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thirty-nine

I t was nearly impossible to find his tombstone. The cemetery sprawled endlessly, a labyrinth of weathered stones and tangled shadows. Though I had wandered these grounds before, the family plot remained elusive, swallowed by creeping ivy and the chill of forgotten years.

I traced my fingers over countless names, each etched like a whisper in stone, until at last I stumbled upon the Reeves. The first name that met my gaze was Astoria Reeves (my namesake) her grave marked by a solitary star carved above the letters.

A fresh bouquet of white bluebells rested upon her stone, petals delicately intricate, seeming almost to glow against the cold granite.

I turned to the stone beside hers—August Reeves. My father’s name. The same pristine flowers lay there, too.

Panic rose like a cold wind as I scanned the row, eyes darting wildly. Only five other graves bore such offerings, silent sentinels flanking my father’s resting place—their stones shrouded beneath alabaster petals, like a secret kept close beneath the gathering dusk.

I stepped up to the first, Leo James DuPont…

Heart hammering, I went to the second, Arthur Charles DuPont…

Beatrice Lucille DuPont.

My mother’s name greeted me next, Lucille Mary Tempest. She was laid to rest beside Beatrice, causing a lump in the back of my throat. But beside her…

My grandmother’s tombstone. There it was, etched in soft, clean stone. Emaline Colette Tempest . I gasped, welcoming the sudden rush of magic as it marked me with remembrance. Instead of the drooping bluebells, forget-me-not flowers decorated the edges of her stone.

Sitting below, at the base of her tombstone was my basket.

The same one I had finished weaving with my own hands.

Tight-wound reeds and frayed ends smoothed by weeks of labor.

The same one I'd left in Grim's cottage.

My throat bobbed as if I'd swallowed something sharp.

Heaps of letters were tucked carefully inside, each sealed and dated.

Resting on top was one wrapped in black.

I reached for it, fingers trembling as I tugged the silk ribbon loose. It unfurled between my hands…