OPHELIA: Chapter 23

Blurb

Elizabeth Lockwick wants one thing… to ensure Ophelia remains dead.

For years she’s weaved a life seen through rose-coloured glasses in idyllic Vermont with her husband Sebastian Lockwick, an alluring man with a broken moral compass, whose intent lies in protecting his wife. However, apart from her unorthodox understanding of Sebastian’s dark and gritty hidden nature, she finds herself slipping away from her sanity in maintaining this picturesque life.

After receiving a gruesome gift from an unknown sender threatening to expose her, she finds herself haunted and possibly hunted by her buried past.

In order to make things right for herself and ensure that her secret is hidden, she reluctantly travels back to her sleepy small hometown in Wisconsin. A town where young girls seem to be mysteriously disappearing. There, she reunites with the dysfunctional Pierre-Louis’, a French-American family who sheltered her in their manor in her time of need.

With time slipping away, she struggles with her guilt and a dangerous affair and realizes that perhaps Ophelia wasn’t dead after all these years.

Elizabeth suddenly finds herself caught in a game of cat and mouse, unsure of which she really is this time and who she can trust.

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Chapter 23

There is a bird which aches to soar within me,

deep through my tainted flesh.

A screeching bird which claws against the cages made of ivory rib

Untreated and ignored. A twist and tang, a shock which jolts through me

much like that of a decayed tooth biting into something sweet and solid.

Why, this bird which picks at my red beating heart

like a ripened fruit, yet bruised

she feeds her stomach whilst I starve mine,

neither bloody nor broken,

I observe her brutal state

for she fights whether her screeches ache

and her breaths run low.

This little bird, almost wingless, I envy you.

And I wonder, do I have the strength to set you free?

Or am I so cruel to keep you locked within me?

A sudden scream plunged through the air causing Ophelia to drop her pen. She left the room in a haste to follow the echoed sound which came from the hallway near Florence’s room. A young maid knelt to the floor with her arms as an armor while Diane hovered over her and Elaine stood behind.

“Insolent wretch! You can’t even do your job!” Diane screamed, raising a fireplace poker to strike the young woman. Ophelia rushed, her feet a bullet, and grabbed Diane’s arm from carrying out the impact of the strike.

“Diane! What in God’s name are you doing?” Her voice firm and angry and shocked within its own tone. Never had she ever challenged Diane but this was madness and she couldn’t let such a crime be done.

“Mind your tone with me, girl,” she firmed, slapping her across the cheek, causing her to stagger back. Ophelia grasped her stance and inhaled, pulling the young maid up and shielding her.

“The useless maid had one job. And now Florence is missing.”

“What do you mean she’s missing?” Ophelia frowned.

“She’s not in the house. She left for God knows where. My reputation is now at stake.”

Of course. Diane hadn’t cared if Florence was missing nor if any harm befell her. She cared only for herself and her reputation. This hadn’t surprised Ophelia one bit. “I’ll find Florence. She’ll be safe.” Looking her in the eyes with a venom stare, Ophelia spoke icily, “And don’t you dare touch me again, old woman.”

Pulling the young maid along with her, she carried her back to her room. She knew Diane too well and she wasn’t risking pulling the maid in danger by leaving her in the house alone with that vile old woman. Her hands were swollen and red from where Diane had previously struck her. patches of her skin had been broken and blood leaked along the elbow.

“I’m- I’m- sorry madam. I’m sorry.” The young woman stammered, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’ll do better. Please forgive me. I didn’t know she would be gone. I didn’t-”

“Hush,” Ophelia soothed her. Looking at her face, she realized the young woman had been perhaps even two or three years younger than her. “It’s alright. You did nothing wrong. Florence left without saying a word. We’ll find her. Please don’t cry.”

“She kept- she kept talking about the fair her daughter wanted to go to. I tried to reason. She locked me in the bathroom and left. I should have been better at my job. Diane would fire me and now I’ll have nothing to feed my baby,” she sobbed.

“What’s your name?”

“Nelly,” she trembled.

“Nelly, I will assure no harm comes to you or your income. Trust me.” Ophelia smiled, pushed the young girl’s hair away from her face and stood grabbing her car keys, “Now clean yourself up and whatever you do, stay away from Diane. You can stay in here if you wish. I’ll be back.”

Ophelia left the room in a hurry, keeping the door locked from the inside, and ran down the staircase towards the front door with Stefan’s car key in hand.

“Ophelia,” Rosie called out to her in a panic, “What happened?”

“Florence’s missing. Nelly said she was talking about the town’s fair. She must have gone there in search of Claire.”
Rosie’s shocked expression intensified, “I’m coming with you.”

Ophelia wasn’t a driver to go over the speed limit but this was a different circumstance. The smell of cotton candy drenched the air as children hovered back and forth around them. Rosie nodded to go in search of Florence, taking the right while Ophelia took the left. God knows where Florence was.

Before taking the right, she saw an open bar to the side. It wouldn’t hurt to still check in there. Cover all areas. Inches away from the door, a familiar face exited.

“Ophelia,” Vivian softly exclaimed, surprised to see her there. A look of scattered thoughts ran through her face. She hadn’t moved. “I didn’t expect you to be the kind of girl to spend a second of her time in such an unpleasant bar.”

“As yourself,” she smiled politely as she kept a stern gaze. “I’m looking for someone. She’s supposedly around here.”

“Well not in there, I assure you.” Vivian chuckled and insisted, “Just men with no taste in good wine. You should try the fair, the bar is a mess anyway. You won’t want to go in.”

A group of teenagers laughed nearby and exclaimed about a crazy woman at the fair. Drawing her attention away she nodded to Vivian. “I have to go.” She finished and left her still standing before the door of the bar.

Her heart thumped a thousand times per second as she felt her feet sore from her vigorous search. Taking a minute, she stopped and brushed her hair back with her fingertips, tying it into a loose bun. The evening air tried to sooth her panic but her adrenaline scorched within her. Her eyes searched everywhere endlessly while teenagers and kids pushed and giggled around her. The women with their husbands and children gathered until the exclamation of a little boy caught her attention and a wheel of gossips spiraled around her. Hushed words. Madwoman. Pity. She’s lost it. Better off dead. These words ached within her as a flush of coloured lights painted into her sight. Reds and blues and yellows and greens licked onto her skin like poison snaking around her skull. Now wasn’t the time to get a migraine. Ophelia followed the hushed whispered to find herself at the entrance to the house of mirrors maze. As a child, she hated these creepy houses. As an adult, she had no choice.

The smell of cheap cigar sniffled into her nostrils causing her to cough upon entering. She called to Florence, hesitant to enter further in and lose sight of the entrance. A strange warning was breathing life into her. Her intuition pulling her back with a thread wrapped around a ribcage. Turning to face the entrance, she saw him. She swore it was him. Sebastian walked past the opened entrance. But how? How could it have been him? No. She tried to push the image away from her mind. She was stressed. She was seeing things. This couldn’t be real. Why would he be here anyway?

At the corner of her eye, she saw a sudden movement. Father Greywood stood silently to the side when a sudden object stuck her head. She fell. The floor was cold and rough and grazed her cheek. A salty metallic tang ran into the creases of her mouth. Her vision blurred and faded to a man knelt before her. Sheriff?

**

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