Haunted By The Past

CHAPTER 2: AMBIGUITY

CHAPTER 2:

AMBIGUITY

Early Saturday morning, Bella stretched out her arms. She yawned, lifted off the quilt cover, and got out of bed to begin her strict routine. The room was minimally furnished with a round timber bedside table and desk lamp, bay windows featuring Venetian blinds, and a small armoire. She moved to the study opposite her bedroom, stepping onto the cold floorboards with her bare feet. She bowed down and sat against a wall with her back pressed against a cushion, a large feather-down pillow to sit on, and another smaller pillow to rest her legs. Closing her eyes, she meditated for twenty-minutes.

Bella rose and prepared breakfast, then showered. As she moved towards the living room, she picked up her laptop from the round coffee table with a range of “Psychology Today” subscriptions stacked in an orderly pile and rested back on her tan leather couch. A smart TV was built into the wall and a cabinet sat below it. She looked fondly at the photograph of her aunt Faye on it every morning. The photo reminded her of the bond they’d shared when her aunt was alive.

Bang! Muffled voices echoed nearby. She flinched at the noise. Probably, the neighbours, she thought. Nothing to worry about. She was being silly again. Williamstown could be loud at times. There was no point in checking out every noise.

She turned on her laptop and waited for it to boot up. Clicking on her email, Bella waited for messages, hoping that she had enquiries from her social media advertisement. She worked mainly with adults who presented with a range of issues including stress management, depression, anxiety, anger management issues, and some types of personality disorders. Bella realised that even normally functioning people experienced mental health issues on some level, but they were able to manage them.

Mostly junk mail filled her inbox, some of which she unsubscribed from. One of them had the subject line, You Don’t Have a Clue. Out of curiosity, she opened the email.

To the questionable psychologist,

I saw your advertisement about your new counselling practice and am intrigued. Can you really help people when you’re such a loser? Don’t get too cocky in your new business. I doubt it’ll last long.

Bella pulled at her hair and took deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. She closed the email and paced across the rug, her bare feet hardly feeling the warmth and thickness of the fabric. She clenched her hands and fought back images of self-doubt. It was just a stupid email! Her advertisement was bound to attract the unstable. There were plenty of them in the world. She should’ve known her advertisement would attract the wrong kinds of people.Maybe this person was bored, with nothing better to do than getting their kicks out of upsetting people. It could also have been a prankster who wanted her reaction. Well, she wouldn’t react to trolls as they were plentiful. It was just a spam message with no real significance. She was letting it get to her, making her mouth dry and her stomach feel heavy.

Bella decided to leave the email where it was. She’d deal with it later. She got ready for her Tai Chi class. Every Saturday, she had Tai Chi as it was a sport that gave her a sense of security. She’d been attending for the past year and savoured the freedom of movement and the way it relaxed her.

It was silly to worry about a stupid email message that probably meant nothing. She gave it no more thought as she picked up her bag and car keys and headed out the door.

As she walked outside, her kindly elderly neighbour, Beatrice, was watering her roses in the front garden. She had been a widow for the past year, and Bella had spent the odd occasion having tea with her in her home.

The short woman with grey hair and prominent wrinkles waved. “Hello, dear. Going out?”

“Hi, Beatrice. Yes, my Tai Chi class.”

“Have a lovely day. Don’t forget to come by for tea soon.”

She smiled. “Of course. I’ll let you know. See you later.”

“Goodbye, dear Bella.”

Bella stepped into her white Toyota Corolla parked at the front of her house. She opened her window, turned on the motor and was ready to drive off.

***

The alert that the email had been opened popped up on the phone screen. A few minutes later, Bella stepped outside and into her small car. I’m going to make your life a living hell, b***h! Bella wasn’t worth the ground she walked on. I’ll take my time with you. Nice and slow. No mercy. Bella was going to get the biggest surprise of her life. The cell phone dropped onto the passenger seat. Bella’s car disappeared around the corner. Time to make Bella pay, for everything.