Page 25 of The Vanishing Bookstore
‘Not a word to Lucine, no false hope or wishes made of stardust. She’s tired and ready to give in, she’s only hanging on for Dora. This time it seems to have been much quicker than the last and more aggressive too.’
Lenny nodded, brushed her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt and inhaled deeply. She twisted the brass knob then pushed the door open, gasping to see her sister, sitting up in bed, a huge smile on her face and her arms open wide. Lenny rushed to her and fell into them as gently as she could, and then she was on the bed, lying next to her and sinking into the soft mattress, cocooning her beautiful, frail sister in her warm arms.
Lucine whispered into her ear, ‘You came, and Dora?’
‘She’s fast asleep, in bed recovering from her bout of homesickness.’
A happy sigh escaped Lucine’s lips. ‘Thank you.’
Sephy clambered on the other side of the bed and all three of them lay there hugging each other. Finally, Lucine laughed. ‘I needed that more than you could ever know but now you’re squishing me.’
Both Lenny and Sephy loosened their grip of their sister who instead took hold of each of their hands. All three of them lay there on the bed, silver hair glinting in the sunlight that filtered through the branches of the huge oak tree and through the window, Lenny and Sephy dressed in mainly black while Lucine wore a long white cotton nightgown. She chuckled.
‘I always was a rose between two thorns.’ Then she let out the biggest sigh of all as she squeezed their fingers. All three of them stared up at the intricate Milky Way on the ceiling that Sephy had spent hours painting by hand so Lucine could always see the stars.
‘The English sisters back together, it makes me so happy. It’s fate, you know.’
‘What is?’ asked Lenny.
‘That we were always supposed to be like this, whole, a family unit. I’ve missed you, Lenny, and life seems to be getting shorter each time around.’
Tough, sassy, independent, confident Lenora English crumbled into one loud sob. Lucine reached out and stroked her forehead.
‘Don’t be sad, I know you have your life to live and that you take the best care of Dora I could ever wish for. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying that I think this is where we are at our best. Do you remember when we were at kindergarten and those boys were always terrified of us?’
Lenny laughed; she did remember. Every fresh school year, they told everyone they were triplets with magical powers and could turn them into frogs if they were mean. They did have magical powers, but they never got strong enough for major spell work until they reached their sixteenth birthdays.
‘Those little fools were terrified of us.’
‘They were, but they also were very mean, which upset me more than it ever did the pair of you.’ Sephy had a tear in her eye,but Lenny knew her sister wouldn’t waste it on those childhood memories.
‘Sephy, all little boys are mean to some degree. It’s a rare thing to come across one with a gentle soul.’
‘We do occasionally though. Look at Ambrose. He was meant to be with Dora from the very beginning. He always watched out for her, took care of her and saved her life that day when Corwin went after her and sent his men to the captain to take us to the meeting house to answer those ridiculous charges. Ambrose tried to get her to safety, he is pure goodness through and through.’
Both Lucine and Lenny nodded. Ambrose had indeed been a perfect, rare specimen of a boy, with the cutest curls and the biggest blue eyes. He had protected Dora when they had been unable to. He was the son of Jonathan Corwin, judge in Salem in those times, and the nephew of the witch hunter. His position in their household had allowed him to warn Dora of what was happening. Of Lucine, Lenny and Sephy’s fates. Not that it had stopped Dora rushing to their aid eventually, wanting to be with them no matter what the consequences of standing together meant.
They knew that Dora had hidden the spell book that night and had tried over the years to find it, but to no avail. It had simply vanished.
Lucine sighed, ‘I can’t wait to see Dora. How much does she know, has she remembered anything?’
Lenny shook her head. ‘It’s the worst she’s ever been. There are little bits and pieces that seem to be breaking through and of course she’s absolutely awestruck with Sephy and her pink obsession. Just as she will be when she sees you again. It’s funny how much you don’t realise that you needed the things you never knew about.’
Sephy screwed her face up. ‘Good God, Lenny, don’t write any poetry, will you, please spare us from that.’
‘Are you saying that I’m not poetic or that my words have no meaning, sister?’
Sephy laughed. ‘In a nutshell, yes. They’re all a bunch of gobbledygook.’
‘Gobbledygook. You still speak like that and have the nerve to criticise, really, Sephy, that’s mean.’
Lucine smiled. ‘You know what we need?’
Both Lenny and Sephy giggled, wide grins on their faces. ‘A little black magic.’
Sephy jumped off the bed. ‘I’ll be right back; I have some already baked and I’ll mix up the cocktails.’
She left them to it; Lenny sighed. It was good to be home, she had missed her sisters and this place was far more comforting than she remembered. Lucine rested her head on her shoulder and whispered: ‘Thank God you are here, I’ve been asking for some black magic for weeks and she keeps telling me it’s not good for me. I love her more than anything but I’m dying. Who cares what my sugar and alcohol intake consists of?’
