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They stayed
like that, sat in the middle of her driveway with her face pushed
into his chest. He would stay like this, rubbing her back and
holding her until Cora was ready to move. She took a deep breath
and looked at him. Her face was tear streaked, her dry lips were
pulled into a tight line.

“
Are you ready
to go in?” She nodded and he helped her to stand as they continued
walking towards her house.

Cora pushed
her face into his shoulder, refusing to look at the hearse and
cars. He had a tighter grip on her arm as they approached her front
door. She couldn’t fall again. The jar on his broken arm had hurt
enough the first time.

He was finding
it difficult to walk into the house, knowing every little detail
would remind him of Laura. He wanted to see Laura's warm smile, to
look at the way her nutmeg messy hair bopped when she laughed. He
couldn't imagine how Cora was feeling. Personally, he felt like his
heart shattered painfully in his chest.

Keeping Cora's
hand in his, he practically pulled her through the front door and
resumed his position holding her up. Hushed voices filtered from
within the kitchen. He walked slowly, keeping Cora at his side. She
didn't lift her head. Instead, she allowed her hair to fall over
her face, shielding her from the harsh reality of today. He opened
the door and all the talking ceased.

Tabitha was
standing at the sink, looking out of the window into the back
garden. The shield of trees let very little light in on the already
dark day. Clay was leaning against the far wall with his head down.
Ember and Eli sat at the kitchen table. Ember immediately stood,
giving her chair to him. He nodded his thanks and helped Cora to
sit in the chair. He hadn’t noticed until this experience that the
simplest of things like sitting, breathing and eating became a task
due to the grief that seemed to push all common sense
aside.

Jack looked
pleadingly at Ember who shook her head. His question to her, was
there something,
anything
he could do to make this go away? He knew that the
answer would always be- a shake of the head. He couldn’t help
living with that bit of hope that he could take some of Cora’s pain
from her. Allow her a little light.

Jack watched
with his heart in his mouth as Eli moved his hand tentatively
across the table in Cora’s direction. He didn’t know how she was
going to react. Cora hadn’t really spoken to Tabitha over the past
couple of days. She’d remained closed off. Now that Eli was
reaching out to her, he didn’t know how she would react.

Cora glanced
at Eli’s hand. Looked at what it offered, and then very slowly
moved her hand across to hold his. He gave Eli a grateful nod. It
was a step, one he could take comfort from.

“
Where's
Ayden?” he whispered to Ember.

“
He is in the
front room.”

He couldn’t
think of a reply to this response. Everyone remained in the
kitchen, trapped in their own silent nightmare. The undertakers
moved around them like they weren't even there.
Part of their profession
, Jack
thought. The men did it well. He moved to Cora and placed his hand
on her shoulder. A short man with thinning silver hair came into
the kitchen and cleared his throat. “It is time.”

Jack felt bats
attack his stomach as everyone rose and made their way out of the
kitchen. He slid his arm around Cora’s thin waist, and again, he
had to practically lift her out of the chair. They walked in
silence to the front door and stepped out into the sun.

Jack guided
Cora to the first black car and waited. She whimpered, her body
sagging against his as she glimpsed the light wood of the coffin
peek through the open front door. Her face moved back into his
shoulder. He swallowed the fresh surge of tears, and looked away
from the coffin. To think Laura and her child were in something so
cold, so final, didn’t feel right.

Ember pushed a
tissue to the corner of her eyes, trying her best to hold it
together. Eli’s lips were pulled thinly together. Jack’s hand
brushed his brother’s arm. Eli responded with a squeeze of his arm.
Jack turned his attention back to the procession leaving the
house.

Laid on top of
Laura was a beautiful large circle of deep red roses in full bloom.
The undertakers carefully lifted Laura out of the door and marched
slowly with her to the hearse. He nearly gasped when he saw Ayden
stumble out of the door behind Laura. Ayden was pale. His usually
sparkling blue eyes were dull and unfocused, ringed by red. He was
unshaven; a beard forming around his chin. Tabitha moved to Ayden,
helping him walk. Cora was slipping to the floor next to him, her
cries were silent. He held her upright until her mother was safely
in the hearse. One by one they climbed into the two
cars.

A man wearing
a dark, immaculate suit and a striking top hat, walked slowly at
the front of the hearse, leading them to the end of the drive. He
was barely winning the fight for control. The mark of respect to
such a beautiful woman was pushing him over the edge. The cars
moved slowly behind Laura as they turned, heading towards his
cottage at the north of the village.

He knew which
church they were going to. There was only one small church and
cemetery in the little village of Lemon Tree. Clio was also buried
there. The car pulled up outside his cottage for the man to take
his seat at the front of the hearse. The cars moved on. He looked
outside watching the world go by and wished this day would soon
end.

*

The church had
been overwhelmed by red roses. The smell was one that would make
Jack think of Laura. It would no doubt stay with him until the day
he died. The service had been beautiful. They hadn’t chosen hymns
like commoners usually do, and he appreciated the sentiment. It was
the way of the witches to express their grief in a different
way.

Witches over
the centuries had played music that had meaning to them. Any music
or instrument sufficed.
Lady in Red
by Chris DeBurgh was Ayden’s choice of song. They
had sat in silence listening to the lyrics. As the soft music
filtered around the small church, Ayden had swayed to the song with
his eyes closed the entire time. Jack had swallowed an awful lot
during the four minute song.

Once the final
instruments of the song faded away, the vicar mentioned the many
places Laura had seen in her short life. He often said the many
places with a small smile on his face. He told them how much Laura
loved her daughter, Cora, and how proud Laura was of who Cora had
become. It was at this point that Jack had lost his fight. The
tears slid down his cheeks before he could stop them.

Cora had sat
in the front pew with Ayden. He’d sat next to her, her hand firmly
grasping his. Throughout the service her eyes had never left her
mother's coffin. He’d occasionally glanced at it, but knowing that
Laura and her child was in that cold, wooden coffin didn’t feel
right. She should have been laid out in the open, hands clasped
together, on soft pillows, dressed in white., as lovely in death as
she was in life. It sounded Shakespearean; he remembered the
description of Juliet’s final resting place, but he believed Laura
should have had this.

At the
cemetery, after a few words from the vicar, Cora had stepped
towards the gaping hole in the ground to throw a single red rose.
She’d whispered something even he hadn’t heard, and still she
hadn't let go of his hand. Ayden had crumbled at the open grave,
his sobs racking his body as Tabitha soothed him. He’d taken Cora
away, walking her to the waiting cars.

They sat in
silence as they made their way back to the shop for the wake.
Tabitha had insisted they needed to do something for the group to
come to terms with their loss. Tabitha had sought outside catering,
which was a rather big thing for Tabitha as she always dealt with
everything herself. Clay had disappeared after the service to
organise it so that Tabitha could continue to support
Ayden.

Cora's head
rolled down onto his shoulder, she sucked in a deep breath and then
sighed. He knew she would be mentally, emotionally and physically
exhausted. Ayden was slumped in his seat, his face was pressed up
against the window as he watched the blur of trees and hedges as
they passed. His shoulders moved as he continued to cry
silently.

Clay appeared
at the shop door as they stopped and spilled out of the cars. As he
helped Cora into the shop, he could see as he approached the table
near the staircase that Clay had arranged the finger food on the
small table with the chairs spread out around it. For the first
time in a long time he was thankful to Clay, he'd made an effort to
help. Clay’s feeling for Cora helped at this moment in
time.

Guided by
Tabitha, Ayden sat in the chair next to Cora. Cora's head moved a
little as she registered who was sat next to her. She peered at
Ayden through her dark curtain of hair. Jack’s pulse quickened, his
eyes strung, the tears threatening to break when he saw Ayden reach
for Cora's hand and grasp it. They sat in silence, clinging to each
other for comfort.

Tabitha and
Ember passed little flutes of sparkling wine to each of them. Jack
held the cold flute, watching as the bubbles popped happily at the
top.

“
To Laura and
Clio, we don’t morn them because we haven’t lost them. Today we
remember that they will forever be in our hearts,” Tabitha spoke,
holding her glass in the air.

“
Laura and
Clio,” they chorused.

5

AN UNEXPECTED
VISITOR

Cora jerked
awake, gasping for breath. She could feel Jack's warm arms around
her waist which stopped her from screaming out loud. The nightmare
had consisted of the usual images. Evander's face before he took
her mother away from her. The fear in her mother's eyes when she’d
realised there was no escape. The snap, one that ended her mother’s
and siblings life.

Shimmery
yellow hands were starting to creep into the cracks of the curtains
as the sun pushed its way into the room. She listened to Jack's
steady breathing to make sure he was still asleep, she’d hate to
disturb him. He was getting as much sleep as her, which equated to
very little. Holding her breath, she inched away from him trying
not to wake him.

“
Where are you
going?” His arms tightened around her waist, holding her closer to
him.

So much for
that plan working
, she thought. “I'm awake.
I can't sleep.” She really wanted to move back into his warm
embrace and forget everything, but now she was awake, she couldn’t.
Reality always crashed down around her when she woke.

“
Give me a
minute, I’ll come with you.” His voice was slurred with
sleep.

“
No, you go
back to sleep,” she said as she leant over him, kissing him on the
forehead. He mumbled something incoherent and rolled over in the
bed.

They’d both
finally given in and started sleeping in the bed. Sofas aren’t that
comfortable, especially when two people were crammed onto it. Plus,
it made more sense to sleep in the bed. I
s
it weak that I am unable to sleep without him being near me?
Cora had to admit she relied on him so much more
since her mother... She never could continue that sentence, even in
thought. Cora felt like her nightmares would grow worse if he
wasn’t there with her.

Cora closed
the bedroom door behind her and walked into Tabitha's kitchen to
the sound of something sizzling. She found Tabitha stood over the
cooker as the smell of bacon and sausages wafted across to her,
making her stomach grumble. She never felt hungry, most of the time
she just felt sick.

“
Morning, how
did you sleep?”

She shrugged
her shoulders. “It was okay.”

“
You had
another nightmare.”

It wasn’t a
question. Tabitha knew her too well. But then again, it was
probably written on her face, and in her body language.

“
Yeah.” She blew out a breath. “I wake up on the brink of
screaming... mum’s face haunts me. I couldn't do anything to help
her.
” She sucked in much needed air
before she felt the tears trickle down her cheeks.

“
It's only
been three weeks since you said goodbye to your mother. You need
time to process everything. What you and Jack have been through is
too much for one of such a young age. It’s such a difficult thing
to come to terms with.”

“
Yeah.” She
wiped her tears, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

She had found
that as each day passed, the tight chains around her heart had
loosened ever so slightly. The tears had managed to stay for the
long run, but she could now stand on her own without the grief
forcing her to the ground. Baby steps. That is what grief is
about.

“
Do you want
some breakfast?”

Her stomach
grumbled louder, answering the question before she could. She liked
to see the small smile that tugged on Tabitha's lips, it didn’t
happen as often as she would liked recently.