CHAPTER TWO
Also- I don't own Charmed! Shocker!
Paige POV:
When Sunday rolled around, I discovered I had nothing to wear. The only black thing I have was the suit I played in for work. Something told me that a white bow tie just wouldn't fly. I decided to take parts of the ceremonial dress we had to wear at Oxford. A subfusc is basically a white shirt, black skirt, and black tie. I decided to leave the gown and cap at home.
The ceremony was held at a funeral home, not a church. Being raised as a strict Catholic, the idea of a funeral taking place anywhere else was foreign to me.
Walking in, I felt like a fish out of water. There are very few mourners, all seeming to know each other well.
I found the two sisters quickly, walking over to them timidly. What are they going to think about a stranger showing up here? a deaf one at that?
"I'm sorry about your lose." I said, as clearly as she possible could. I really hopped she did not sound like a freak.
The two girls were taken aback. Maybe it was due to my weird voice, or the fact I was a complete stranger.
They stared awkwardly at me, most likely not knowing what to say. I continued to explain. "I saw your sisters obituary in the paper. Something was telling me to come." Great, Doctorate from Oxford and I sound like an idiot.
The smaller one gave me a strange look. "You saw our sisters lavatory in the newspaper?"
Being the fantastic lip reader I was, I knew she was insulted. Feeling my cheeks turn red, I pushed back my hair to show her the blue hearing aids. I pointed at myself and said, "Deaf."
More strange looks. The older looking one said something. I don't think it was positive.
Before they could say anything, I ran out of the funeral home, tears streaming down my face.
PIPERS POV:
"You've been at that for an hour now." It was Phoebe.
I gave no sign of acknowledging her and went back to my scrying.
"Honey, We put Pure in ground today, and I know thats hard, but we have to move on."
"How can you say that?" It was surprisingly calm.
"Because thats what Pure would have wanted.
"I'm not going to give up on her."
As Phoebe sighed, the crystal dropped.
PHEOBE POV:
We stood outside the house where the crystal dropped. We were scrying for a lost witch, and it brought us to one.
Piper rang the doorbell, holding my hand.
The door clicked open, to reveal someone we did not expect to see.
It was the deaf girl from the funeral.
Her face light up with recognition. "Do you want to come in?" She slurred.
Before we knew what we were doing, we were standing in an apartment you would not believe belonged to someone her age. Everything was clean and orderly, books in several languages on the shelves. And the thing that shocked me the most, a beautiful cello in the corner of the room.
The red head gestured at the sofa. We sat down as she pointed at the fridge. We shook our heads, not sure what she was doing.
As the red head sat across from us, I finally got a good look at her. Her back would not touch the back of the chair, as if it was on fire. Her feet were crossed perfectly, hands resting on her knees. She was wearing no make up, her shirt buttoned up to the top, tucked into her pants. She had a on a grey sweater vest. I would have beat her up in high school. The thought made me very guilty.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, I spoke up.
"So, what is your name," I said as loudly and slowly as possible.
She cocked her head to the side, then broke out laughing.
Piper gave her an astounded look. Her laugh was very nasally, almost wheezing. Somehow though, it was nice to hear.
After getting herself under control, she spoke: "I am completely deaf. As in can hear nothing. You could hold a sports horn up to my ear and I wouldn't hear it. It may sound like a low whistle if I had in my hearing aids. I can read your lips, just look at me. My name is Paige Matthews. What is yours?"
"Wow, I feel like the worlds biggest bitch. My name is Phoebe, this is Piper, my older sister."
"Don't worry about it, common mistake. And it is very nice to meet you. Also, I must apologize for my behavior the other day. I don't know what came over me. I have never been to a funeral."
"It is no problem. I'm sure Prue would have laughed."
"So, Paige. Whats with the cello?" Piper asked, not to nicely.
"I play cello professionally." Paige answered.
As Piper let out a laugh, Paige's face became a mask.
"Sure, you do, for the fools orchestra?" Piper sneered.
"Piper! Thats rude!" Even though I said it, part of me wanted to agree.
"Its true. Phoebe, how can someone like her play music?"
Paige stood up, walked over to the corner and took the cello off the stand. Going back to her seat she leaned over it and picked up the bow.
The sound that came out of the instrument was the most beautiful I have ever heard. The cello sang a song of rage and anger, getting faster with every note, fingers moving faster and faster. She made the cello cry, as if it was lost.
As she finished, she look at Piper, daring her to say something. "I played that one for the Pope. I was twenty. I played for Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford. I attended only the best boarding schools in England, apprenticing under the best players in the world. I have played in England, France, Russia, China, Germany, Italy, and Denmark. I have played for not one, but two royal families. I was valedictorian of my graduating class at Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford. I hold a phD in music, so keep laughing."
We understood every word.
"I am sorry if my sister offended you. She is overcome with grief."
"Off course, I'm sorry I lost my temper. It gets to me when people say I can't play music because I am deaf. I spent the first few years of my life in a group home, and they didn't believe I could play either."
"What home?"
"Saint Mary's."
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't all bad. I just don't like to think about it." Paige sat up straighter, eyes still not leaving Piper." (God, this girl was wound up tighter then a rubber band.)
"I'm sorry about your lose, of your parents I mean."
"Don't be. They probably gave me up after they found out I was deaf. I don't care about them."
I nodded, even Piper look a little sad.
"I need to feed my cat." Paige said.
"Of course. Piper, we should go. It was nice meeting you to Paige."
"Likewise."
As she closed the door, I turned to Piper. "What the hell was that?"
"What, don't I have the right to be wary of her? Anyway, she's not a witch."
"How do you know that Piper? She could be. She showed up to Prues funeral remember? I think we she go pay a visit to Saint Mary's and finds out all we can."
Piper looked at me. "Fine. But don't blame me when nothing comes of it."
LINEBREAK
Saint Mary's was a cold looking building, the grass out front dead, the play ground falling apart.
We walked in to find the receptionist.
"Hello, can we please speak to the head, whatever you call it?" I asked.
The receptionist looked up from her crossword, clearly annoyed. She pressed a button and went back to the paper.
A few moments later a comely looking nun walked out.
"Hello, my name is Sister Agnes. How may I help you?" The nun asked, smiling past the dark circles and stress lines.
"Hi, I'm Phoebe and this is my sister Piper. Can we ask you a few questions about a child that was here, about nineteen years ago? Her name is Paige. Paige Matthews."
"Paige, the deaf one? Last I heard of her she was touring Europe as a music protégé. Gave a very generous donation about a month ago. We were able to redo the entire music room." Sister Agnes said almost dreamily. "How about you come into my office. We can talk some more."
The Sisters office was a clutter of papers and toys. Filing cabinets on every wall, the floor covered in bears and dolls. An ocean of children no one wanted. Paige and Piper sat on the plastic chairs as the sister sat in the tall backed one behind the desk. "So, how may I help you girls? What is your interest in Miss Mathews?"
"Paige is a close friend of ours," I lied. Piper rolled her eyes at the notion. "She's so uptight, whenever we ask her about her childhood, she just signs, 'Ask them yourselves!' So we are." I let out a little laugh, hopping the sweat on my brow wasn't showing.
"Yes. That is exactly what we are doing." Piper added, voice almost robotic.
"Well, that does sound like her. What would you like to know?"
"As a child, what was she like? Did she get into trouble, do anything that was a little, I don't know, off?"
The nun laughed, "Paige kept to herself. Maybe it was because of her condition, but she did not play with other children. In part, I think, because she did not trust other people."
"What do you mean?" Piper asked, brow raised.
"Well, for starters, its hard living in a place like this. We try to make it as nurturing as possible, but it is hard. We have twenty five children, all under ten. It is taxing." The nun leaned a little closer, voice dropping to a barley audible whisper. "And, when she was five, we found a foster family, a nice match. At least CPS thought so. She came back to us seven months later, covered, head to toe in bruises. Poor girl. Wouldn't even sign to people after. The couple had other children before, that they raised without a problem. They were not ready to take on a deaf child. One child who was living there as well said they locked her in a closet. Isn't that terrible?"
My heart seemed to sink in my chest. "When did she start to play music?" I wanted nothing more then to change the subject.
"I have no idea. She did that by herself. Whenever we had music circle, she would press her face up against the cello and pull the strings. It was the only time I saw her truly happy." The nun gave us a sad smile.
From what I saw today, that may be the only time she was still ever happy.
"The Matthews walked in on her one day. They adopted her straight away, of course. I herd they sent her to school in England. Not something many children get the opportunity to do."
"Yes, she has a phD from Oxford." Piper stated matter of fact. "What about her parents, her real parents?"
"Dropped her off when she was only a couple of hours old. Said they couldn't take care of her." The nun said it as if it was a story she had heard too many times.
"What were their names?" I pressed. We were getting close.
"The father was named Sam."
My heart stopped in my chest. That was the name of my mothers White Lighter. Only a coincidence, of course.
"The mother, something with a P. Pamela, Penny. Patty, thats it. Patty Halliwell."
Holy shit.
Wonder what they are going to do now... Cliffhanger! I'll update soon, no worries friends. Also thanks for the four alerts and to Dominus Trinus for reviewing. You are amazing. Here is a virtual cookie. (::) See good things happen when you review. Also, if anyone was wondering, there will be a Halliwell/ Matthews dinner scene. Can't wait to write that. Lets just say shit will hit the fan, windows, door, you name it. It will be covered. But you will have to wait a couple of chapters for that. R+R
-The Professor