Whispering Bones (25 page)
Denise swallowed to keep tears from welling in her eyes. After thanking the woman again, she left.
Once back at home, Denise dragged the boxes over and settled herself on the chaise-lounge in the bedroom she shared with Stan. With the children not due home from school for several hours and Stan at work, she had the house to herself. Her hands trembled a little as she laid out the contents in front of her.
The first item she picked up was an old black-and-white photo of a stern-looking man standing ramrod straight next to an attractive woman with shining waves of long dark hair, a boy and a girl in front of them, holding hands. She flipped the photo over. On the back was written “June 27th, 1926.” The date seemed to indicate that the woman in the photo might be her great-grandmother, Serafina. On closer inspection she could see a gondola in the water behind the group in the photo. After rifling through some of the papers, she found a birth certificate for Serafina, indicating her great-grandmother had indeed been born in Venice.
She set the picture carefully aside and picked up some of the other photos. One of them depicted a young woman, sixteen or seventeen perhaps, wearing seventies-style clothing, and Denise knew from the striking resemblance she bore to the woman in the photograph she was looking at a picture of her mother. The year 1974 appeared on the back. She stared at the photo for a long time, knowing it had been taken the year following her birth. Her mother’s eyes appeared slightly sad and Denise wondered whether, at the moment the camera had captured her, she’d been thinking about the daughter she’d given up for adoption.
She sorted through the many papers, searching for a clue as to the identity of her father. Finding nothing, she returned her attention to the photographs. The older black-and-whites all showed Venice in the background. She had at least discovered that her mother’s family had hailed from Italy. One piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.
The idea of her Italian heritage pleased her. Just last month, she and Stan had talked about the possibility of taking a European holiday with the children next summer, and she’d been excited by the prospect. Now, she had even more reason for wanting to go. She’d never been to Venice before.
http://www.lyricalpress.com/rita_vetere
Having visited Venice, Italy many times, Rita decided the hauntingly beautiful city would provide a perfect backdrop for the horror story she intended to write someday, something in a similar vein to the classic horror novels and films she grew up with. The story turned out to be
Whispering Bones
.
For Rita, there are few pleasures as excellent as sitting in a favorite chair reading a creepy little tale while the wind howls outside. She hopes
Whispering Bone
s
was that kind of experience for you.
Rita was born in Newborough, England and raised in Toronto, Ontario Canada. She currently lives in the Greater Toronto Area, where she is at work on her next novel.
Rita’s Website:
http://www.ritavetere.com
Reader eMail:
Where reality and fantasy collide
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