Mirror in the Forest: Book One (20 page)

The Spirit of the Mirror nodded in understanding, and said, “That is to be expected. Do you have enough answers for now?”

Jessica considered the Spirit’s question. Did she? How could she even think that people wouldn’t talk? She was a mousy, shy girl blooming into a confident young woman almost overnight. How could people not question that kind of change within such a short time span?

“I think that I’ve covered everything so far. I offered to try to find my Mom’s necklace, and keep pushing back on everyone about joining basketball, using my Mom and Dad as an answer,” Jessica said as she looked up to The Spirit of the Mirror.

The Spirit walked around the little wooded area, and Jessica was enjoying the colors of fall surrounding her. The mixture of red, gold, and yellow surrounding her made Jessica feel like she was in another world.

A slight, cool breeze blew through her hair, and filled her nostrils with the smells of falling leaves, wood, and she thought she caught a whiff of snow coming off the mountain.

Fall was her favorite time of the year, followed closely by spring, which was a sign of renewal for Jessica. Although, her own personal renewal would be happening during the winter this year, and after that a whole new world would be opening many opportunities for her.

“Jessica, this is all so small in comparison of what you are capable of. Do not worry for those who question your changes, they will soon be obsolete in your life,” The Spirit said, seemingly reading her mind.

Jessica thought about it, and knew The Spirit of the Mirror was right. Very soon she would be going after her dream school, and after she went off to college then everything will be forgotten.

“Have you come up with a plan to obtain the dagger for me?” The Spirit suddenly asked.

Jessica put her head in her hands, groaning. She could not come up with a good plan, no matter how much she tried.

“I….I have gone over it many times, and it is just impossible,” she said.

The Spirit stood there, but Jessica could not see any reaction in his face. She wondered what he was thinking, and felt like she was a disappointment to him. He had helped her through so much, and now there was something she could not do to return the favor.

Then his reflective face turned upwards into a grin that almost made Jessica flinch. She had never seen that look before. It was almost…...evil. It happened so fast, that she thought she imagined it.

“Nothing is impossible. There is nothing in this world that cannot be conquered or obtained by necessary means, and Mandy Cooper is proof of that,” the Spirit advised, making Jessica relax a little.

“Yes, but that didn’t involve me directly, did it?”

“That was your wish,” The Spirit reminded her.

“No. I just wanted her embarrassed about something,” Jessica said, still trying to deny how horrific Mandy’s accident was.

“Are you sure about that, Jessica?”

Jessica groaned again. The Spirit could see right through her emotions.

Finally, she looked up at him and admitted, “No, it was more than that.”

“Then I have no doubt that you will obtain the dagger for your next wish,” The Spirit said.  

Jessica rose from the ground and wiped the dirt and debris from her jeans.

She suddenly looked at The Spirit in question.

“Are you just my guardian angel or have your helped other kids like me in the past?” She asked. She had been meaning to ask him for a while.

The Spirit smiled. “I am there for those who need me, and when they are satisfied, I move onto to the next.”

“How did you know I needed you?”

“Only you had to realize that. You could have walked away at any time.”

“I don’t like riddles,” Jessica said, knowing full well there was no riddle needing to be solved.

The Spirit’s reflective eyebrows lifted in amusement. “No riddle. I heard your call for help. You may not have thought you needed me, but you did.”

Jessica’s mom had been called into work all week. Mary was a combination of upset and happy about it.

“These nurses need to get their acts together,” Mary said with a sigh as she dressed for work.

“On the bright side, it will give us a better Christmas,” Mary commented after thinking it over.

Jessica was happy she was gone most of the week. Her dad would be home Friday night, and Jessica had access to his pickup truck.

“We could go visit Grandma and Grandpa in the spring before I leave for college,” Jessica said to her mom.

Mary nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe after you’re off to college your Father and I should move to Florida. I am getting sick of this weather.”

Mary hated leaving Jessica alone, but Jessica reassured her mother she would be fine, and would invite Tessa to stay with her a couple of nights.

Don had taught Jessica how to use his handgun and rifle when she had been old enough to stay in the house alone while Mary worked, and Don was called away on business projects. Jessica never minded having the house to herself. She always felt all grown up when her parents trusted her enough to not have babysitters anymore after she turned fifteen.

Now Jessica sat on the side of the road, and looked over Sara Miller’s antique store.

Sara’s Vintage House

Sara Miller was a woman in her early fifties. She was an older hippie type whose husband was killed in the early stages of Vietnam. When that happened people said Sara went a little crazy. She became a big name in the anti-war movement for the rest of the Vietnam War after her husband’s death, traveling the country, and speaking to anyone who would listen.

Mary said that Sara took a lot of drugs to dull the pain of what happened to her husband, and never remarried. She eventually got sober, and moved to Leon’s Crossing opening the store in the mid-seventies. She had a daughter who was living in Arizona with her new family. Jessica could not recall her daughter’s name.

Sara’s sister Stella would help her run the store when she was in town. Stella lived in Seattle, but came to visit often. Jessica remembered meeting her once, and had not seen Stella around for a while.

She was eccentric, but the people in town seemed to love her, and Sara loved them back.

Somehow, Sara was always able to get unique, and hard to find goods to sell in her store. No one knew how she did it, but was known to travel the country and the world to find them.

The thing that worried Jessica was that she was not that far from the Sheriff’s office, and if she was caught stealing the dagger then it was all over for her, and she could kiss her top college choices goodbye.

Jessica pulled around the block, and would park away from the store, and somehow make her escape if she needed to do that. Jessica had driven the truck around about an hour to plan her route if something went wrong.

She thought about recruiting help, but knew none of her friends would go for it. She was alone in this, and it was up to her to make more changes to her life.

Jessica looked around when she walked towards the store, and there was a median where she would need to jaywalk to get back to the truck with trees aligning it for decorative landscape. Then she would slip in between the buildings and drive off.

She had to get to the dagger without Sara noticing, and she was still trying to figure that one out.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, and Jessica could leave the store with a clear conscience.

Jessica said one last prayer to herself.

Her heart pounded, and her breathing quickened as she walked across the street to Sara’s shop.

Her palms began to sweat despite the cool, damp weather. She wiped them on her jeans, cursing her nervous reactions.

There was a moment, where she almost turned around and drove home.

She didn’t see any deputy cruisers parked in front of the sheriff’s station, which was a huge relief.

She knew that Mark usually worked around this time of the day, but she did not spot his
Camaro
in the parking lot.

She thought of Mark McKenzie the Sheriff of Leon’s Crossing as she continued to walk toward Sara’s shop.

She tried to like Danny, but she knew deep down that she didn’t have any feelings for him after all. Her childhood crush was a great guy, but he just wasn’t for her. They had nothing in common, and she was easily bored when he talked about his cats.

She found so much more in common with the young Sheriff then she found with Danny.  

She wondered if something could happen……

Jessica was brought out of her thoughts when she reached Sara’s shop door.

She did extend her hours like Jessica thought, spying the new sign posted on the door.

Jessica hesitantly took the door handle and pulled it open. Taking another deep breath, she entered into the shop, and the little bell on the door rang with its light musical sound.

Jessica looked around, and the antique store smelled old, musty, with the added smell of fresh paint.

Things were piled everywhere around the store, but meticulously labeled for a customer.

Everything from beds to sofas to portraits, and knickknacks were placed in precarious positions.

There was a counter to the left of the items for sale with a glass case and a cash register sitting on top of the case.

A small black and white TV sat on the shelf above the case with the local news on the screen.

There was a huge vase filled with water and flowers on the counter along with a small space heater that was running next to it, plugged in somewhere under the glass case.

The case was filled with smaller goods like jewelry, wallets, small weapons, and other high priced items.

Behind the counter were several displays of things such as swords, knives, and portraits.

Then Jessica almost gasped as she spotted it.

The dagger sat behind the cash register displayed without a case.

Jessica didn’t recognize the religious symbolism on the sheath, but found the handle to be black in color, and the sheath embellished with some kind of symbols with a red cross in the middle with a silver colored finish. It was almost two feet in length from what Jessica could tell.

She knew it had to be the one she was looking for, and a little voice in her head told her it was.

She felt her heart rate increase again; knowing she only had this chance to take it. She had to keep her cool or this would never work.

“Oh my…..it’s Jessica Winters!”

The throaty voice behind Jessica almost made her jump out of her skin.

Sara Miller came through a bead curtain to greet Jessica with a huge smile.

A headband pulled her curly brown hair back behind her ears, and she had on a purple shawl with tiny flowers decorating it.

She wore a pair of black pants and a white blouse with dangling bracelets and earrings. She was very attractive for her age, but Jessica could see the remnants of a hard life on her face.

She held a small cigar in her hand with long red nails on her fingers.

“Hi Mrs. Miller. How are you?” Jessica asked almost nervously, but tried to stifle it.

Jessica looked around as Sara gave her a hug, and then a plan began to form in her head.

She pulled back, smiling to the older lady.

“I am doing so wonderful it’s hurts young lady. How are you and how is your mom and dad? They haven’t been around lately,” She asked, staring down Jessica, making her fidget.

“They’re good. Dad is in Spokane doing a big job, and Mom is working all week,” Jessica answered, trying not to be so obvious by staring at the vase filled with water.

“No wonder I haven’t seen them lately. Tell your mom she’d better get her butt in here,” Sara said, taking a drag of her cigar.

“I will let her know,” Jessica answered, politely.

She continued to gaze at Jessica for a moment.

“You look different young lady,” Sara said, her brown eyes narrowing.

Jessica was a little taken aback, but she tried to just look mildly surprised.

Sara continued to stare at her, making Jessica a little uncomfortable. Jessica was starting to wonder if Sara knew what she was going to do, and why she was doing it.

“What do you mean?” Jessica almost stammered, thinking she was caught somehow.

Sara shook her hand in Jessica’s direction and took a step back.

“The last time I saw you was not long ago, yes?”

“A few months maybe…..”

“You’ve changed young lady. In fact, you’re now a woman. You don’t hunch over anymore and you looked directly at me this time,” Sara pointed out.

Jessica smiled softly at Sara’s observation, and felt a huge twinge of guilt for what she was about to do.

“A lot has happened the last few months, and for the better,” Jessica said, confidently.

Sara took another step back and looked her over while taking another drag of her cigar. “Really? Because you’ve changed a lot from when I saw you last.”

“Just ready to be done with high school I guess,” Jessica answered with an uneasy smile.

Jessica shifted around on her feet while Sara still stared at her straight in the eye. It was almost as if Sara could see right through her, and knew what Jessica was up to.

“MMMM, that’s wonderful. Now, what brings you to old Sara’s shop?” It didn’t get past Jessica that Sara was suddenly on guard, and Jessica wondered why. “Early Christmas shopping?”

Relieved, Jessica gathered her thoughts, and said, “My mom lost her grandmother’s necklace. It was sentimental, and she is pretty upset. I thought I would get a jump on Christmas and get her something nice. It can’t replace her grandmother’s necklace, but I could try.”

Perfect! What a perfect story, Jessica thought with a smile.

Sara’s face scrunched in concern. “Oh no! I remember her wearing that piece. Does she know what happened to it?

Jessica shrugged a little. “She thinks she may have lost it at the hospital.”

Sara shook her head in remorse. “That’s just terrible. I hope she finds it, but in the meantime, what a nice gesture for your mom.”

“Yeah,” Jessica said waiting for her moment.

Sara turned and put her cigar out in the astray also on the counter, and went behind it to the jewelry case.

She fished a key from her pocket, and looked around as she unlocked it.

“Hmmmmm so many to choose from. What’s your price range?”

Jessica was about to answer when Sara put up her hand, and said, “I will give you a huge discount.”

Jessica scoffed, she really felt terrible now. Sara was trying to help her, and Jessica was about to steal something valuable from the woman.  

Jessica knew she should have turned around right there, and walked out of the store, then she reminded herself of her mission. She tried to push the regret from her mind.

Jessica looked up from the case, and thought she would make conversation about the dagger.