Chapter
14: The Mourning Mothers
A
hush swept over the already quiet crowd when the Switch family slipped into the
pew at the front of the church that had been seemingly reserved for them.
Breaths were held and sniffles were swallowed, hands stopped as they reached
for the insides of purses and pockets, and mouths closed as they leaned over to
whisper into a neighbor』s ear. The air tightened and did not release until John
Hunter strode over to Fa and embraced her. Fa was stiff, having held out her
hand for the mayor to shake, but still the townspeople gathered let out a
collective sigh of relief. The tension broke, if only slightly, and the light
rustle of people trying to be quiet once again filled the sanctuary.
The
memorial service did not mention Mara Switch. Neither was any mention made of
the wedding, the Switch family, or any of the circumstances surrounding
Graham』s death. Rather, it focused on the accomplishments of his short life,
the joy of raising him through childhood to a brilliant law student, the regret
of not being able to see him blossom in his new field.
The
Switch sisters sat in a line, Marie next to Fa, then Morgan, then Mina. A small
space had been unintentionally left next to Mina, where perhaps Mara should be
sitting. But just as Mara was absent from the contents of the service, so too
was her presence missed in the church. For the sisters, and perhaps for much of
the town too, her absence was the white elephant that sat silently in their
thoughts.
In
the Switch pew, the row of the sisters』 bright eyes–blue, brown, and
grey–sparkled in the light. All three sisters held wells of tears in their
eyes, with Mina occasionally reaching up to wipe her grey ones on the back of
her hand. Whatever ambivalence they had felt for John Hunter and his wife, they
had come to know Graham Hunter during the engagement, and had started to love
him as a brother. They loved him for the same reasons that had Mara made fall
in love with him: he was kind, he was fun, and unlike everybody else they knew,
he had treated them just like he would treat anybody.
Mara would be so devastated knowing that she
couldn』t come to this, Morgan thought to Marie.
Do you think she knows?
She can probably feel it. At the very least she
would feel that we』re all together, here, mourning.
Though
only Morgan and Marie had the special connection of being able to communicate
directly through thoughts, all of the sisters were empathetically linked. Even
if they were miles apart–though they had never been until now–they could feel
if another sister was ecstatic, depressed, angry, scared, or in grave danger.
It was the only reason why the sisters could feel relatively secure that Mara
was still okay in her cell–if something had happened to her, they would have
felt it.
Morgan
reached for Marie』s hand, and as she did, the ground trembled lightly beneath
their feet.
That must be Mara, Marie
thought. She
knows we』re here.
Just
as Morgan』s power was over fire and Marie』s was over water, Mara』s power was
over earth. For many years, however, she had suppressed it, wanting desperately
just to be normal. Like Marie, she was overly cautious about revealing her true
identity to the people outside their family, but unlike Marie she had never
practiced methodically at home behind closed doors. As a result, her powers
were erratic and would sometimes flare outside of her control. Whenever she
experienced strong emotions, they would come out uncontrollably, causing the
ground to shake. The sisters had felt occasional tremors since the night of
Graham』s death–even the newspapers had noted it, though of course the article
was buried deep in the middle pages, outshone by the gory, glamorous coverage
of the murder.
The
memorial service ended and guests were invited to the reception in the garden.
Following the stream of people outside, the sisters once again traced their
steps from a week before. The shadow of the wedding and what had gone awry hung
over the procession.
In
the garden, instead of a wedding cake and a tent for dancing, a memorial for
Graham had exploded with bouquets of flowers and handwritten notes. It was a
simple presentation: Graham』s portrait, the same one that had appeared in the
newspaper obituary, had been set up on a small table. Underneath it, a big book
lay open with a fountain pen sitting next to it: a place where friends and
family could write their condolences and send-offs. Hundreds of flowers were
piled around it, turning the already brilliantly colored garden into an
overwhelming sight for the eyes.
The
attenders lined up to sign the book, if they had not already, some with still
more flowers in hand. The Hunter family positioned themselves next to the
table, taking hugs, handshakes, and firm pats on the shoulder as they came down
the line. Fa gathered her daughters, sweeping them into the line.
When
they reached the front, each sister wrote a message to Graham in the book. Then,
they faced Ms. Hunter, whose perfectly eyelinered eyes were unsmeared despite
her continual sobbing. Marie tried to smile, Morgan did not, and Mina just
looked up, doe-eyed and scared.
「Our
deepest condolences,」 Fa said, and she moved to step out of the line, when Ms.
Hunter brought out an arm to stop her.
「I』m
so sorry,」 Ms. Hunter said, and even Fa was taken aback this time. The tears in
her eyes, which had simmered to a pool hanging dangerously over the corners,
overflowed again as she wiped them from her face. She brought her arms around
Fa and hugged her tightly. Fa stepped back.
「You
must understand,」 she said, 「A mother』s grief…I…I have been so unfair to you,
and your family…」 She trailed off, looking at Mina. 「I』ve always wanted
daughters…but I』m so sorry. For all the unnecessary pain I caused you. It』s
just…the shock! My only son…」
Fa
squeezed her hand and nodded. 「Your loss is also ours,」 she said. She stepped
away, and the crowd that had been watching from the corners of her eyes darted
back to their original conversations.