25. The Grave

Chapter 25

The Grave

T he warm spring breeze became chilly as the sun sank in the sky. Trees waved back and forth; their budding leaves emerging from their winter slumber. It was quiet. Solemn. Peaceful. The quiet was only disrupted by the occasional bird chirp.

Hugo turned his car onto a paved path that led into Newbury Grove Memorial Park. The path wove itself through the cemetery along the rolling hills like a ceremonial black carpet affair. The tree branches played the role of welcoming hands that greeted any new and potential future residents. Small offshoots diverged to various parts of the cemetery.

Each pathway was guarded by gray and black tombstones, silently observing anyone who dared enter the hallowed grounds miles out of town. Hugo kept his eyes focused on one particular path. A path he had not traveled since the previous spring.

The car slowed as it approached a bend in the back of the cemetery. Hugo put the car into park and shut off the engine. He sat in silence for what felt like a lifetime lived years ago. His hands gripped the steering wheel. His knuckles turned white. He focused on his empty ring finger, barren of his prized black onyx ring. The ring he should have kept on. The ring he should have brought to see his wife.

He took deep breaths, holding each before he exhaled. He looked through the passenger window toward a tree. A mighty oak tree tasked with standing guard. It waited. Watched. Judged. Hugo exited the car.

He tugged at his leather jacket. He brushed his hair, making sure every piece was in its proper place. He combed his beard, so it was presentable. He stood there for a moment and gathered the courage to continue.

I should have kept the ring on. She kept the ring from me on purpose.

He pinched his ring finger only to find it barren. His fingers unfurled, and he clenched them into fists. He kept his eyes on the solitary oak tree and took a step onto the grass. He navigated between the headstones, careful to not actually step on the graves. The granite stone markers might as well have been blank. He didn’t bother to read any of them. His eyes focused on the correct one.

He stopped in front of the mighty oak tree. Its branches swayed in the spring breeze to welcome him back. He nodded to acknowledge a job well done protecting the grave site—Elizabeth’s grave.

The gray, granite headstone was rectangular with a slight curve on the top. The front was smooth, but the sides were naturally rough. In the center of the curve was an oval portrait—an engraved portrait of his beautiful smiling wife.

White roses were carved into the stone on both sides of her face. Hugo’s eyes fell on the words below the portrait—Elizabeth P. Dodds, Beloved Daughter and Wife. His eyes lingered on the date—March 30. It had been a year, yet it felt like an instant.

Hugo knelt down in front of the headstone. His eyes focused on the portrait. He wiped away dirt and debris that gathered in the crevasses of the laser etching. He stared into her eyes and fought back tears.

“I’m sorry,” Hugo said. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner. I wanted to stop by, but I— ”

He lowered his head, and a flood of emotions washed over him. The grief he had worked so hard to overcome broke through the barrier. Everything rushed back. The restaurant when he found out the cancer came back. Their last trick or treat together. The hospital visits. The church. His mind flooded with emotions. Tears flowed down his face.

“I should have been back sooner. Everyone tried to tell me to move on, but I couldn’t. How could I? There hasn’t been a day that went by that I didn’t think of you. Your smile. Your warmth. Your smell. I wanted it all again. I’ve begged for it,” Hugo sobbed. “I miss you. I miss you so much.”

He wiped away the tears rolling down his face.

“I got a dog. I named her Maxine, like you wanted. I call her Max. Consider it a compromise,” he let out a chuckle as his tears rolled past. “She’s a real pain in the butt. You would love her. I’m sure she would have loved you more than me.”

Hugo paused.

“Everyone misses you. I get reminded about it all the time. People tell me how great you were. How you’re missed. How you’re loved. The Raskins are watching after me. They always make sure I’m taken care of. Well, I think they’re mostly making sure Max is okay.”

He allowed a slight smile before his face fell solemn. He scanned the cemetery to ensure he was alone. There were only the ghosts of past lives in the cemetery that evening. He licked his lips. He moved his jaw, readying himself to tell her his secret. Shame washed over him.

“I…” he started before admitting his betrayal. “I met someone. She’s new in town. She moved in next door. She’s unique. She has a purple house filled with stuff. You would’ve loved it.”

He paused.

“She’s a witch. Like a really for real witch. And she has a flying broom. And does magick. That’s magick with a K . There’s a difference. She reminds me of that constantly. Oh! And there’s this magick mirror who tries to flirt with me all the time. And wine! She makes wine. This magical wine. We made wine together. She turned me into a true wine connoisseur, like you always wanted to do.”

There was a hint of joy in Hugo’s words.

“She let me fly her broom. I named it Galahad. Just like—”

Hugo’s words became quieter.

“Just like the horse I rode on when I proposed. And I almost died!”

His voice picked up again.

“I fell off the broom, and it saved me. It scooped me up before I crashed into the trees. And we flew around, going faster and faster. It was fantastic. He’s… He’s a good buddy.”

The tears stopped.

“For the past few months, she has made me feel so much joy and happiness. Feelings I haven’t felt in a long time, and I think I blew it.”

The joy faded from his face.

“We got into an argument and… and I said things out of frustration. I shouldn’t have said them. I lashed out at the one person who actually made me feel happy again. And… and I ruined it.”

The breeze picked up. The tree branches cracked and strained at the movement. The sky grew darker as it turned a shade of purple, yellow, and red. Hugo bowed his head. He struggled for the words.

“I love her,” he told Elizabeth. “She loves me too. I want it to work. I want to move on, but I can’t. I thought I did. I tried, but you were always there in the back of my mind. Then today happened. I can’t let you go. How could I? How can I let you go?”

He grabbed the headstone with both hands.

“What should I do?”

He leaned his forehead against her portrait. Tears flowed down his face.

“Please tell me.”

There was only silence.

Something struck Hugo, and pain erupted in his right ribs. The force knocked him over onto the ground. He clutched his side and clenched his teeth. His face contorted in agony. He couldn’t hold it any longer and let out a cry of pain. He rose to see what hit him. There, floating in the air, was Galahad.

“Gally!” Hugo yelled. “What the hell?” He gathered himself. He stood up and brushed off his jacket and pants.

“She couldn’t do it herself? So, she sent you to finish the job, huh?”

Galahad floated there. Unmoved from the question, he waited.

“Well, what do you want?”

Galahad crept closer to Hugo. It bumped against his chest.

Hugo backed away. “What are you doing?”

It bumped against his chest twice more. Hugo leaned over and glared it in the face. His eyes changed from annoyance to concern at the hickory stick floating before him.

“Alice wouldn’t have sent you without the cover of darkness,” Hugo remarked. Fear washed over him. “What’s wrong?”

It floated forward and lightly tapped under Hugo’s chin. It backed up and turned around. The broom waited for Hugo to get on.

Hugo turned back toward the grave. “I…” Hugo spoke to Elizabeth. “I have to go.”

Hugo grabbed the broom handle and swung his leg over the seat. He placed his feet on the footrest. He pulled up on the handle, and with a “yah,” took off.

Hugo and Galahad flew over the farmland leading into town. They flew as fast as Galahad could. The wind rushed over Hugo’s face, and his hair blew wildly. He didn’t have the cover of darkness to hide. He needed to hide. He couldn’t let anyone see him flying.

Hugo pulled up on the handle, ascending to dizzying heights. He tried to fly as high as he could. The church steeple was first to appear off in the distance. More and more buildings emerged on the horizon. With his eyes focused, he leaned forward.

To hell with it. He cut across the center of town, finding the fastest route to her house. He noticed some people look up as he streaked across the sky. He didn’t care. He had one thought. One solitary purpose. Get to Alice .

Galahad flew down Ravenhill Drive toward the purple house. Hugo saw the front door open. He held his breath as panic set in. He leapt off onto the top of the porch and went charging through the door. He stopped himself before tripping on the knocked over entryway table; its contents spilled across the hallway floor.

“Alice!” Hugo shouted.

He continued down the hallway. He paused to examine the shattered tea cup on the ground. The black and orange pieces were scattered in a pool of liquid. He ran to the kitchen. There was nothing. He sprinted into the living room. It was there in the middle of the room—the distinct black onyx ring. He picked it up off the floor. He rolled it back and forth between the tips of his fingers, looking it over.

“Alice! Are you here?”

“Help!” Alice’s voice came from upstairs.

Hugo placed the ring on the coffee table and charged to her voice. He grunted with every step as he dashed up the stairs. The sight of Alice’s splintered bedroom door stopped him in his tracks. He touched the hole in the door—the hole big enough for a broomstick to fly through.

“Hello? Is someone there? Please help me,” a familiar voice shouted from inside the room.

Hugo pushed opened the door to find the room vacant except for Max. She whined and barked in her cage.

“Wait a moment, Max,” Hugo said as he rushed past.

“Please help!” Alice’s voice came from the bathroom.

The bathroom was dark. Hugo turned on the lights, only to find it empty.

“It’s you! You have to help,” Alice’s reflection exclaimed. “You have to help me.”

“What happened?”

“I… I don’t know,” she said. She paced back and forth in her mirrored bathroom. Her hair was messy, and her hands cupped over her mouth, only removing them to talk. “There was a voice, then I heard an argument and shouting. ”

“What voice?”

“A woman’s voice,” she replied.

“Ez?”

“No. A voice I’ve never heard before. She was angry. I heard screaming and then…” her words trailed as she let out a scream of agony. She bent over, holding her stomach. “I’m in pain. You have to find me.”

Tears flowed down her face. “Help me,” she pleaded.

Hugo grabbed the sides of the mirror, pulling himself closer. He wanted to pull her through the glass to safety. He could only watch as she bent over in pain. In agony. Like Elizabeth.

“Where? Where is she?”

“I don’t know. I don’t see sights. Only feelings,” Alice’s reflection said. She fell to the floor, screaming in pain.

“What do you feel? Please tell me. I can help you, but you have to tell me where to find her first,” he pleaded as the ornate mirror design indented into his hands.

“I feel fear. I feel a chill, a breeze. I feel…” The agony overtook her. “I feel… I feel… sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?” Hugo asked. His mind raced, trying to find what it could mean. Sacrifice . He ran through everything it could be. His eyes widened with the sudden realization of where she was. The place he once thought she was bringing him…

“I know where she is. She’s in the woods!”

“Hurry!” Alice’s reflection yelled.

Hugo ran out of the room, nearly tripping down the stairs as he tried to skip steps. Galahad waited for him in the entryway. He grabbed the broom handle and jumped onto the bicycle seat.

“To the woods!” Hugo commanded.

They flew out the door and into the sky.