Prologue~Ch. 1~Ch. 2~Ch. 3~Ch. 4~Ch. 5~Ch. 6~Ch. 7~
“Is this what I think it is?” Ellen asked?
Jessica nodded.
“My God, Jessica. Do you realize what this means?”
Jessica stared at her mutely.
“That dream of yours, it must have something to do with your mother. Maybe even something that happened when you were a baby.”
“I don’t know, El . . .”
“I know you won’t see a shrink, but Mom knows this woman who interprets dreams. I’ve been meaning to mention it to you, you really should go see her.”
“I – I’ll think about it.”
Ellen glanced at her watch. “Damn! I promised I’d see the folks for lunch. Are you okay? You want to come with me? They’d love to see you too.”
Jessica shook her head. “Another time maybe. I’ve got too much to think about.”
Ellen rummaged around in her purse and pulled out a slip of paper. “Here’s that woman’s number, just in case.”
Jessica nodded. Ellen hesitated, about to say something else, then shook her head and left.
Jessica sat the wooden box on the coffee table and picked up the diary. Maybe this held the answer.
An hour later had her pausing to get a tissue. There was no doubt her parents had loved each other. Her mother sounded so young, so happy. They’d only been married three months before she learned she was pregnant. It sounded like such a joyous occasion.
When a knock on the door interrupted her, she was frowning at a very puzzling entry. She was still frowning when she let Howard in.
“I’m glad you’re home, Jess. I—” he stopped suddenly. “What’s that awful smell?”
“Oh, just that,” Jessica waved vaguely at the box, contents strewn over the couch, wrappings still littering the floor.
“That,” Howard repeated. He eyed her with concern. “Are you okay, Jess?”
“I don’t know,” Jessica replied, sitting back on the couch.
Howard went into the kitchen and returned in a few minutes with a cup of tea.
“Drink up,” he said, when she didn’t seem to take any notice of it.
Jessica obediently took a sip. “Yuck! It’s valerian, isn’t it?”
Howard grinned at her, “You look like you needed it. You want to talk about it?”
“I guess, maybe.”
Slowly, hesitantly at first, Jessica told Howard about the letter, the box, and the box’s contents.
“And now,” she said, finishing tea and story together. “I’ve been reading my mother’s diary, and there’s something that just doesn’t make sense.”
She showed him the entry. Howard read it, then look at her puzzled. “I don’t understand. She talks like your father’s death caused her to miscarry. Right here: ‘I’ve lost Andrew, and now I’ve lost our baby. I’ve nothing more to live for.’”
Jessica nodded. “There’s a few blank pages, then it starts again the day she brought me home.”
She sighed and set the diary aside, then picked up the wooden box and showed it to Howard.
“This is another piece of the puzzle.” She told him about her nightmare, and its connection to the pendant. Lifting it out of the box, she passed it to him.
Howard reached out, then jerked his hand back before actually touching it.
“What is it? What’s the matter?”
He tried again, taking the pendant gingerly by the chain. “This is very powerful, Jess.”
“Powerful? What do you mean powerful, I don’t understand.”
“It has . . .” he hesitated. “It has a great deal of energy. I think it might be some kind of amulet.” He held it up to the light. “Look at the symbol on the back.”
The symbol was like a letter, but from no alphabet either of them had ever seen before. Howard peered closer at the top of the disk. He turned the whole thing around then slid a fingernail into an indentation at the top. They both jumped as it fell apart like a locket with no hinge.
“Sorry, Jess. I don’t think it’s broken though, I think it was supposed to do that.”
“What’s this?” Jessica bent down to retrieve a scrap of paper that had been wedged in between the disks.
Howard squinted at it. “It looks like . . . Jesseminathus, I think.”
“What does it mean?”
“I have no idea.”
Jessica sighed again. “And so the mystery deepens.”
“Can I borrow this?” Howard asked. “Maybe I can figure out its meaning.”
“Please do,” said Jessica. “If we know what it means, maybe we can figure out why it keeps giving me nightmares.”
Howard put the pendant back in its box and rose to leave. “I’ll see what I can find out about it.”
“Thanks, Howard.” Jessica walked him to the door.
“Oh, before I forget, the reason I came over here in the first place was to ask a favour.”
“Sure, Howard.”
“Wait until you hear what it is before you agree. It has to do with what I was telling you before about my magic.”
Jessica hesitated and then shut the door again. “Maybe we should sit down.”
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