Chapter 3
Gracelyn stood at the window and watched the cab leave down the long-overgrown drive. She held Phinehas in her arms and rubbed her face into his soft fur. “It’s just us now,” she whispered.
Setting the cat down, she looked around the cabin. It wasn’t as nice as the pictures had led it to be, but it wasn’t horrible either. It would do for now, for as long as it took her to reverse the curse and get her life back on track. It was private and cheap, both important. Her money wouldn’t go far if she had to pay it all out on rent, and she needed the privacy to experiment and find a way to put things right.
She was stiff all over from the long bus and then bumpy cab ride, but at least she’d gotten here. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She would not cry about her home again. It had been necessary to leave it behind. There was no way she could live among people who had forgotten she existed. That would be worse than being alone. To be forgotten by those she had grown up with. No one had spoken to her at the funeral. It was as if she hadn’t been there at all.
She sniffled and took another deep breath. She wouldn’t be here forever only until she fixed everything, and then she could go home again. She thought of home. What would they do with her empty house just sitting there? As far as she knew, they couldn’t sell it, not with her being the sole owner of it now. She sighed. As soon as her phone was connected, she’d have to make a few phone calls and check on that. It would be just her luck to get rid of this curse and then not have a home to go back to.
Shaking off the self-pity, she went into the kitchen to check out the “complete with dishes” part of the rental agreement. Hopefully it was complete, because she had brought nothing with her. Actually, other than a few memories of her parents and her sister before she had changed, she had brought clothes, books of magic and crates of supplies to work on reversing the curse. Everything that had the slightest use for magic was with her. She was going to restore her existence to the way it was before Samhain.
~
Gracelyn wrote on the last day of the calendar, then opened a new one to January. She glared at the month now showing, January. She had been here through November and December and still hadn’t been able to change anything!
December had been a teary month for her, being alone. She had called a cab and gone into the town a few times throughout the month, but seeing the families with children so excited had only made her lonelier than she already was. The fact that she was completely alone in this world now had really hit her hard. She cried for her parents, again, and even her sister, not caring whether she had cursed her or not, just wanting her back. That wasn’t something she could change either.
Circling the first day of this New Year, she nodded and turned back to the pile of books on the table. It didn’t seem like it was getting smaller, which was a good thing. More books meant she still had that many more chances of finding a way to have her world returned to something she was happy with.
“Today’s the day, Phin, we’ll find a way to fix one part at a time.” She rubbed the cat’s head and grinned when he stretched out on the table among the books as he had done every day since they’d arrived. It seemed as if he wanted her to find the answers as much as she did.
~
Crossing out the date, she threw the marker at the calendar and went to sit at the table. Phinehas jumped down, went over, and batted the marker to send it skittering across the floor. Gracelyn looked up at the photo of flowers above the month and closed her eyes. It was hopeless, and it was time she accepted that. It was now the middle of May, and she was no further ahead in reversing even the simplest effects of the curse.
She pushed the last book of magic around on the table. One left, and then what? If the answers she needed weren’t in this one, what did she do then? She pulled the notebook over that had all of her figures and calculations on it. Her money was going to run out by the end of summer, even with her living on the tightest budget she could manage.
She’d gone to town recently and noticed several Help Wanted signs in windows now that the weather was mild and more people were out. Should she just resign herself to living in this tiny weathered cabin and find a job? Would it even be possible to get a job? Wouldn’t her employer forget about her? She couldn’t go back to her own home, and the idea that she had already accepted that made her heart heavier.
She looked at the cat sitting there watching her. “Last day of trying Phin, and then we need to come up with a new plan.” Phinehas sat perfectly still for a moment before he turned and walked out of the kitchen. She grimaced. “I feel the same way.”
~
Was this the fourth or fifth town she wondered as she unpacked her suitcase? She’d have to sit down and really think to be certain. The last year was a blur, each move meant a job that paid better and a place to stay for less rent, so it wasn’t a total loss.
She always made sure she found a job where she was the only employee or could wear a name tag. Too many times she found out just how invisible to others she truly was when she’d arrive at work each day and have to explain who she was and why she was there. Too many jobs had also been lost that way. It was hard to keep going, but she had no choice. Reaching her goal meant she had to keep moving forward.
She didn’t care if it took another four years, she was going home, with a completely new identity and a new life. It may not be the one she had dreamed of, but it was the one she wanted now.
Being alone hadn’t gotten easier though. She’d tried to make friends, but friends generally remembered you after you walked away. The only good thing, she decided, was never having to go through good-byes and explanations filled with false words.
Phinehas climbed into her suitcase and stretched out. Gracelyn laughed. “Is that your way of telling me we’re living in a suitcase or out of one?” The cat rested his chin on his paws and looked up at her with boredom in his eyes. “I know, me too. But at least here you have a balcony to sit out on. You can watch the birds.” She looked at the small area she had just mentioned. Okay, so it was only about five-by-three feet, but it was better than none. She reached over to him and scratched his head. “It’s not forever, Phin. Be a pal and pretend to like it here, okay?”
~
She pulled the door down and secured the lock. Maybe she should have rented a bigger storage locker. No, that would be out of her budget. Turning around, she smiled at no one, just needed to. Two more months and I can go home!
It had been close to five years now since she’d left, but she had done it! Walking quickly, she headed back to the tiny apartment where she and Phinehas lived now. She couldn’t wait to tell him the good news, not that he’d answer or even react, but telling someone was better than just being stuck inside her head.
She slowed for a minute and opened her purse. After pulling out her wallet, she flipped it open and dug into the pocket to get her birth certificate. She ran her thumb over her name softly. Gracelyn Arianna Trainer. She put it back into the pocket and snapped it closed. She still couldn’t bring herself to throw it out, and she’d tried plenty of times.
Taking a deep breath, she took out another birth certificate, her new one, and studied it. It was completely identical to the other one, except for the name. This little piece of paper had set her back almost three months in her finances, but it was required so she could go home. After tucking it back, she closed her wallet, stuffed it back in her purse, and started toward the apartment again.
~
Standing in the empty apartment, she looked around it slowly, her new life would begin in two days, and now she was having anxiety attacks. The movers had taken everything from her storage locker and from her apartment and had loaded it up. They were scheduled to drop it off in two days’ time. It had been cheaper for her to share the big truck with another of their jobs, so she had two days to hop one bus to the second and then the third, to beat them there.
Phinehas sat and looked at the cat carrier. She smirked and walked over to him. “Last time, I promise.” Bending down, she scratched him behind the ears. “We’ll be home in two days, and then we’ll throw it out, okay?” He mewed, and she was fairly certain if it had been words, they wouldn’t have been very pleasant ones.
Slowly walking through the apartment, she made sure she had gotten all of the last-minute things like shampoo and that last cup and plate were packed in her bag. Excitement went through her when she thought of the little house she’d be living in two days from now. When she’d called and arranged the money transfer, they had been curious as to why she hadn’t come to see it in person. She couldn’t very well tell them that she’d walked by it every day on her way to school, could she? Or that she’d had picnics with one of their grandchildren in the pretty little backyard. And she knew if she did go see them in person, they wouldn’t remember her beyond that moment. This way, it was paid and signed for without problems. Reluctantly, they had agreed.
Closing the backpack up, she stood and checked her watch. The cab would be here in a few minutes. “Come on, Phin, in you go.” He lied down on the floor. Sighing, she went over and scooped him up lovingly. “Our new life begins now.”