Page 6 of Heir to a Curse

“Nope. I have only ever repaired the footbridge out here.”

“Good, cause the wiring is shit,” Jerry spat. “Gonna disconnect for now, will pick up a few things for repair.”

“Can you shift it to solar? Sometimes the island floods, though never more than a few inches over this raised floor, but it’s probably a bad idea to have electrical so low.” I said staring at the floor which showed exactly that. Water stains. I’d probably be replacing part of the flooring and re-staining.

“Don’t want the ancestors getting soggy feet, correct?” A voice came from the doorway. Mr. Yamamoto stood in the doorway with Sofia’s urn held tightly to his chest.

“No, sir!” Jerry agreed.

“I see it’s been neglected more than I thought,” Mr. Yamamoto added. He entered the shrine and headed to the back left where the decorative tree was etched into the wall. That also needed extensive cleaning.

“I’ll have it fixed up in a few days,” I promised. “I don’t think your gardener has been keeping up. No one could have gotten through that mess to clean out here.”

“We’ve gone through a dozen gardeners in the past year. None of them stay long,” he said. “They find it too spooky.” He set the urn down in the center of the top shelf, adjusting it a little until he was happy, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He reached for the nearest hanging offering plate and wiped it free of dust and grime.

“Well maybe once it’s cleaned up, it won’t be so spooky,” I said, offering him an incense stick. He accepted and let me light it for him before placing it on the plate. We all stood in a moment of silence. I really hoped I could do for the place what Sofia had wanted me to.

Mr. Yamamoto breathed out a long breath beneath his mask. “At least she’s finally home.”

“I am going to dump all this greenery, and then run out for supplies, but I’ll be staying in the cabin if you could let those in the house know. I don’t want to freak them out by adding to ghost stories. The guys will be back tomorrow with the RV.” I added, taking a step back since I wasn’t wearing my mask.

“Understood,” Mr. Yamamoto said. “I’m heading out for the evening. If you need me for anything, you have my number.” He walked past us and out of the shrine. “It will be nice to see all this in its glory again.”

“I will do my best,” I promised. We all headed out of the shrine, me last to close the door, and then across the footbridge. Mr. Yamamoto vanished into the distance. “I’ve got to dump the yard waste,” I told my guys. “You have the paperwork to pick up the RV?”

“In the truck,” Mike nodded.

“Macy says the girls are on board. I’ll pick them up in the morning before we both head up. Don’t worry, boss,” Jerry said. “We’ll spiffy all this up. You think on the big house stuff. You need to decide if we’re doing the same layout or changing it up. Kitchen is a blank slate right now.”

“Yeah? Moving plumbing and gas lines are that easy, eh?” I teased.

“You know what I mean, wise ass,” Jerry added.

We all headed back to the trucks. “See you guys in the morning.”

They waved and I got into my truck, waited until they drove off, and finally let myself break down. It wasn’t the first time, or probably the last. I’d told Sofia often enough not to mother me. Always teasing. But somehow she’d still taken on that role. And now gone, my heart felt like it had a gaping hole in it.

Glancing back at the house and the fire damage, I had renewed purpose to fix it all, make it something she would have loved. It was the best way I could think of to honor her memory.