The Birth of Bane by Richard Heredia Page B

gardening shears in my hand
like we all do from time to time, right?” She laughed. It was a
joke. Only she walked about the property with shears in her
hand.
    I
shrugged.
    Valerie merely
nodded for her to continue.
    “ I came across
this succulent plant that had been trampled or purposely broken,
and bent down to replant some of the shoots back into the ground.
All of a sudden, I hear this crystalline tinkling, a metallic
twinkling like wind chimes, only deeper as if the chime itself was
very large. It was far away or muffled, because it was just on the
edge of hearing.
    “ So, I stood up,
trying to get a fix on it. I could tell it hadn’t come from the
surrounding area. It didn’t sound like it was carrying on the wind.
I took a few steps and heard it again, knowing I was correct. It
wasn’t coming from the yard or the street. It was coming from
inside the house.
    “ The moment I
think this, I know it’s the truth, because I can feel it inside.”
She was touching her chest, above her breasts.
    I was trying to
understand, but I couldn’t grasp what she was talking about. I’d
never felt that certain about anything
before.
    Her soft eyes
touched both of us. “I ran to the house and stepped into the dining
room. I think the front door was wide open, but I don’t remember
exactly. The chime sounds again. This time, and I think it’s
because I’m indoors now, I can actually tell what direction it’s
coming from.” The light of the afternoon sun shone through her
pupils. “It was upstairs…
    “ I haul my ass through the house and take the stairs two at a
time, stopping in the corridor, craning my head like a dog, hoping
to hear the sound again. But, there’s nothing. So, I start
searching. What I was looking for, I couldn’t tell you, but I had
this overwhelming urge to look . I go through the
spare bedroom and the rumpus room – nothing. I look all over the
Elijah’s room, your room, Jer. I even look through the closets and
the bathrooms. I find nothing. I’m stumped, so I began to walk
towards the library when it comes again. I stop to make sure, but I
know before it’s even stopped. I know it coming from behind the
library door.
    “ I’m thrilled by
now. I go barreling through the door, headlong into the room beyond
and I’m suddenly plunged into darkness. It’s so thick, I can’t see
my hand before my face. I turned around, trying to find the
doorknob, but I can’t feel it. When I step back to where the door
should be, there’s no door there. I’m not sure if I should be
scared or excited or what. The fact that I had a choice was
indication enough this wasn’t a situation to fear. So, I swing back
around, slowly, steady my breathing and wait.
    “ I can’t tell
you how long I waited, because it was a dream and time is always
somewhat distorted, but I don’t think it was all that long. I’m
standing there, hands at my side, when the ringing comes again.
Only this time, it was softer, tentative. You know, it was still
calling, only not as loud, because it didn’t have to. It was as
though it knew I was close and didn’t have to yell.”
    “ You make it
sound like it was alive,” commented my sister,
enthralled.
    My mother
clicked the roof of her mouth. “It was.”
    “ How do you know
that?” I asked, beginning to think this whole matter was heading
south – to the Looney-Land -real quick like.
    “ I have to
finish, smarty-pants,” she chided. Her grin was goofy and splitting
the lower half of her face.
    We remained
silent, though my sister squeezed my mother’s hands. Go on, mom , she’d said without verbalizing it.
    “ I was amazed to
see there was a light shining from underneath the only other door
in the library.”
    “ The one leading
to the storage area that goes under the stairs leading to the
attic?” asked Valerie.
    My Mom nodded.
“I walked toward the door and turned the knob. It opened and I
walked through.” She paused, giving my sister’s hands a shake.