Hey, Nukia here!
This fanfiction is a side story to Beyond This Love.
I don't know if any of my old readers are reading my rewrites anymore, but I'm going to keep going. This will be a sad chapter, that's all I can say without giving any of it away.
But thank you for the reviews, favorites and the alerts! Also to the unknown people who read my fanfictions, I promise it will pick up at some point! If you don't like it, then don't read it.
Chapter 18!
My heart is breaking, I don't know how to cope anymore. A few weeks ago everything was fine, I had the most fun birthday and I was allowed to do anything I wanted. So I chose to visit the village museum with my Aunt Thora and Rose. My Aunt had to use her wheelchair though, but we had loads of fun and a nice meal in a fancy hotel. She even paid for us to stay in the hotel for the night, she said because it was my 13th birthday that I should have one night away from home in luxurious surroundings. I will never forget that night for as long as I live, it was truly wonderful.
But now she's gone, My Aunt Thora had passed away last night with me and Rose by her side. I was just reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit to her before she began to wheeze, she had grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it so tightly. She opened her eyes for a moment and looked at me with a small smile on face, then she closed them. I remember screaming for Rose, she pulled me away from the bed and tried to help my Aunt. But it was too late, she took her last breath at 7:47pm on the 2nd of December 1997.
The doctor had been called, he'd arranged for my Aunt's body to be picked up by the coroner in the morning. I had been sent to my bedroom when the coroners arrived at the cottage, Rose didn't want me to see My Aunt's body being taken from her bedroom. But I heard everything, the wheels of the stretcher on the wooden floor of my Aunt's bedroom and the coroner's footsteps carrying her body down the stairs.
It was now 10am, I had spent most of the night crying into my pillow. I feel so lost, my eyes are sore and I want this pain in my heart to stop. Rose had called into my room a few hours ago, she had brought me a bowl of cereal and hot cup of tea. But I didn't feel like eating right now, I just want to be left alone for the day. I sighed as I rolled over onto my back, I need to use the bathroom. I managed to drag myself out of my bed, I tucked my messy hair behind my ears and got changed into my yellow baggy pajamas. I walked over to my bedroom's door, I opened it slowly and walked out of my room, everything was so silent.
" Elizabeth!" I heard Rose call from downstairs. " Elizabeth my love, will you come downstairs for a moment? I need to speak to you!"
I cleared my throat and told her to give me a moment. I closed my bedroom's door behind me, I went to the bathroom and took care of my business. I left the bathroom and made my way down the stairs, I walked into the living room and stopped dead when I saw Watari sitting on the sofa. He gave me a smile as he got up from the sofa, he picked his hat up from the coffee table and nodded to Rose. I watched him walk over to me, he took hold of my hands and looked down at me with smile on his face.
" My condolences my dear, you Aunt was an inspiring women and she will be missed dearly in the Winchester community. Her generosity will never be forgotten, you should be very proud of your Aunt's achievements... " He said as he let go of my hands and looked over at Rose. " I shall let myself out, I will call in on you in the next few days. If you need anything in the mean time then just ring me, I will keep in touch over the funeral arrangements as well..."
" Thank you Mr Wammy..." Smiled Rose.
Watari gently touched my arm before he left the living room, I heard the front door of the cottage close from the hallway and I watched Rose get up from the sofa. She placed a blue china teacup down on a silver tray, she picked the tray up from the coffee table and walked over to the doorway of the living room. She stopped in front of me, she cupped the side of my face with her hand and smiled down at me.
" Come my love, let's get you something hot to drink and then we can have a little chat..." She said in a soft tone. " We need to discuss a few things, I have something I need to show you as well..."
" What did Watari want?" I asked.
" He came to visit us, but you were asleep when he arrived here..." She replied, she removed her hand from my cheek and walked out of the living room as she continued to talk to me. " Come on my dear, come and take a seat in the kitchen well I make you some breakfast!"
I sighed and followed Rose to the kitchen, I wonder what we need to talk about? I don't really feel like talking much right now, I sat down on a chair at the kitchen table and rubbed at my eyes. I listened to Rose moving around the kitchen, everything sounded so different now without my Aunt around. I looked over at the kitchen counter when I heard a popping sound, the smell of toast filled the room and I felt my stomach rumble.
" Here we go, something to warm you up..." Smiled Rose as she placed a hot mug of tea down in front of me. " I've got some bacon in the fridge with your name written all over it, I think you need a proper British fry-up to fill your stomach up for the morning. We've got a busy morning ahead of us, so much to do and so little time to do it in!"
" I don't think I can face a fry-up, can I just have some toast instead please?" I asked.
" Of course, you can have anything you want..." She replied and walked over to the counter as she wiped her hands on her blue apron. " You've got to keep your strength up, we've got busy days ahead of us. We need to start sorting out your Aunt's bedroom, also go through funeral arrangements she wrote and I've got to ring some friends of your Aunt's in the village. I also need to find the deeds for the cottage, your Aunt kept so many documents for different things it will take me hours to go through all of her files!"
" Can't I just hide from the world instead?" I asked. " I don't feel like facing the world today, I just want to sit in my room and be left alone forever!"
" I know my dear, but you've got to be strong for me too..." She replied. " I've worked for Miss Havisham for over 14 years, she may have been stern and impolite at times. But I came to think of her as my friend and not an employer, I will miss her too..."
" You did?" I asked.
" Yes, before you moved here would take tea together and play checkers in the evenings..." She answered. " Then you came to live with us and it got busy at times, but we always found a quiet moment at the end of the day to talk..."
I looked over at Rose and watched her buttering the toast, she was right. I'm being selfish, I've been thinking about my own feelings and no one else's. I've got to be strong, I guess this is what A meant when he told me to use my emotions. I need to support Rose and pull myself together, my Aunt wouldn't want me wallowing in my own self pity. I wrapped both of my hands around my hot mug of tea, I chewed at my bottom lip and picked my mug up from the table.
" Rose, what will happen to me now?" I asked and took a sip of my tea as I looked over at her. " Will you stay here with me and look after me until I'm old enough to take care of myself? I know you were my Aunt's housekeeper and carer, but will you be mine now?"
" That's what I need to talk to you about Elizabeth, that's why Mr Wammy was here..." She replied." I don't know if you will like what I'm about to tell you, but your Aunt arranged for you to be sent to The Wammy House after her death. She had written a will and gave a copy of it to Mr Wammy for safe keeping, he's given me a copy of it too if you would like to read it. It seems that Miss Havisham as sorted everything out for your future, you're a very lucky girl..."
" Can I live with you instead?" I asked. " I promise I will be good for you, I'll do anything you want and I'll wash all the dishes each night before I go to bed! I don't want to go there, not after what happened there last year..."
" It won't be that bad, you've got friends at The Wammy House and I'll just be a phone call away if you need me..." She replied, she walked over to the table and placed a plate of buttered toast down in front of me." You'll be educated there too, I bet you'll be settled in there before you know it..."
" Please can I live with you, I'm to scared to live there..." I sighed.
" I really wish you could Elizabeth, I would love for you to come and live with me..." She smiled and sat down at the table." But we're not related, I'm to old to adopt you and have no means to support the both of us. I'll make sure we stay in touch, I'll even come to visit you seeing as I sometimes help out with the catering in the orphanage's kitchen for special business events. You'll get sick of seeing me in the end, you'll be running from me each time I call your name..."
" I doubt it..." I said with a soft laugh.
" Eat up, we've got a busy day a head of us..." She smiled as she brushed some of my hair behind my ear. " You can help me sort through your Aunt's study if you like, we may find something interesting for you to keep or take with you to The Wammy House. I always remember you as a little girl wanting to go in your Aunt's study to look at all of her books, but she would never let you touch any of them. Now you've got your chance, would you like to choose a few books to keep?"
" Am I allowed to do that?" I asked.
" Of course, most of the books will be sent to charities anyway..." She replied.
" Rose, may I read my Aunt's will please?" I asked.
" Of course, you've got a right to read it..." She replied.
I watched Rose take an envelope from her apron pocket, she placed the envelope down on the table and got up from the chair. She told me she was going to start sorting my Aunt's study out, there was a lot of filing cabinets in the study from what I remember. She also had to clean My Aunt's bedroom too, some people from the hospital were coming by later to pick up the ventilator machine and a few other bits of hospital equipment. I opened the up the envelope, I took the folded up letter from it and began to read it quietly to myself.
" Being of sound mind and body, I Thora Havisham hereby bequeath my vast fortune and all my earthly possessions to My Great Niece, Elizabeth Mirabella Mayhem..." I said as my eyes grew wide and I continued to read the letter. " She will receive my fortune and my cottage on her 18th birthday and not before, until then she shall attend the school of my choice which will be listed below..."
I looked up from the letter and glanced around the kitchen, I can't believe my Aunt Thora as left me her cottage. Even more her vast fortune, it feels like I'm in a weird dream. I looked back down at the letter again, I continued to read the rest of it and carefully put it back in the envelope when I had finished reading it. My Aunt had also left Rose over £30,000 for all the years she had worked for her, at least she will have some means of support until she finds more work. I picked a slice of toast up from the plate in front of me, I took a small bite of it and got up from the chair at the table. I walked over to the back door of the kitchen, I opened the door and stepped out into the garden.
I shivered as I felt the cold of the stone pathway under my bare feet, I walked down the pathway and stopped by wooden bench. I sat down on the bench as I took a deep breath of frosty morning air and exhaled. I looked up at the sky as I took another bite of my toast, I watched a few birds fly over the cottage and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. I hope my Aunt is with my Mum and Grandmother, I know they'll take good care of her until I meet her again one day in heaven.
Today was the day of my Aunt Thora's funeral, she had arranged a very small gathering of her close friends and business partners at a church called St John the Baptist Church in the village. The service wasn't very long, there were a few hymns and prayers said through out the service by the vicar. She was buried in her family plot on the church's grounds with her Mother and Father, I didn't even know that my family had a family plot until then. I had made a little bouquet of flowers from the cottage's garden to lay on my Aunt's grave, I thought it would be a nice idea because she loved her garden very much. Not many flowers were in bloom in the winter months, but I found some lavenders, winter roses and fairy primroses growing near the back of the garden. There was no wake after the funeral, all the guests just left quietly after she was buried.
Watari had driven me and Rose back to the cottage, he was going to come back later to pick me up. I needed to finish packing my belongings, I wasn't really sure what I would be allowed to take with me. I had packed all of my clothes yesterday, now I just need to decide what else I needed to take with me. I was given a cardboard box, it was medium-sized and Rose told me to put my personal belongs in it.
I had put all of my photo albums, my photographs I kept on my wall near my bed and my jewelry box in the cardboard box so far. I decided to take a walk around the cottage to see if there was anything small I could take with me as a keep sake, I found some little dormouse figures and a photograph of My Aunt with my Grandmother when they little girls. I walked back to my bedroom, I wrapped the figures in some newspaper and placed them in the cardboard box with the photo frame. I gathered a few more of my things, I placed them in the box and sellotaped it up. I wrote my initials on the side of it with a black marker-pen, I carried the box downstairs and placed it down near the front door. I took my red coat from the coat peg, I put it on and walked into the kitchen. I stood quietly in the middle of the kitchen, it feels funny knowing that I won't be having breakfast in here anymore or having conversations with Rose well I helped her to prepare lunch. The kitchen always felt like the heart of cottage, I'm going to miss it.
" Have you nearly finished?" I heard Rose say from behind me. " Mr Wammy said he would be here by 6pm, you need to make sure everything you want to take with you is packed and ready to go..."
" I just need to bring my bags down now, then I'll be ready to go..." I replied and turned around to face her. " What will happened to the rest of my Aunt's belongings like the furniture and figurines? Will they be sold or thrown away?"
" Most of your Aunt's belongings will be going to charities, but everything you see in this cottage belongs to you..." She answered with a smile. " The furniture will be put into storage and taken care of until you need it, the cottage with be checked every so many months so it can be maintained for when you decide to live here again. You don't have to worry about a thing, everything is being managed for you until you're 18..."
" What about the garden?" I asked. " Who will tend to it when I'm gone? I don't want it to be left to die, I want it to be taken care of for my Aunt because she loved her garden dearly!"
" Sshh my dear, everything will be fine..." She replied, she walked over to me and took hold of my hands. " You don't have to worry about the cottage, I will come every so often to check on it and make sure everything is in order. But for now, you've got to look ahead and look to your future. That's what your Aunt would have wanted, she would want you to get a good career and maybe have a family someday..."
" I don't want a family, you have to share your stuff with them..." I said.
" Oh my dear, I'm going to miss you!" She laughed.
" I'm going to miss you too, can I come and visit you soon?" I asked.
" Of course, I would love you to come and visit me..." She smiled, she let go of my hands and then pulled me into a hug." I'll be living about 30 minutes away from The Wammy House in a little cottage I brought with the money your Aunt left me in her will, I'm thinking of turning it into a little country tea house. I'm going to be a boss for change, what do you think that?"
" That sounds amazing, it will be the best tea house in town!" I replied and pulled myself away from her. " I should get my bags from my bedroom now, it's nearly 6pm. I won't be a moment, then I can take one last look around the cottage before I leave..."
" Okay my dear, if you need me I'll be in the living room packing the last of the figures..." She smiled. " Go on, you don't want to keep Mr Wammy waiting for you. I know what you're like after all of these years we've lived under the same roof, your moments can turn into minutes..."
I gave Rose a smile and left the kitchen. I hurried up the stairs, I got my bags from my bedroom and took one last look around it. I closed the door behind, I walked across the landing and entered my Aunt's bedroom. The hospital had picked up the machinery earlier, the room was now tidy and most of my Aunt's belongings were in boxes. I looked over at her dressing table, everything she used in her day-to-day life was still laid-out on her dresser. I noticed a few bracelets she use to wear on it, I walked over dresser and picked them up. I put them on my left wrist and looked over my shoulder when I heard a knocking noise coming from downstairs, Watari must be here. I took a bottle of my Aunt's favorite perfume from her dressing table, I hurried out of the room and stopped at the top of the stairs.
I watched Rose open the door, Mr Wammy took his hat of as she greeted him. She invited him inside of the cottage, he walked into the hallway and smiled to me as I walked down the stairs to meet him. He picked my box up from the floor, he told me to come out to his car when I was ready. I watched him walk through the doorway, I turned to face Rose and placed my bags down on the floor. She wrapped her arms around me, I snuggle my face into her shoulder and sighed as I hugged her back.
" Will you be okay here by yourself tonight?" I asked.
" I'll be fine, one of your Aunt's old friends is coming over in a while to keep my company..." She replied and pulled me away from her. " I'll call you in the morning to check up on you, Mr Wammy said he would put a telephone in your room for your personal needs..."
" Do you have the number to that telephone?" I asked.
" Yes, I've got it written in my phone book..." She replied, she cupped my face with her hands and softly kissed my forehead. " You better take care of yourself and remember to wash behind your ears, you'll be growing mushrooms behind them if you don't!"
" Also clean my teeth and make my bed each morning, I know the rules already..." I smiled and held my wrist in front of Rose's face. " I took these bracelets from My Aunt's bedroom, I hope it was okay for me to take them..."
" Of course, I was going to give them to you before you left anyway..." She smiled, she uncupped my face and placed her hand on my arm. " You better get going, it will be your bedtime soon. Do you have everything you need for now?"
" Yes..." I nodded.
" Good, so I guess this is goodbye for now my dear..." She replied.
" I guess so, I'm going to miss you so much!" I said as my bottom lip began to tremble and I hugged her again. " I wish I could stay with you, but I know it's not going to happen. The minute I turn 18, I'm going to hire you to be my housekeeper and we'll look after the cottage together like a family!"
" Be brave little one, we'll be in touch soon..." She gently said and pulled me away from her. " I bet Mr Wammy is getting cold waiting in his car for you, you better hurry so he can get back to his warm office!"
" Okay, I'll see you really soon..." I said quietly.
I kissed Rose on her cheek, I picked my bags up from the floor and hurried out of the cottage. I was greeted by Watari at the gate, he took my bags from me and I got into the back of his car. I looked out of the window of the car, I waved to Rose from as I wiped some tears away from my cheek and gave her smile. I watched her close the cottage's front door, I took one last look at the cottage and placed my hand on the window. I'm going to miss my old home, but I will return to it someday and live out the rest of days there.