Chapter 3
Susana parked her car in front of Ol' Tic's house and turned off the engine. She looked up at the old house in disbelief. She had always avoided this house, before. Who was she kidding, she'd avoided the entire Bellevue neighborhood, just to keep her distance from this place.
Lily unbuckled her seat belt. "Bigger than you though, yeah?"
"Yeah," Susana answered absently. She studied the wooden shutters that looked like they had been painted yesterday, the sparkling glass in the windows, and the mortar that should be crumbling between the bricks but wasn't. The cobblestones of the cul-de-sac were worn but not broken, the stone steps leading up to the door slightly grooved by the comings and goings of so many feet.
Susana pulled her keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. Lily stepped around the car to stand beside her cousin. "Built in the 1840s," she said, as though that was the only explanation Susana needed.
"Mmm," Susana wondered. "It's, umm, just not what I'd expected.
"Oops!" Lily exclaimed in surprise. "I almost forgot Tic." With a quick laugh, she opened the passenger door and retrieved the simple pewter urn from the floorboards. "We couldn't have that, could we?" she smiled at Susana.
"I guess not," Susana replied, still lost in the bewilderment of the day.
"You've got the keys, right?" Lily asked over her shoulder as she headed up the steps to the wrap-around portico.
Susana shuffled around in her purse, finally grabbing hold of the letter-sized envelope. She tore open one end and allowed the contents -- three brass keys -- to fall out into her open hand. Following Lily up the stairs, she crumpled up the empty enveloped and stuffed it back into her purse. Standing at the massive, forest green door, Susana handed one of the keys to her cousin.
Lily took the key awkwardly, trying not to drop the urn in her hands. Giving up, Lily leaned down to rest the container on the marble beneath her feet. "Here you go, Uncle Tic," she said to the polished metal. "Take a load off." Lily reached into the front pocket of her khakis and pulled out her keychain -- a narrow carabiner with a plastic mermaid charm hanging off of it. She added Tic's key to her collection. She turned to her cousin. "You want to do the honors?" she asked, gesturing toward the door.
Susana stepped forward and slid her key into the door. It turned easily in the ancient lock, and the heavy wooden door was surprisingly easy to open. Susana let the door swing wide, while she remained on the threshold, peering in uncertainly.
Lily lifted her uncle's ashes and rested the urn on her hip. Waiting for her cousin to make the first move, Lily lost patience and stepped inside. "Normally the place wouldn't be locked up so tight," she said over her shoulder. "But you know the estate people."
Whatever, Susana thought to herself as she finally stepped inside the house. This place was definitely not at all what she had expected. Instead of the dark and gloomy haunt she'd only heard about in catches and whispers growing up, the front hallway was filled with light streaming in from two stories of windows. The chandelier over her head was clean and understated, and the french doors to her right revealed a comfortable living room full of overstuffed chairs and houseplants surrounding a stone fireplace.
Lily had stopped halfway down the hall, on her way tot he kitchen at the back of the house. She studied her cousin's confused expression and smiled. "What did you expect?" she teased. "Bats and cobwebs?"
Susana stammered in embarrassment. "No, I, umm, I just...."
"It's okay," Lily reassured. "Tic had that kind of reputation. I think he liked it, because then most everybody left him alone, you know?"
"Mmm," Susana replied with a forced nod.
"Anyway, I figured that we'd take care of Tic here," Lily said, slightly hoisting the urn that was growing heavier by the minute, "and then have a browse around the place. I bet he's getting antsy." Lily turned on her heel and continued down the hall to the kitchen.
Susana studied the dark, polished wood beneath her feet. She wasn't too sure she wanted to think about her estranged, dead great-uncle getting antsy about anything. Her mind raced with all of the crazy stories she had heard about him in her childhood -- about how Ol' Tic was some kind of crazy warlock, practicing black magic holed up in the basement of some ancient, decrepit house; about how he was burdened with a mysterious curse that had haunted the Frye family for centuries; about how he had made a deal with the Devil himself and danced half-crazed under the full moon, howling up at the stars.
"This whole thing is nuts," Susana whispered to herself, glad her cousin was out of earshot. She'd heard some disturbing things about Lily, too -- not terribly surprising, since Lily had been the only one in the family remotely close to Uncle Tic. For years, she had been helping him run his business, whatever that entailed. She seemed normal enough, but ever since they were small children, Susana had always detected something wild and untamed in Lily, and had pegged her for a witch.
But what was a witch, really? Susana got the feeling she was about to find out.
"We can do it out in the garden," Lily called from the kitchen. Susana heard the sounds of cabinet doors being opened and closed and drawers being rummaged through as she made her back toward the back of the house.
Crossing the threshold into the kitchen, the first thing Susana saw was the urn, sitting rather unceremoniously on the counter next to the sink. Lying beside it were a collection of white votive candles, a box of incense, and a book of matches from Lakeside Chinese Carryout down the street. Lily was on her knees searching for something at the back of the refrigerator; only the bottom half of her body was visible as she practically crawled around inside.
"Got it!" Lily exclaimed triumphantly. Extricating herself from the refrigerator, she held up a 12-ounce bottle of water for Susana to see. "We'll need more later, of course," Lily explained as she climbed to her feet. "But this will do for now. I'm not sure if Tic was even collecting rain water anymore. That stuff's better, but you have to be real patient with it."
"Rain water...?" Susana leaned back against the breakfast table.
"Yeah," Lily replied. "'Cause you have to wait for it to rain, you know? That's why this stuff is always handy."
"Is there something wrong with the well water?" Susana's brain did a quick calculation of the expense required to dig a new well and possibly replace the pipes in the entire house. She didn't want to be selling a water problem to the new buyers, after all.
Lily wedged the water bottle into one pocket and the book of matches into the other. "No, this place is on the city line. This isn't that kind of water. I'll explain later." Lily gathered the candles into her hand and walked toward the screen door leading to the back porch. "Can you grab Tic?"
"Uh, sure." Susana crossed the floor and reached for the urn, but then pulled her hands away from it, images of bonfires leaping in her head.
Noticing her cousin's trepidation, Lily laughed. "He's not going to bite, you know. Just bring him outside when you're ready." Lily stepped outside and let the door slam shut behind her.
Susana shook off her foolishness and lifted the urn from the tile countertop. How could she be afraid of a bunch of ashes? Sure, they belonged to a dead person, but really. Still, Susana didn't care for the way Lily kept referring to the urn as Tic, and talking about him in the present tense. She walked slowly to the door and pushed it open with her elbow. Whatever her witchy cousin was planning, at least it would be taking place outside and in daylight. The sooner they got whatever this was over with and could get down to the business of distribution of property, the better. In the meantime, she would just have to humor Lily.
Susana stepped outside and was immediately amazed by the size and design of her uncle's property. This was no simple backyard, even for such a wealthy and historic neighborhood as Bellevue. Six-foot hedges lined the perimeter and provided absolute privacy. But the sun was full and bright, shining down on a half-dozen large garden plots, each planted and maintained with meticulous care. She had heard tales of "Tic and his magic plants," and here they were at last. So this is a witch garden, she thought to herself as she slowly descended the steps to the grass below.
"You can bring him right over here." Lily was on her knees in an empty plot of upturned earth that had lain fallow for some time. She had arranged the candles in a square and had lit them, and Susana could smell the earthy fragrance of the incense cones carried on the air.
Susana walked over to the edge of the plot, nervous about sinking down into the earth in her expensive, high-heeled shoes. Lily noticed the hesitation and looked down at Susana's feet. "Yeah, you're going to have to take those off."
"What? Why?"
"Well, we can't very well do the whole ritual from way over there," Lily replied as she stood up.
"But then I'd only be in my stockings!" Just what kind of ritual did Lily have planned, she wondered.
"It's a simple ceremony, really, just something I put together to say goodbye to Tic." It was as if Lily had read her mind, and Susana took an unconscious step backward. "Listen, you'll be fine walking around in this dirt. It's been cleared of rocks and twigs, and if you're worried about getting dirty, I will buy you a new pair of fancy stockings when we're done, alright? Just bring Tic to the center here, and we'll get started."
Realizing her foolishness, Susana rested the urn in the grass while she removed her shoes. "Sure. Sorry." She reminded herself of her private promise to humor Lily as far as she could today. Retrieving her great-uncle's ashes, she stepped into the empty plot, feeling the cool earth shift beneath her feet. It was surprisingly soothing, and she felt herself relax for the first time since she'd gotten out of bed that morning.
"Here he is," Susana said cheerfully, extending the urn toward Lily. "Better late than never."
Lily placed the urn in the center of the candles, then turned to Susana with a slight frown on her face. "I went ahead and called in the directions, since I figured you wouldn't be too comfortable with that."
Susana nodded, having only a vague idea of what Lily was talking about. She knew that her religion revolved about nature and various different powers and deities, but beyond that, she was pretty clueless.
"And don't worry," Lily added. "I opened a door in the circle for you and Tic while you were taking off your shoes.
"Oh," Susana replied. "Really, I wasn't worried."
Lily cocked her head and studied Susana's expression. She knew full well that her cousin had no idea what she was talking about, and she wanted to see how far she could push her. "We don't have to do it right here, if you don't want, but I figured that we could mix the ashes into the soil, you know, for planting later on. Of course, we wouldn't churn that in until after the blood sacrifice under the moon at midnight tonight. But we can do it in another place, if you want."
"Uh-huh," Susana responded blankly, her alarm growing visibly on her face.
Lily grabbed her cousin's wrist. "I'm kidding!" she exclaimed. "Boy! I wish you could see the look on your face right now." Lily nearly doubled over laughing. "That's, oh, that's priceless."
Susana giggled uncomfortably.
"Relax," Lily cooed, taking Susana's elbow and guiding her toward the center of the plot. "There's nothing shifty going on here. Just a simple little ritual that Tic will appreciate. This is the only funeral he's gonna get. You're not going to lose your soul or anything by participating." Lily stopped and looked her cousin straight in the eye. "You can trust me on that."
"Okay," Susana smiled in relief.
"How 'bout I save the explanation for later, huh? Right now, all you need to do is be present, here and now, for Uncle Tic."
"I can do that," Susana nodded slowly.
"So, take a walk with me." Lily took Susana's hand in her own and started leading her in a circle, counter-clockwise around the candles she had set up in the dirt. "We're going to walk around a couple of times. We're walking widdershins, because we're releasing Tic. I'm gonna say some stuff. You can just listen and keep walking."
Susana kept her eyes on Lily's boots ahead of her, stepping in time with her words. Lily's voice assumed a depth and power that Susana hadn't heard before, but for all she knew, this is what Lily sounded like all the time.
"Thus turns the wheel of life," Lily intoned, her voice mixing with the sweet fragrance of frankincense on the wind. Susana kept following, just a pace or two behind. The sound of Lily's chant, combined with the feel of the springy soil beneath her feet, began to lull Susana into a place of calm.
"Birth to death, to birth again," Lily called out. "Today we release the soul of our dear uncle, departed to the summerlands, to rest awhile, and to learn. We surrender you to the Dark Lady, to the Dark Lord, who have received you in their gentle embrace, who will weave you, once again, into the fabric of life, here and hereafter. Though your memory lingers with us, we will look for you again in the spring, reborn with the dawn."
Lily stopped walking back at the point where she had started. Blindly following, Susana nearly ran smack into her, stopping herself just in time.
"Okay," Lily said quietly, gazing toward the center of the circle where Tic's urn waited. She licked her index finger and held it up in the air, then glanced sideways at Susana. "We'll definitely want to be upwind for this next part."
Lily unbuckled her seat belt. "Bigger than you though, yeah?"
"Yeah," Susana answered absently. She studied the wooden shutters that looked like they had been painted yesterday, the sparkling glass in the windows, and the mortar that should be crumbling between the bricks but wasn't. The cobblestones of the cul-de-sac were worn but not broken, the stone steps leading up to the door slightly grooved by the comings and goings of so many feet.
Susana pulled her keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. Lily stepped around the car to stand beside her cousin. "Built in the 1840s," she said, as though that was the only explanation Susana needed.
"Mmm," Susana wondered. "It's, umm, just not what I'd expected.
"Oops!" Lily exclaimed in surprise. "I almost forgot Tic." With a quick laugh, she opened the passenger door and retrieved the simple pewter urn from the floorboards. "We couldn't have that, could we?" she smiled at Susana.
"I guess not," Susana replied, still lost in the bewilderment of the day.
"You've got the keys, right?" Lily asked over her shoulder as she headed up the steps to the wrap-around portico.
Susana shuffled around in her purse, finally grabbing hold of the letter-sized envelope. She tore open one end and allowed the contents -- three brass keys -- to fall out into her open hand. Following Lily up the stairs, she crumpled up the empty enveloped and stuffed it back into her purse. Standing at the massive, forest green door, Susana handed one of the keys to her cousin.
Lily took the key awkwardly, trying not to drop the urn in her hands. Giving up, Lily leaned down to rest the container on the marble beneath her feet. "Here you go, Uncle Tic," she said to the polished metal. "Take a load off." Lily reached into the front pocket of her khakis and pulled out her keychain -- a narrow carabiner with a plastic mermaid charm hanging off of it. She added Tic's key to her collection. She turned to her cousin. "You want to do the honors?" she asked, gesturing toward the door.
Susana stepped forward and slid her key into the door. It turned easily in the ancient lock, and the heavy wooden door was surprisingly easy to open. Susana let the door swing wide, while she remained on the threshold, peering in uncertainly.
Lily lifted her uncle's ashes and rested the urn on her hip. Waiting for her cousin to make the first move, Lily lost patience and stepped inside. "Normally the place wouldn't be locked up so tight," she said over her shoulder. "But you know the estate people."
Whatever, Susana thought to herself as she finally stepped inside the house. This place was definitely not at all what she had expected. Instead of the dark and gloomy haunt she'd only heard about in catches and whispers growing up, the front hallway was filled with light streaming in from two stories of windows. The chandelier over her head was clean and understated, and the french doors to her right revealed a comfortable living room full of overstuffed chairs and houseplants surrounding a stone fireplace.
Lily had stopped halfway down the hall, on her way tot he kitchen at the back of the house. She studied her cousin's confused expression and smiled. "What did you expect?" she teased. "Bats and cobwebs?"
Susana stammered in embarrassment. "No, I, umm, I just...."
"It's okay," Lily reassured. "Tic had that kind of reputation. I think he liked it, because then most everybody left him alone, you know?"
"Mmm," Susana replied with a forced nod.
"Anyway, I figured that we'd take care of Tic here," Lily said, slightly hoisting the urn that was growing heavier by the minute, "and then have a browse around the place. I bet he's getting antsy." Lily turned on her heel and continued down the hall to the kitchen.
Susana studied the dark, polished wood beneath her feet. She wasn't too sure she wanted to think about her estranged, dead great-uncle getting antsy about anything. Her mind raced with all of the crazy stories she had heard about him in her childhood -- about how Ol' Tic was some kind of crazy warlock, practicing black magic holed up in the basement of some ancient, decrepit house; about how he was burdened with a mysterious curse that had haunted the Frye family for centuries; about how he had made a deal with the Devil himself and danced half-crazed under the full moon, howling up at the stars.
"This whole thing is nuts," Susana whispered to herself, glad her cousin was out of earshot. She'd heard some disturbing things about Lily, too -- not terribly surprising, since Lily had been the only one in the family remotely close to Uncle Tic. For years, she had been helping him run his business, whatever that entailed. She seemed normal enough, but ever since they were small children, Susana had always detected something wild and untamed in Lily, and had pegged her for a witch.
But what was a witch, really? Susana got the feeling she was about to find out.
"We can do it out in the garden," Lily called from the kitchen. Susana heard the sounds of cabinet doors being opened and closed and drawers being rummaged through as she made her back toward the back of the house.
Crossing the threshold into the kitchen, the first thing Susana saw was the urn, sitting rather unceremoniously on the counter next to the sink. Lying beside it were a collection of white votive candles, a box of incense, and a book of matches from Lakeside Chinese Carryout down the street. Lily was on her knees searching for something at the back of the refrigerator; only the bottom half of her body was visible as she practically crawled around inside.
"Got it!" Lily exclaimed triumphantly. Extricating herself from the refrigerator, she held up a 12-ounce bottle of water for Susana to see. "We'll need more later, of course," Lily explained as she climbed to her feet. "But this will do for now. I'm not sure if Tic was even collecting rain water anymore. That stuff's better, but you have to be real patient with it."
"Rain water...?" Susana leaned back against the breakfast table.
"Yeah," Lily replied. "'Cause you have to wait for it to rain, you know? That's why this stuff is always handy."
"Is there something wrong with the well water?" Susana's brain did a quick calculation of the expense required to dig a new well and possibly replace the pipes in the entire house. She didn't want to be selling a water problem to the new buyers, after all.
Lily wedged the water bottle into one pocket and the book of matches into the other. "No, this place is on the city line. This isn't that kind of water. I'll explain later." Lily gathered the candles into her hand and walked toward the screen door leading to the back porch. "Can you grab Tic?"
"Uh, sure." Susana crossed the floor and reached for the urn, but then pulled her hands away from it, images of bonfires leaping in her head.
Noticing her cousin's trepidation, Lily laughed. "He's not going to bite, you know. Just bring him outside when you're ready." Lily stepped outside and let the door slam shut behind her.
Susana shook off her foolishness and lifted the urn from the tile countertop. How could she be afraid of a bunch of ashes? Sure, they belonged to a dead person, but really. Still, Susana didn't care for the way Lily kept referring to the urn as Tic, and talking about him in the present tense. She walked slowly to the door and pushed it open with her elbow. Whatever her witchy cousin was planning, at least it would be taking place outside and in daylight. The sooner they got whatever this was over with and could get down to the business of distribution of property, the better. In the meantime, she would just have to humor Lily.
Susana stepped outside and was immediately amazed by the size and design of her uncle's property. This was no simple backyard, even for such a wealthy and historic neighborhood as Bellevue. Six-foot hedges lined the perimeter and provided absolute privacy. But the sun was full and bright, shining down on a half-dozen large garden plots, each planted and maintained with meticulous care. She had heard tales of "Tic and his magic plants," and here they were at last. So this is a witch garden, she thought to herself as she slowly descended the steps to the grass below.
"You can bring him right over here." Lily was on her knees in an empty plot of upturned earth that had lain fallow for some time. She had arranged the candles in a square and had lit them, and Susana could smell the earthy fragrance of the incense cones carried on the air.
Susana walked over to the edge of the plot, nervous about sinking down into the earth in her expensive, high-heeled shoes. Lily noticed the hesitation and looked down at Susana's feet. "Yeah, you're going to have to take those off."
"What? Why?"
"Well, we can't very well do the whole ritual from way over there," Lily replied as she stood up.
"But then I'd only be in my stockings!" Just what kind of ritual did Lily have planned, she wondered.
"It's a simple ceremony, really, just something I put together to say goodbye to Tic." It was as if Lily had read her mind, and Susana took an unconscious step backward. "Listen, you'll be fine walking around in this dirt. It's been cleared of rocks and twigs, and if you're worried about getting dirty, I will buy you a new pair of fancy stockings when we're done, alright? Just bring Tic to the center here, and we'll get started."
Realizing her foolishness, Susana rested the urn in the grass while she removed her shoes. "Sure. Sorry." She reminded herself of her private promise to humor Lily as far as she could today. Retrieving her great-uncle's ashes, she stepped into the empty plot, feeling the cool earth shift beneath her feet. It was surprisingly soothing, and she felt herself relax for the first time since she'd gotten out of bed that morning.
"Here he is," Susana said cheerfully, extending the urn toward Lily. "Better late than never."
Lily placed the urn in the center of the candles, then turned to Susana with a slight frown on her face. "I went ahead and called in the directions, since I figured you wouldn't be too comfortable with that."
Susana nodded, having only a vague idea of what Lily was talking about. She knew that her religion revolved about nature and various different powers and deities, but beyond that, she was pretty clueless.
"And don't worry," Lily added. "I opened a door in the circle for you and Tic while you were taking off your shoes.
"Oh," Susana replied. "Really, I wasn't worried."
Lily cocked her head and studied Susana's expression. She knew full well that her cousin had no idea what she was talking about, and she wanted to see how far she could push her. "We don't have to do it right here, if you don't want, but I figured that we could mix the ashes into the soil, you know, for planting later on. Of course, we wouldn't churn that in until after the blood sacrifice under the moon at midnight tonight. But we can do it in another place, if you want."
"Uh-huh," Susana responded blankly, her alarm growing visibly on her face.
Lily grabbed her cousin's wrist. "I'm kidding!" she exclaimed. "Boy! I wish you could see the look on your face right now." Lily nearly doubled over laughing. "That's, oh, that's priceless."
Susana giggled uncomfortably.
"Relax," Lily cooed, taking Susana's elbow and guiding her toward the center of the plot. "There's nothing shifty going on here. Just a simple little ritual that Tic will appreciate. This is the only funeral he's gonna get. You're not going to lose your soul or anything by participating." Lily stopped and looked her cousin straight in the eye. "You can trust me on that."
"Okay," Susana smiled in relief.
"How 'bout I save the explanation for later, huh? Right now, all you need to do is be present, here and now, for Uncle Tic."
"I can do that," Susana nodded slowly.
"So, take a walk with me." Lily took Susana's hand in her own and started leading her in a circle, counter-clockwise around the candles she had set up in the dirt. "We're going to walk around a couple of times. We're walking widdershins, because we're releasing Tic. I'm gonna say some stuff. You can just listen and keep walking."
Susana kept her eyes on Lily's boots ahead of her, stepping in time with her words. Lily's voice assumed a depth and power that Susana hadn't heard before, but for all she knew, this is what Lily sounded like all the time.
"Thus turns the wheel of life," Lily intoned, her voice mixing with the sweet fragrance of frankincense on the wind. Susana kept following, just a pace or two behind. The sound of Lily's chant, combined with the feel of the springy soil beneath her feet, began to lull Susana into a place of calm.
"Birth to death, to birth again," Lily called out. "Today we release the soul of our dear uncle, departed to the summerlands, to rest awhile, and to learn. We surrender you to the Dark Lady, to the Dark Lord, who have received you in their gentle embrace, who will weave you, once again, into the fabric of life, here and hereafter. Though your memory lingers with us, we will look for you again in the spring, reborn with the dawn."
Lily stopped walking back at the point where she had started. Blindly following, Susana nearly ran smack into her, stopping herself just in time.
"Okay," Lily said quietly, gazing toward the center of the circle where Tic's urn waited. She licked her index finger and held it up in the air, then glanced sideways at Susana. "We'll definitely want to be upwind for this next part."
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