A MAZE OF GREED

As Mrs Payne waited patiently to listen to what Ruth had to say, Ruth was in contemplation on what and how much she was ready to tell. She was carrying that burden on her own all this time.

Now that there was someone she trusted, who was willing to share it with her, Ruth thought it was an ideal opportunity to let it all out.

"Mrs Payne... I... I... there is something wr-r-wrong with me." Ruth finally began.

Mrs Payne frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You just said that I have done many things. What were you talking about?" Ruth asked instead.

Mrs Payne observed her for a long moment. "I see you do not trust me enough yet."

Oh, she had seen through her correctly.

Ruth thought of denying it. But it was true. She was apprehensive of trusting her after she decided to hide many things from her. Was she wrong about keeping those reservations?

Mrs Payne sighed. "You can ask questions and I will answer them all truthfully as much as I can. Then you can decide if you want to share those things with me. Okay?"

Feeling confident, Ruth nodded. "Did you know my mother?"

Mrs Payne was expecting that as her first question. For Ruth, her mother was the most important person in the whole world.

"Yes, we did."

"We?"

"I and your uncle Payne. We both knew her."

Ruth suddenly felt emotional at the thought of two beloved people she had lost to death.

"How?"

Mrs Payne paused as if she was thinking about something. Then she said, "Ruth there will be some answers that I would like to give you at the end. But I promise I WILL give them to you. Next question."

Ruth was getting frustrated with this game. She wanted to know all of it, every single bit of it, and at the same time, right then and there. Yet she nodded in agreement.

"Why my mother sent me here? In Vincardine?"

That was the question she had asked herself numerous times. If only her mother had answered it then, then Ruth would have known how her fate was meant to be changed in Vincardine.

"Because she knew that your past was hiding here. Your present should be built here. And your future is Vincardine. Even if she had not died then, she would have taken you here anyway. That is what your fate is Ruth.

Vincardine is deciding your future."

"Did you both- you and Mr Payne came here with me?"

Mrs Payne shook her head. "No. We came here a few months before Bertha's death. We had something on our minds. When we discussed it with Bertha, she refused the idea, but when destiny turned the tables around, she told you to come here to Vincardine.

Before she died, we promised her to take care of you and look after you all the time. Just like we promised your father years ago." Mrs Payne's voice came thick with emotions.

"Gerald!"

Mrs Payne's eyes shot up to Ruth in shock.

"That was what his name, right?"

"Ruth... how do you know this?"

A tear rolled down Ruth's cheek. "I know many things. But I want you to connect all the dots for me."

Now Mrs Payne was confused. She did not know how much Ruth knew. She did not know where she learned those things. One thing she realised was that if she did not satisfy her curiosity now, then it might take her to the wrong road.

"Gerald Livingstone."

Gerald Livingstone!

Ruth replayed that name again and again in her mind till she got familiar with it.

"H-how was he? As a person?" She could not help but ask.

Mrs Payne's eyes clouded with the old memories. "He was a handsome man, Ruth. He was a... erm..."

"A thief." Ruth filled in the blanks.

Mrs Payne's curiosity about where Ruth found that information heightened. Yet she continued with the story.

"But he was not a bad man. He was just... different than others. He was betrayed by the world, humiliated and embarrassed at every step of his life. When he had enough of it, he decided to teach the world lesson."

Mrs Payne chuckled humouredly. "But how can one change their inner fabric? He decided to teach the world lesson but always ended up helping it one way or another. He was just like that. Different!"

The sudden urge of meeting the man that the world told her was her father made Ruth's heart twist in pain.

"Did my father... Gerald... did he love my mother?" Ruth intentionally left out the name of her mother. She wanted to learn everything from someone who she could trust.

Mrs Payne was now in dilemma. Was Ruth talking about Bertha or Theodora?

Playing safe, she answered. "At first... I am not sure. But he did fell in love with your mother eventually."

"And my mother? Did she love him?" Ruth wanted to know if Theodora loved her father as she claimed.

Mrs Payne nodded, but for some reason, she did not look quite impressed with it. "Yes, she did."

Ruth exhaled a shaky breath.

"Who I am, Mrs Payne?"

Ruth's sudden question took her aback. "You are Ruth Moore. The most beautiful woman in Vincardine with a heart of gold."

Ruth's eyes teared up. She shook her head, as her chin trembled.

"No. I am no human, Mrs Payne. I am a witch!" That was it! She said it.

Mrs Payne stared at her for a few moments. And then... she burst out laughing. Ruth, who was at the pinnacle of confusion and emotions, paused, looking at her incredulously.

"Wh-why are you laughing?"

She could not help but ask.

"Because Ruth... you are not a witch. You are just a human. Like most of the people around you."

Most of the people around you? Why would she choose such words?

"But... I... I have done some strange things with... with..."

"Florence, Lady Eloise, Fannie and... Henry."

Ruth's fingers turned cold. How did she know that?

"I told you this before. I know everything you do and what happens with you." Mrs Payne's face turned serious.

"Then why did not you ask me about it?"

"There is always a right time for everything Ruth. We should not rush things and let them flow with the time. Time is the trustable guide. It will take you to the right place at the right time in the right situation. Just have faith in it."

Ruth was speechless.

"It was not the first time you did something like that Ruth. In your childhood, you were impulsive and a little aggressive."

"Aggressive?"

Ruth was anything but aggressive. That anybody could tell.

Mrs Payne nodded. "Aggression has always been a distinctive trait of your personality. But it was not harmful unless someone wronged you.

I remember Bertha having a hard time controlling your 'doings'. But she was hopeful. She moulded you over the years into the woman that you are today."

Ruth's head turned heavy. Fighting back her tears, she asked, "What is that I do?"

"You have read the book of witches. Have not you figured it out yet?" Mrs Payne cocked her brow.

"Yes.. I mean... I think I have. But I thought that meant that I am a witch. I can manipulate people's minds. That much I know."

Mrs Payne sighed. "I do not know what else you can do with your power. But we need to figure it out soon. You have to master your power or else it might put you in trouble."

"But why? Why and how I got this power, Mrs Payne? I do not want it. I never asked for it. Everytime I use it unconsicously, it makes me feel worse afterwaeds. What use is there of this power?" Ruth was too frustrated with everything.

The last sounds made by that duck still ringed in her ears.

She felt like losing herself to oblivion. And that scared her.

Mrs Payne palmed her face. Looking warmly at her, she replied, "I can not tell you everything just now Ruth. There are some things that you need to discover on your own. Experience them, observe them, study them and understand them at your pace. You need to keep your mind open to accept them."

"This is just too much Mrs payne. I... I do not think I can take it anymore." Ruth broke into tears. All the pent up emotions burst through the salty tears.

"Shhh.... I know my dear. I know. But you are stronger than this. You can survive this with little efforts. Just do not doubt your capabilities."

Mrs Payne's heart broke seeing Ruth's distressing form. Deciding that it was enough and now Ruth needed to know everything at once, Mrs Payne pulled away from her.

"Remove your necklace."

"What?" Ruth blinked, puzzled.

"Remove your necklace for a minute, Ruth. And do not ask me why, because as I said you should trust the time. It will take you to your answers. For now, remove it."

Wordlessly Ruth removed the necklace that Rees had gifted her. She kept it aside carefully. Mrs Pane opened the black box and showed it to Ruth.

"This is the time you should revisit your past. This is the only thing that your father has left for you with us. He wanted us to give it to you when the time comes. And I think that time has come."

Ruth's heart beat faster. The last time she had touched that white feather, she was haunted by the nightmares of a green-eyed man to this date.

But the curiosity was stronger than the fear. So, she took it in between her fingers, and after an encouraging nod from Mrs Payne, she touched it to her forehead.

As soon as she felt its softness against her skin, she was thrown into the cycle of the past. A past that solved many mysteries of her present and provided her with the light of her future.

A past that was a tale of Luna's birth!