Page 5

Imri

“Imri, honey, Mom says the house needs some work.”

“Hey, Mama, yeah. Look, this place is weird. Did Uncle Malik tell you who was helping him with it?” I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel in the parking lot of the hardware store. Jeff was loading my purchases to take them out to my house. Wouldn’t be right away, but I was hungry and needed to eat before I got mean, or meaner than usual.

The way the other shoppers kept staring at me was really irritating. Again, I’d noticed most had different bands to mine, the same kind Jeff had. Only one guy, a tall, lean but cute omega, had the same one I did. He caught me looking and stared back at me, his expression complicated. Watching him, I tried to guess what he was and decided he was some kind of cat. He had the same grace as one. Another predator like me was wearing the same type of band. There had to be some significance.

My stomach rumbled. I caught another frown from a local, souring my mood further. I felt too close to snapping. Once I spoke to Mama, I was going to find somewhere decent to eat.

On the other side of the phone, I heard her sigh. “You haven’t read the letter he sent, have you?”

“What letter?” She had my full attention.

“Baby boy, you need to go to your mailbox and check to see if the letter was sent.” I heard her moving around. She was probably on a job site and taking a few minutes’ break to call me.

“In it, Malik explains everything, or he said he would before he passed.” She paused. When she resumed, her voice sounded sadder. I knew she was grieving for the brother she’d lost. “Look, the situation in Haenvale is complex. Malik was doing his best, knowing he’d probably not live very long. Thing was, that place is why he lived as long as he did. Malik claimed it was the sweet sea air or something. I think there was something else going on.”

That comment piqued my interest. Still, I was stuck on the first part. “He wrote me a letter? ”

She got that sick of my shit tone I was used to hearing from her, especially in my teen years. “Yes, Imri, there’s a letter. Go read it. Call me back if you have questions, but I don’t know all that much. Just bits and pieces. Malik kept a lot of things to himself.”

With those words, the call was cut off. I did get a text not long after.

Mama

We’ll be out in a couple of weeks. The start of June at the latest. Got a hotel. We’re taking the camper for my tools. Call your Mom later.

Cool, well, at least with them at the hotel, I’d get some peace to enjoy my house. I really did love and appreciate them for dropping everything to come help me out. I’d been lucky with my family. My siblings were great, even though they were much older than me. There was a decade between me and my brother. Fifteen years between me and my sister.

Determined to get some answers and sick of the stares, I stopped by the grocery store for some sandwich fixings instead of eating out. I took a different route back out of town, entering the woods where I’d heard the mailbox and the shed were. I drove slowly, something compelling me to linger in the town. There was this feeling I was missing something. In other places I’d have thought I’d picked up a scent, but with the inhibitor working, there was nothing to catch.

Once I’d lingered long enough that my stomach was sore from being empty, I made my way out of town to check out this letter. I was shocked at how big both the mailbox and shed were.

Turns out, I’d used this damn road, just given the mailbox and shed no mind when I’d arrived the day before. I’d been more interested in getting to the house. The property was still a mile down a beaten track, which made me glad I’d traded in my car. If I was going to stay here, getting a new road was a priority.

I parked and switched off the engine before heading to the shed. Sure enough, the code Jeff had kindly gotten for me did work on the lock. Inside the cool, dark building, there was a chest freezer and an under counter fridge. There were shelves, probably for cans and packets, then some space for odds and ends. The space was immaculately clean.

“Cool,” I muttered to myself. My eyes lingered on the chest freezer. Opening it, I realized it was still on, yet the appliance was empty. Same with the fridge when I checked. There was zero food anywhere. No tools. The shed was just a shell, waiting for stuff to be delivered. Someone had to have cleared it out for him.

The mailbox was pretty big. Inside were a ton of letters. Bills, reminders from Haenvale about taxes, elections. Most of it was addressed to my uncle. A few, like the water and phone bills, were for me. Then I found it. A handwritten envelope with my name on it.

Holding it in one hand, the rest in my other, I returned to my truck. I dumped most of the mail on the passenger seat, examining the letter from Uncle Malik once more.

I decided to head back to my trailer, make a sandwich, and read the letter under the AC. When I started the engine, my eyes went to a copse of trees a few hundred yards from my mailbox. I didn’t have a clue why, but my gaze lingered there for a moment, until the growing hunger in my belly returned me to the present.

Food, then I’d read the letter.

While the envelope was handwritten, the letter inside was not. Uncle Malik had only written this letter around a month before he died, by the date at the top. At that time, he was communicating with his carers through his computer since he wouldn’t let us visit and see him wasting away. He could type well enough, just not speak or hold a pen for long. He had really suffered those last few months until he was able to have his petition to die accepted by the courts.

The government had him checked by two doctors before they gave him a potion to end his life and ease his suffering. There was no cure for shifting sickness. It was a kindness to help him die peacefully.

The letter was sweet and full of feeling. Unfortunately, it left me with more questions than answers. His words were moving. While I would always wish I’d said goodbye in person, I also felt gratitude to him for not allowing us to see him in those last few months. I got to remember him as the kind uncle I knew from my childhood. His memory was untarnished by the awful sickness which stole him far too soon.

Imri,

I have started this letter so many times to explain why I left most of my property, money from my inventions and my dearest possessions to you. My sister is the best of people. She always made me feel welcome in her family, understanding why I didn’t have one of my own. You always had a special smile for your poor uncle. I kept my distance, though. My time on this earth was always going to be cut short, and I didn’t want to be a burden.

When I moved to Haenvale, they did not like that I was a predator shifter with this disease. They allowed me to move there, but I felt more comfortable just outside of the limits of the town. I requested to buy some land and to build a home in the woods the residents avoid. Close enough to get help when I needed it, far enough away from their judgment. Luckily, there was a house already in place, long empty, and mine thanks to the land sale.

All of it was very strange. I did not know why the town kept away from the place, still I was grateful for it when I was stuck in my dingo form for days at a time when the sickness was bad. Except one time, when I needed them to stay away most, someone did explore the woods.

Near the end of my time in Haenvale, I was stuck in my shifted form. I tried to attack someone, Imri. The poor little creature escaped without injury by some minor miracle. The sheriff came to me in the days after to tell me I was to leave if I could not control myself.

By that time, I’d met them. They were the reason I left when I did. None of us could afford attention. I felt terrible for the boy I’d scared, but I was not welcome in the town to apologize. They told him he made it up and I had to go along with it.

There is a family of witches in the woods. I love them, Imri. I couldn’t bring more trouble on their heads, not for anything.

The witches are the sole reason the town doesn’t use the place. They were ostracized generations ago because their magic is too strong for the inhibitors. A handful of witches had more magic than all of Haenvale combined. The town at the time refused to let them be, fearing they would take over when all they wanted was help. The townspeople shunned them, forcing them to make a living in the woods. When I met them, there was the mother, the eldest son of about ten and two little ones. They grew and hunted their own food. I was in awe of how self-sufficient they could be. Sometimes they snuck into town and stole things like medicine or clothing. I don’t think anyone in the town knows they are there now. They wouldn’t let me tell anyone, threatening to hide if I did. I couldn’t break their trust. That’s why I went into the hospice. To protect them from the town.

When I met them, one of the littles was sick and the eldest boy came to me begging for my help. I gave them everything I had. Everything. All the food, medicine, my old clothes. Everything. Then I just ordered more.

Their mom wouldn’t take it. She was a proud woman. Her husband had died of a fever after an injury and she’d done her best alone with them. We struck a deal. She and the kids would help me around the house, cooking, cleaning, some gardening, then I would teach the kids how to read. She struggled with it herself. One day, she hoped they would leave for a different place, one where they would be accepted. Once they could control their magic better.

As the eldest, Rowan, grew, he helped me with the repairs the place needed after many heavy winter storms caused damage. He’s a good kid. Very smart.

Just before I moved into the hospice, their mom died. It was such a difficult time for us all. I tried to get them to move with me, but they refused. I begged them to come with me, but Rowan was fifteen, his magic was more unstable than ever, and they were grieving. The woods were all they knew.

I didn’t abandon them and I beg you not to either. They’ll need you. It’s been three years, Imri. I’m scared for them. Every month, I’ve had supplies sent to the shed for them. Food, clothes, medical supplies, books. We talked regularly on the phone. I checked on them as much as I could. There was no one I could trust to go there. My sister would have loved them hard, but they weren’t ready for her. They need a gentler hand. They need you. My gut tells me it had to be my little nephew. The boy who used to sit at my knee and ask a million questions.

The kids know all about you. They’ve seen photographs. I told them to expect you in the weeks and months after I’m gone. Please don’t delay in calling them. I’ve left Rowan’s number, but we’ve got a signal worked out too in case this letter lands in the wrong hands.

Sandy and Berry are ten now. They all need magical training, schooling that Rowan can’t do himself. Get him to help you fix up the house, I’m sure it’s in a bad state and I’m sorry about that.

See, I gave you this house because I knew you’d have the heart and courage to help these kids, because you know what it’s like to be forgotten as the youngest. Your moms did their best, they are good people, but I know you were alone a lot more than they’d liked. More than I liked.

I see a lot of myself in you, Imri. I know you’ll do what’s right by Rowan, Sandy and Berry. Don’t go looking for them, they’ll come find you. Remember what I used to do when you were little and upset? That’s our signal.

I’ve left my usual order in a folder in the house. It’s all paid for until six months after I’m gone and comes from the next town over, so no one in Haenvale knows about it.

Don’t trust the town to do what’s right. Agnes, their mother, begged me not to ask them to help. I fear she had tried once, only to be denied. Trust your gut. I’m sorry for giving you this burden, but there was no one else I could entrust them to except for you.

I feel in my heart I’ve chosen the right person.

May you have a long and happy life with your fated mate by your side.

Love, Uncle Malik.

A family. Three children, well, one young adult and two kids were a lot to deal with. It explained a lot. Like why the house was in better condition than I thought it would be. How Malik had managed all those years there, apparently alone, because he wasn’t, he’d had friends, a pseudo family of his own.

How was I going to lure them out? My memories of my time with Uncle Malik were fuzzy.

The deliveries were gone. So I had to assume the kids were okay, though it wasn’t long until the order stopped. They were my responsibility now that in effect, I was their guardian, I had to do things right. I wondered if I could convince them to share the house with me. I had no clue what their home was like. Maybe it was better than what I had. The witches had lived in the woods for this long, there had to be a sort of community, or the remains of one. It sounded like the kids were the last, the rest long died out.

I finished my sandwich and looked through my supplies for something sweet to tempt them out with once I remembered that’s what he used to do for me.

When I was sulking about something, he would leave a candy bar on a tree trunk in our yard. Usually I hid in my shifted form and the smell always lured me out of my hiding spot.

Should I leave a note for them? Malik said he was sending books, they could read some. They had a phone. I’d text them too.

There was so much to do! I’d have to assess where they were with their learning, if they were healthy, if they had all they needed.

My thoughts brought me up short. A sense of rightness tightened my chest and tears pricked at my eyes. My uncle had really blessed me with this task. He’d given me a sense of purpose for the first time in my life. This was something only trusted to me.

With shaking hands. I sent a text to the number. With it was a photo of a fallen tree, a couple of candy bars on top.

Imri

Hey, it’s Imri. I’d love to meet you when you’re ready.

Message sent, I thought about everything I’d need to do while I waited.

Fuck, my moms were coming in a few weeks!

No, I’d get something in place for the kids. We’d make something up if they decided to stay in the house once we got it livable… I’d figure something out.

Once more, my eyes strayed to the town. I couldn’t bring myself to hate the place. There was a reason I’d been picked by my uncle for this over my moms. We were both big believers that fate guided us. Something told me fate was giving me a push, and my gut told me part of that was waiting for me in Haenvale.

I found a comfortable spot near the fallen tree to wait. My property line was marked by a crumbling fence, which I’d get around to replacing at some point with a better one. I’d laid the candy out with a brief note explaining who I was in simple words along with the offer of safety. Then I promised at the bottom to help them in any way they needed. Finally, though it went against what I was supposed to do, I swore to keep their secret.

It was dark when I finally saw signs of movement in the trees surrounding the house.

“Are you Imri?” a hesitant voice asked.

“Yeah. That you, Rowan?”

From the short distance between us, I could see his relief. “Did Malik really tell you about us?”

“Yeah, he did. Are you all there? Are you okay?” I felt this need to see them and check them over properly.

“We are alright.” They crept closer.

“Do you want to come in for dinner? I make a mean mac and cheese.”

“Cheese?” A younger voice asked, the boy, Sandy. He popped out of some bushes much closer than I’d anticipated. I barely restrained my flinch.

“Is that alright?” Rowan looked hopeful. Fuck, he was so young to have so much on his slim shoulders.

“Of course. You can all sleep here if you want? It’ll be a tight fit, but we can make it work.” I really didn’t want them going back into the woods alone.

“Mom said not to bother Uncle Malik. He was sick.” He looked so sad. “I don’t think she would mind if we stayed with you. I don’t see the sickness in you.” Rowan’s eyes swirled with his magic, then he snapped out of it, his cheeks heating with a blush. “He told us a lot about you. We miss him a lot.”

“Uncle Malik is gone like Mama, right?” the girl, Berry, asked.

“Yeah, he is, but Uncle Malik sent me to help you.”

Berry smiled easily, but lingered close to Rowan.

The kids needed reassurance.

“Look, I’m here for you. I know you’ve been alone for a while now and you’re clearly doing okay, but I think it’s time you had someone to take care of you again. Listen, I’m not sick. I’m not planning on going anywhere. Will you let me take care of you all?”

It didn’t even take him a moment to decide. “Yes. I’d like that, Imri. Sandy, Berry, let’s go have dinner and talk.”