Page 27 of Hellebore

"Ma’am?” The kind-faced officer sits on our plastic-covered couch, Christmas lights once again reflecting off her saddened eyes. “We have some news.”

Mother ushers her to sit down on the fraying couch, fussing over offerings of tea and biscuits. The officer refuses, urging mother to sit in the chair adjacent to her, a sternness to her voice.

Isabel’s shadow darkens the doorway again as she hovers beyond sight, intently listening.

I lower myself to the coffee table, my body so cold it has begun to ache, an empty worry swirling through my chest.

“F—the body we discovered, in the woods…” the officer begins, her voice wavering.

“Frannie?” I ask, unsure what else could be uncovered.

“Francesca,” Mother confirms, brow bone creasing.

The officer draws a deep breath, closing her eyes as she readies herself.

“Well, about that…”

“Get that mask off him!” Francesca screamed through tears, her voice breaking.

It was as though I were separate from my body – my eyes seeing but mind not understanding. Above me, trees loomed with harrowing stillness. The night slowed, sounds dulled as though id slipped beneath water.

Somewhere on my body, an ache grew. Something scraped against my cheeks, my eyes heavy as I attempted to blink through the sudden gravity.

“Oh my god,” Francesca whispered, fingers pressed to the aching skin of my throat. “What did you do?”

An ominous presence loomed over me as I tried to realign myself with reality. Everything was so heavy – my eyes unable to open, my limbs magnetised to the forest floor.

“I–” the small voice said, so familiar my heart splintered.

Beyond us, wind whistled through the branches carrying a haunting lullaby, a tune that shot through my chest as I rasped for air that wouldn’t come.

“Heather?” it whispered, mousy and afraid.

“Stay there!” Francesca cried suddenly, leaves rustling as she shifted beside me.

“Why?” the voice choked, making a tear slip from my own lashes.

The ground was ice beneath me that night, my bones aching for warmth. It was as though the earth had ceased providing sustenance for me – no heat, no air.

“You killed her,” Francesca whispered solemnly, pressing a hand to my chest.

But I wasn’t dead, was I?

You will be. The forest whispered, warning me of what was to come.

“I didn’t know,” the small voice creaked from somewhere distant. The trees groaned as a sudden breeze rushed through the trunks, carrying the warning of a storm. “I thought it was Cole. She’s wearing Cole’s jacket. You SAID it was Cole!”

Panic gripped my chest as I tried to find air.

Be at peace, sister. The forest cooed, coaxing me into its arms. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I had so much left to see, so much left to do.

“I know. Fuck, I know.” Francesca’s voice turned frayed, the edges of her words biting.

“Okay, go home,” she said after a moment, moving her hand from my chest as she stood wearily. The earth shuddered beneath me again, readying to open and claim me to the forest. “I’ll sort this out. Don’t tell anybody. Not a word.”

The sound of a guttural sob scraped through my ears. It burrowed into my brain, weaving its way right to the tips of my toes as I laid motionless in the weeds.

“But–”