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The pain of her heartbreak was too much for her to bear, and Nana’s mind snapped long before I was born.

I’d only visited her twice while she was alive.Oh, I saw her sometimes when I went to put flowers on Mama’s grave.

She was always sitting under the shady oak tree by my late grandfather’s grave.I met her gaze just once, and in that fleeting moment, a connection sparked between us—one that transcended the boundaries of time and speech.

Nana nodded at me, her eyes deep pools of understanding, but she remained blessedly silent.

Like she knew I was beyond speech, trapped in a whirlwind of emotions that threatened to swallow me whole.In her silence, I felt heard.I felt understood.

And that was so goddamn rare for me.I thought my emotions would choke me that day.But they didn’t.

I was still here.

Tears flowed down my cheeks as I cradled my mug of rapidly cooling tea.I shivered, reminding myself to put on something thicker before I headed to bed.

My life was a solitary one, but I understood.This curse was my own cross to bear and bear it I did.

I dated a man about a year ago, and it got serious.He even moved in for a short while.I thought it would be nice having someone care for me.Only Patrick didn’t.

He was a user and a jerk.I made the mistake of telling him exactly what I was going through one dark night.Predictably, he left, after clearing out the old coffee jar I liked to hide cash in.

Told me I needed help and that no one wanted to spend time with afreaky ass fat girl.Funny, but I never even thought about my body being too heavy to be attractive until he said that.

Yeah, it hurt.

So not only was I cursed, but apparently, I was fat, too.It was a lot to come to grips with all at once.

But I did.Now, I knew then I would never find someone to share my life with, and I accepted it.

It was hard.I mean, I was only thirty-one years old.But it was better to face the facts than to go into another relationship as blindly as I had that one.

Sometimes I just felt so alone.

It had nothing to do with the fact I lived in a trailer on the outskirts of town.But it did have everything to do with seeing the ghoulish remnants of the dearly, or not so dearly, departed that hounded me day in and out.

Shades wandered around aimlessly, stuck on this plane until they resolved whatever they needed to in order to move on.Sometimes I was able to pick up on what they needed.And sometimes I made a call, sent a letter, hopped on a bus and did my best to see that they were heard, and their final wishes were fulfilled.

It wasn’t always possible.But I did my best with the meager budget I had and whatever time I could spare.It’s all I could do.

All the Fates would allow, as Pop would say.

The rain was coming down in sheets now, and the good news was the old double wide Pop had bought back when I was in grade school was still standing.

Barely.

Sure, there were a dozen things I could list off the top of my head that needed fixing, but that would all have to wait.

It was all I could do to pay his bills and keep the lights on.But that wasn’t so bad, right?I had my books and a ton of old movies to keep me company.

My phone buzzed with an incoming message, and I gasped as I read the text over.Twice.

Hey Jezebel, It’s me Penelope.You may have heard I’m engaged to Max Leeds, and he owns the Motley Crewd Ranch.Anyway, we’re having some trouble with our fences, and I was wondering if we could rent that lot you own behind the theater for a week or two.We will pay top dollar for you allowing our goats to stay there, and we will even throw in a full time caretaker to tend to their needs.Let me know asap.-Pen

I blinked hard, wiping the tears that had come back with a vengeance.Was this real?I mean, I knew Penelope, but we were hardly close friends.

Still, I could not afford to look a gift horse, or in this case,goat, in the mouth.I grabbed my phone and replied.I didn’t often get good news, but this sure felt like the start of something good.

Fingers crossed.