She draped her arms around my neck, and her chin rested gently on the crown of my head, her face pressing against my chest. I could feel her sobbing softly. Even though she had never met my father, she felt what I felt. Meredith had once told me she had never touched any man, that touching anyone would bind her to their thoughts, emotions, and pain. I hadn't believed her back then, but now, I believed her with every part of my soul.
I sat on the bed next to Dad, and she took the chair where Mrs. Nathalie had once sat. She seemed to be studying my father's condition, leaning forward and placing her index and middle fingers on the left side of his neck. Was she checking his pulse? I wondered.
"Jaze, this sickness is a curse from my world," she replied, her face a mixture of surprise and shock.
"But who could possibly want to harm my father from your world? What does my father have to do with the Ethereals?" I asked, astonished by what she had said.
"I don't know," she said softly, "but I believe someone close to me will give you the truth you seek."
"Your mother?"
"Yes," she said, her gaze shifting downward to my father. "Mother knows about all kinds of illnesses. I'm certain she'll have a cure for your father."
Her eyes, now crimson from the glow of the setting sun, drifted to my neck. She slowly touched it, her right hand slipping beneath my shirt to retrieve the pendant.
"All you seek, she will tell you," she murmured.
I nodded in understanding, recalling what Mrs. Nathalie had told me. The door creaked open, and Brenda walked in, her face etched with sorrow. She pressed her hand to her chest, then moved to my father's side, clutching his hands tightly.
"Oh dear, Derrick, what have they done to you?" Mrs. Brenda spoke in a hushed tone, her watery eyes expressing sorrow at the state of my father. She shifted her gaze to Meredith, her brow furrowed, as if she felt discomfort by her presence. Slowly, she turned to me with a smile and began speaking.
"You may not know this, Jaze, but I've known your father since he was a teenager."
"I'm well aware, Mrs. Brenda," I replied. "He always spoke highly of you. He told me how you took care of him when he got into trouble in high school."
She chuckled softly, gazing out the window. "Your dad was a hardhead—stubborn and sometimes rebellious. In high school, he fought anyone who tried to bully him. Your grandparents had passed away by then, so he was living with your great-granddad at the time. The old man was strict, but he guided him onto the right path." She paused, her eyes lingering on the pendant around my neck. Slowly, she moved to the now-empty chair where Meredith had been sitting and sat down with a quiet sigh. "He met your mother after college. She was so beautiful, so... strange. To put it in clearer terms, she was otherworldly." She tilted her head toward Meredith, who held my hand but seemed to avoid Mrs. Brenda's gaze.
"When you say 'otherworldly,' what do you mean?" I asked.
"It means..." Meredith cut her off, gripping my hand firmly.
"When the time comes, he will know all that he needs to know," she said with a firm tone.
I stared into her eyes, wanting to be patient. My instincts told me Meredith was hiding something important, perhaps the reason why my mother died so young. But I had to be patient with her. If the truth was too troubling to share now because my father wasn't well, then I would follow her to the ethereal world and uncover the truth for myself.
Mrs. Brenda sighed again and stood up from the chair. She walked over to me and held my hands tightly.
"Go. Seek the truth. I'll take care of your father until you return." I had never felt more grateful after hearing those words. I thought of kneeling in gratitude, but she held me firmly by the arms.
"Silly child," she said with a soft smile. "You don't have to be so polite. I've watched over your father for so many years. This is more like a mother's care to me." She grinned and withdrew her hands from my arms, softening her gaze as she turned to Meredith. "I don't trust your kind. I never have, and I never will. But for the sake of your love for him, please protect him and bring him back home unharmed."
"I will," Meredith replied with confidence. "I promise no harm will befall him."
Mrs. Brenda nodded slightly. "Father, please wait a little longer. I will find who did this to you and avenge you." I held my father's arm firmly, and with one last glance, I left him and stepped out the door. Meredith and I walked out of the hospital, and as I gazed at the sun, I should have felt peace from its warmth, but all I felt was a desperate need to heal my father and uncover the truth behind my mother's early death. Could my mother's death and my father's illness be the work of the same person? I pondered this thought as we walked in silence.
I regained my focus and turned to Meredith. "How do we get to the ethereal world?"
"Well, it's a little scary for first-timers," she said, smiling softly as she held onto my left hand. We walked down the road, reaching my house. I stopped and glanced at it with a sigh. Meredith held tightly onto my hand and touched my face with her right hand.
"It'll be alright," she said softly. "I promise."
We continued walking, and soon we arrived at the oak tree. The sun's rays filtered through the leaves, casting a warm glow on one of its branches. There, I spotted a pair of slit-pupiled eyes staring down at us.