Chapter 40: Trip
“Anna, it’s time to get up, you need to get
ready.” Alex murmured into my ear around five thirty in the morning.
“Okay,” I replied sleepily. I dragged myself into the shower to wake
myself up and get ready for what I knew would be a whirlwind of a day.
“Alex, where are you?” I asked as I entered the
empty room. I had already gotten dressed
and put on the wig and contacts. I
looked around; it was like he had vanished.
He usually waited for me and we would go to the kitchen together. I frowned trying to get rid of the strange
feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Anna, you look great. I wouldn’t have believed that was you.” Lizzy
said smiling as she looked in the door.
“Thanks. Where is Alex?
He usually waits for me,” I asked
quietly.
“He took your bag and his to the car. You need to hurry, they’re almost ready to
leave,” she said as she gave me a quick hug.
I grabbed my slouch pouch with my wallet and passports and followed
Lizzy to the kitchen where a bowl of cereal waited for me on the table. I ate quickly and ran back to the washroom to
brush my teeth again; looking in the mirror, I scrutinized my appearance.
“You’re Alia Stevens now. That’s all you need to remember. You were born September tenth 1991,” I said
aloud to myself. I nodded and made my
way out to the car where the others waited for me.
We arrived at a small airport just outside Huntsville;
George parked the car and we climbed out grabbing our bags before we headed to
the hanger. Once we were at the hanger
George stored our bags at the back of the plane. He then spoke quietly to a man wearing dirty jeans
and a grease stained sweater. The man
went to the hanger doors and opened them, then he spoke to George for a
moment. George handed him our flight
plan, the man nodded, and we got into the plane.
It was small and cramped inside as it was
really only meant for two people so the guys sat in the front while, Cassy and
I sat in the back because we were smaller. Thankfully our flight wasn’t very
long; we reached New Hampshire by nine in the morning. George had arranged a rental car and it was
waiting for us when we landed.
“What’s the address we need to go to?” George
asked as he concentrated on driving.
“11 South Main Street. We shouldn’t be long I hope,” I replied. “How
long will it take us to get to Montana?”
“A few hours, maybe more depending on the wind
speed. Do you know what to do when you
get to the bank?” George asked me seriously.
“Yes, I believe so. Will you come in with me?”
“Do you honestly think I would let you go in
there without backup? Cassy will be in
the driver’s seat and Alex will be look out while we’re inside. I’m also hoping we’ll be in and out rather
quickly.”
“Thanks George.” I said quietly. He looked at me through the rear-view mirror,
his concern evident. He knew I was
nervous and that I was trying to hide it.
We arrived at the bank twenty minutes after we
landed. George and I got out of the car
and entered the bank.
“May I help you?” a pretty receptionist asked.
“Yes I need to open my mother’s safe deposit
box please.” I replied.
“Do you have your key and identification?”
“Yes, I brought my mother’s death certificate
too in case you need to see that as well.”
“Just one moment, I’ll get the manager,” she
smiled. I nodded and waited patiently.
A tall, pleasant looking man in his mid forties returned with the
receptionist.
“Hello, I’m John Mitchem. I’ll take you to your safe deposit box.” He gestured
at me to follow him.
“Do you have identification with you?” he asked
as we walked.
“Yes, I do,” I said handing him the passport
with my real name and my mother’s death certificate. I had taken off the red wig and left it in
the car, but I hadn’t removed the contacts.
He looked over my paperwork as we entered the vault, then nodded and
handed my papers back to me.
“Do you have your key?” he asked with a friendly
smile.
Nodding, I held up my key. The room we walked into was cool and three
wall were lined with silver metal boxes. He stopped in front of a row of boxes and
placed his key into a slot, motioning me to do the same.
“On the count of three turn your key to the
right,” John instructed. I nodded my
understanding. He counted, we turned our
keys on three and John slid the box out and placed it on one of the small tables
in the room.
“I’ll be right here if you have any questions,”
he stated retreating to give me privacy.
“Thank you.” My throat tight, I opened the box slowly and
looked inside. All the bittersweet
memories crashed around me and I felt tears surfacing again. George put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a
reassuring squeeze. I picked up a small
package wrapped in brown paper and a large envelope with my name on it. I checked all sides of the box carefully to
make sure that my mother hadn’t taped anything to the sides where I couldn’t
see. She used to do that when she was
hiding things, but there was nothing. I
closed the box and took the items out of the room with me. I looked at the manager sadly, “Thank you, I
won’t be needing this box anymore.”
“Will you be closing her account today as
well?”
“Yes, I don’t plan on being in the area for
awhile,” I replied quietly as we walked.
“May I ask who the gentleman with you is?” he
asked curiously.
“He’s my guardian’s son. He’s like a brother to me and he knew I would
have a hard time with this so he came to be my support.” I could feel the tears
ready to spill over at any moment. Mr.
Mitchem led me to an office and motioned for George and I to have a seat.
“I remember when your mother first came here; I
was a teller then. She was very
beautiful, not someone you would forget easily.” He smiled wistfully. “You look a lot like her. I’m sorry to hear
that she passed away. May I ask what
happened?” I looked at the floor as I
answered him.
“She was murdered a few years ago. I wasn’t old enough to deal with some of the
things that needed to be done, so I had to wait until I was ready. I’m honestly not sure I’m ready to see what
she’s left me, but I miss her and this is the only thing I might have left of
her.” I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over. John handed me a tissue box, I quietly thanked him and took one and
wiped my eyes.
“I’m truly sorry for your loss. Did they ever find the killer?” he asked as
he was typing on the computer.
“No. I
call every few months for an update, but they still haven’t found anything,” I
choked. He nodded sadly.
“I’m truly sorry for these unfortunate
circumstances. If you’ll excuse me for a
moment I’ll be right back with your cheque.” He got up graciously and exited
the office.
“Anna, you didn’t have to tell him the truth
you know,” George said quietly.
“I know, but I don’t care who knows any more. She was murdered, and I’m not going to hide
that information anymore.” I said determinedly.
He nodded in understanding.
Mr. Mitchem returned a few minutes later and handed me the cheque. I took it from him and folded it without
bothering to look before placing it in my pocket. I gracefully rose from my seat, shook his
hand and turned to leave the office.
“Take care of yourself miss.” he said.
“Thank you.
You have a good day too, Mr. Mitchem,” I replied quietly. George put his arm around my shoulders and
looked at me with concern as we walked out of Mr. Mitchem’s office.
“Are you okay kiddo? Do you want to sit for a minute? There’s no
hurry.” I looked into his worried eyes and smiled slightly.
“I’ll be okay.
Can you just take me home? I don’t think I can handle going anywhere
else today,” I admitted as we left the bank.
“Of course,” George smiled reassuringly. We walked slowly to the car and he opened the
front passenger door for me so that I could get in. I hadn’t even seen Cassy move to the back
seat, George must have given her a signal because she and Alex were sitting in
the back.
“He’s still watching us,” George said
quietly. I put my hands to my face and
leaned on George’s shoulder, something that I had never done before, but it felt
safe, and like the right thing to do at this time. George wrapped his arm protectively around me
as he started the care and backed slowly out of the parking spot and left the
parking lot.
As soon as we were safely down the street I sat
up and ran my hands over the packages on my lap.
“You’re very good at subterfuge, you know.”
George smiled proudly at me. “You don’t
have to open those now Anna, it can wait.
We’ll be back at the airport and on our way in about half an hour.”
I nodded, not saying a word. Alex
reached around from the back seat giving me a kind of hug. I sighed in gratitude and placed a hand on
his strong forearm.
Once we reached the airport and our plane, I
stored the large envelope and package in my backpack with the letters from my
mother. We were in the air and headed
for Montana
“Are you okay Anna?” she asked quietly.
“Yes. I didn’t think this would be so
hard. I’m going to be pretty tired when
all this is done.” I looked at her sadly.
She nodded in understanding and Alex turned to watch me for a few
minutes, the love and concern evident in his eyes.
“We’ll arrive in about half an hour and we
should easily make it to the bank before it closes. Are you sure you’re up for this?” Alex asked
watching my face.
“Yes, let’s just get it done. I don’t think I’ll be able to do much else
after this though, and I’d like to see what’s in these packages.” I looked into
his concerned eyes and gave him a floppy smile.
He knew I was doing my best and I knew they were all there to support
me. He nodded and turned to the front of
the plane again.
We landed just outside Miles City, Montana
around two in the afternoon. I hadn’t
eaten much and my stomach started to protest, but we didn’t have time to stop
yet. George changed his jacket and put
on a hat and sunglasses. It had been
cloudy in New Hampshire, but it was sunny here so he needed to cover up so that
he wasn’t a distraction. Another car was
waiting for us here. It had dark tinted windows and just looked sleek and
powerful. I saw the insignia on the
front of the car as we walked towards it and realized it was a Mercedes Benz. I
whistled softly. Alex and George shared
a glance and chuckled at my reaction to the car.
“We’ll get something to eat after we’re
finished at the bank. I’ve booked us a
room at the Holiday Inn,” George informed us.
“We’re heading to 1115 Main Street to the First
Interstate Bank,” I said looking out the window at the scenery whizzing
by. I didn’t feel like talking anymore. I was on my last mission to find what little
was left of my mother. The packages and
letters she left for me were all that I had left of the amazing person I missed
so much.
The second bank was pretty much the same as the
first except this time I found three letters addressed to me, one to James, and
a small black book. I closed the account
my mother had there and placed another cashier’s check in my pocket without
looking at it first. I didn’t want to
know how much money it was for, that was not at all important to me when I was
dealing with such a profound sense of loss.
We went to the Holiday Inn and checked into our
rooms. I opened the sliding door so that
I could let the evening breeze cool the room down. I pulled out all of the things that I
collected from the two banks and laid it out on the bed around me. I looked at the envelopes the first one said “Anastasia
open immediately,” the second read “Anastasia open on your wedding day,” and
the third said “Anastasia open when your first child is born.” My heart ached and I had tears in my
eyes. She had thought of
everything. I couldn’t believe it, I
would get to read her advice at least two more times after I read this
letter.
Smiling sadly, I slowly opened the envelope and
took out the sheet of paper inside. I
inhaled deeply, it even smelled like her! I would never forget her scent of jasmine and
roses. It was my favourite smell, floral,
with a soft, rich, sensual aroma. I
sighed quietly and smiled to myself. I
always pictured her with her hair down blowing in the wind, her pale blue eyes
sparkling with excitement as we walked together to our standing lunch date,
every Wednesday afternoon. I looked at
her hand writing, recognizing it as the same neat scrawl that I missed so
much. As I read her letter I heard her
voice in my head once again. I missed
that voice so much, so I re-read her letter, this time more slowly:
Anastasia
Sweetheart
I know you’re scared traveling all over the place collecting
the
items that I’ve left for you. I guess I
need to explain a few things. First, as
you know, you
are the Rising Star. In the black book you will find a copy of my
DNA profile as
well as your father’s. We both have a dormant version of a
particular virus or
something like that. I didn’t have time for proper scientific explanations
when I received
this. What I’ve learned is that my dormant strain
of the virus wakens when it comes
into
contact with the strain your father has.
Beyond that I can tell you very little
about the virus. It has many names, I know it as the
Starcrisless virus, or
the Legacy virus, I don’t know the other names,
perhaps James
can
look into it. Second, there is a list
of all my accounts and account numbers
in the
black book. You were only aware of a few.
I have several accounts all over the
world
as I
was given a very large settlement when my marriage was annulled. I split the
money
up with James’ help and we were living off the interest. You have become a very
wealthy
young lady, Anna. Third, the package
wrapped in brown mailing paper contains
some
heirlooms that I wanted you to have.
Some of the items belonged to my
mother
and the others I collected over the years.
I hope you enjoy them. Forth, the
large
envelope has the only family pictures that I managed to save from my family
and
there is one of your father’s family too.
I wrote all the names on the back
so
that if you run across them you would be able to recognize them. Finally,
when
you go to the house there are some bags for you with other things I thought
that
you might like. There is also a clue for
you there in the back of our favourite
book.
I know you’ll figure things out, you
were always good at puzzles. You
have
a choice Anastasia, so choose wisely. Live life, be happy, stay strong,
find
love, cherish those you care for and never give up hope.
My
sweet beautiful girl
you
are my heart
you
are my life
I
love you,
Mom
I didn’t realize that I was crying until Alex wiped the tears from my
cheeks with a gentle brush of his fingers as I looked up into his beautifully
vibrant emerald green eyes. He
smiled at me and softly stroked my cheek with the back of his hand.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I just miss her.” I replied solemnly.
“I’m here if you need me Anna, I’ll always be
here for you,” Alex whispered. I smiled
and brushed the back of my hand across his cheek.
“I know.” I felt so much older in that moment
than I really was.
We ate a simple dinner at the diner across from the hotel and went to
bed early. George wanted to be in the
air first thing in the morning.
We arrived fifteen minutes outside Pine Bluff
Arkansas around eight the next morning. There
was another black Mercedes Benz with tinted windows waiting for us there. We drove it to 605 Barrow Drive, a small
house with a white picket fence, just like in all the stories. I walked up to the front door with Alex,
Cassy, and George with me every step of the way. Grateful for their support, I slowly unlocked
the door and opened it. I took a deep
breath and walked into the small foyer.
The house was pretty bare. There was a utilitarian couch and TV in the
front room, both coated with about an inch of dust. The kitchen was small and just as dust
covered; it looked as if no one had been inside the house in years. I went upstairs to the bedroom and looked in
the closet. I found two black duffle
bags in the back of the small closet exactly where my mother always put things
for me to find. She was always
consistent, I had to give her that. I
smiled wistfully as I grabbed the bags and brought them down the stairs. George
took them from me and carried them to the car.
“I just want to check the entire house over
once and then we can go. Is that okay?”
I asked George from the doorway.
“Do whatever you need to do. Your mother went to a lot of trouble to get
you here. Check everything,” George replied.
“Alex, Cassy would you two check and see if
there is a basement? I want to see if
there is anything else hidden away, and your senses are far better than mine,”
I asked politely. They nodded and went
to search the main floor while I went back upstairs and searched each
room. There were only three rooms and all
were empty, except one which had a shelf with two books on it. I picked up the first book and read the
title. I was shocked that it was an
original first edition copy of Sleeping Beauty.
My mom used to read this to me every day; I loved this story. I looked at the other book and it was another
favourite, Rush Cape. It was also a
first edition - these were priceless memories from my past. I checked the rest of the room and the bathroom,
but everything else was clear. I made my
way back downstairs and met Alex, Cassy and George at the base of the stairs. I was holding the books up for them to see.
“Look what I found! They’re my favourite stories, I thought we had
lost them in one of our many moves. Mom
would read them to me all the time.” I smiled wistfully in remembrance. The
next thing I knew, Alex was saying my name as Cassie looked on, a puzzled look
on her face.
“What? Oh
sorry, did you say something?” I questioned, feeling slightly dazed.
“You completely zoned out there for a minute,”
Alex said, touching my face reassuringly. “Anyway, we checked the rest of the
house and didn’t find anything. If you are
ready, we should get going. We should be
able to make it home this afternoon and that way you can go through everything
in a safe quiet place.”
“Anna, we’ll go through everything together.”
Cassy promised. “We’ll all help you sort
through everything,” Cassy was so sincere and gentle as she took my hand and
pulled me towards the front door to leave.
I slipped, but caught myself at the last second, and when I looked up I
caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass of the door. It stopped me in my
tracks; my skin was so ghostly pale and my eyes swirled almost like Alex and
Cassy’s did. My eyes widened and I
started to skake.
“What’s wrong with me? Why do I look like this?”
Fear rippled through my voice.
“I don’t know Anna, but we have to get you
home, NOW.” George said urgently. “Alex,
carry her to the car we have to get in the air as soon as possible. She’s changing faster than we anticipated and
we need to get her to a safe place so we can figure out what’s going on with
her.” Alex easily swung me into his arms and ran to the car, gently placing me
in the back seat and strapping me in. The
entire time he didn’t take his eyes off me and slid in beside me, gathering me
in his arms. When we arrived at
the airport Alex unbuckled my seat belt and carried me to the plane. Once we were aboard he handed me a bottle of
water. I gratefully took a sip but
started retching. The water actually it
felt strange in my mouth, and I knew it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted was steak, and the craving was
almost overwhelming.
“I need steak, I want steak,” I whimpered
weakly.
“Anna you couldn’t even handle a sip of water,”
Cassy said worriedly.
“But I need steak…..I must be low in iron. That has to be it.” I whispered.
“George, can you hypnotize her until we get
home to help her get through the flight?” Cassy asked, looking at me with
concern.
“Alex should do it. She trusts him and he is very good at keeping
her calm.” George replied. Alex
nodded. He gathered me into his arms, so
I was gazing up at him as he began to speak.
“Anna, rest now. Close your eyes and rest.” Alex’s voice was
all soothing bells and melody. I stared
at him wide eyed, my attention riveted on him. I had never heard him speak like
this before, it was the most amazing sound I had ever heard and I could feel
myself relaxing. He leaned towards me
and breathed slowly into my face, his breath warm, sweet, and so soothing. My
eyes felt heavy and I felt as though I would fall asleep at any moment.
“Alex, what’s going on? Why am I so tired?” I blinked trying to shake off
my lethargy.
“You are safe, Anna. I won’t let anything happen to you. Now rest and I’ll wake you when we’re
home, I promise.” His voice rang like bells again and my eyes closed as he pulled
me closer and I sank into oblivion. It
was peaceful, but I still managed to hear a strange conversation while I was in
this dream-like state.
“Is she asleep?” I heard Cassy asked.
“I think so. George let’s get out of here, she doesn’t look
so good,” Alex said urgently.
“I’m pretty worried about her myself. I’ve never seen anything like it, she went so
pale and her eyes; did you see her irises? They almost went liquid! That’s not something a human can do. What is she?” George’s voice was soft and questioningly,
full of worry.
“I wish I knew,” Alex whispered “I’m really
worried about her. I don’t know what I’d
do if anything were to happen to her.” I could hear the fear in his voice.
“We all know you love her, Alex. The real question is what would you do to keep
her? Would you claim her in order to keep her? To keep her safe from her father and his
family? Would you actually be willing to do the one thing you promised you
wouldn’t do?” George whispered.
“I don’t know George, I want to but I could
never betray her like that.” Alex’s voice was sad and far away.
“You’ll have to make a choice Alex, and likely sooner
than you want to,” Cassy whispered.
“I know,” His voice was so uncertain. I wanted to reach out to them, tell them not
to worry but it was just a dream, a strange far away dream. At least I think it was. I didn’t hear any more far away voices as I
drifted deeper into a dreamless sleep.
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