Chapter 8
    (translated by Eleonor) 

    “The sooner the better!” Sanny had answered and soon afterwards they were outside the Chaursanne Mansion. Mandy had regretted agreeing with Sanny already but, when she arrived there she felt enchanted by the huge, magnificent garden surrounding the house.

    Sanny was leading the way decisively, Mandy following her to the front door. When they reached it, Sanny took a deep breath then rang the bell.

    A middle aged woman answered the door and looked at them quizzically.

    -“Can I help you?”

    -“Hello!” Sanny said happily. “Could we perhaps see Miss Michelle Chaursanne?”

    -“What is this about? Miss Chaursanne has very limited time these days”.

    -“We won’t take much of her time, it’s about a research we are doing, and…”

    -“Miss Chaursanne, has no time for researches and…” she started, but a young, warm voice, with heavy French accent was heard from inside the house interrupting he woman.

    -“Marguerite, what exactly are these ladies after?”

    -“They say they are doing some research, Miss.” Sanny walked past the woman, stepped on the top step and came face to face with Michelle. Then without thinking she said the first thing that came to her mind.

    -“It’s about Terry Grandchester”. The woman was very surprised to hear that name. she was very young, around 25 and very thin. She had black hair and blue eyes. Sanny and Mandy were taken by her ethereal presence.

    -“How do you know Terry Grandchester?” she asked.

    -“We are doing a research on old Broadway actors and trying to gather information. Perhaps you could help us?”

    -“I see… I would gladly help you but I don’t know much about Terry.”

    Sanny and Mandy exchanged questioning looks.

    -“That’s OK, any kind of information could be important to us. I beg your pardon; I have not introduced myself yet: Sanny Blair, I’m a writer, and this is my assistant, Mandy Addison. Could we come in for a little while?”

    -“Please come in” Michelle said and shot a murderous look to the woman who had initially answered the door.

    -“See the ladies to the sitting room, Marguerite please, I will be there in a minute”.

    -“But, Ma’am…”

    -“Don’t be rude, Marguerite” she cut in. “Just do as I said, please”.

    -“Yes Ma’am” said the housekeeper and did as she was asked with her head down.

    Even though the place seemed to be almost uninhabited, it was very well preserved and looked after. The place was shining!

    A few minutes later a maid came in and served them coffee and cookies. A few more minutes passed before Michelle joined them, and Mandy thought, now she could see her better, she was even more beautiful.

    -“So, how can I help you about Terry?”

    Sanny took a pen and a notebook out of her back then turned to Michelle with a serious, professional look on her face.

    -“First of all, please accept our apologies for turning up so unexpectedly and upsetting any plans you may had.”

    -“Oh don’t worry. I am getting married in a few days and I’m quite busy, but I have some time to talk to you about what you want.”

    -“Thank you so much!” said Sanny putting her best smile forward. “We would like to hear some things about Terry, about his life, his habits… First of all, how are you related to him?”

    -“Terry was my Grandmother’s older brother,” Michelle said simply.

    -“Older brother?” asked Mandy.

    -“Yes, I mean, half brother. They had different mothers.”

    -“Very interesting” Sanny said looking meaningfully at Mandy. “Do you have any more information about his family?”

    -“Sure. Terry and my Grandmother were the children of the Duke of Grandchester, from England. Terry’s mother was America, she too was a Broadway actress, if I am not mistaken.”

    -“OK” Sanny said. “Was he living here?”

    -“Anything I know about him, I heard them from my Grandmother. She was the Grandchester’s younger child. Terry was about 15 years older than her. She married Andre Chaursanne who was from France and after many years they moved to New York with their children for business purposes. Terry was living here for quite some time already. That’s how their relationship started and in time they became inseparable. My Grandmother loved him very much,” she said in a nostalgic voice.

    -“Is your Grandmother still alive?”

    -“No, she died several years ago, I was about ten at the time.”

    -“So you haven’t actually met Terry?”

    -“Of course not. When I was born he had already passed away about twenty years earlier, maybe more.”

    -“Could you tell us anything more? Do you know if he got married? If he had children?”

    -“No he never had children, but I believe he was married at one time.”

    -“What about his wife? Do you know her name?”

    -“I am sorry I cannot remember her name. My Grandmother never spoke of her. Apparently she died at a young age. Terry probably never married again. He lived alone and spent a lot of his time here in this house”.

    -“And you know nothing to tell us about his wife?”

    -“Unfortunately, I know precious little things about Terry and his life. As I said earlier I only know what my mother told me. I know that when he died he left everything to some orphanage. That was his wish.”

    Sanny and Mandy looked at each other. Michelle was observing them, trying to figure out what did these women truly want. What they had told her so far wasn’t the truth, she knew. It seemed that they were afraid to ask what they actually wanted. But she was telling them the truth: she really didn’t know a lot about Terry. Her Grandmother always spoke with love about him. She had told Michelle once that sometimes when she heard his name it would make her very sad. Suddenly, Michelle remembered something she had almost erased from her memory.

    -“Perhaps there is something that could help you," she said finally.

    -“Really?” said Sanny, “did you remembered something else?”

    -“No, but… wait a minute please.” She got up and rang a little bell. The young maid that had served them coffee earlier appeared and the two of them started a conversation in rapid French. Sanny and Mandy could not understand what they were talking about.

    The maid left and the housekeeper replaced her. Her expression said that she was not at all pleased. Yet another conversation in French took place and this time Michelle appeared to be irritated. The housekeeper departed and Michelle smiled at them again.

    -“I apologize for all this. Marguerite is working for our family for a very long time. Sometimes she thinks she can take the decisions,” she said.

    A few minutes later, the young maid returned carrying a large, dusty box. Marguerite was right behind her holding…

    Mandy had turned white. She could not believe what she was seeing. All of a sudden, she felt that the sun was gone and that it was dark. Her hands started shaking and her coffee cup left them and shuttered into a thousand pieces on the floor.

    Marguerite was holding a hanger, from which a pretty, well kept red dress was hanging. A dress Mandy had seen herself wearing many times in her dreams. It was the same dress she had seen in the magazine she had thrown away, the day after she had her first dream.

    All the women turned and looked at her at once, their stares where suffocating her. But her surprise was such that she couldn’t utter a word.

    -“What’s the matter, Miss?” Michelle asked.

    -“Mandy, Mandy what’s the matter with you? Are you OK?” Sanny asked.

    -“This dress…” Mandy said with difficulty. “This dress…” she never finished her sentence.

    -“To whom did it belong to?” Sanny asked intensely.

    -“No, it was not my grandmother’s. Terry had it along with other things of his own. When he died, my Grandmother kept them… I guess it belonged to his wife and he kept it as a reminder of her”.

    Mandy sat back on the chair trying to recover. The maid left the box she was currying on the floor and started cleaning up the broken cup. Marguerite was watching Mandy.

    -“Are you OK?” Michelle asked again.

    -“Yes, please don’t worry about me. I had just seen it somewhere before and I thought… I mean… I am sorry” she said in the end, unable to explain her peculiar behavior to them.

    -“What’s in the box?” Sanny asked.

    -“Some items that used to belong to Terry. Whatever my Grandmother had of him. We kept them in the attic and I thought you might be interested in them”.

    -“We are very interested” Sanny said looking at Mandy whom with her eyes was telling Sanny she daren’t open it. Sanny approached the box and opened it.

    There were various things inside: A handkerchief with the initial’s T.G. embroidered on it; an old chain watch; two silk, pink ribbons; some theatre books. Sanny picked one up.

    Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The book was very old and well used with many annotations in it.

    But what really impressed Sanny were the letters. Many of them. Closed envelops blank on the outside, addressed to no one. Few of them seemed to have been opened and read.

    Sanny pulled an envelope with the names of the sender and the receiver on it.

    The receiver was Terrence Graham Grandchester, in New York and the sender Candy White Ardlay, in Chicago. Sanny read the names in a broken voice – Mandy was still very upset.

    Sanny passed the envelope to Mandy and she opened it. There was a letter inside, one that Candy White had written to Terry Grandchester. Mandy could clearly identify her own writing. She could also see how many times that letter had been pulled out of its envelope and read; one could say that it had been read thousands of times. Mandy could picture him clearly in front of him, reading it during the nights, sitting hours on end looking for answers… answers that would never come.

    Trying to keep her cool, Sanny turned to Michelle and asked her decisively:

    -“Please, do you think we could borrow this box for a while?”

    -“You may keep it” Michelle said looking quite moved.

    -“But…”

    -“You don’t need to explain to me. I think my Grandmother had left these here and to me on purpose. I was certain someone would come one day for them”.

    Mandy wanted to speak, to explain but it looked that her voice had deserted her. The only thing that came to her mind and she managed to utter was:

    -“Sanny, we need to see Maya”.

    ****************

    After all that had happened in the Shaursanne Mansion, Mandy had not spoken a word since they left. Sanny was driving like crazy, lost in her own thoughts. They both wanted to get to Maya’s as soon as it was possible. They had to show her what they had found and perhaps there was something more she could tell them. Days earlier, Mandy could never have believed in anything supernatural, she thought she was a psychologically disturbed person. Today, she was convinced that Trey and her had met in a previous lifetime. And surely they had not ended well, everything pointed to that. There was also the dream she kept having. Evidently that was the last time they had met. And now? What would happened now?
    Sanny parked the car right outside Maya’s house and Mandy got out of the car, holding the box in her arms. Sanny followed her holding the red dress. Mandy felt terrified every time she looked at it.

    Sanny rang the bell and Maya was left with her mouth open when she saw the two girls.

    -“Come in” she said and after they entered she shut and locked the door. “What happened and you are both in this state?” she asked.

    -“This is the dress that Mandy is wearing in her dream” Sanny explained hurriedly. “And this box is full of things and letters belonging to Terry Grandchester”.

    -“So you found them already” Maya said flatly.

    -“What do you mean?” Mandy asked. “Why are you making me feel like a pawn in a treasure hunt?” she yelled.

    -“Because that’s what you are!”

    -“I don’t understand a thing…”

    -“Don’t you see? He is chasing you, he is looking for you everywhere. He didn’t whatever he could to find you again”.

    -“But he did… Trey and I are together… Isn’t that what he wanted?”

    -“I don’t know what did he want or believed exactly. What I know is that he wanted to be sure you two will have a second chance. Believe in that!”.

    -“Do you mean to say that he did all this so he can find me again?”

    -“Even if he hadn’t, be sure you would have found it again anyway”.

    -“What do you have to say about all this stuff?” Sanny asked.

    -“These belong to Mandy. They are hers”.

    -“Why did he keep this dress? Where did he find it? Did they meet again, perhaps? And what drives me over the edge more than anything is, why did they broke up, why…?”

    -“You can only find this one out from the Recallings. We must carry on” Maya said. “You shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. Accept the gift that is given to you in this life, to fulfill your love. He is asking for this too…”

    -“Trey still doesn’t know any of this. If I tell him he will think I am paranoid”.

    -“But now you have some of the proof you were looking for.” Sanny said. “He cannot but believe you if you show him all this”.

    -“I don’t know…” said Mandy still hesitant.

    -“Do not rush. Think very well what you will tell him so he will understand exactly what’s going on”.

    -“And these envelopes? They are sealed… what shall I do with them?”

    -“They are yours. When you feel ready, read them”.

    -“They are not for me, they are for Candy…” said Mandy hesitantly still.

    -“Mandy, let me tell you something. Do not get confused in your mind. You and Candy are the same person”.

    -“How can this be? A person from the past…”

    -“Here is your mistake. There is no past, nor present, neither future. The only thing that exists is an endless present. Souls keep returning to it to fulfill their purpose. Time and its limits were set by humans so that they can measure it, but in reality time doesn’t exist” Maya said. Mandy was looking at her, lost trying to make sense of her words.

    -“If that is the case, why Trey does not see the same things? Why doesn’t he have similar experiences? If he is chasing me and he is Terry himself as I am Candy why does he not feel all this too?”

    -“And how do you know what he feels? What if he feels this also and he is reluctant to talk to you just like you are about talking to him? even though I know you are the receiver of all this. All you have to do, is to have an open talk with him. He will understand you.”

    -“I think so too” Sanny agreed.

    -“OK. I will talk to him tonight”.

    -“Do you want to carry on?” Maya asked .

    -“Yes” Mandy said. “I want to carry on, I want to know what happened between Terry and Candy”.

    *************

    He and I spend a whole school summer in Scotland. I am in love with him but I don’t want to admit it. I hang around outside his house constantly, I do whatever I can to be near him all the time. But I don’t want him to understand how I feel about him.

    Thankfully, the issue between him and his mother was solved. I managed to make him understand how difficult it is to not have a family.
    That day he invited me to his house and everything was beautiful between us… I thought my heart would burst, we came so close, but… it was all over before it started…

    And that morning he forced me to ride on his horse with him, I thought I’d die. I had not gotten Anthony’s death over yet. But his words were so real. It made me see that I was still alive and that one shouldn’t give up no matter how hard his experiences.

    -“Open your eyes, Candy, and look around you. Forget about the past, look ahead, only ahead. Life is ours, it belong to us, Candy, to us!”

    “Yes, the sun is shining… the grass, the trees, the flowers everything is so beautiful and so alive!”

    “Anthony, died. Do you hear me, Candy? But we are alive. We are alive, Candy, alive. We must live, just like the trees and the grass of this forest. Show the love of your heart to this forest, Candy… to this forest…”

    A few days later we came so closed to each other. It was as if we were together, he and I, made for each other. We were dancing on one of Scotland’s most beautiful hills above a sparkling lake… the sunrays were reflecting off it blinding me. All of a sudden he held me tight and kissed me. The whole world disappeared. I couldn’t understand what had happened. My heart was beating so hard, I thought it would burst. It was so beautiful… but I was terrified and as soon as I found myself again, I slapped him. He slapped me back. I felt so ashamed. I wanted to disappear so I run away. I was wishing I would never see him again. But when I returned to the school, without knowing why I was looking for him everywhere. And then when I received Albert’s letter I run to find him to let him read it. that’s when I really understood that I loved him and that I wanted to be next to him constantly.

    Things didn’t go as I had imagined them however. Eliza, who hates me so, set up a trap for us in the stables. He sent me a letter I thought it was from Terry, that he wanted to meet me in the stables to talk. He received a similar letter he thought it was from me. And so, that night the nuns caught us alone in the stables. Absolutely nothing at all had happened between us. There had not been time enough even to say hello…

    A maelstrom of events knocked everything down around us. I was shut in a tower and had no idea what was happening in the school. They told me they were expelling me and I was miserable. I was particularly ashamed about what Uncle William would think of me… he had done so much for me…

    Terry tried really hard, he did everything he could so I would not get expelled from the school. He even talked to his father and asked for his help. But he refused to help. Later Terry offered to leave the school instead of me. He told me nothing about this though, I knew nothing…

    And so I went to his room looking for him… but all I found there was a letter.

    “Dear Candy,

    I decided to leave the school and go to America. I hope with all my heart that you will be happy. Where ever I am I will be hoping you are happy”.

    -“Terry left for America… Terry, this letter is too short… it’s very short this letter… Oh Terry, you are leaving after all that happened? NO! You can’t leave like this, no! You can’ , you can’t…”

    Mandy’s eyes were full of tears, she was crying desperately. Sanny was suffering also to see her reliving this torment again. But there was no other way, this was the only choice so she could avoid what could possibly happen in this life.
    Maya was not reacting at all, she was only listening and continued guiding her to her soul’s innermost paths

    “Terry left for America. I’d never imagine we would be separating so quickly with Terry. No, no, no, I don’t want to loose him so suddenly. No, no, no…”

    Mandy was getting more upset as this Recalling was progressing. She didn’t stop crying for a second. Her lips were uttering the same name constantly.

    “Terry…”

    Sanny could see her so clearly running in the port to catch him before he left. Her face flushed, out of breath she was ready to collapse. But Maya was not stopping her and Sanny had started worrying that they were on dangerous ground.

    “I knew I’d be too late… I didn’t even got to say goodbye to him. Terry, I love you. Why did you leave? Why? Terryyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!”

    She screamed and she sounded so desperate, Sanny had shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes, she could not watch any more.

    -“Maya, stop it, please,” she begged.

    -“Hush, she must conclude it,” she said in a low voice, glaring at her.

    “Terry what can I do? What I must do? Do you think I can be happy without you? Terry… Terry…”

    The crying had turn to sobbing and Mandy looked as if all her courage had left her.

    -“Stop it!” said Sanny again.

    Maya took Mandy’s hands in hers and ordered her to return to reality.

    She woke up felling only her loud beating heart, wondering what had happened.

    ************

    Many returned home and she was still trying to get over all she had heard in the tape earlier. As time was going by, this story was getting worse. Her previous life was full of pain and tears. It looked like she kept running after Trey only to find he had disappeared.

    Maya had said he was looking for her everywhere that he had left his sings so she can return to him. It was all resembled an enigma she had to solve but couldn’t.

    Trey wasn’t at home. She hit the button on the answering machine to take the messages and she found a message from him indeed.

    -“Mandy. Mandy. Are you not home?” Pause. “I will be late tonight. We started rehearsing the new play already. See you later.”

    Those were his exact words. Not a hind of love or tenderness. How far this huge void between then would reach?

    Sanny and Maya were right, she had to find the courage to talk to him. She had to tell him everything from the beginning to make him listen to the tapes with her Recallings. Perhaps he wouldn’t believe her but there was nothing else to do now any more, she had no other choice.

    She had set the dress and the box with Terry’s stuff on her couch.

    -“Oh God, I am so confused,” she said. She was ready to reach for the box when the phone rung. Could it be Trey? She run to answer it.

    -“Hello!”

    -“Mandy!”

    -“Sanny! What happened, you sound upset!”

    -“Mandy I have something very important to tell you!”

    -“I’m not sure I want to hear it” Mandy said somehow knowing it had to do with this story.

    -“I just arrived home and thought to search for information on Terry online. He was famous and…”

    -“What did you find?” Mandy asked.

    -“Do you happen to remember the date I told you Terry took the harmonica to that shop?”

    -“No”.

    -“June 19, 1969,” Sanny said.

    -“And?”

    -“He died the same day,” Sanny said flatly.

    -“What do you mean?”

    -“He took the harmonica to that shop and died later that evening.” Mandy froze, shivers shook her spine.

    -“Mandy, are you still there?”

    -“Yes.”

    -“Almost as if he knew he would die…”

    -“It seems I am being haunted by a ghost named Terry,” Mandy said. “Because Trey is rehearsing at the theatre and I can’t stand this anymore,” she concluded desperately.

    -“Mandy talk to him… Tonight. He will believe you.”

    -“OK, I am going to see him at the theatre, I can’t just sit here and wait.”

    -“I think you must.”.

    Mandy hang up the phone and was getting ready to go but she felt like the box was calling her and it approached it slowly. She wanted to open any one of those letters for the past few hours. She was very curious about their content.

    She picked up one, observed it then tore its side carefully. She pulled the single page of paper hiding inside, out and started reading.

    “New York, 1920

    My dear Candy,

    This is yet another letter you shall never receive for I am too much of a coward to send it to you.

    The weather in New York is dull lately or it’s rather because I have not seen the sun for a long time.

    The days are going by one after the other and life has become meaningless… endless.

    I heard that you are still at Pony’s home and that you rarely leave the place. I am sure you will be calmer now, that you will be running to your favorite hill along with the children of the orphanage.

    My life with Susanna is colorless, tedious… there is nothing she can offer me, not a single moment of happiness.

    I made you promise me once that you will be happy and you asked the same of me.

    Well, you know what? I lied. I am very unhappy and too big a coward to do something to correct it.

    I can’t sleep at nights, you are haunting my heart, my dreams my thoughts. Sometimes I feel as if I can still hear you calling me in the green hills of Scotland. I see you climbing the trees and…

    Really, my Freckles… I can write no more. It is too difficult to me to write even a letter I won’t mail and you shall never receive.

    I still have a ray of hope inside me though. As long as I am alive and breathing, I will hope I shall see you again. And then perhaps there can be a second chance for us…

    If ever this happens, I won’t let that chance go to waste. I won’t make the same mistakes again.

    I love you.

    I live and breathe in the hope that I shall see you again…

    Yours,
    Terry”

    Mandy was afraid that her tears that had drenched the paper would destroy this old letter. A letter he had believed Candy would never receive… Perhaps, she just had?

    Mandy closed the box, resisting the temptation to sit down and read all the letters so she could see how much he had suffered. And more importantly, who was Susanna?

    She didn’t want to think any more. She took her coat and her bag, went out of the house and jumped into a cab. She was much too upset to drive. She gave the theatre’s address to the driver. The time had come for Trey to hear the truth.

    ************

    As soon as she arrived outside the theatre and saw the photos they still had on from the last show, Mandy felt her heart flutter. She wanted to run and hug him at once and confess everything to him. Perhaps, he wouldn’t believe her at first, but slowly when she would have told him everything he would be able to see the way things were.

    She pushed the heavy class door and saw Rose coming towards her. Rose didn’t recognize her at first but when she did, she smiled at her.

    -“Mandy! I’m so glad to see you! Did you come to see Trey?”

    -“Yes, I was nearby and…”

    -“Good! But don’t interrupt them they are in a difficult part. We only just started today but they all work their butts off already” she explained.

    -“I understand, I won’t cause any problems, I will wait for them to finish”.

    Rose showed Mandy to the auditorium. Trey saw her from the stage. Mandy had come to his rehearsal, something she hadn’t done for a while. She had stopped coming to the theatre lately. Her presence alone there gave him a small satisfaction. He couldn’t wait to finish the rehearsal and spend some time alone with her. He had missed her a lot. He needed her in any way, he needed her – period.

    They had only just set up the love scene and Brad wanted to see the first rehearsal. Anna again was giving her best and Trey was responding equally good in the scene’s demands. They had certainly made a very good start. If the rehearsals continued in the same way, the show would be amazing.

    Mandy sat next to Rose watching with her mouth hanging open. Trey was wonderful, he had bewitched her. She wanted to get on that stage and hug him right that moment. Only instead of her, he was hugging and kissing another girl. Mandy had never seen that girl before in her life. A moment later the girls look fell on her and Mandy felt her insistent look.

    Suddenly the air disappeared. Mandy tried to breathe but couldn’t. she tried a second time, still it was impossible, her lungs refused to fill with air. She felt she was suffocating, and much as she tried there was no air anywhere to breathe.

    She grabbed at her throat and Rose, next to her understood something was wrong.


    -“Mandy? Mandy are you OK? Oh my God… Mandy!” She couldn’t answer… darkness was descending slowly around her.

    Trey show that something was wrong. He jumped off the stage at once and run to her side.

    -“Mandy, what’s wrong, baby?” he asked but she could not answer

    Almost everyone had now gathered around her but Mandy couldn’t react, she was choking and she was still trying to find air to breathe. After the darkness that girl appeared in front of her, the same girl that moments earlier was with Trey on stage. Mandy could see her clearly crying, saying she wanted to die. Mandy could not understand what was that all about. And still there was no air…

    -“Mandy!” Trey screamed. “Someone call an ambulance!”

    He lifted her in his arms then and held her tight. Mandy could hear his heartbeat and all of a sudden she could breathe again, air filled her lungs. She took a deep breath with a sound and Trey looked at her in the face.

    -“Are you OK, talk to me, talk to me!” he begged.

    -“I’m OK” Mandy managed to breathe as he was taking her to his dressing room.

    ************

    Anna Miller had been left all alone on the stage. Her co-star and everyone else had abandoned her…

    She wanted to start yelling, to scream so loudly for all to hear her.

    Evidently that woman was…

    No, no, it wasn’t true! That woman did not exist, she was not real. She was perhaps a fixture of her imagination that had appeared only to upset her.

    Anna felt her hands shaking as cold sweat bath her. She had not had these symptoms for a long time now, she had almost forgotten she had them…

    She had to get to her dressing room and find her pills in her bag. It was the only way she could calm down. She managed to get off the stage with difficulty and, head down, she reached the hallway. Everyone else was outside Trey’s dressing room worrying about that woman.

    Outwardly there was nothing about that woman worthy of noticing. She was blonde, with thick, tameless hair. She had green eyes and some freckles on her nose. She looked more like a little girl rather than a woman. Anna could not tell how old she was just by looking at her.

    As she was passing outside the room, she only saw that he was still holding her in his arms and he was now giving her a glass of water. The way he was looking at her, the way he was touching her…

    He should be holding her, Anna and not someone else…

    But, just a while earlier on the stage, he was hers and hers only. She was the one in his arms. But that was a lie, it was only for the play. No, it wasn’t a lie, it was real and Anna would make it truly real. There was no other woman, there were no obstacles, just some figments of her imagination the kind she had long time ago.

    She reached her dressing room, shut the door and locked it. She wanted to be alone. There was no mirror, since she had smashed it earlier so she couldn’t see her face. She opened her bag and took her pills. She hadn’t had these symptoms for a long time and she needed to take some medication or it would get out of hand very soon. She poured 3 pills on her hand and washed them down with a glass of water. She sat on the floor and started crying. She closed her eyes and wished her nightmare would end soon.

    *************

    After all that had happened at the theater, Trey had taken Mandy and had returned home. She seemed to be much better, but earlier, she had given him a right fright.

    -“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?”

    -“I’m sure.”

    -“You scared me so much,” he said caressing her hair.

    -“I’m sorry, I don’t really know what happened. I spoiled your rehearsal,” she said sadly.

    -“Don’t worry about that, we shall carry on tomorrow anyway. I am very tired as wel.l”

    Then there was silence, neither of them spoke for a while.

    Mandy had decided to tell him the truth earlier but after what had happened she didn’t dare. And that girl, she couldn’t understand why but had terrorized her. Her sixth sense was telling her that clearly there was danger ahead and that the girl would cause her a lot of problems. Had she perhaps met her in her previous life also?

    It was rather late and she had not the strength to call Sanny or Maya. All she wanted was to stay there with Trey. To be in his arms, to feel safe. Much as she tried however, she had lost her peace. She was scared.

    -“Trey…”

    -“Yeah…”

    -“That girl that was on the stage with you… is she the new star?”

    -“Yes. What did you think of her?” he asked trying to sound indifferent.

    -“Is something going on with her?” Mandy asked.

    -“What do you mean?” he asked looking at her in the eyes.

    -“The way she was touching you… looking at you… I have not seen this with any of your previous co-stars.”

    -“What are you talking about? This is my job. It’s all fake’ he said trying to cover up but he knew Mandy was right. Anna was chasing him, he had understood that for the first moment. Her presence was stressing him and making him nervous even though he didn’t want to admit it. In any case, he couldn’t let Mandy understand any of this anyway.

    -“Trey, I saw her. There is something different about her.”Trey felt exactly the same but he didn’t want to admit it especially not in front of Mandy.

    -“She is simply an actress, just as I am an actor. And you needn’t worry about anything. I am here with you,” he said and Mandy felt somewhat relieved… but fear had nested in her heart.

    He kissed her passionately then, to dispel anything bad that might be hanging over them. When they stopped Mandy caressed his hair.

    -“I love you, Trey,” she said hugging him.

    -“I love you too,” he said and he meant it more that anything else. “Better if we go to sleep. I can’t rest after what happened to you at the theater,” he said and took her in his arms again.

    Chapter 9