You're probably wondering where I've been (or maybe you're not). School has been a huge pain so far this year and I still haven't broke my procrastination problem. Sorry if you've been waiting for a new chapter.
Anyway, this chapter is longer than I expected so I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer – See chapters 1, 2, or 3
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A few weeks had passed and Zara still hadn't received an answer from any of the messages she had posted around town. She wasn't sure if she would get any replies; right now the odds looked as if they were against her, especially since she knew no one with a membership card. She had other more important things on her mind, though.
"Where did you say my mom was buried again? Wasn't it somewhere on the left side of the graveyard?"
Lillian turned around from the stove and stared at Zara. It was the first thing she had said about her mother since the day that they had talked. Zara tiled her head to the side and looked back at her mom.
"You know…the day after you found me…the villagers founder her and wanted to burn her body. But you stopped them, saying that she didn't hurt anyone and she deserved a proper burial."
"Zara, you walked out on me that day a few weeks ago before I could finish. I never got to that part of the story. Did you ask your father about that?"
"Um…" she began. She could have sworn her mother had told her about that. "Yeah, he did."
Lillian turned around and went back to cooking. The only think breaking the silence between them was the violent bubbling of the water on the stove.
"So, she is buried there, right?" Zara asked still trying to figure out how she'd known that. She had never talked to her father about what she and her mother had discussed.
"Yes, she's the third one on the left." Lillian replied. "Do you plan on visiting her grave?"
"Yeah, I was thinking I could stop by later this afternoon."
"Do you want some money to buy flowers for her grave? I'm sure that would be nice."
"No, thanks. I have my own."
* * *
Later that afternoon, Zara was making her way through the village. I was a Wednesday, so there was a cart outside selling flowers.
"Hey, Zara" a voice came from behind her. Almost immediately her heart skipped a beat. She turned around to find Anthony.
"Hi, Anthony," she said, trying hard to keep her cool. After talking with Katherine that day a few weeks ago, she decided she was going to move on from him and find someone else. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done.
"What are the flowers for?" Anthony inquired.
"Nothing," Zara said as she turned back around and began looking through the flowers again. She was hoping that that would end their conversation.
"Aww…come on, you can tell me," he said flirtatiously as he draped his arm loosely around her shoulders and moved to stand by her side.
Resist temptation, she told herself. "Actually, I'd rather not," Zara said as she gingerly removed Anthony's arm from around her. She picked up a small bouquet of Stargazer Lilies and headed to the makeshift counter to pay.
"Zara…you've been ignoring me since the day Ben and I say you in that pond. Did Katherine say something to you?" Anthony said as Zara paid.
Zara turned to face Anthony. "She said nothing to me about you."
"Why don't you come with me; we can work everything out," he said with a sly smile as he put his arm around her waist and brought her in closer.
Zara, this is what you've been waiting for. If you don't go with him now, you may never get the change again, she thought to herself, but then she had second thoughts. You're nobody to him. Katherine wouldn't lie to you about something like that. Besides having a boyfriend with a wandering eye is a burden that I don't need right now.
"I really gotta go," she said as she broke free of his grasp and jogged off in the direction of the graveyard.
Anthony stood there, staring in her direction. Girls normally couldn't get enough of him. Zara's resistance intrigued him and he decided to see why she was in such a hurry.
* * *
As Zara got father away from Anthony and closer to the graveyard, she slowed down a bit.
Clouds had begun to move in and it looked as if it would rain any second. She hadn't planned on staying very long because the graveyard was a pretty shady place but the threatening rain made her decide that she was just going to drop off the flowers and say a quick prayer.
It seemed to get darker as she entered the graveyard. She could hear the crashes of thunder in the distance.
Zara walked over to the left row of graves. She got an eerie feeling just being there. She knelt down in front of the third grave and brushed off the leaves that covered it. Despite the thin layer of caked-on dirt, she could still read it. It read:
Here Lies
JETHRA
May her soul rest eternally with Din
Zara gave a disappointed sigh as she leaned back on her legs. She felt like she had known that name forever. She had hoped that it would have been something more exciting.
Zara felt a few cold drops of rain hit her skin. She remembered that she wanted to make this visit a short one, so she hastily untied the string that held the bouquet of flowers together and leaned the flowers up against the headstone. After saying a quick prayer, she stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" A voice came from behind her.
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