Raven (6 page)

I nodded
as she dropped a heaped teaspoonful into the hot tea and swiftly
stirred it before handing it to me.

“
Rose?”

“
Yes
dear?”

“
Did
you know my parents? I mean, before they moved to
England?”

“
I
knew your father, Jack, well, but not... not your... your mother.
She wasn't from around here. I believe she was a city girl,” she
sighed, “I am astounded that you know so little about your parents,
your family and your ancestry. We are proud of our heritage here. I
do know why you have been kept in the dark but, like I said...
that's a conversation Gabriel will have with you when you are
ready.”

More
like when he's ready, I thought.

Changing
the subject altogether, Rose led me into the living room, where I
noticed about six cats laying in various places - a sofa, a soft
rug, on top of a cabinet. Any nook and cranny seemed to have a cat
curled up tightly inside it. The sound of soft gentle purring
floated into my ears. It was so calming that I could easily have
curled up with them for a nap.

“
These
are my babies,” pointed Rose, “I won't bore you with all their
names. There are 11 of them altogether... for now
anyway.”

We sat
where there was a free space, and immediately three cats jumped
onto her lap and another two rubbed themselves against her legs,
purring even louder than before.

I looked
around and noticed that almost every painting on the wall was of
some kind of feline animal. A wild mountain lion, a domestic
siamese, a ginger tom, a black puma, a lynx. The most beautiful
image was of a white tiger – the animal seemed ready to jump out of
the frame and into the living room. I stood up to take a closer
look and saw that they were all painted by a person called Rosa
Lima.

“
Did
you do these, Rose?” I asked. “They're absolutely amazing. So
lifelike.”

“
Why
thank you dear, that's very kind of you. They are all mine. Rosa
Lima is my real name. It's Portuguese actually. My
great-great-grand-father was originally from Portugal and he
married a local girl so you could say I have Portuguese blood.” As
she answered me, it was then that I noticed her eyes appeared to
have changed colour. No longer were they bright blue, but so dark
that they reminded me of treacle. I had never seen anything like
it. Or was I mistaken? Perhaps it was merely a trick of the
light?

“
Is
that what language the music was earlier, Portuguese?” I queried,
recalling that lovely music with the foreign words that, along with
the cat, had enticed me towards Rose's house.

“
Why
yes that's right. It's my favourite song. Canção do Mar – Song of
the Sea. It's traditional Portuguese music called Fado. Do you like
it?” Rose asked me.

Nodding,
“I love it,” I answered and she stood up and went to her stereo and
pressed play again before returning to her soft brown leather
armchair with slightly ripped arms.

Together
we sat in silence and listened to the beautiful sounds of Rose's
favourite song.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The
following day I discovered that the birthday party for Ben's
brother was to be held at Gabriel's house... my house. My home. And
as I looked forward to the company of my new family, I got stuck in
and helped wherever I could.

Meredith
and Sonya turned up early in the day to give the place a good
clean. I used a vacuum cleaner for the first time ever to clean all
the floors while the two of them dusted the wooden surfaces and
washed the kitchen from top to bottom before we started preparing
the food. Both women were completely taken aback at discovering
that I had never cooked anything in my life before staying with
Dorothy and June. In fact they were even more upset when I told
them everything I had ever eaten had come out of a tin.

“
Goodness, it's amazing that you still look relatively
healthy. A little pale, perhaps, and certainly very thin. You could
obviously use some good home cooking and some fresh vegetables,”
said Meredith as she turned me around to take a good look at
me.

“
I
think we need to teach you how to cook, too,” said Sonya. “It would
be nice for Gabriel if you were able to help him cook a nice dinner
every now and then,” she added. I agreed, excited at the prospect
of spending some more time in the kitchen to learn a new skill,
after my kind old neighbours had taught me the basics.

If only
my mother had been more like them. Meredith patted me on the
shoulder and gave my hand a squeeze as if I'd spoken
aloud.

For the
first time in weeks, I actually felt safe and more importantly...
loved. It was strange being rallied around by fellow family
members, when all I'd ever known were my parents and they had never
rallied around me for anything. There had never been anyone
else.

As the
two women laughed and joked with me, I smiled a sad smile. It would
have been wonderful to have grown up like this, in this
environment, I thought. In fact it would have been wonderful to
have been able to share some moments like those with my parents.
What I wouldn't have given to have them there with me then, all of
us laughing and joking together. But they were not there. They were
still missing. I felt a tugging in my chest, and just for a second,
I thought my eyes might well up with tears.

Sonya
looked at me and I just knew that she understood what I had been
thinking. She reached over and squeezed my hand and
smiled.

I
returned her smile and my tears retreated as I tried to change the
subject on my mind.

“
So
how come Oliver's birthday party is being held here?” I asked,
trying hard to think of other things.

“
I
guess Ben didn't tell you that both his parents died quite a few
years ago,” said Meredith as she kneaded the dough that would later
become the most delicious homemade bread rolls.

I was
shocked and surprised that he hadn't mentioned it in the car on the
way from the airport. In hindsight, though, he probably didn't tell
me because he didn't want to upset me.

“
What
happened to them?” I asked, thinking they can't have been very old
at all.

“
They
were out together one day, taking a long trek when they came across
an injured mountain lion. His mother was such a softy when it came
to animals and she insisted they try to help it. But it wasn't
alone and its mate attacked them. It wasn't to know they were
trying to help. It was so tragic. Eleanor's wounds were so severe
that she died almost instantly but Jonathan carried her body all
the way back to the main road where he managed to find help. He
later died in hospital. Ben was 12 years old. Oliver was barely
two,” she said.

Sonya
explained that Gabriel insisted on bringing the children up
himself, as Jonathan had been like another son to him. They had no
other family so it seemed like the natural thing to do.

As I
took everything in, I began to understand my grand-father a little
more. He was clearly a loving man that cared a great deal for his
family and friends, which confused me as to why my own father, his
own son, had fallen out with him. Why had they not spoken for so
many years? It angered me a little, knowing that I could have
experienced this wonderful way of life as opposed to that miserable
life I had known in England.

Presumably this had all happened a few years before I was
born. I wondered where my father was during that time. Was it
around that time that he had left with my mother? Or had they left
later, after I was born? I was making so many assumptions. I needed
to know the truth. Someone would tell me... eventually.

As the
afternoon wore on, people started to arrive for the party. A few of
them had clearly just come to get a good look at me. But they were
all friendly and many offered words of reassurance and
kindness.

I still
had not met Oliver. I assumed he would be the last to arrive. Like
a surprise party that wasn't really a surprise.

Ben had
arrived and had sought me out before doing anything else. He wanted
to apologise for butting in the day before. He'd known that I'd
heard what had been said. I laughed as he said it, though,
understanding that it was his way of showing that he cared... about
my grand-father and about me. It was reassuring.

“
I
know there is something being kept from me and I will find out what
it is. Gabriel will tell me but I do understand that he will only
do so when we are both ready, so don't worry Ben, I won't be in the
dark for much longer,” I said, thinking of Rose's words. And as I
thought of what she'd said to me, I could see her approaching the
house. I hadn't realised she would be attending the party, but I
was delighted she was.

“
Hello
dear Lilly,” she said as she entered without knocking, “hello
ladies... you're all hard at work, I see,” she smiled as she handed
them a large basket. “I thought I'd better do my bit, so I made
some scones with fresh cream. I know how the boys love them. And
where are all the boys?” she asked looking around.

“
They'll be along in a little while, but Ben is here
already... somewhere,” answered Meredith.

He
suddenly appeared, “Hi Rose,” he said as he walked over to give her
a hug and a gentle kiss on her cheek. They stood together
whispering quietly, casually glancing in my direction.

Giving
them some privacy, I said I needed a little time to be alone and
headed to my room where I sat on the bed for a while, staring out
of the window into the green foliage of the dark forest
beyond.

After a
few minutes, I began to feel like it was calling out to me. I stood
up and moved closer to the glass which steamed up as I breathed
against it. I thought I saw something white move within the trees,
but as I wiped the glass with my sleeve there was nothing
there.

I sat
back on the bed again and lay down. I closed my eyes and thought of
the past couple of days, of the wonderful welcome I had received
and of all the lovely people I had met.

As I lay
there, I heard a gentle tapping on the window. Before I opened my
eyes I imagined myself back in London with the two ravens who
visited every night. It was the same tapping sound and as I let my
imagination run wild, there it was again. Tap tap.

I opened
my eyes and sure enough, there were two ravens at my window. I
watched them as they tapped twice with their beaks against the
glass, heads cocking from one side to the other. They looked at me
for a few minutes and then flew away. I wasn't frightened, in fact
they made me smile. Then I heard my name. It was very faint but it
sounded like someone was calling me. The sound didn't come from the
house... but from further away. I wondered if it was coming from
the forest. I sat up and looked out the window again. Nothing. As I
strained to listen for it again, there was a knock on my door and
Rose appeared.

“
Are
you all right, my dear?” she asked, smiling.

I
nodded, but I could tell from her expression that she didn't
believe me.

“
Are
you ready to come back out? Almost everyone is here – including
Oliver.”

I nodded
and followed her towards the door.

Pleased that I had decided to
join the party, I came to the conclusion that I needed to make more
of an effort to make friends. I wanted my new life to be full of
people. As I walked into the living room, all the guests were
already mingling and milling around. Although I was dreading being
the object of everybody's attention, I needn't have been concerned
as it seemed that a lot of people were more interested in the
birthday boy himself. And everyone else was talking and laughing
among themselves.
If only December were there.

But
before I had a chance to dwell on that thought, Ben made a beeline
for me and took my hand in his. “Hey Lilly. Let me introduce you to
Oliver.” He gently led me to the centre of the attention where a
group of people ranging in age from 16 to their mid-twenties
appeared to be listening intently to a story being told by the tall
young man in the centre, with his back towards me. They were
clearly enraptured by his funny tale, which was about werewolves
and vampires.

After
he'd given his punchline, the group burst out laughing and began
talking among themselves. Ben tapped the young man on the shoulder
to get his attention.

“
Oli... there's someone here you should meet.”

I wasn't
prepared for what happened next. As he turned, I let out an
involuntary gasp. I tried to make it sound like a cough. I failed,
totally embarrassed.

Oliver
was, without doubt, the most beautiful boy I had ever seen... but
it was his eyes that I couldn't pull mine away from. They were so
deep and dark, almost jet black. I could quite easily have sunk
into them. It was quite extraordinary, actually. I had never seen
anything quite like them. And I liked the feeling. I liked the
feeling a lot.