A Witches Garden

It was almost time for lunch and I was finishing a meeting with a client. I have worked for August Richardson Accounting Frim for 3 years and moved up to Accounts Manager fairly quickly. The office had a family feel and was nestled in downtown San Francisco. My stomach was beginning to rumble and my chicken salad sandwich was calling my name. "Thank you for coming in Ms. Laws. I think I have everything and will be in touch about what we can do. It was certainly a pleasure to met you," I say pleasantly while reaching out for a hand shake. "Thank you, Brooke. I feel I made the right choice in coming here," she said as she shock my hand and left. I went to grab my lunch from the mini fridge. Each office had one so we could offer our customers water. We weren't suppose to keep our lunch in there but mine had a small drawer I could hide it in. As I began to eat, the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number and needed to keep my stomach in check. I let it go to voice mail but they didn't leave a message. I figured it was a wrong number but then it called straight back. "Hello? This is Brooke Douglas with Richardson Accounting. How may I help you?," I answered kind of annoyed at my interruption. "Oh, Ms. Douglas! I am so happy I caught you! Is this a good time? I dont want to stop you from lunch," the man's voice said. "No, you are perfectly fine. I brought lunch today and won't be stepping out. What can I do for you Mr...I'm sorry I didn't catch your name," I said annoyed as I began to eat again. "That is because I didn't give it just yet," he said laughing. "The reason for my call is to inform you of your Aunt Victoria. I am the executor of her estate and am informing you of her unfortunate passing as of yesterday afternoon. She was a fiesty one that girl." "I was suppose to come see her in two weeks. I wish I could have gotten off work sooner. I will miss her. What happened?," I asked losing my appetite. Aunt Victoria and Uncle George had raised me like I was there own daughter. My mother had basically abandoned me there when I was about a year old. "It was natural causes. Her body was just tired. She lived a full life and an adventurous one at that," he said with a smile in his voice. "Any who, I will need you to come down to Big Bear Lake. You are her sole heir of the estate and have inherited everything. I have already made the cremation arrangements as she wished. I can have them wait if you would like to see her face before it is done," he said sincerely. "No, go ahead with her wishes as they are. I would rather remember her the way she was. I hadn't seen her since last year and thats the last memory I would like to keep. I will let Mr. Richardson know what is going on and head down Friday morning and come back on Sunday for work. Would noon be good to go over everything?," I say trying not to let my tears stream down my face. "Oh there is a lot more than just signing papers Ms. Douglas," he said quite excitedly. "You may want to see about getting as much time off as you possibly can. Noon Friday will be fine. I will come by her home then. I have the keys and will drop off in the mailbox so you can get in." "How much more time Mr...Im sorry I dont know who I am speaking with," I say as I begin to eat again. He laughed before continuing "Oh, I didnt tell you did I. How forgetful of an old man. My name is Edgar Alexander. Me and your aunt were quite good friends. I have seen her go through so much and also her lawyer for over 50 years. I look forward to seeing you again Ms. Douglas. I have to run. Buh bye now." Before I could say anything else he hung up. Not much of a professional lawyer, I thought, but then again he acted like he knew me. I tried to remember him as I finished my sandwich. I had a packed schedule with clients the rest of the afternoon so I figured I would speak to Mr. Richardson after my last meeting of the day. I called his office to be sure he could wait for me. He was happy to do so. It was 4:30pm when my last client for the day left. I made my way down the hall for my quick meeting with Mr. Richardson. I was nervous to ask for time off but it seems as if I wasn't going to have a choice. I knocked on his door. "Come in," he said barely loud enough to hear. I opened to door and sat in a guest chair across from him. August Richardson was a thin man in his mid 50's, graying hair and always had a warm smile for his employees. He was always understanding and listened as if we were his children. "What can I do for you Brooke? You sounded distort when you asked to see me earlier. Is everything ok?" I took a deep sigh before I began. "Well not really Mr. Richardson. I received a call from my Aunt Victoria's lawyer. She passed away yesterday afternoon. I was suppose to be going for a visit with my current vacation time I had put in," I say with a shaking voice. "I am so sorry Brooke. I give my condolences. I guess we need to get you there to help with everything. Can you be here tomorrow for the board meeting? I will give you Friday off and all of next week along with your current vacation to use. This is a time to be with family" he sad warmly. "Thank you. I can be here tomorrow and leave Friday morning early to go to Big Bear Lake where she lived. Its a bit of a drive. She is being cremated and I was informed there will be no funeral. I was surprised though when her lawyer said I was her sole heir. I am not sure what that will mean. When I do I will give you a call and let you know," I tell him. "Brooke that will be fine. We will work with you as much as possible. Just keep me in the loop and we will go from there," he said standing, reaching out his hand. I shake his hand and go back to my office. I gather my few belongings, purse and lunchbag mostly, before heading to my apartment a few blocks away. I stop at the store on the corner and grab a frozen lasagna. I figured it would work since I wouldn't be home for two weeks and didn't want to come home to moldy food in the fridge. I make my purchase and head into the small duplex. My apartment was on the second floor. It was a small one bedroom but just enough space for me. I pop the dinner in the oven and set a timer before sitting down to pay my rent since it would be due before I returned. I went head and paid all of my bills so I stayed current. When I got done the timer went off for the stove. I pulled out the lasagna and cut it into thirds. Tomorrow was Thrusday so I only need lunch and dinner the next night. I had dinner plans for Thursday night but I would need to cancel since I needed to go to bed early for my drive on Friday morning. While I ate, I turned on an old episode of Charmed. I was always fascinated by the show because it was so romantically protade. l also thought about how the house they lived in looked a lot like Aunt Victoria's, even on the inside. Once I finished eating and put away the dishes, that I would wash tomorrow night, I made my way to my bedroom to pack. I pulled out my suitcase in the back of the closet, along with jeans, shirts, sandels, a couple pair of shorts and underwear. Then I found my toiletry bag and sat it in the bathroom. I would pack this Friday morning. I then took a shower and washed my hair. It took a while since my bright red hair was almost to my butt. When I was done I dried off draping the towel around me so I could make sure my makeup from the day as fully removed, put on moisturizer and brushed my teeth. I put on my pajama short set and crawled in my bed. I still had about thirty minutes before I normally went to bed and decided I would see if I could finish my book before I turned in for the night. The book I was reading was called 'Third Duty'. It was about a female spy named Agent Red Widow. She was a total badness. It was the forth book in a series of five by Victor Lail Gloduas. Even he was a mystery because the series was never finished. He basically dropped off the map. The books had turned into movies as well. I had seen them all but the books were better, mostly because my imagination was over the top. I finished my book and what I thought was thirty minutes turned out to be two hours. So much for eight hours of sleep I laughed to myself. I plugged in my cell phone to charge. There was a message from Chad telling me he was looking forward to dinner tomorrow night. I would message him in the morning or call to cancel. He had been flaky lately anyhow and had been ready to end the relationship months ago. I just never took the time because I stayed so busy at the frim and him with his art gallery. Now would be good since I would be away for a while and the busy week to come would be a distraction to the pain I would feel. I hated to do it over the phone but that was most of our relationship for the last several months. I turned out the light and went to sleep. It wasn't long before I was dreaming. "Unbind thy spirit, Unbind thy powers. Unbind thy spirit, unbind thy powers," says a group of about a hundred cloaked people. I was in a white lace dress with a collar and buttons down the front. I tried to move but it was as if I was being held in place, but nothing was there to hold me. I tried to speak to them and even my mouth wouldn't open. I moved my eyes back and forth looking for a face or something significant of where I was. All I could see was tree branches and a small amount of moonlight. The people around me had no faces. I was way past being creeped out. I tried to wake myself up. It was eerily real as if I was not in a dream. They just kept chanting. Then suddenly stopped and lifted there heads, that had been slightly lowered. I still couldn't make out a face of anyone. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, one of the people started to walk towards me. They reached out a hand and I took it. I was able to move at this point and was now sitting on what looked to be an old alter from a movie but I still couldn't wake myself. The hand was of a female. Her skin was silky, and her nails were done in a sky blue with a butterfly on her ring finger. "My daughter, welcome back to us. We are sorry that you have been gone for so long but we had to keep you safe. It was Victoria's wishes that after you learn of her death that we bring you home. Don't worry my child, it will all come to light soon and we will all be here to guide you. You will make Victoria proud and we will all be here for you. Merry meet," the strange woman says and they all fade. I wake up suddenly in my bedroom. The bed and my pajamas were soaked with sweat. The room seemed cold and darker than normal. I look at the clock and it is 8:00 in the morning. I claim out of bed having over slept and head to the bathroom. I turn on the light. As I walk in front of the mirror, I gasp and begin to shake. As I look into the mirror, I have a extremely scared feeling I was not dreaming before. I look down and see my pajamas wet with sweat, but my reflection is of me in a white, button down lace dress.