A Bear's Mirrored Romance

Prologue

Eight Years Earlier–Helencia Gardens Estate–Great Aunt Esme’s Home

          Evan and Gemma felt bored in the old nursery. It rained the entire day so they couldn’t play in the garden. They found themselves trapped inside their Great Aunt’s rambling home with its old lamps and rickety pipes. Usually, Aunt Esme would say, the sun was too bright to be wasted they needed to go out and play. This wasn’t one of those days.

          Today, they explored the house.

          “Okay, we’ve explored everywhere, but the attic and basement. Let’s make this fun. You go into the haunted attic alone for five minutes and bring out two things.”

          “What? Haunted? Oh, no! I’m not going into a haunted attic by myself. It’s scary, you do it.”

          “Heads or tails. If it’s heads, I’ll go and tails you go.” Evan found an old coin earlier that day in a drawer and he loved to flip it.

          He argued with her until he exhausted her. Evan loved things his way. “Whatever.”

          The coin flew up, then came down into his hands. “Tails, you go into the attic and return with two things to prove you were there.”

          “Fine. Just show the coin. Which side is up?” Gemma jumped from foot to foot impatiently. Evan’s hand moved away from the coin to reveal the coin’s tail side. Gemma’s expression turned into a pout. “Of course, its tails, as usual. It’s what you want.”

          “You gotta do it. I bet you won’t, though. It’s five minutes and two things in the attic. You can take a flashlight. Just go up and then come straight back here. It’s almost bedtime.” Evan gave her a glare.

          Gemma wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of calling her a coward. She wouldn’t chicken out. “I’ll be back.” Gemma stomped out with a flashlight in hand. “If I don’t come back, you get to explain why to Aunt Esme.”

          Gemma tried to exit with as much dignity as her slight frame would allow. Her ponytail of dark hair ruined the effect by jauntily bouncing. Evan followed her to the attic door. The stairs were dark behind the door. They installed the light switch on the ceiling where neither child could reach it. Why would they do that? They understand it, and when they asked about the odd construction of the house, their aunt chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. She claimed never understood many things about the house, and she rarely answered their questions. Aunt Esme would only explain that they lived with the house’s quirks. This was Aunt Esme’s answer for everything. The house lived, and she lived there at its grace. The children didn’t understand what she meant and were tired of asking.

          Gemma’s flashlight lay heavy in her hand as she walked up the dusty stairs towards the blackness of the old attic. The air was warmer here; it smelled of dust and old things. At the top, she used the shaking light of the flashlight to examine the shadowed things. Her heart raced, echoing her nervousness. Gemma prayed she wouldn’t see any eyes looking back or find a dead body. She swallowed back the bile that bothered the back of her throat. She didn’t want to throw up. Her mind raced and every horror movie her friends at school talked about always contained a scene in a basement or attic that crossed her mind. There was always something hiding, ready to jump out and kill you in a gory fashion.

          Nothing blinked, growled, or rushed her. Gemma hesitated at the top of the stairs. While Evan paced at the door where the light was. He said nothing to her, just watching her.

          Desperate, she looked for two small things to take with her. But everything appeared to be packed in trunks and boxes. The previous residents appear to have stored things with a lot of care. Gemma found she needed to open the lid on the closest trunk. Its hinges creaked and groaned in protest at being opened so suddenly, giving that eerie sound. It made her jump and look behind her, praying a ghost didn’t notice her. The dust now lay thick in the air, and she could taste it.

          “Gem! Hurry! Aunty is coming! Grab something and get back down here.” Blindly, Gemma reached in and pulled two heavy things from the trunk. A book and hand mirror. Weird things to pack together. In a panic, Gemma brushed aside her thought. The trunk now lay open and empty. She clutched the two things tightly to her chest and let the trunk lid fall shut.

          The sound of Evan’s shoes on the stairs startled her into action. Gemma tucked the things under her sweatshirt before running down the stairs. “Aunty is on the main stairs. Hurry.” Evan turned, and they ran down the stairs. With the attic door closed, they ran down the corridor to meet Aunt Esme at the top of the main stairs.

          “It might’ve belonged to someone’s loved one and they couldn’t throw it away?”

      “Just go.” Gemma pushed Evan out, closing the door behind him with a sigh. She didn’t want him to know where she hid them. He might tattle if he knew. He’d do anything to stay out of trouble. There’d be no proof if he couldn’t find it.

          Gemma decided quickly she wouldn’t say anything to anyone, even Evan. He’d tease her and others might not believe her.