40s. He patted me gently on the back and said, “Lillian. I wish this had been under other circumstances but it is a great pleasure to see you at last. I wish that you had been able to visit us long before now. I am your father's brother, Wyatt. This is my wife, Sonya.” A beautiful slim woman with long bright white hair took my hand in hers and smiled kindly.

  “I am so happy to meet you, Lillian. I believe we will be friends,” she whispered in the most angelic voice. Instantly, I felt the same way. We would be friends.

  “I would like you to meet our daughter, your cousin Josephine.”

  “Mum... please don't call me that! Hi Lillian, you can call me Jo. All my friends do,” said a girl a little older than me with a scowl at her mother. The scowl was given with a laugh so it was easy to see that this mother and daughter had a close bond.

  Jo was the image of her mother. Beautiful with long hair that was as black as her mother's was white. Both of them carried themselves with confidence yet neither seemed aware of the incredible beauty that emanated from them.

  “And this old boy here is your grandfather, Gabriel,” said Ben with a smile. As he said the words, the group parted to reveal a broad old man with short greying hair waiting patiently to be introduced.

  “Grandfather,” I said approaching him slowly.