Chapter 3: The Warning

The storm broke just as Beth arrived home from her meeting with Ethan Hollingsworth.

She just made it in her front door when the rain came down with an intensity she had not experienced in ages. Great,she thought to herself,flicking the light switch and finding that the power was out.

Although it was still the middle of the afternoon,for some reason her house was uncharacteristically dark and it annoyed her to no end.

She made her way up the stairs to her bedroom and threw herself on the bed,laughing to herself as she remembered how Ethan had made her feel.

He was such a gentleman and yet there was something about him that she found very mysterious.

It had been so easy for him to get her to open up about her life,yet he revealed very little of himself.She knew he was Polly’s son,he was a lawyer and that he cared greatly for the environment,being involved in many ecological causes and that he was very charming and very persuasive.

Also,despite her best intentions,she had snuck a peak at his hand.His ring finger in particular and saw it was unoccupied.

Foolish of her she knew,but it certainly didn't hurt to know.It surprised her that she was able to have this attraction to him.For so long she had focused on healing from the divorce that she had forgotten what it was like to live in the moment and be open to new experiences.

As Emma so often told her “Edgar had turned her into an old woman before her time.“ She smiled,snuggling deeper into her pillows.Maybe,just maybe…

.........

It occurred to her that the woman was an idiot for having feelings for him. Did she not see,did she not know what he was? The situation could work to her advantage though.

The closer he got to the woman sleeping so peacefully before her,the bigger his pain would be when she took her away. She laughed soundlessly into the darkness. The time for him to pay for what he did to her was near,very near….

.........

The storm was still lashing outside when Beth awoke to the sound of her cellphone ringing.Glancing at her bedside clock she saw it was just after 7,which meant she'd slept the afternoon away.

“Hello,”she answered groggily.

“Are you sleeping?”Emma's voice came through.”This time of the day?”

“Oh hey Em,I was just totally beat when I got home.”

“So how did it go?”Emma asked excitedly.”Any plans to see him again?”

Beth gave her a quick rundown of what had transpired during her meeting with Ethan.

“So no Em,no plans to meet again anytime soon.”

For just a moment,she wondered why that thought was so disappointing to her.Its not like Ethan had declared his undying love to her,or given her the slightest hint that he was even remotely interested in her.

If not for the necklace,he wouldn’t even know she existed.

Once her conversation with Emma ended,Beth snuggled back into her pillows,her thoughts dominated by Ethan and the effect he had on her.

After the divorce,a few guys at the hospital had expressed an interest in her,but she'd turned all of them down,always clinging to the idea that someday Edgar might return to her.

She remembered how she used to fantasize that he would show up on her doorstep,declaring he’d made a mistake and needed her back in his life.

A fantasy indeed.He was still holed up in his lovenest with his homewrecking hussy who wouldn't know love from lust,if it walked up to her and introduced itself.

Now,this stranger...this very attractive stranger...was turning her head his way,making her feel as if she had the right to actually find happiness again.

Then again,no matter how Ethan made her feel,it was simply not mutual.He would never see her as a man sees a woman he desired,coveted and cherished above all others. Still,she could hope couldn’t she?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices drifting from downstairs. Strange,she thought to herself,couldn't remember leaving the telly on.

Grabbing her robe to guard against the chill in the air,Beth opened her bedroom door,now hearing the voices like a children’s choir,so much clearer now.

“Yes Beth,”she said to herself,”you left the tv on.”

Feeling the chill even more,she made her way downstairs and then froze in utter shock... In the center of her livingroom,stood an open casket.

Catching her breath,it seemed to Beth as if she were moving and breathing in a dream and at any moment she would wake up,drenched in a cold sweat.

In her livingroom stood a casket.

It reminded her of the caskets her parents had been buried in,only difference was,this one was open,whereas those of her parents had been sealed beforehand,to spare her the horror of seeing their bodies,burnt beyond recognition.

“Its for the best,”their kindly neighbour,Mrs Feeney had said,”you must remember them as they were.”

Mrs Feeney had held her close when their caskets were lowered into the ground,when her sobs had racked her body so much,she was convinced she had no more tears left to cry.

Now,this vision was taunting her with a reminder of her most painful memory.

Surrounding the casket was a group of children,all dressed in white,each holding a flickering candle,singing ‘Amazing Grace’,their voices a haunting crescendo of beauty.

They stopped when they saw her and moved away from the casket,beckoning her to come closer.

An unknown peace came over her as she inhaled deeply and felt her horror and apprehension dissipate as she crossed the short distance between herself and the casket.

Looking down,Beth stared at her own face.

“How is this possible?”she asked,touching her hair,her face,her arms,as if to make sure she was still breathing and living.This was unbelievable.She was staring at her own corpse in morbid fascination.

The tallest of the singing children,a beautiful young girl with the voice of an angel,was the one to answer her.

“That is your future Beth.You will die if you are not careful.”

“What do you mean?”Beth asked,stretching out her hand into the casket,gently caressing her own cold,frozen face.

“The darkness is coming for you,”the girl answered.”When it does you must be strong.She won’t spare you.”

“She?Who are you talking about?”

“The lady in the shadows.The one who watches you and wants you dead.”

Wrapping her robe even tighter against the deepening chill,Beth was more certain than ever that this was either a very vivid dream or a complete hallucination.Nothing the girl was telling her made any sense.What woman in the shadows wanted her dead?What did that even mean?

“I have no idea what you're getting at,”she said to the young girl.”What are you speaking of?”

“She has lived in the shadows for a long time,watching and waiting for you.”

“You’re not making any sense,”Beth replied,agitation rising in her voice.

“Have you not felt her Beth?Here in your home?She watches you,growing stronger every day,she wants your life and she will end it when she’s ready.”

Now Beth was getting mad.Were hallucinations supposed to be this annoying?

“I have no idea who you are or what you want,but I want you to leave me alone!”

The girl took a step closer to her.“I was sent by someone who loves you very much,someone who wants you to know what you will be facing...I have done that now...More I cannot say or do.It's up to you now Beth,all up to you.”