A Day of Signs and Wonders by Kit Pearson

Author:Kit Pearson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2016-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

“Shall we have tea on the lawn?” asked Kitty, after Chin had taken the carriage away.

Emily shrugged. “If you like.”

They sat on wicker chairs by Pop’s garden. Kitty picked another white rose and kept smelling it. The same unworldly look was on her face.

It’s a stupid look, thought Emily. Something black and nasty inside her wanted to slap away that bliss.

Emily was very familiar with this blackness. It was her demon that lashed out at people, no matter how hard Emily tried to keep it down. It turned her from a happy person into someone bad.

Don’t tell her! she ordered the demon. Song brought out a tray and poured them tea. Emily took huge mouthfuls of lemon cake to keep the demon from speaking.

The sound of laughing boat passengers drifted up to them from the water. A loud kraak! came from a tree above.

“Hello, silly George,” called Kitty.

Emily’s heart lifted: Raven! He peered down at Emily sternly, as if warning her not to tell. Then he swooped away. Emily sipped her sugary tea and felt calmer.

But then Kitty started babbling about the seance again. “Oh, Emily, Pop sounded so serene! She said she was with God and the angels. Mama used to tell me that and I couldn’t believe it, but now I do. My dear, dear little sister . . . she was an angel on earth and now she’s an angel in heaven.”

This was sickening. Kitty’s voice was affected and churchy, like Lizzie’s when she was quizzing Emily on her Bible lesson. Emily twisted her napkin into a knot.

“How I wish I could tell Mama and Papa that Pop is at peace and that I actually heard her voice . . . but they wouldn’t believe me. Papa thinks clairvoyance is nonsense.”

The demon leapt out of Emily’s mouth so fast that she spat crumbs onto the grass. “It is nonsense,” she said bitterly. “Mrs. Tolliver is a fraud.”

Kitty stared at her. “Emily, how can you say that? I heard her! I heard Pop’s voice just as clearly as when she was alive!”

“It wasn’t her voice. It was Mrs. Tolliver’s sister. She was standing in the kitchen, calling through the curtain.”

Kitty turned as pale as the milk in the jug. “She wasn’t! You’re making it up,” she whispered.

“I’m not making it up. When I was coming back from the privy, I heard her through the kitchen window. I peeked in and saw Miss Wilson pretending to be Pop.”

Kitty’s eyes were huge and stricken. “No! It’s not true!”

Now the demon had retreated, leaving the good Emily devastated. She felt as if she had taken a gentle, small bird and crushed it in her hands.

But it was too late; she couldn’t retrieve her words. Nodding bleakly, she said, “I’m really sorry, Kitty, but it is true.”

Kitty’s voice turned to ice. “You’re lying. You’re making it all up because you missed hearing Pop.”

Emily jumped to her feet. “I’m not lying! You just don’t want to believe the truth!”

Kitty stood up, as well. “The truth is that you are a cruel little girl who makes up stories to hurt me.

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