Invisible Ink: The Taste of Ink

Prologue

If You’re Looking for It

Even the breeze seemed to be holding its breath. All of the bay windows were open, the sheer drapes hanging limply rather than billowing in the wild ocean wind. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the past fifteen years of my life. It was usually Aden who couldn’t sleep at night…who would wake up drenched in sweat from his awful nightmares. Apparently, it was my turn to play the restless insomniac.

I heard the soft creaking of the floorboards and looked over my shoulder just as one of the double doors to my bedroom slowly opened. Her dark curly hair was messy from her bed, and her small feet peeked out from the pants of her pajamas. Even at night, her green eyes seemed to glow.

“Avery,” I said quietly, sliding off my bed and walking over to her, “What’s wrong?”

Trails of tears ran down her cheeks and I hurried to wipe them away. I wrapped my hand around hers and led her out of the room and down the hallway. I didn’t want to disturb Aden’s sleep since he barely got any. Pushing open the door to her room, she waited for me before even sitting on her bed. “What happened?”

“They came back again,” She whispered, pointing to her mirror.

I followed her small finger and stared at our reflection. For years, she has claimed to see and hear people in her mirror. It’s an ordinary, full-length, oval mirror. It looks very old, but I still didn’t understand how people could be in the reflection. For over three months, Avery had slept soundly without being bothered. Why was sleep such an issue in my house?

“Mommy, I’m scared!” Embracing her, I tried to ease her fear but I knew that it wouldn’t work. Words could only do so much. What she really needed was for her father to talk to her. He could console her. The only problem was that I had failed to mention the occurrences to him…ever. I told Avery to not talk to him. He had enough trouble and at first it had seemed unnecessary to bother him with a silly nightmare. But the nightmare kept coming back.

“Would they go away if the mirror went away?” She nodded her head furiously at me. It seemed pointless, but still worth a shot. “In the morning, I’ll take the mirror out of your room and put it away.”

Relief flooded into her eyes and she tightened her grip on me. “I love you, mommy.”

“I love you too, Avery.”

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Perhaps the heaviest object I’ve ever tried to lift by myself had been a full-length mirror. It was so thick and heavy that, more than once, I had visions of my back snapping in two pieces. It had to be ancient. I was nearly to the steps to the attic when I heard someone walking up the stairwell. I panicked. I had thought Aden would be busy riding one of the horses or busying himself with yard work. I prayed that Avery would poke her little head around the top of the stairs.

“What are you doing, Loreli?” His hair was sticking to the sweat on his forehead as if he had just finished a rather laborious task…he had probably been riding.

“Moving this to the attic?” I had meant for my voice to sound simple and innocent. It sounded anything but.

“Why?” He asked curiously.

“Do I need a reason?”

“I bought that mirror for Avery’s room. I would much like to hear your reasoning on this. It wasn’t cheap and the man who sold it to me was awful enough as it is.” He wouldn’t be so easily distracted from the conversation so I figured it best to not even try.

I looked around, trying to find a believable and worthy explanation. “Avery doesn’t like it. She had a bad nightmare last night. I figured it best to get the mirror out of her room.”

“You’re moving her mirror because of a silly nightmare? Did you explain to her that it wasn’t real!?” He seemed to think I was being foolish. He was clueless.

“It’s not just one silly nightmare, Aden. This has been going on for a long time. If you could’ve seen how upset it made her last night then you would understand. These nightmares are real to her and I know from experience that not all nightmares are a figment of the imagination!”

I could tell a whole new world of questions had surfaced in his mind. I had failed to mention something potentially crucial to him about our daughter. He wasn’t happy about it, that I knew without seeing the expression on his face. “If I help you take that mirror to the attic then I expect an entire explanation about these nightmares and why I was left in the dark.”

Aden leaned against the wall as he sat on the floor in the attic, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. “I forgot how heavy that mirror was.”

I ran my hands along my jeans, unsure of what to do with myself. I had the smallest, tiniest feeling that in about two seconds, Aden wasn’t going to be very happy with me at all. I could tell by his gaze that he was simply going to sit there and wait until I said something. It was a possibility to simply keep my mouth shut and let him sit there forever, but it wouldn’t happen. He’d get it out eventually.

“These nightmares Avery has been having…they’re not really nightmares. At first,” I sighed and rubbed my arm nervously, “I thought she was merely having bad dreams. But it kept happening and it was always the same thing. Every time it happened, it got worse. When I saw her crying last night, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to do something.”

“Two questions,” Aden said, “How long had this been happening? And what are these nightmares about?”

“They…” I looked at him and bit my lip, “She’s been having these nightmares for years.” I tried my best to ignore the look he was giving me. “She said she would see people in her mirror, shadow-like figures. And recently, the last few times, she said she could hear voices calling to her. I don’t want anything to happen to her so I decided to get rid of that awful mirror.”

Aden glanced at the mirror and hung his head. “You’re unbelievable, Loreli.” He got to his feet and began to storm out of the attic.

“You can’t be that angry about it! I didn’t think it was worth worrying you over at first. You have enough trouble as it is getting through everyday. Don’t think I don’t know it. I can’t figure out what’s bothering our daughter. Stop letting this be about us and think about Avery for a few seconds!” I was nearly screaming at that point and hurriedly calmed myself. There was no need for screaming. It would only make the situation worse.

“I know what this is. I know what’s in that mirror. I already thought about it and I already figured it out.” His tone was almost smug. “Unless I’m sadly mistaken, there is something trapped inside that mirror…and it just so happens to want out. It’s an alternate plane that spirits are on. We keep that mirror up here and it stays covered. As for the attic door…it is to remain locked and nobody is to have the key except for me. If we need something, I’ll come up here and get it. No one is to come up here ever.”

I was gawking. I couldn’t even speak. I just stared dumbly at him. He had just rattled several disturbing facts off about this mirror and then wanted to keep it in the house!? I began to shake my head slowly. He was out of his mind.

“Imagine what would happen if someone else got their hands on it. There’s no telling what’s in that cursed mirror. It’s safest here.” I grabbed Aden’s arm and refused to let go until he turned around.

“How…how…if anything happens, Aden, I swear on my life that I will never speak to you again. If she gets hurt…”

He pressed his lips against my ear and hissed into it, “She’s my daughter, too. I want to protect her from that world just as much as you do. She deserves better and to think I would give her anything less than what she deserves is plain stupid on your part.”

His kissed my forehead and beckoned me first down the steps. I watched as he locked the door and then pocketed the key. I knew it was a mistake and I should’ve said something, but he wouldn’t listen regardless. He couldn’t keep Avery out of the attic forever. The older she got, the more curious she would become. I was her mother and I knew a thing or two about being young and curious. Her father was even worse. I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I didn’t say a word.

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A.N. Ooh NO I DID NOT! But wait…YES I DID! NEVERMIND! AHAHAHA! You bet your ASS I can write a sequel and just wait…JUST WAIT! Fuck yea biiiiitch. Ahem…sorry.

But on a slightly less insane note, the story will change point of view. It will go from first person Loreli to limited third person with Avery! What ever could I possibly do in the sequel? A whole hell of a lot so SIT BACK AND PUT ON YOUR SEATBELT!!

More secrets…more lies…and what the hell ever happened to Seth Bonaventure!?