Written by Marini Barika Facey
PART 11 HORSES PART II
Sophie reaches her hand towards the silhouette and Gwendolyn opens her eyes! “Sophie?!” “Ma mere!” Gwen is relieved but her heart still races! “Ma fille! Ma fille! You made it here!" Gwenny looks around, "wherever here is!” “Gran mere led me to you!” Gwendolyn can’t believe what her daughter has just uttered and stutters, “My… my mother? How can that be?” Sophie smiles, “Ma mere, we are truly in a magical place. Gran mere was just here with me! Look! There is the little wooden box Ma pere gave me that Gran mere used as a portal in this world.” “What? Sophie! I don’t understand!” Sophie shuffles around the cave to grab her little box. “There! …But where is Gran mere! How can this be?” “Soph, are you sure you saw her?” Gwendolyn looks at her daughter as if she is delirious and confused. “No! I was with her! She has to be here! She looks more beautiful than the photographs you have at home! She looks just like you…”
The front door shuts and Irma’s face softens as she turns to this man who has rescued her again from the mysterious occurrences in the Lapierre home. As they wait under the street lamp, raindrops lightly trickle on Irma’s face. “Peter, you know that Eliza never meant for all of this to happen this way. She didn’t know how to tell you all those years ago; she confided in me and asked me what she should do.” “Irma! She did what…” Peter’s face becomes so stern, a cold chill runs down Irma! She knows she has said too much. “I didn’t think you were ready to hear what Elizabeth had to say…” “You, the servant, thought you knew best for my family? You weren’t even a nanny…let alone, a governess yet! Is that what she promised you for secrecy? All the while, you were betraying her. You were the one who had me believe Gwendolyn wasn’t my daughter! You were wrong about Elizabeth! You didn’t know what I know now!” “What? What are you talking about Peter? I… I just thought…You were so busy speculating and trying to salvage the businesses Peter!” “Irma! Don’t ever address me as Peter again!” “Sir! Sir…” Irma begins to cry as her past quickly unravels; she is confused and wonders what he meant, but she doesn't dare ask! “I helped you today, but don’t you ever contact me regarding this matter!” Peter storms off and the gentle rain begins to fall more heavily!
Elizabeth wonders how she got separated from her granddaughter and suddenly finds herself spiraling in a whirlwind. All she can hear is her past haunting her in this tornado. Memories that she hasn’t heard for decades, echo all around her! “If Peter doesn’t pay me, I will destroy your family. You came to me before for help; I notice you are having twins, perhaps we can make some kind of arrangement again!” “What? No! I owe you nothing!” “If you give me your son Eliza, I will keep your family from shame and your husband will have prestige, honor, and everything he has ever wanted.” “I cannot do that! I cannot—“ “I should have warned you, I am going to take your son from you anyway! I just wanted to see if you were a coward, weak and pathetic like your husband.” Eliza weeps and angrily pleads, “No! Don’t you ever say that! I will destroy you one day, just wait and see!” “How can you destroy me Eliza? Are you forgetting the night you came to my little shop in the alley? I am the one you came to see. I am the one who gave you the ancient root to chew, because you couldn’t bear children. I bet you never told Peter that. You knew he was growing cold and distant…having children was your only hope!”
Sophie shakes her box and hopes something will fall out of it! She sticks her hand in and suddenly begins to get pulled into a vortex! “Ma mere grab my hand!” Sophie and Gwendolyn zoom through another unknown world! Horses gallop in the sky as if it is normal and birds fly low in pastures. The animals, that once were Sophie’s toys, are now huge creatures again! Gwendolyn shakes and trembles because she still cannot fathom any of this! Sophie tightly squeezes Gwendolyn's hand to reassure her; she isn't startled anymore because she is with her mother again!
Eliza is ripped from the whirlwind and thrown to the ground! Dirt gets in her nose and mouth! The taste causes her to remember the magical root she once ate that was controlled by such a sinister man. Even more memories flood Elizabeth’s mind and she recalls giving birth to Gwendolyn. Eliza remembers her horrible secrets! She knew she could never tell her husband that they were having twins, and that she named one of them Gwendolyn and the other Peter II.
Elizabeth couldn't tell Peter I he had a son who would be taken! When Elizabeth was in labor, the sinister man magically appeared when Irma left the room just for a second, and Eliza knew she had to protect her son somehow, but how? She had many secrets, but she carried an even bigger one that no one knew about...She put a spell on her son, that would send him to another realm and give him the ability to discern and become invisible whenever he needed too. This spell also ensured that if the sinister man ever took anything that belonged to Elizabeth, he would be banished and trapped in a different time period.
When she saw the evil man appear in her room, she turned her head away in anger and fear because she had to conceal her plan. As the sinister man touched her womb, the umbilical cord snapped and Peter magically flew out but then pulled the sinister man into another time! Elizabeth cried and screamed but no one knew that it wasn't because of the intense labor pains, but rather her utter sorrow, loss and separation she felt; her only son was gone!
As the years went by, the mysterious root began to grow inside of Elizabeth and made her very ill! She did not know the wicked, clever man put a curse on the root; she could feel it pulling her into another realm, but she didn’t dare speak such witchcraft and nonsense to her husband. He would think she was going mad!
Irma feels shame, regret and anger as she enters her former residence. Peter arrives at home and heads into his library. He turns on the lamp and sits at his desk. He recalls what Elizabeth’s letter said on the day he brought a record player home. He shakes his head and refuses to shed any tears. Peter mumbles under his breath. “Oh Eliza… I would have understood. If only you would have told me! I could have protected you…fixed everything!” Peter never knew how much his indiscretions, frivolous living, and gambling cost him till now! Torment cloaks him as he remembers everything in Elizabeth’s letter, and Peter regrets throwing it in the fireplace. This strong, stern man shivers and becomes frightened all over again.
To be continued…