The Hessian, Chapter 16

Crouched behind some dense shrubbery, Kenneth attentively peered through a spyglass, and Bernard nervously waited among the branches. As Bernard readjusted his stance out of discomfort, he pressed Kenneth, “Have you seen him yet?” 

Kenneth retorted, “If I did, don’t you think I would have told you? Why would I go through all of this effort only to let a vital opportunity pass us by?” 

“Sorry!” Bernard apologized as he restlessly fidgeted. “It’s just been a bit boring standing here for so long!” 

“This is war, private! Count boring episodes as blessings!” Kenneth advised him. “What do you imagine Drusilla would recommend for you to do if she were here right now?” 

Bernard happily sighed, “Oh, Drusilla! She’s so clever! Her father wouldn’t approve of a fortuneless suitor, so she wrote me a letter by sending it to her aunt Martha first! Aunt Martha forwarded it to me!” 

Kenneth listlessly responded, “Yes, you’ve already mentioned this twice today!” 

“She’s brilliant!” Bernard cooed. “Aunt Martha always hoped that she would marry for love and not riches, so she’s willing to assist her in this courtship!” 

“Bernard…” Kenneth attempted to interrupt him. 

As if he hadn’t heard Kenneth whatsoever, Bernard prattled on, “You know, Drusilla is very wealthy, but she rarely gets to leave Colfrith…” 

Kenneth tried again, “Bernard…” 

“I can’t wait until the day I can show up at her doorstep and take her to see the world…” Bernard continued to ramble. 

“Bernard!” Kenneth put more urgency into his voice. 

Rather unwillingly, Bernard focused on Kenneth. “What?” 

Kenneth informed him, “He’s here!” 

“He’s… presently, he…?” Bernard stammered. 

“Shh!” Kenneth hushed him and then whispered, “Get ready!” Bernard steeled himself up, and after about a minute, Kenneth commanded, “Go!” 

Bernard jumped out of the bushes and ran up a dirt pathway towards a man in plain clothing. When he caught up with him, he held one hand behind his back and used the other to tap the target of their operation’s shoulder… The postal rider turned around and queried, “Can I help you with something?” 

Breathlessly, Bernard revealed the content that he kept hidden to be an envelope! “You dropped this by my tent!” 

“I did?” the postal rider puzzled. “I don’t remember doing that! I’m usually so careful…” Bernard did his utmost to appear nonchalant, but inwardly, he began to panic! He crossed his fingers that he would buy this account as the postal rider examined the piece of mail… “Well, I’ll be darned! I suppose I did! Thank you, soldier!” the postal rider regarded him graciously, which made Bernard exhale in relief! “I’ll see to it that it goes to its proper owner forthwith!” 

“I’m sure he will appreciate that!” Bernard remarked. The postal rider took off, and Bernard headed in the other direction. 

Kenneth met his footfall, and then he complimented Bernard, “Good job!” 

Bernard twitched considerably at his abruptness, and he snapped, “Don’t do that so suddenly!” He paused and more respectfully added, “…Sir! I’m sorry if I was out of order, I…!” 

Kenneth dismissed his woes, “My rank over you is hardly important at this juncture! If you do that in front of anyone else in our unit though, I will have to reprimand you!” 

“Fair enough!” Bernard agreed. As they edged through rows of tents, Bernard took advantage of their seclusion to probe, “So, now we wait for Father Clarence’s reply?” 

“Yes,” Kenneth confirmed. “He’ll give us the details of where we can have a private discussion, and then we can finally get some answers for the people suffering under the terrifying tyranny of that murderous phantom!” 

Bernard anxiously groaned, “I wish that we could shorten the length of time we must await this meeting! It’s imperative that we do this before being called into battle! What if we leave this camp and… well… never get another chance to do this?” 

Kenneth consoled him, “Try not to dwell on such negative possibilities! It’s best to keep your mind off it all together! Why don’t you tell me about Drusilla’s correspondence some more?” 

“I keep it right here close to my heart!” He pulled it out from his coat, and then he posed to Kenneth, “Do you find this strange?” 

“Not really.” Kenneth reached into his jacket and produced the message that Clarissa had sent to him. 

Bernard smiled gratefully at this, and then he noticed some blemishes in his document. “Oh no! My hasty jump through the brush scratched it! Why did we have to execute that transaction in the manner that we did?” 

Kenneth reminded him, “If we deployed this plan at either of our tents, then the postal rider would have instantly known that he hadn’t dropped any of his cargo.” 

“Your mail didn’t get damaged!” Bernard observed as Kenneth put his letter back. “How come I couldn’t have been the one to stay stationary?” 

“Because I’m lieutenant and have earned the right to choose my role in each undertaking for this mission!” Bernard stated. 

Bernard objected, “I thought you said that rank doesn’t matter at this juncture!” Kenneth laughed, but neither of them had the opportunity to pursue this subject further as they passed by a group of colleagues. 

Clarissa and Gabby stood in a wooded clearing watching the trail in front of them, and after a bout of tense silence, Gabby pondered, “What if she doesn’t show up?” 

“Then we’ll burn that traitorous scoundrel’s lock ourselves!” Clarissa eyeballed the dark strands that she tied to her cross necklace with disgust. When Gabby gazed at her questioningly, Clarissa asserted, “I’m not taking it back to The Leafy Taverne! Do you feel comfortable sleeping in a place where part of Alastor’s remains resides? I kept telling myself that putting it on a crucifix negated its ability to exude its inner malevolence, but I’m not convinced that this protection would hold off indefinitely! I know that Drusilla mentioned doing some sort of cleansing ritual, but I assume that disposing of it without that additional step should still do the trick! We have our flint rocks, we can do it on our own if we have to!” 

“I hope we don’t have to!” Gabby commented. “It’s better to exercise caution and ensure everything is done properly than it is to…” A cold breeze whisked by them, and Gabby changed her tone a little. “Then again, it’s starting to get late… It couldn’t hurt to get everything ready for this rite!” As she began setting some gathered twigs and branches into a pyre, she justified her actions, “She probably won’t have a lot of spare minutes once she’s here, so we need to do all we can to guarantee that she can return to her previous business as quickly as possible!” 

Clarissa joined her in assembling the necessary items, and as they worked, she speculated, “I wonder how Brenner got a hold of the Hessian’s hair in the first place! Did Alastor foresee this eventuality and bequeath it to him prior to his demise or did he obtain it after he… On second thought, I don’t want to learn the origin of this object attached to me at the moment!” 

Gabby chuckled until each lady felt a cold hand on their backs! They momentarily panicked, but then their nerves got assuaged when they heard Drusilla say, “Did you lose faith that I would arrive today?” 

“Simply so you’re aware, you’re very frightening with your frigid palms and that black cloak!” Clarissa turned around and espied that Drusilla donned her customary attire. “Oh, you’re not wearing it!” 

“I didn’t sneak out of my home in this instance, I crept out of church,” Drusilla elucidated. “Father and Elmira were making arrangements for their wedding day, and I told them that I needed to relieve myself. That’s not a fib, I did have to do that! I just didn’t disclose to them that I intended to do more after that! As far as they know, my stomach could be troubling, so it should be quite a while before they suspect that I’m up to anything other than that!” 

Gabby posed to her, “What if they depart early and go looking for you? Your father will make it significantly harder for you to escape his detection!” 

Drusilla shot back, “Harder but not impossible!” Prior to either of the other two broaching the topic further, Drusilla reckoned, “I believe we’re ready to commence! Put the tress on top of the timber!” Clarissa very willingly removed the cilia from her jewelry and dropped it on top of the pile, and then Drusilla instructed, “Ignite the flames.” Gabby drew out a couple of stones, and after a few frictional flicks, a small fire formed and flickered at the foot of the heap. Once the inferno neared Alastor’s coiffure, Drusilla directed the other two, “We all must interlock our fingers.” As the three women connected, Clarissa’s heart thumped wildly in her chest! She allowed her optimism to excite her into believing that removing the last of Alastor’s physical attributes would remove every other form of him from this planet for good! “Close your eyes and take a deep breath!” Gabby and Clarissa heeded Drusilla’s word, and Clarissa considered this phase very relaxing! However, all of her tranquility disappeared the minute her lids opened back up… 

Alastor’s specter hovered above their heads! All three of them gasped, and while they hastily reached for their salt, Alastor guffawed derisively at them, “By all means, please proceed! I don’t’ intend to linger here for too long!” He snickered at them as he barreled towards the innermost part of Colfrith! 

Clarissa, Gabby, and Drusilla all chased his apparitional silhouette until it disappeared over the rooftops! They all dismally halted in their tracks, and Gabby petitioned the other two, “What do we do now?” 

“We search for him, of course!” Clarissa affirmed. 

“He might’ve gone anywhere in the borough!” Drusilla brought up. “How will we be able to pinpoint him to an exact locale?” 

Clarssia assured her, “Don’t worry- we’ll know! Alastor isn’t exactly known for his subtlety!” Gabby and Drusilla nodded in agreement, and they all marched forward through Hollow’s Alley! 

The trio walked down the lane with extreme caution and visually combed through every inch of their surroundings, but so far, nothing problematic came to their awareness! Clarissa would not get dissuaded so easily- she knew without a doubt that Alastor would not emanate an empty threat, so his menace had to be lurking around there somewhere! She grew surprised by the considerable stretch he took in manifesting this mayhem, and she deliberated whether or not he did this to lull them into a false sense of security. Right as she avowed not to let her guard down no matter what… 

“Drusilla!” a woman in the distance exclaimed. Drusilla and her companions all froze from the startlement of this interruption to their conquest. The girl before them postured herself with a group of Drusilla’s peers, and they all ogled her without a hint of effort towards any courtesy to pretend they were doing anything else but judge her mercilessly! The lead of this pack inquired, “You abandoned your parent at the Lord’s house to consort with two witches? What’s become of you?” 

“Leave me be!” Drusilla demanded. “I have important work that must get done!” 

The unfriendly female spitefully spat, “Fine! I’ll leave, but I’m returning with your father so he can see exactly what you’re up to!” 

Drusilla shrugged, “Let him witness my activity! I’ve done nothing wrong!” The elitist bunch snidely glanced at her and then made their way towards the chapel. Drusilla kept her cool until they vanished, which prompted her to dash into the nearest shop. Gabby and Clarissa immediately tailed her. 

Clarissa and Gabby entered inside of a millenary, and after a speedy check down the rows of hats, they found Drusilla hunched over some bonnets. They gingerly approached her, and she relayed to them, “I’ll be alright. I just needed a break!” 

“If you need to return to your father, Gabby and I will understand!” Clarissa articulated to her. 

“No! I need to do this!” Drusilla insisted. “If I vacated my position and a tragic misfortune fell upon you, I’d…” 

Gabby comforted her, “Don’t concern yourself with our welfare! If we have to separate for a while, then we’ll… What is that?” 

She pointed to a nearby mirror, and the reflection showed something moving towards them on the ceiling! The image was a bit hazy, so they swiveled around to behold this sight. What they viewed caused them to practically lose their breath… 

The Hessian, Chapter 15

Gabby advised her, “Don’t trust that person! If they were welcomed in your household, then, surely, they would allow us to see their face! 

Her logic was sound, and Clarissa’s jangled nerves were ready to acquiesce, but her innermost instincts hesitated. She couldn’t understand why her intuition had come to this conclusion since the dark silhouette was very foreboding, but somehow, she trusted that this soul did not pose a threat to her or Gabby! To alleviate her friend’s fears, she instructed, “Get your salt ready! If they show any signs of violence, then-.” 

All of a sudden, something popped out of the bushes by her porch! This abruptness made Gabby and Clarissa jump, and the hooded individual flinched as well! Clarissa peered out of the front window to see if the stranger at her doorstep needed assistance, and she steeled herself for another brazen attack from that sinister specter, but to her surprise, the perpetrator of the disturbance was revealed to be a small, black kitty! Clarissa was glad no one was in danger, but she got a little irritated that she had gotten so worked up over nothing! Gabby, however, did not seem so convinced that they were out of any imminent peril… “Alastor must have sent that creature here!” she vociferated. “I’m fairly certain that those felines are connected to witchcraft…” 

Clarissa watched the clandestine visitor crouch down to pet the furry guest, and the way the two pleasantly interacted prompted Clarissa to conclude, “Anyone who shows kindness to animals can’t be wicked!” 

“Unless the animal is wicked!” Gabby argued. 

“Do you really want to judge a being off of an egregious rumor?” Clarissa prodded Gabby. 

Gabby looked remorseful when she realized what she had done. “You’re right, I shouldn’t do that! It’s very hurtful! Alright, let them in!” She held up her pewter of salt, and when Clarissa gazed at her questioningly, she briefly explained, “Just in case!” Clarissa shook her head and then opened the door… 

The shrouded person faced her as soon as the entrance became ajar, and even though Clarissa couldn’t discern their expression, she got the impression that they were glimpsing at her hopefully. They didn’t say a word, which she found strange, but she assumed that they were waiting until they got some privacy. Clarissa courteously invited them in, “Salutations!” The hidden character cordially nodded to her, and as they brushed past her, Clarissa sincerely hoped that she had not erred in her assessment of them… 

The cloaked caller lingered in the foyer for a beat, and Clarissa wondered if she, too, should have armed herself with some sort of protection. With the serious nature of their appearance, she expected the first sentence that came out of their mouth to be something grave, but to her bewilderment, she heard a familiar voice coo, “I love your pussycat!” 

“Drusilla?” Clarissa quizzically queried. Out of all of her neighbors, she never would have pictured her to have any motive to keep her identity a secret! She was the daughter of the man in charge of the entire town, so Clarissa thought that she would have been permitted to occupy any dwelling in the region! It baffled her as to why she deemed it necessary to conceal herself! 
“Sorry if I scared you,” Drusilla apologized as she took off her hood. “I couldn’t be seen by anyone…” 

Clarissa dearly desired to petition Drusilla as to why she had the urge to disguise her form, but the whole scenario had her so thrown off that all she could think to say was, “I don’t have any pets!” 

Drusilla appeared slightly astonished to learn that, but then she stated, “You do now!” As she took off her cloak, she educated them, “You should put some food out for her! Familiars are very good at warding off evil spirits!” 

“Are they? Well then, perhaps we can solve our ghostly problem by convincing every family in Colfrith to adopt one!” Clarissa joked with a hint of anxiety in her tone. Drusilla cracked a smile at her quip while she sat down at a table. 

“And what exactly do you mean by dropping by The Leaky Taverne in such a spooky manner?” Gabby probed as she took a seat beside her. 

Drusilla ruefully regarded her, “Forgive me for causing a commotion! I would have written you a letter, but Father is monitoring all of my correspondence! Or, at least, who they’re addressed to anyways! If he had gotten a gander of the message I sent to Aunt Martha, he wouldn’t let me speak to anyone unsupervised ever again! Oh, but don’t get an ill impression of him! He means well, he simply goes a bit overboard trying to keep me safe! It’s became like this after mother succumbed to her sickness…” 

Gabby sniffed in disapproval. “If he truly cared about your security, then why would he choose his bride using a completely frivolous reasoning!” 

“He partially proposed to Elmira with me in mind,” Drusilla informed them. “She’s set to inherit Oceanus’ fortune, and between that and what we’ve garnered from C.C. Asher Mill, I’ll gain quite the considerable wealth one day! Not that it matters to me! I’m in love with a boy who likely does not earn a handsome wage…” 

“We can discuss that later,” Clarissa told Gabby, who’s eyes lit up in a curious delight upon hearing that piece of gossip. Clarissa humorlessly spoke to Drusilla, “I doubt that you went through so much effort to conceal yourself for an ordinary conversation…” 

Drusilla sobered up, and she struggled significantly to provide them with her rationale for travelling to that locale like she did. After a minute, Clarissa and Gabby were kind of stunned when she asked them, “How do you guys do it?” 

Clarissa answered with an enquiry of her own, “Do what?” 

“How do you go about your lives with everyone treating you so horribly?” Drusilla woefully posed to them. “I know my actions spared people from harm, and yet I am getting treated as though I played a role in unleashing that threat on them! Wherever I go, I get shunned, and no one talks to me! They talk about me though, and what I can overhear is so deeply hurtful!” 

“Do they label you as a witch?” Clarissa inquired. 

Drusilla replied, “I am a witch! But why does that automatically connotate something negative?” Clarissa and Gabby seemed startled by her proclamation, so Drusilla clarified, “I practice white magic- I help people heal and thrive!” 

Clarissa remarked, “I never realized that those who engage in sorcery would ever classify themselves as benevolent to mankind!” 

“My mother did spell-like rituals, and she didn’t have an ounce of evil within in her!” Gabby commented. She mulled it over and then thoughtfully added, “Although she would never have called what she did magic! There’s a stigma against that sort of practice!” 

“That’s exactly why I’m the subject of castigation at the present!” Drusilla exclaimed. “I did what I had to do to quell the wickedness that possessed Ophelia, but now that I revealed that side of myself, everyone has this malign image fixed on me! And Father is furious with me for damaging our reputation!” 

Clarissa pondered, “But he didn’t get angry over your pursuit of the occult?” 

Drusilla filled them in, “My mother was also a white witch, but she kept her pastime private. Father didn’t want me to follow in her footsteps, but I discovered her books despite his best attempts at hiding them! He couldn’t bear to destroy something she treasured, but he earnestly didn’t want me to inherit this interest! He’s convinced that this ultimately invited the illness that killed her, so the notion of me continuing to do this terrified him more than it angered him! I wish I could convince him, and everyone else for that matter, that it’s nothing to be afraid of!” 

“Listen, you did the right thing today!” Clarissa assured her. “Gabby and I were struggling to prevent the worst from unfolding, and you were instrumental in taking that menace down! A lot of innocent bystanders were spared by the actions you took, so feel proud of the feat you accomplished! As for the defamers, let them talk! They’ll show you gratitude in the end!” 

“At the end of what?” Drusilla wanted to know. “What exactly is occurring in Colfrith?” 

Clarissa got overwhelmed by the concept of where to begin with their saga, but Gabby undauntedly responded, “I’d be flabbergasted if you didn’t already have a hunch on the cause of the recent tumult!” 

Drusilla conjectured, “All of this started after Alastor was executed. Has his essence returned in some fashion?” 

“Yes!” Clarissa confirmed. “He came back as a ghost and inhabits the bodies of random citizens to force their hand to commit evil deeds as an act of revenge for his lawful hanging and for our perpetual fight for freedom, something he considers pure anarchy!” 

“That’s frightening!” Drusilla noted. “But what’s even scarier is knowing someone in our borough aided him in this endeavor! Only a potent jinx could inflict such malevolence upon the world! But as far as I can tell, I’m the only enchantress in this district! And yet that can’t be so! Who else would be capable of committing an atrocity like that?” 

Twisting in dread of the plausibility of her ideation, Clarissa brought up, “We recently discovered belongings of Brenner… It appears to suggest he veiled tools of a rite he participated in…” 

Drusilla requested, “Show me!” 

They went upstairs where they left her late husband’s stash, and as soon as Clarissa and Gabby uncovered the chest’s lid, Drusilla’s eyes widened and her visage lost color! She studied a few of the items inside for verification purposes, and then she esteemed, “Well, Brenner’s death no longer feels so mysterious to me! He was likely consumed by guilt over what he did!” 

“You mean he…?” Clarissa couldn’t bear to finish that thought, but she didn’t need to… Drusilla nodded, and Clarissa nearly fainted! Gabby caught her and gave her a brace, and Clarissa croaked out, “I can’t believe I shared a bed with a man who brought this horror to our planet! How did I not figure him out in time to stop all of this from transpiring?” 

“It’s not your fault!” Gabby comforted her. “None of us knew he had the potential to commit such a crime against humanity!” 

Drusilla put in, “Not all villains are so visible! So many do their sins in seclusion to thwart others from halting their heinous acts! If there weren’t masters of deceit, most of the wretchedness on Earth would cease to exist!” 

Clarissa lamented, “He never showed signs of this when we were younger! He was so fun, always the life of the party! Had I gotten any inkling of this aspect of him, I never would have stayed!” She ruminated on her memories of him, and she couldn’t recall one instance where she suspected him of deviousness! A part of her wanted to reject this hypothesis on that basis alone! “Are you… Are you quite certain that Brenner was the one who…? Who…?” 

“Did he ever court a woman with hair that resembled Alastor’s?” Drusilla held up the dark-maned lock for Clarissa to see. 

“A piece of Alastor is in my house?” Clarissa bellowed. “Get it out! Get it out!” She didn’t know why she gave that direction to the other two women- she was perfectly capable of doing it herself! She lunged for it, but then Drusilla shielded it from her! “What are you doing? I want that out of here! If you won’t let me do it, please toss it out the window immediately! Please!” 

Drusilla illuminated her, “If we do that, then this will be a partial burial ground for that fiend! It needs to get burnt! But not here! We don’t want his ashes inside this residence either!” 

Gabby quizzed her, “Why not? Isn’t there some kind of hex we could do against him with this portion of his physical being?” 

“Not as far as I know,” Drusilla relayed to her. “Father hid my text again, but from what I remember, there’s nothing we can do to harm a phantom!” 

“So, you don’t know how to defeat him?” Clarissa enquired. 

Drusilla asserted, “Not yet! I’m very much convinced that he is capable of defeat though!” That statement seemed to falter as a whispering wind billowed and shook the windowpanes as it flew by… 

The Hessian, Chapter 13

“Do you know what this is?” Gabby asked Clarissa. 

“No,” she answered her, “but I… I’ll be right back!” 

Clarissa dashed downstairs and headed straight to the bar. She knew she left it down there somewhere, and she compelled her memory to jog faster! She had forgotten all about her urgent need to solve another mystery, and now that the resolution seemed close to fruition, she forced her eyes to rediscover this object with more haste! Finally, she spotted it beneath the papers she procured for Cornelius and Elmira’s wedding reception! She snatched it up immediately and climbed back to the upper level. 

As soon as she re-entered the room, Clarissa showed Gabby a small key! “A couple of nights ago, I came across this in my yard! It didn’t resemble any of the ones I already had in my possession, and I couldn’t figure out what door it unlocked until now! Perhaps… We shall see!” Clarissa nervously brought the key towards the little hole in the enigmatic chest. Apart of her hoped that it would fit, but another part of her prayed that she was wrong because whatever substance this container held probably wasn’t anything good- people rarely kept good things out of sight! Regardless of the case, she had to find out the truth, so she stuck the key in… It surprised her that the key fit! She slowly turned it, and her heart beat rapidly as they heard the cogs release the lid’s seal! They each grasped a side, and they lifted the cover…  

“Huh?” Clarissa racked her brains over what they saw! She pulled out several candles with burnt wicks and melted wax, a few black feathers, and a lock of dark-colored hair! “Wow! I truly believed we stumbled into something meaningful to our cause, but it appears as though we simply uprooted a spot where Brenner stored his waste!” She chucked a stick back into the trunk in disappointment. 

“I doubt Brenner would have gone through this much trouble to hide refuse!” Gabby countered as she gazed at the box with discernment. She found blackened soil at the bottom, and she surmised, “This earth looks burnt! The only motive for storing that would be that someone charred something that they shouldn’t have! And the rest of this would be innocuous on their own, but putting them together must hold significance to someone or else he would have disposed of them in another manner!” 

Clarissa queried, “So, what are you saying? Brenner put these objects together to make some kind of statement?” 

Gabby responded, “Maybe. But I’ve seen my mother use some of these items in her rituals…” 

“Wait, so you reckon that Brenner performed some sort of magic?” Clarissa pondered. 

“Or at least he tried,” Gabby confirmed. “I suppose he could have been mentally ill and collected random rubbish.” 

Clarissa mulled the matter over a moment, and then she reflected out loud, “Brenner’s mind went soft the more he drank, but I don’t recall any instance where he ever really behaved bereft of himself! Most of the time, he was in the tavern socializing with our guests. He did occasionally leave to imbibe with his acquaintances, but I never questioned his activities because he always came home completely muckibus! I suppose he could have engaged in devious actions prior to his inebriation, but… That’s an unimaginable thought! Brenner had his many faults, but he wouldn’t have participated in any occupations of the occult! He would have had no reason to attempt anything like that unless he figured out a supernatural means of garnering more alcohol!” 

Gabby relayed to her, “Brenner always struck me as an overt individual, but when you told me he had business books while showing a lack of interest in actually doing business, I grew suspicious of his literature. I was about to investigate them when I fell into this hole!” 

“A hole containing materials for some kind of spell…” Clarissa jumped over to the bookshelf and seized a title regarding finances. She unfolded the pages and crossed her fingers that she would behold boring information on economic practices. Instead, she found print on a more astonishing topic… “This is Loyalist paraphernalia! But that can’t be right! Brenner was always a devout Patriot! Perhaps a previous guest placed this in there by mistake!” 

“This book also talks about Loyalist ideals,” Gabby reported as she perused through a publication. 

Clarissa poured through each novel on the shelf, and she discovered that none of them contained the subject that they were supposed to! She raced through the pages faster and faster with the aspiration of unearthing something that proved the other texts wrong or pointed to a culprit other than Brenner, and when she recovered none, she grew a little faint and dizzy! Gabby aimed to assist her, but Clarissa made it to the bed on her own. After taking a minute to absorb these new sets of facts, she uttered, “I was married to a traitor! I feel like vomiting!” She could hardly fathom receiving this kind of revelation on a person she knew for over a decade! She wasn’t quite sure what to do with this news, and a sensation of being lost overwhelmed her until she noticed Gabby studying some of the tomes. “Megatie me! You can read?” 

Gabby grinned. “Drusilla used to frequently accompany her father during his meetings under the guise of wanting to spend time with Elmira, and since Elmira isn’t that much older than her, neither of their fathers assumed anything of it. In reality, Elmira would pay more attention to her paintings than her visitors, so she didn’t really care what Drusilla did during the process. Drusilla and I developed a friendship, and since she has a passion for stories, she insisted on teaching me so that I could share her pursuit!” 

“Drusilla gave me the mixture that remedied Phineas from his paranormal affliction!” Clarissa remembered. “Does she ever review literature pertaining to potion making?” Gabby shrugged. “Hmm… She either concocted it herself or she purchased it from an expert in that field- either scenario would signify that she has at least some knowledge on this lore! We need to consult her in order to make sense of this all!” 

“That could prove difficult,” Gabby stated. “After her life was threatened yesterday, Cornelius will probably keep a close eye on her. But I agree with you- we have to find an avenue of speaking with her alone!” 

Bernard walked down a row of white tents cordially nodding at his fellow soldiers as he passed by. He attempted to convey as much aloofness as possible, but inwardly, his senses were bogged down with the heaviness of the catastrophes that surrounded him! As if the war wasn’t bad enough, he couldn’t stop thinking about the mission he embarked on that no one else knew about! It felt strange to keep a secret from the men that he trusted with his life, but if it got out, valued protection of a certain region would vanish, so he refused to articulate a word to anyone on this operation! As he headed into the tent of his destination, he took a deep breath and knocked on wood for the best possible outcome! 

As soon as Bernard entered into his quarters, he saw Kenneth holding a letter with an expression full of distress! He panicked and cried out, “What is it, sir? Is it Drusilla? Or Clarissa? Did something happen? Are they okay? Did they-?” 

“Woah, woah, woah!” Kenneth interrupted his ravings. “This letter isn’t from Colfrith! And everything is fine! Well, sort of… It’s just… My mother wrote and said…” 

“Is everything fine at home?” Bernard inquired with concern. 

Kenneth’s lips pursed, and then he exhaled in an exasperated fashion prior to revealing, “My oldest daughter is a woman now!” 

Bernard gasped, “You mean she was intimate with man?” 

“No! But if she ever resorted to that, she’s obtained the ability to make me into a grandfather!” Kenneth shuddered at that concept. 

“Oh, I see! Well, I comprehend one aspect of it anyways. I fail to grasp how that’s a strenuous event…” Bernard scratched his scalp as he mused over Kenneth’s reaction. 

Kenneth fretfully exclaimed, “I’m not ready for her to grow up!” Bernard stared at him blankly, so he added, “You’ll understand one day when you’re a father!” 

Bernard wasn’t sure how to reply to the image that he raised, so instead, he used that last phrase as a stepping stone for the issue he had been wanting to raise all along during this encounter, “Speaking of fathers… Father Clarence is busy tonight. A few soldiers succumbed to their wounds, so…” 

“We’ll chat with him before he turns in for the night,” Kenneth concluded. Bernard looked baffled by that statement, so he expounded, “Listen, I’d love to go one day in this war where we don’t lose a single member of our force, but if we wait for that day to transpire, we’ll never get our chance to converse with him! I know it isn’t proper, but nothing about this dilemma is conventional! It may be a slightly out of the ordinary, but I’d do anything to save Clarissa! Would you do the same for Drusilla?” 

“Of course!” Bernard adamantly affirmed. “Yes, I’m with you, sir!” 

Gabby probed, “You want me to go in alone? Why?” 

Clarissa reasoned, “It’d be pretty odd to view a woman entering into a public building with two buckets on her shoulders!” 

“Since when did you get so easily embarrassed?” Gabby posed to Clarissa. 

“I’m not embarrassed! I’m simply fed up with being the source of gossip for the borough!” Clarissa hung her head low in shame of admitting that they had gotten to her. 

Gabby assured her, “I won’t be long!” 

Clarissa gave her a grateful smile as she went inside. While she waited in front of The General Post, she discerned that more and more passersby ogled her. She silently grumbled over her inability to avoid this fate, and right when she was debating whether she would fare better in there or outside, a voice whispered into her ear, “You’re not safe anywhere!” He startled her by his abrupt appearance, but she rejected the inclination to cower down to his sinister advances! She spun around to confront him, but he was nowhere in sight! She scanned the entire vicinity, but she saw no sign of his presence! More villagers gawked at her following that behavior, but she no longer got affected by them at this juncture! 

“So, what did you put in your letter to Kenneth?” Gabby jovially petitioned Clarissa as she re-emerged. When she saw that her act had caused Clarissa to jump in fright, she quickly cast off her gossipy mood! “What’s wrong?” 

“He’s here somewhere!” Clarissa reported. “I heard him…” 

Gabby gazed around the town square, but she couldn’t distinguish any portents of peril, so she quietly addressed Clarissa, “Let’s go to the well. He’s bound to reveal himself eventually through the course of our tasks!” Clarissa nodded, and they exited that sector. 

Until they arrived to a secluded section of the hamlet’s outskirts, they remained on high alert for the onset of Alastor’s siege, but everything was eerily normal! When they queued up behind a long line of women with pails, they visually combed over the vicinity with as much thoroughness as they could muster! Clarissa was certain he was going to strike – he wouldn’t have goaded her if he hadn’t intended to do something malign! As she examined the ladies before her, she nearly missed an important clue to a different bind… “Drusilla is here!” she let Gabby know. 

“Should we talk to her?” Gabby wondered. 

“Only if we wish to discuss things that are acceptable to fall on our neighbors’ ears!” Clarissa frowned. Getting spooked by that hellish Hessian temporarily pushed Brenner’s box of trinkets out of her thoughts, but since it renewed itself, she ached to consult Drusilla! She was so young, but if she had the ability to produce an effective elixir, she calculated that she likely had a plethora of helpful tidbits on the predicament! She wanted to maintain the belief that her late husband had an innocent motive for stashing those ingredients to perform a rite, but she could not fathom how that would be possible… 

An older girl towards the front suddenly yelled out in anguish, and her sister worriedly checked in with her, “Ophelia, are you hurt?” 

Ophelia breathily conveyed to her, “It’s choking me!” 

“What is?” her sister inquired. 

“This!” Ophelia replied in a tone far deeper than her own as she tossed her cross necklace to the ground… 

The Hessian, Chapter 9

Her first instinct was to jerk her hand back and pray that she hadn’t been too late to avoid whatever curse Alastor had in store for her, but after this recoil, Clarissa didn’t observe any sign of danger! She had to take a deep breath in order to invite her more rational self back into her thoughts; she was so sure that a paranormal ambush had befallen her that her adrenaline spiked and coursed throughout her body, and she found it difficult to convince her nerves to cease their jangling! Once it finally sunk in that she had not encountered a perilous obstacle, her curiosity rose up about what she actually stumbled onto. She came in contact with the dirt underneath a shrub, so she sifted through the earth until she discovered it…

            It was a key! Not one that she recognized from her own ring either! Initially, she theorized that Kenneth had inadvertently dropped it during his visit or that perhaps it slipped out of Bailey’s saddle during his agitation over his owner’s plight, but it was buried enough that it suggested to her that it had been there for several weeks, which would have been odd since she didn’t have any guests following her husband’s death… It then occurred to her that maybe this had belonged to Brenner! But she gained possession of all the keys used for the inn ages ago, so if its purpose hadn’t been business-related, she wondered what the dickens it could have gotten used for…!

            She picked herself up, but she hadn’t lost interest in the object she had acquisitioned! She hadn’t heard of any keys crafted for decorative purposes, so it had to have unlocked something! And yet, if it had belonged to the man she married, she couldn’t decipher a rationale for him locking up anything that she wasn’t privy to! She didn’t want to believe that he may have been hiding a commodity he desired to keep secret from her unless he had been planning a surprise of some sort! Brenner wasn’t good at ensuring that information stayed clandestine, his over-consumption of liquor didn’t allow his cognition to maintain any subtly and his memory had become abysmal! She was thoroughly puzzled by this thing’s origin now- it had to belong somewhere, it didn’t appear out of nowhere! Then again, with all of the mystical events taking place in Colfrith, she considered perhaps it did…

            Clarissa rushed into the tavern with the adamant determination of solving this mystery! If it was manufactured by that malevolent spirit, then she conjectured that this discovery could possibly lead to Alastor’s downfall! She also toyed with the idea that this key got gifted to her by a more friendly entity who desired to aid her with this harrowing cause, but she wasn’t sure if luck like that could ever grace her favor! Still, regardless of the basis for this token arriving into her ownership, it grew absolutely vital for her to work out what this facet opened up! She checked every nook and cranny in her establishment, but it didn’t seem to fit in anywhere! After sunset, she decided to investigate the upstairs. She hadn’t gotten to comb through much when suddenly…

            A knock sounded at her door! She froze as her heart began to race- she couldn’t help but feel that she was getting close to the answers when fate decided to intervene! The knocking intensified into something more urgent, and she speculated on whether or not Alastor saw her approaching the truth and sought to intermeddle! She descended the staircase and steeled herself up for a fight! Picturing a person under the ghost’s dark magic waiting for her on the other side of her front door, she swung it open and…

            “Gabrielle!” Clarissa gasped. “You scared me! Why did you-?”

            “Something’s happening at the smithery!” Gabrielle reported to her in a compelling tone. “Mister Bartlett was there buying some shoes for his oxen, and then, out of nowhere, he starts throwing anvils at people!”

            Clarissa’s brows furrowed at this revelation. “Throwing anvils? But those are at least a hundred pounds! How could he… Oh!” Comprehension finally dawned on her face- there was only a single avenue for a man to gain the strength to perform that kind of feat! “Oh dear! We must get to the church immediately and… No! The blacksmith is located on the route there! How can we get holy water if-?”

            Gabrielle interrupted her, “Do you have any salt?”

            “Salt?” Clarissa responded quizzically. “Well, sure! But how will that-?”

            “Bring it!” Gabrielle directed her. Clarissa hesitated out of confusion over her instruction, but prior to her having the chance to question it, Gabrielle insisted, “Hurry! People have died!” Clarissa’s eyes widened at the prospect of multiple getting killed, and she hastily went behind the bar to retrieve her pewter of salt. She couldn’t fathom how a spice from the kitchen could be of any value in this scenario, but Gabrielle spoke with such authority that she didn’t dare protest! She left the key on the counter resolving to get to the bottom of that enigma later, and then she followed Gabrielle out of the building!

            A small crowd was gathered outside of the smithery watching activity that made them quake in sheer horror, but all Clarissa could hear was a cacophony of clashing! At the point the masses thinned out, Gabrielle abruptly seized the salt pewter. “Give me that!” she asserted. Clarissa could not understand her motives for an action like that, a sentiment that only intensified as she poured some of the powder by their feet! She almost queried Gabrielle as to why she had done that, but then a sword flipped through the air and threatened to land in their position! It stunned Clarissa when the projectile unexpectedly veered in another direction! She pondered if the salt had generated that effect, but after Gabrielle shoved in back to her and commanded, “Go!”, she went under the assumption that it had and made a beeline for the blacksmith!

            Clarissa’s stomach tied itself into a knot when she gazed into the ironsmith’s workplace! The owner of that enterprise was lying on the floor with an anvil on his head and blood trickling out of his skull! Just outside of the perimeter of the property, a couple of individuals appeared to be pinned down by more anvils while others looked significantly injured from various tools that were hurled into the street! Some did not lose their locomotion, but the status of certain unmoving bodies was not so clear! She was appalled as she witnessed firsthand the local butcher tossing a sledgehammer at a small woman in the vicinity! His lofty height and heavy density had never given her any warrant for anxiety prior to this juncture, but with the peril he was posing, he gave quite the foreboding impression! When he picked up an axe and aimed it for a child, she impulsively yelled, “Hey!”

            Mister Bartlett turned to her instead, and Clarissa realized that her act of concern set herself up as his next target! She managed to pour out some salt early enough to avoid his weapon’s impact, but he quickly shifted his attention to new prey! Clarissa hurried towards him, but he caught on to her ploy and tried to strike her once more! After he missed her again, he let out a monstrous roar before racing to the fireplace! He reached into the flames with his bare hands and started slinging pieces of coal at people! Clarissa poured out a trail of salt and ran alongside of it for the sake of getting closer to him, but the more she inched towards him, the more brazen his onslaught became! She soon grew adjacent enough to deal him a serious blow, but unfortunately, he leapt out of range! He cowered in the corner of the shop, but he was snarling and growling at her like a beast! Clarissa recognized that she would never garner the ability to combat him if she stayed behind her powdered protection, so she stepped over it! Mister Bartlett barreled towards her, and she mimicked his move with her defense ready to spring out! They came within feet of each other, and…

            A loud thud blared out, and Mister Bartlett fell to the ground! Clarissa spotted his wife outside of an open window of the facility with another oxen shoe in her hand, and because Mister Bartlett had not gotten knocked out, he commenced in crawling to her like a spider! He propelled himself with swiftness, but Clarissa was a little faster! Not only did she put a briny boundary below the window, but she dashed with enough acceleration to encircle the besieged man! He blasted out terrible screeching noises as his frame convulsed with nightmarish jerking! Without warning, he emitted one last hideous howl and went into an inanimate state!

            “You slayed him!” Missus Bartlett bellowed.

            “You don’t know that!” Clarissa refuted. “He may still have a pulse…”

            When Clarissa stooped down to check on his status, Missus Bartlett blocked her from accessing him! “Keep your wicked touch off of my husband! This is all your fault! You see what your reckless spells have done? You get to be the troublemaker and the hero like this, don’t you? You’re not fooling us! Stay out of our lives forever!”

            Clarissa backed away, but additional irate participants surrounded her! They all shouted such voluminous vehement at her that she had become totally overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do! All of a sudden, she espied Gabrielle’s palm pop out from beneath a couple of bystanders’ arms, and when Clarissa clasped it, Gabrielle pulled her out of the throng! The villagers had more cross words to dole out to her, but the two women ignored them as they ran into the darkness!

            Escaping from the horde’s animosity did not allay their unrest! As Gabrielle and Clarissa fled, a gusty draft flew by and taunted them, “What have you gained from your resistance? You think you’re defending against a damned destiny, but your efforts have done nothing to diminish my prowess! You shall never find relief, and your land shall never know peace! I will get you snakes for your lawlessness! No one can throttle my barrage!” Clarissa and Gabrielle reached the porch of the inn, so they no longer withstood the chilling force, but prior to their entrance into this safeguard, Alastor belted out a final dig at them, “No one!”

            The two ladies slammed the door behind them and took a minute to catch their breath. After witnessing that level of atrocity, Clarissa had no clue what to tell herself, so it baffled her on how to break the ice with someone she was barely acquainted with! She felt compelled to converse with her guest though, especially after going through an ordeal like that, but the images from this evening kept flashing across her senses! At least one neighbor met his demise while many others received severe afflictions, and an ally in her profession whom she had known for years almost slaughtered her! Granted he had no authority of his acumen, the visualization of murder in his eyes would never cease to halt burning in her memory! And, once again, her intervention had prevented the serious circumstances from worsening, but everybody blamed her for the catastrophe nonetheless! So many emotions swirled within her that she found it too difficult to pick a sole subject to discuss until…

            “I suppose I need to find another butcher!” Clarissa half kidded. She astonished herself by jesting in this instance, but when she beheld the table where Kenneth gave her advice on coping with perpetual tragedy, she mulled over what message the deceased might convey to her, and the joke emerged from her without any further consideration! She lamented their loss, but she was also resolute in obtaining closure on this matter so none of their loved ones would endure the same suffering that they had!

            “That’s okay, you’ll have to wait to purchase meat anyways since you don’t have anymore salt to preserve them!” Gabrielle somewhat anxiously chuckled.

            Clarissa inquired, “How did you know the salt would work against evil spirits?”

            Gabrielle explained, “Wherever we lodged, my mother would sprinkle some underneath the entrances to ward off any harmful energies that tried to get inside. Honestly, I was skeptical about the principles of Hoodoo until tonight! Something deep in my intuition told me it was the right thing to do, so I followed my inner wisdom! It makes me wish I paid more attention to Mama when she taught me more of their remedies!”

            “Did you happen to catch any of their remedies on how to rid an area of a vengeful ghost?” Clarissa probed. She inwardly crossed her fingers that Gabrielle inherited some guidance that could settle this dilemma once and for all!

            “I’m afraid not!” Gabrielle dismally articulated. “My family got auctioned off when I was seven, and after they separated us, I never got an opportunity to communicate with them again! I always prayed that someday I could track them all down and we could reunite once more! Maybe I can do that now that I’m a free person! But, how free am I really with the Hessian plaguing this village?” The two women turned around and gazed at the billowing breeze humming as it flew by…

The Terra-Belle Ghost, Chapter 31

“Yes, it’s me!” Her light-blue eyes glared at me with so much venom that if looks could kill, she would have poisoned me immediately! She flipped her blonde hair in a very nonchalant manner and rested her hand on one of her curvy hips in an attempt to convey indifference, but she clearly harbored too much bitterness over our history to pull that off! “What are you doing here, Connor?”

            “What am I doing here?” I echoed back to her. My mind was still in such a shock that I couldn’t even drum up something sarcastic to throw in her face! The possibility of running into her again never crossed my thoughts- I really believed that this chapter of my life had been closed, so my brain had to reprogram itself right then! It was like seeing a ghost! Uh, that is to say the sentiments that currently overtook my senses felt like how a normal person would feel upon seeing a specter- it was not what I went through each instance that Damon popped into the vicinity! “Last I heard, you were with that Lucas guy in Canada! Why are you here? Did he kick you out?”
            With a full force of fury aimed in my direction, she revealed, “No! Canada did! And it’s all your fault!”

            Her claim caught me slightly off-guard from its outrageous nature, but I quickly collected myself and queried, “How is that my fault? Oh, ‘cause I refused to take you back?”

            “Yes!” she roared. “When I drove back home, Lucas confronted me on why I had been gone so long, and when he figured out that I was with other guys, he-.”

            “Guys? As in multiple men?” I questioned her.

            She grew somewhat flustered at what she let slip out, and then she felt compelled to admit, “Well, when you rejected me, I got too upset to go home, so I went to this really classy bar to drink, and… Is it a crime to get wined and dined by a lonely billionaire?” I rolled my eyes, and she let out an angry exhale before continuing with her saga, “Anyways, Lucas tried to tell me who I could and couldn’t be friends with, so I stormed out. My new friend, and yes, we were just friends, let me stay with him for a while, but since I refused to return to Lucas, he reported me to immigration! I never filled out a visitor’s visa, so they deported me!”

            I started snickering at her misfortune, so she stared at me reproachfully. My first instinct was to apologize, “Sorry! I…” I contemplated this notion for a flash, and then I reversed courses, “No, that’s not true! After all you put me through, I deserve to laugh at how karma made you suffer the consequences of your actions!”

            “What I put you through?” she bellowed. “You’re responsible for all of this!  If you hadn’t neglected me at your old job-!”

            “The job you begged me to go back to ‘cause you wouldn’t accept me in my teaching position” I shot back.

            Aleck hesitantly jumped into the conversation, “So, this would be the ex-wife, Lilith?”

            Lilith confirmed that for him, “Uh-huh, that’s right! I see he’s been talking about me! Anything good?”

            “Uh…” Aleck trailed off. I imagined that if we had been in any other circumstance, he would have given her an honest response, but since we needed something important from the other occupant of this household, he tried not to hurt her feelings. Too late- his reluctance to speak on the subject gave her the reality of the situation, which prompted her to pout.

            “Listen, we didn’t drive all day to hear you gripe about your romantic drama!” Fletcher curtly addressed her. “We’ve come to see… Ferny something-or-other…”

            I picked up where he left off, “We need to speak to Ferneus G. Adramnelech. Does he still live here?”

            Lilith fibbed, “No, he doesn’t!”

            “Did someone say my name?” an elderly fellow’s voice rang out from another room.

            “No! Now sign those papers I gave you!” Lilith barked at him. When she caught on to the astonished expressions we all bore, she sheepishly relayed to us, “He’s my boss. I work for his realty company. He… needs a lot of assistance…”

            Her behavior struck me as suspicious, so I inquired, “You’re an admin now? Isn’t that kind of a pay cut for you?”

            The old gentleman piped up again, “Do we have visitors? I want to see them!”

            “They don’t wanna talk to you! Stay in the living room, lambkin!” Lilith ordered. Prior to anyone interrogating her on this outrageous display, she justified herself, “Okay, he’s here, but he isn’t really. He’s a hundred and seven years old and a smidgen senile, he needs a firm hand to keep him in line… You know, for his own safety…”

            “Well, lucid or not, we have an urgent matter to discuss with him,” I informed her. “Please act like a civilized human being and-.”

            Lilith refused, “Absolutely not! You have no business with our firm! He’s a helpless centenarian, what could you possibly need from him? How dare you try and take advantage of an innocent soul like that!”

            At that moment, the most ancient-appearing person I had ever seen shuffled over to the foyer. His purple, velvet robe didn’t have a blemish on it, and the few gray hairs that remained on his head seemed perfectly groomed. If I hadn’t known Lilith so well, I would’ve commended her for the level of caretaking she relinquished to him! However, I recollected that she didn’t have an ounce of domestic skills in her and would flinch at the slightest hint of dirt, so either he had other individuals tending to him or he handled his well-being by himself. Simultaneous to me wondering if we would legally need a nurse or something with us for this discourse, Ferneus stated, “I don’t understand those forms you gave me! Who are you giving me power of attorney over?”

            We all gawked at Lilith for her sheer audacity, and she hung her head low to hide her blushing cheeks. Ferneus took notice of the three men in his doorway, and he merrily greeted us, “Oh, we do have some callers! Welcome to our home! Won’t you please come in and have a seat?” Lilith looked horrified at the prospect, but she couldn’t stop what Ferneus had set in motion, so we brushed past her as we followed him inside.

            His living room looked like something staged for a museum exhibit! The couch and chairs seemed like furniture pieces that my grandparents would have said was too antique for their tastes! The only thing that didn’t convince me that they weren’t squatting in a vacant property was how dust and cobweb free the walls and fixtures were! I might have been persuaded that we had stepped backwards in time if it wasn’t for the mountain of paperwork with recent dates on them as well as Lilith’s cellphone charging in one of the outlets! Ferneus invited us, “Sit down, my hep guests!” the amenities appeared rather delicate, so we all hesitated, especially Fletcher, but in order to proceed, we knew we had to comply. Once we had carefully situated ourselves, we got surprised by the strength of our perches! Ferneus sat on the sofa across from us and posed, “How can I be of service to you chaps? Would you be the local draymen?”

            “Um, I’m not really sure what that is,” I responded honestly. During the lengthy car ride to this joint, I planned out a whole line of questions for this dude, but with Lilith in the perimeter, it all went out the window! Not that it would have mattered if her opinion of me got lowered, but I certainly didn’t want to endure any of her smugness from any sort of presentation of unsoundness on my part! Plus, if she had valuable insight on our recent endeavor, she could get put in danger by Damon and his allies, and even though I had an intense dislike of her nowadays, I couldn’t put her in peril! It wouldn’t have been right, but also, it would have been tortuous to rescue that tramp and have her owe a life debt to me… in addition to the financial ones that were significantly overdue! Despite my misgivings on the concept, I couldn’t allow my discomfort to affect our odds of success in this mission- countless lives were at stake! So, I gritted my teeth and accepted that she would have to be privy to our venture, at least some of it! “Actually, we were hoping to talk to you about one of your properties…”

            “Oh, splendid! Are you fixing to buy? You fellas seem like quite the darb! I’ll sell you whatever you like!” He began pilfering through the various forms on the coffee table.

            His avid willingness to unload one of his properties to us startled everyone! I don’t think any of us in the Ghost League ever anticipated this as a potentiality! Owning that abandoned abode could have been advantageous to us; once we destroyed the key to that Netherworld portal, we could have the structure destroyed and ensure that no other soul tried to open it ever again! I had no clue if anyone in our trio would have the money or credit score for that sort of purchase, but how much could that burnt down hovel have been worth? I briefed him, “We’re talking about a house on Dusk Lily Lane…”

            Ferneus’s mood swiftly soured, and he stopped rifling through his documents upon hearing that. “Anything but that one! It’s too… important to give away!”

            “Dusk Lily Lane?” Lilith puzzled. “Wait, that’s where you live!” She indicated to me, and then she addressed Ferneus, “Uh, lambkin, do you own that lot with the wrecked estate on it?”

            “It’s not completely mutilated, turtledove!” Ferneus disagreed with her. “It still has crucial elements remaining inside…”

            Fletcher, Aleck, and I all knew exactly what he was referring to, but Lilith got completely taken aback by his remark! She unwillingly sided with me, “I don’t blame you for wanting that eyesore gone! It’s totally bringing down your property value! I’ll try and convince him to-.”

            Ferneus insisted, “Turtledove, I can’t sell that one! Not to them! Not ever! It’s… special…”

            “It’s a dump!” she argued. “Don’t tell me you have sentimental ties to that disaster zone!”

            “Can you tell us about who used to live there?” Fletcher asked him before Lilith could prolong their bickering.

            Ferneus jogged his memory, “Hmm… First there was the sexton, then the milliners, then the steward…”

            Aleck groaned, “Ugh, I wish Ellie were here to translate this!”

            “Then the Widow Karro…” Ferneus rambled on entirely unaware that the surname he had just mentioned piqued our interest…

            “The Widow Karro? Was she related to anyone named Damon?” I inquired. I recalled that he had a sister, but we never found any marriage certificates in his records… unless he was lying to everyone about the status of one of his mistresses…

            Ferneus mulled that over for a minute. “Possibly. I knew she had a husband who died from diarrhea…”

            Lilith challenged that assertion, “Diarrhea? He died from diarrhea?”

            “It does happen,” I verified. “If you have too much of it, it can kill you! Dad’s had to operate on patients whose only symptoms were frequent diarrhea.” She obviously didn’t believe me and fold her arms as Ferneus resumed his account.

            “She relied on her brother for companionship,” Ferneus chronicled for us. “Then, one day, he disappeared, and no one ever knew what happened to the lad. Some say she went a little crazy after that! Apparently, she was even boasting that she had reached out to the beyond to locate him…”

            We all gazed at him in awe! My jaw hung wide as it sunk in that, during that very juncture, we had learned the origin of that portal! I had no inkling that it had any sort of connection beyond it serving as a source for his revenge against Martha! This realization was so bewildering that it took several seconds for us to absorb it! Once I did, I started to consider how to gingerly broach the topic of destroying that key, but then Lilith, who had grown quite miffed at how grossly we drank in his words, hollered, “Why are you engaging him with this crap? He’s clearly lost his marbles, you’re all making it worse!”

            Ferneus disputed, “What are you yammering about? I’m as on-the-level as I’ve ever been!” I pulled the spoon out of my pocket, and his eyes became as large as dinner plates! “You found the key?”

            “Oh my god! He’s totally bonkers!” Lilith exclaimed.

            “No, it genuinely does open a door!” I refuted her. I then faced Ferneus and probed, “To guarantee no one else can open that door, how do we permanently erase it from this earth?”

            Ferneus uttered, “If it could get eradicated from this earth, don’t you think I would have done it already?”

            He raised a possibility that I hadn’t envisaged until right then! “So, what you’re saying is we would have to go down to-?”

            Ferneus nodded as an ornate landline rang. Lilith picked up the receiver and politely regarded the individual on the other line, “FGA Realty!” After they gave her a reply, she reported to Ferneus, “It’s your accountant.”

            I got up and quickly commented to Ferneus, “We’ll see ourselves out. Thank you very much for your time, sir!” As Aleck and Fletcher tailed me to the exit, Lilith watched us leave with a rising wariness of our conduct.

            During our return to the truck, Fletcher pondered, “What should we do about the…?”

            “Don’t worry! While we were still inside, I already messaged a social worker about Lilith’s hideous scheme!” Aleck assured us.

            “Uh, I’m pretty sure he meant the new dilemma with the key,” I corrected him.

            His face fell at that acknowledgement. “Oh, right! Gosh! What do we do now?”

The Clearfront Balcony Club, Scene 10

Scene 10: A paper chain is wrapped around Brisa and Owen’s balcony. Owen stands outside in his dress uniform, and he looks excited but nervous. Rob stands outside in a polo and nice slacks. Jessica and Drew are also dressed nice and are ready to take pictures on their phones. Nedra and Theo stand on their balconies ready to watch. Juniper has a laptop propped up on her balcony. Mendel comes out and starts flying his drone, centering it around Brisa and Owen’s apartment.

 

MENDEL: And we are rolling!

 

JESSICA: Cue music!

 

Juniper hits play on her laptop, and a wedding march plays. Brisa slowly walks onto her balcony in her wedding gown. Brisa and Owen then face Rob, who begins speaking when the music stops playing.

 

ROB: Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today to join this man and this woman in marriage! The couple will now recite their vows to each other.

 

BRISA: Owen, my life wouldn’t be complete without you in it! You’re my rock, my soulmate, my everything! When the world seems dark and scary, you make it all seem lighter. When life gets crazy, you make me feel sane again. When I feel sad, you make me feel better with just your presence! I don’t know what I’d do without you! As your wife, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you made me! I love you so much!

 

OWEN: When I first saw you, I thought you were too pretty to want anything to do with me! I had no idea your heart was just as beautiful as your looks! You got me through a really tough time, and although we didn’t meet under ideal circumstances, I’m so grateful that it helped me find you! We face another difficult situation, but there’s no one I’d rather go through this with! You’ve made me into a better person, and I can never thank you enough for that! I still can’t believe you’ve chosen me, and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of our life holds for us!

 

ROB: You may now exchange the rings.

 

BRISA: Uh… They’re late in delivery.

 

OWEN: Here’s what they would’ve looked like.

 

Owen pulls out his cellphone and quickly pulls up an image of their order. He then sets it aside to continue the ceremony.

 

ROB: Well then, it’s my great privilege to now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!

 

Owen and Brisa kiss, and everyone cheers. Mendel lands his drone, and Nedra pulls out a set of frosted cupcakes that are individually wrapped.

 

NEDRA: Okay, Juniper, I used your rice flour to make you and Mendel vanilla cupcakes. Everyone else is getting chocolate.

 

DREW: Sounds good to me!

 

Nedra pases out the cupcakes, and once everyone gets them, they wait to unwrap them until Brisa and Owen open theirs. They feed each other a bite, and then everyone else starts eating theirs. Carla comes out with a swaddled baby.

 

JUNIPER: Oh, hello dear!

 

JESSICA: Hey, Carla!

 

BRISA & OWEN: Hi!

 

NEDRA: What are you doing out of the hospital so soon?

 

CARLA: They were out of rooms, so I just promised I’d take it easy.

 

MENDEL: Who’s the newest member of Clearfront?

 

CARLA: Well, originally I was gonna name her after her daddy, but I decided I didn’t want her to be anything like him! So, her first and middle name went from Blake Finley to Jessica Drew!

 

Jessica and Drew both look surprised and touched.

 

JESSICA: Wow, I’m honored! I don’t know what to say!

 

DREW: I can’t believe it! I… Who wants a drink?

 

Everyone expresses interest in that. Drew passes out champagne glasses to everyone.

 

DREW: Okay, everyone except for Carla and Mendel, hold your glasses as close to my balcony as possible. Sorry, it won’t work with a balcony separating us.

 

Mendel and Carla don’t look offended. Everyone else holds their glasses close to Drew’s balcony. Drew pours champagne into each of their glasses with flair. They all applaud when he’s done. He passes the champagne to Jessica, who pours some for Mendel. Carla grabs the bottle and drinks straight from it.

 

CARLA: Yes! I needed this!

 

JESSICA: A toast to the happy couple!

 

EVERYONE BUT BRISA & OWEN: Here, here!

 

BRISA: Owen and I would like to make a toast to all of you for helping us out with our wedding! Especially you, Jessica! Without you, none of this would be possible!

 

JESSICA: Oh, I was happy to do it!

 

OWEN: Cheers to all of you!

 

BRISA: Here, here!

 

Brisa and Owen clink their glasses together and take a drink.

 

JUNIPER: Would you guys like me to play some music for your first dance?

 

BRISA: Nah. It would feel a little silly since no one else can do it. Well, I guess you guys could…

 

Brisa indicates to Theo and Nedra.

 

THEO: Nah, I’m good.

 

NEDRA: He’s not that good of a dancer.

 

THEO: I didn’t say I was a good dancer! I’m just good not dancing!

 

NEDRA: I knew what you meant! I was just making another point!

 

THEO: (to Brisa & Owen) This is your future, you know! After almost fifty years, you’ll turn into this!

 

OWEN: I can’t wait!

 

Brisa and Owen clink their glasses together again and give each other another kiss.

 

JUNIPER: So, that’s a no on the music then?

 

MENDEL: That’s a no. I think the cupcakes and champagne are the extent of their wedding traditions.

 

ROB: How about a wedding present?

 

Rob pulls out a gift bag. They open it to find toilet paper.

 

OWEN: Oh, heck yeah! I think I’m more excited for this than the gravy boat Brisa’s mom sent!

 

As they set it aside, Brisa notices her wedding bouquet on the ground.

 

BRISA: Oh, I know another tradition we can do! I can toss my flowers!

 

CARLA: Don’t you dare throw that to me! I don’t need another man in my life right now! You know, at first I was worried about doing this by myself, but I’m kinda liking the break, actually!

 

JUNIPER: I would also like to politely decline your flowers. I had a great romance once, and no one else can top it! The universe may change my mind one day with someone special, but until then, I would rather enjoy my life of singlehood.

 

Brisa shrugs and turns to Jessica.

 

BRISA: Here, catch!

 

Brisa throws the bouquet to Jessica, but she misses and it falls to the street. Brisa looks down and apologizes to someone on the street.

 

BRISA: Sorry!

 

Brisa turns to Jessica.

 

BRISA: Sorry!

 

OWEN: Don’t worry, I think she’ll do okay anyways!

 

He looks at Jessica and Drew and winks. Jessica grins and blushes.

 

DREW: So… Do you wanna go out sometime?

 

EVERYONE BUT DREW & JESSICA: Yes!

 

Drew and Jessica laugh.

 

JESSICA: I’d love to!

 

Drew smiles broadly. Carla’s baby starts crying.

 

CARLA: Sounds like someone is hungry!

 

THEO: Yeah, I’m starving!

 

Nedra shakes her head.

 

NEDRA: Are you sure you’re okay by yourself?

 

CARLA: I’ll be fine! If I need any help, I can always reach out to the Clearfront Balcony Club!

 

ROB: Absolutely!

 

Carla goes inside.

 

BRISA: The Clearfront Balcony Club… I love it!

 

JESSICA: Me too! I don’t know how long this virus thing’ll last, but I’m so glad I have you all to go through this with!

 

DREW: Here, here!

 

An ambulance rolls by.

 

JESSICA: Saluté!

 

EVERYONE BUT JESSICA: Saluté!

 

Everyone takes a drink. They then chitchat until the lights fade.

 

 

 

The Clearfront Balcony Club, Scene 9

Scene 9: Jessica eats soup on her balcony. Drew comes outside wearing a bandanna around his nose and mouth.

 

JESSICA: Did you make a trip to the bodega?

 

DREW: How did you know?

 

Jessica points to her mouth. Drew suddenly remembers he’s wearing a bandanna and takes it off.

 

DREW: Oh, right! I guess I’m getting used to it. It’s weird that this is becoming normal!

 

JESSICA: Yeah, totally!

 

Drew almost steps forward more but realizes that there’s something there. He picks up a wrapped bowl of food.

 

JESSICA: Nedra made potato soup for everyone.

 

DREW: Oh, sounds much better than the TV dinner I was gonna make!

 

He unwraps the bowl and drinks from it.

 

DREW: Mmm! This is so good!

 

NEDRA: (from inside) You’re welcome!

 

DREW: Thank you!

 

He grins and continues to drink the soup.

 

JESSICA: Is there more food at the bodega now?

 

DREW: Yeah, there’s a bit more. I didn’t do any food shopping though. I thought I’d get some champagne for the wedding tomorrow. I have a pouring technique I’m dying to try!

 

JESSICA: Sounds like fun!

 

Nedra steps outside.

 

NEDRA: That reminds me, what kind of cake does everyone want?

 

JESSICA: I’m okay with anything.

 

DREW: Same here.

 

Juniper points her head outside.

 

JUNIPER: I’ll eat anything as long as it doesn’t come from an animal.

 

Nedra mulls this over.

 

NEDRA: Hmm.. I’ve never made a vegan cake before…

 

Mendel pokes his head outside.

 

MENDEL: I’m good with a vegan cake since I can’t have anything with lactose, but I also have Ciliac Disease, so…

 

NEDRA: So, I gotta make a cake with no dairy or gluten? You guys aren’t leaving me with a lot of ingredients!

 

Juniper and Mendel shrug as they go back inside. Nedra shakes her head in frustration and then goes back inside. Brisa and Owen step outside. Owen is holding a notebook.

 

BRISA: Can you guys help Owen with his vows?

 

OWEN: There’s nothing wrong with my vows!

 

DREW: What do you have so far?

 

OWEN: Days may not be fair always, that’s when I’ll be there always…

 

BRISA: It’s repetitive!

 

JESSICA: Very repetitive considering it’s from an Irving Berlin song.

 

Brisa glares at Owen.

 

OWEN: I thought it was cute!

 

BRISA: You didn’t even try to write your own vows? Don’t you love me?

 

OWEN: Of course I do! That’s why I’m marrying you!

 

BRISA: But why can’t you say it then?

 

OWEN: I love you more than anyone in the world! I don’t know how to say it any longer than that!

 

Brisa gets exasperated, but Jessica steps in before she can argue.

 

JESSICA: We’ll help with your vows!

 

Brisa hands him a pen and goes back inside. Owen sits down to write.

 

OWEN: We were supposed to surpise each other with the vows, but she got suspicious when I finished too fast. I love her, I just don’t know how to express it poetically.

 

JESSICA: How did you first meet?

 

OWEN: In the principal’s office. We both got caught up in the tardy sweep.

 

JESSICA: What did you first think when you saw her?

 

OWEN: I didn’t think she’d talk to me ’cause she looked like one of the popular girls.

 

JESSICA: But eventually you did.

 

OWEN: Yeah! Well, she did. I never got in trouble like that before. She saw how upset I got and made me feel better. We became good friends after that.

 

JESSICA: When did you become more than friends?

 

OWEN: Pretty much after they released us from detention. As soon as they let us leave, we were inseparable.

 

JESSICA: That’s cute! Now, how do we put that into something more romantic sounding?

 

OWEN: Now you see my problem?

 

DREW: I got it!

 

As he speaks, he looks forward but makes shy glances to Jessica.

 

DREW: When I first saw you, I thought you were too pretty to want anything to do with me! I had no idea your heart was just as beautiful as your looks! You got me through a really tough time, and although we didn’t meet under ideal circumstances, I’m so grateful that it helped me find you! We face another difficult situation, but there’s no one I’d rather go through this with! You’ve made me into a better person, and I can never thank you enough for that! I still can’t believe you’ve chosen me! I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of our life holds for us!

 

Jessica blushes furiously as Owen scribbles all of it down.

 

OWEN: Wow, this is gold! How did you come up with it so fast?

 

Drew still can’t meet Jessica’s eyes.

 

DREW: Oh… It just came to me…

 

Drew cautiously peeks at Jessica, who stares at the ground but grins broadly. As Owen writes, they’re quiet. Suddenly, Rob bursts outside with a bag in his hand.

 

ROB: Whew! I’m glad it’s the weekend for me now! Anyone thirsty?

 

He pulls out a six pack of beer.

 

DREW: I’ll take one!

 

JESSICA: Me too!

 

Rob hands one to Drew and Jessica, and then he offers one to Owen.

 

OWEN: I dunno, I’m a little nervous about tomorrow. I think I need to keep my head clear.

 

ROB: Man, you gotta have a drink! You didn’t get a bachelor party!

 

OWEN: I guess this is like my bachelor party!

 

He accepts a beer from him. Jessica hold her beer up.

 

JESSICA: To Brisa and Owen!

 

DREW & ROB: To Brisa and Owen!

 

They hold their beers as if they were clinking glasses and take a drink. Drew notices something on his beer.

 

Drew: Hey, Mendel!

 

Mendel pokes his head outside.

 

DREW: This beer is gluten free. You want one?

 

MENDEL: That sounds really great actually! Thank you!

 

Rob happily hands over a beer to Owen, who passes it to Mendel. They sit on the balcony and chitchat as the lights fade.

The Clearfront Balcony Club, Scene 8

Scene 8: Jessica, Drew, Brisa, Owen, and Juniper are all outside. Juniper passes a white gown over to Drew, who passes it to Jessica, who passes it down to Brisa and Owen. Brisa looks at it fondly.

BRISA: Oh my gosh! It’s so pretty! I think I’m gonna cry!

JESSICA: It looks gorgeous!

DREW: I can’t believe it used to be a tablecloth!

OWEN: How much do we owe you?

JUNIPER: Oh, I could not ask for money for a favor! You did me a service by keeping me occupied for a couple days, so I think it would generate bad karma if I asked for a payment!

OWEN: We couldn’t ask you to do all this work for free!

BRISA: We wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t pay you! There must be something you could use the money on! Like… crystals? Do you like crystals?

JUNIPER: (considers her offer) I could use more crystals…

Carla comes out very slowly with one hand on her stomach and one behind her back.

JESSICA: Are you okay?

CARLA: Oh yeah, I’m fine! I just wanted to thank you guys for being so nice to me, so I wanted to contribute to the wedding too. I didn’t hear anything about a veil or how you’ll wear your hair, so I thought I could help with that.

BRISA: Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that! What did you have in mind?

She takes the hand out from behind her back to reveal a beautiful tiara.

BRISA: (gasps) I love it!

 

CARLA: Well, you’re welcome to use it as your something borrowed. I would like it back when you’re done.

 

BRISA: No problem! Thank you so much!

 

Owen reaches up and takes it from Carla. He then hands it to Brisa, who admires it.

 

BRISA: It looks like the crown of a princess!

 

CARLA: It’s actually a queen’s crown. I was prom queen my senior year (sighs) Back in my glory days!

 

JESSICA: (to Drew) Oh, she was prom queen! I guess their lives don’t always turn out perfect, do they?

 

DREW: I said I was sorry! I was wrong, and I apologized. What is it gonna take for you to forgive me for that?

 

From inside his apartment, Theo laughs uproariously. He comes outside and addresses Drew.

 

THEO: Son, women may move on from your offenses, but they’ll never forgive you for it! They’ll remind you of how you messed up for the rest of your life! When Nedra and I were first dating, we saw a movie with Raquel Welch in it, and she looked gorgeous, so naturally, I couldn’t help but admire her. Nedra noticed and got really jealous. She asked me, “Is Raquel Welch gonna cook dinner for you after a hard day of work?”

 

JESSICA: What did you say?

 

Carla takes a really deep breath and rubs her belly.

 

THEO: I didn’t think I could make the situation worse, but I said, “I didn’t know Raquel Welch can cook!”

 

Jessica and Brisa groan, but then they laugh along with Drew and Owen.

 

THEO: Fifty years later, Nedra still-

 

Carla interrupts him when she lets out a large groan.

 

JESSICA: Something’s wrong!

 

CARLA: The baby’s coming!

 

Mendel pokes his head out of his apartment.

 

MENDEL: I’ll call an ambulance!

 

He goes back inside to make the call.

 

CARLA: No, it’s coming right now!

 

DREW: Right now? Are you sure?

 

Carla screams in pain.

 

JESSICA: Theo, go get your wife!

 

THEO: Oh! Oh, yes!

 

He goes inside for a moment and comes out with a book.

 

THEO: She’s indisposed and can’t come out at the moment. I have one of her old college books you could use.

 

He tries to pass it to Juniper, but he can’t raise his arms. Rob comes outside.

 

ROB: What’s going on?

 

Carla screams again.

 

ROB: Got it!

 

THEO: Take this!

 

Rob hastily grabs it and passes it to Owen.

 

CARLA: It’s coming! What do I do?

 

Owen quickly opens the book but then gets distracted by a picture.

 

OWEN: What is that?

 

DREW: Looks like this book predates women shaving their bikini zone!

 

OWEN: Good lord! Hey, it looks like the bodega cat!

 

Carla screams again.

 

BRISA: Owen!

 

OWEN: Oh, sorry! (reads) Lie down on your back with your legs spread apart.

 

Carla lies down with her head pointing towards her balcony and her legs pointing towards her apartment.

 

OWEN: Help your baby move through your vaginal canal by pushing with your contractions.

 

CARLA: Okay!

 

She pushes as she feels another one. Mendel comes outside.

 

MENDEL: The ambulance should be here now.

 

JESSICA: They just pulled up.

 

Carla groans as she pushes again. They hear a baby crying as the paramedics arrive. Nedra runs outside.

 

ROB: She did it!

 

Everyone cheers as the paramedics load her onto a gurney. They keep celebrating until she disappears.

 

NEDRA: Wow, she must have been in labor for a while without realizing it!

 

BRISA: Hey! Her daughter’s birthday will be the day before our wedding anniversary, Owen!

 

OWEN: Oh, that’s true!

 

Owen passes the book to Rob.

 

ROB: (looks at the book) Hey, that does look like Crumbs!

 

Everyone laughs as Drew offers a beer to everyone in celebration.

The Clearfront Balcony Club, Scene 7

Near sundown, Drew watches as Jessica puts the finishing touches on the paper wedding bouquet.

JESSICA: And… Voila! They’re done! What do you think?

DREW: When you said that you wanted to make paper flowers, I didn’t have high confidence in how they’d come out, but I gotta admit, I was totally wrong about this one!

JESSICA: That’ll teach you to never doubt me again!

DREW: I won’t make that mistake twice!

They both laugh.

DREW: I think Brisa will love them! Well done!

JESSICA: Give yourself some credit! You contributed too!

DREW: You spearheaded it. I just followed your directions!

JESSICA: We did this together! We make a good team!

DREW: I’d like to think so!

Drew smiles at her, and she smiles back bashfully. They’re quiet for a moment.

JESSICA: So… I guess I should give these to Brisa.

DREW: Oh, yeah… She’ll probably want them at some point, huh?

Jessica giggles as she kneels down in order to knock on Brisa and Owen’s back door. A moment later, Owen comes outside.

JESSICA: Oh, hey Owen! We finished Brisa’s flowers!

OWEN: Oh, awesome! I’ll get her. (Peeks his head inside) Hey Brisa, come here!

Brisa comes outside wearing oven mitts.

BRISA: What’s up?

Owen points upstairs, and when Brisa sees them, she is delighted.

BRISA: Oh, they’re so pretty! Thank you so much!

Brisa tries to grasp them but can’t with her oven mitts on.

BRISA: Oh, sorry! I just pulled dinner out of the oven.

Brisa hands Owen the oven mitts so she can grab the flowers.

DREW: What’d you guys make?

BRISA: Oh, well, we don’t have much, so I just combined the leftover chicken nuggets with canned spaghetti and some mixed veggies to make some sort of casserole. I hope it’s good!

JESSICA: That might be good… I gotta figure out what to make for dinner too.

Nedra comes outside.

NEDRA: You kids hungry?

OWEN: Always!

NEDRA: You like pizza? I got extra!

JESSICA: Oh, pizza sounds great! Thank you!

BRISA: Yeah, thanks!

NEDRA: Oh, no problem!

Nedra goes inside.

THEO: (from inside) Hey, I was gonna eat that!

NEDRA: (from inside) You said you were full!

THEO: (from inside) I didn’t say I was gonna eat it tonight! Maybe I want it for breakfast!

NEDRA: (from inside) Since when do you eat pizza for breakfast?

THEO: (from inside) Well, I’d at least like the option!

NEDRA: (from inside) Oh, you hush!

Nedra comes outside with four paper plates that have giant slices of pizza on them, and each are wrapped in plastic wrap. She passes them up one by one to Drew, who passes three over to Jessica, who passes two over to Owen and Brisa. They unwrap it and take a bite. Everyone looks pleased.

JESSICA: Mmm! This is amazing!

OWEN: It’s really good! Where’d you order it from?

NEDRA: Order it! I made it from scratch!

DREW: From scratch? You have a gift! You could open up your own restaurant!

NEDRA: I’d love to! I can’t work anymore! If I could, I’d go back to nursing since they’re desperate for more help. Unfortunately, a few years ago, I got blood clots in my lungs and lost sixty percent of my breathing capacity. I’m too high risk to help fight this virus! And now I can’t even see my grandkids! So, now I’m just looking for ways to make myself useful around here! It gets me through the days…

BRISA: If you want, you can help us with our wedding! I gave up on the idea of having a cake to cut, but maybe you could…

NEDRA: Count me in!

Rob comes outside.

ROB: Oh, hey guys! I got my…

He sees everyone finishing up their pizzas.

NEDRA: Don’t worry, I have one more slice!

ROB: Oh, thank you!

Nedra goes back inside.

ROB: I was just gonna say that I got my certification! I’m officially an ordained minister!

OWEN: Oh, perfect! Tomorrow, we should get the dress, so we can probably have the wedding-

BRISA: On Sunday! Oh, I can’t wait!

She happily celebrates. Nedra comes outside and gives Rob a slice of pizza. Their general merriment comes to a halt when Carla comes onto her balcony with a total poker face. Everyone is quiet for a moment.

CARLA: Is Mendel here?

Mendel cautiously pops his head outside.

MENDEL: I can hear you.

CARLA: I just wanted to apologize for yelling at you! You were only trying to help! Honestly, I knew I needed to get out of that situation, I just didn’t think I had a lot of options! Especially now! I can’t go anywhere! Not because of the pandemic, I mean, I’m so sore that I can’t even make it to my mailbox let alone the store! I need help, and I thought he was my only option.

MENDEL: If you need help, you have plenty of options right here!

JESSICA: That’s right! If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask!

ROB: Yeah, I work at the bodega, so if you need anything before I go to work, just holler!

NEDRA: You hungry?

CARLA: Well, honestly, I haven’t eaten anything all day!

NEDRA: Oh no! We can’t have that! I’m out of pizza, but there’s some leftover pasta in the fridge. I’ll get it for you!

Nedra goes inside to get it.

THEO: (from inside) You’re giving that away too? I wanted to eat that too!

NEDRA: (from inside) You haven’t eaten it so far!

Nedra comes outside shaking her head. She passes the plate to Rob, who passea it to Owen, who passes it to Carla.

CARLA: Thank you so much!

ROB: Yeah, thanks for sharing your food with us!

NEDRA: Oh, it’s just nice to have people to share it with!

Carla smiles gratefully and goes inside to eat it. Mendel also goes inside,but his mood is clearly elevated. Owen and Brisa finish up their food.

BRISA: Come on, Owen! Let’s go work on our vows!

They go back inside. Rob’s cellphone rings.

ROB: Oh, hey Mom! Guess what I got today!

After everyone else goes inside, Drew looks at Jessica admirably.

JESSICA: What?

DREW: It’s just amazing! You volunteer to help a couple of strangers with their wedding, and now everyone’s benefiting from this project! It’s crazy how your one act of kindness has had such a ripple effect! What would we have done without your help?

Jessica smiles and blushes.

JESSICA: You’re too kind!

DREW: No, you are!

Jessica shyly laughs. They continue to casually chitchat as the lights fade.