Beneath the Elder Tree Read Free Page B

clever fakes. Some are genuine. Come on, let’s not waste the remains of the day.’ Emily took my hand again and led me along the street. ‘We have to get some things out of the way before nightfall.’
       ‘Where are we going?’
       ‘To your aunt’s house.’
       ‘Hillary’s?’
       ‘You have only one aunt, Lucy.’
       ‘What are we going there for?’
       ‘I want you to see something.’ She gazed up at me with bleached eyes. ‘Lucy, you better prepare yourself because this will not be easy for you.’
       I didn’t like the sound of that at all. She hadn’t been this serious before, even when she told me I was dead. What on earth was in store for me at Hillary’s house?

    *   *   *

    My aunt lived in a modest two storey house. It was identical to all the other houses on the street. Out front was a manicured lawn. White picket fence. A hatchback and a saloon in the driveway. The very definition of suburban bliss. Or perhaps it was suburban torture. I could never figure out which.
       My pace slowed as we approached. A tower of anxiety was building in me. I could only imagine what my family were going through in the wake of my untimely demise. Only now did I contemplate the feelings of those left behind. This would not be pleasant.
      When we reached the front gates I saw some familiar faces: my uncles William and Peter, and my cousins Adam, Laura and Kate. They looked dreadfully tired and their eyes betrayed how miserable they were feeling. As we got closer I sensed some of their thoughts and realised that none of them wanted to enter the house. They preferred to remain in the fresh air and not in the painful atmosphere inside. I was dreading what was to come next.
       ‘They’re heartbroken,’ I said as we passed them on the garden path. ‘I take it this is because of me?’
       ‘Don’t blame yourself for what they’re going through. It’s not your fault you died.’
       ‘I don’t want to go inside, Emily. I really don’t want to do this right now.’
       ‘You must. You need to learn that sorrow has no place in your new life. It is an emotion that belongs only to the living. It could drive you insane if you allow it to infect you here.’
       ‘Spirits can go crazy?’
       ‘You have no idea, Lucy.’ She was deadly serious when she said it, and her eyes even went opaque momentarily, almost white. ‘When someone goes insane here it can be very, very dangerous. Come on,’ she said, gripping my hand, ‘let’s not delay this.’
       We climbed the steps to the old red brick house and melted through the tall green door. It was gloomy and deathly quiet inside and I was overwhelmed by an air of grief. It instantly drained me and I found it hard to continue along the dim hallway. The anxiety I’d felt outside was rising with every forward step.
       ‘What you’re feeling is perfectly natural.’ Emily put her arm around my waist and together we edged forward. ‘Negative emotions can eat up a lot of the energy that spirits use for strength. It’s best to avoid such situations. On this occasion, however, it is necessary for you to endure this to properly understand how you have changed.’
       I’d been to the house hundreds of times throughout my life and knew the family always gathered in the sitting room when faced with a dilemma or a tragedy. It was an old tradition. The house first belonged to my grandparents and whenever there was an accident or an illness or a death in the family, they would call everyone in the extended family to that room to discuss what was to be done. After my grandparents died, the house was passed to Hilary and she carried on the custom. It had been like this when my aunt’s husband died two years earlier. It had been a horrible experience. He had suffered with disease for many years and we all knew he would ultimately succumb to it. This would be far worse. I was young and full of life. No one would have believed