Chapter 9.5 – July 2023 part I: The most important thing.

It was a bright summer day for Palash and Sofia, with only a few seemingly distant clouds on the horizon, and they were just about to enjoy it by relaxing by the pool in their backyard when of course..

..the heavens opened and it began to rain. "I think we'll have to wait it out inside instead" Palash said. "I'll go turn on some music... I don't want you to catch a cold." How sweet of him, always considerate and thoughtful of his wife, and of course he would be.. she is, after all, carrying perhaps the most important thing to him right now, right there inside her belly....

Sofia still had her craving for pancakes, which she would feast on now, as often as she could... but still on occasion, she would get nauseous and need to make a run for the nearest bathroom shortly after eating..

..before commiting to the same routine all over again..

The pregnancy hasn't been a smooth ride for Sofia. She would deny it in the beginning.. no, she wasn't pregnant, that couldn't be, she was just.. sick.. but as time passed, and her belly grew, there was no more denying..

..she went into a period of rapid mood swings, from eagerly awaiting her child, to loathing the thought of being pregnant and in the future raising a child, so much so that yes, she did consider to go to the hospital and have her pregnancy terminated, but still.. something in her knew she couldn't do it, not for herself.. when she thought about what it would do to Palash, the love of her life.. how it would crush him if she would ever do such a thing.. and after Laranya had learnt about the pregnancy too, following her father-in-laws stay at the hospital just last christmas, it became even harder to do it.. so it was never really an option, though the thought would sometimes still be there...

..and maybe, if she would dare to dig a little deeper, maybe she would find that she would enjoy it, too.. atleast it would like it, considering that all the conversations the couple was having about their future seemed to revolve around this one thing.. and they were all positive.. the toys, the clothes they were going to buy.. the cute, tiny little shoes..

Later in the evening Palash spoke to Sofia about their neighbours funeral last month.. or rather, some of what was said during the event..

    "The weirdest thing happened at Mariannes funeral" he began "I had just retreated to their backyard swimming pool to practice some guitar when Max approached me.. and he was furious!"

Sofia listened attentively. She didn't want to attend the funeral herself, especially not now when she was pregnant, as she had always had an iffy feeling about the Skurckh family since around the time of her mothers sudden disappearance..

As a young child her fathers explanation that she had ran away with another man seemed convincing enough.. for a while, until she started questioning why they never heard anything at all from her since then. No phone calls, no letters, no visits, no child support.. had mom abandoned them completely? Wasn't Sofia her child anymore?

    ..and none of this was made any easier by her dads tendency to bury himself in work, spending more and more time at the fire station – seemingly – then at home caring for his daughter, his only child... 'He had to do it to pay the bills....' he would always say, only stopping by at home to dump another useless toy on her.. when all she wanted was a little bit of affection and attention from dad.. the fancy, expensive toys and the constantly rotating cycle of teenage baby sitters was a very poor replacement...
She knew this now, in her adult years.. but as a child, and eventually a teenager and young adult.. the search for fulfilment through increasingly expensive items, clothing and make up started to feel more and more hollow as time went on..

    "He threatened to give me a beating..." Palash said "..unless I got out of there and went home to you.."

    Somehow, she wasn't surprised by Max's fury.. Of course, he was a grieving man, and she had felt the same fury herself when her daddy died... The autopsy had confirmed it was a heart attack, and it was speculated that it was due to stress, given his relatively young age of being only 53 years old in combination with the heavy work load he put on himself.. in order to, according to his own words, pay the bills for the house, take care of Sofia.. and...?

    "He said if I didn't get off the property, he would dump me in the river..but the most shocking thing he said.." Palash continued.. "..was that they should've done you in too!"

That's why she began to not trust the Skurchk family.. she suspected they were behind something else.. that they were responsible for her mothers death...and that they were somehow blackmailing him for money.. but she had never figured out a way to prove it... perhaps until just now...

    "..it was just as if he admitted to having murdered someone! What on earth could this be about!? Does this make any sense to you!?"

    Sofia knew very well what Max meant... but she couldn't tell Palash, not now.. She was so close, contractions could start any minute.. It was probably best not to.. It was probably best to play along for a while, then try to deflect it and hope he would forget about it.. like she always used to do whenever he delivered one of his far out conspiracy theories.. except she knew of course that this was more than just a theory..

    "Oh, wow.. did he really say that?" Sofia said, pretending to act surprised. "That's really quite shocking – even for a grieving man!"

    "I know, that's what caught me so off guard!" Palash said "I wasn't expecting that!"

    "Yeah.. I wish I knew how to explain this one!" Sofia said, not needing to fake her honesty "I mean.. everybody sort of knows that they're not.. that they probably have some skeletons in their closet one way or another, but I always thought... I don't know..."

    "Look! If it's really true that they've murdered someone.. I would think that someone must've found the body already.. and that someone would have.. that someone would have reported someone as missing..."

Sofia had to swallow at what she just said.. Reported missing.. If mom had been reported missing.. then maybe..

    "Yes, probably... " Palash said in response as if he could read her thoughts... "...well.. I'm not gonna press charges for them on this during this time, but.. I think we should probably keep our distance from them now.. just to make sure..."

    "Isn't that right, daddys little one?" he said as he bent down slightly to talk to Sofias belly.. "You don't need to worry" he continued with a baby like voice "Mom and dad is gonna keep you safe, away from all the bad people and neighbours.."

"Peek-a-boo! Here's daddy! Kick your legs if you can hear me!"

"No no, Palash.. no leg kicks, please.." Sofia chuckled "Daddy's being a silly man! Yes, he is!"

Palash was much easier to distract than she had thought.. what a blessing this man was. ;)

He was still the same quirky goofball she first fell in love with..

 

A peculiar man with a good heart, who knew to value family above everything else.. She knew this was the man for her.. there couldn't be anyone else..

Good night. ;)

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Chapter 9.4 – June 2023 – part II: The funeral portrait..

                                         Song: Otis Redding – I've got dreams to remember

The news of Mariannes death was, of course, a hard hit to the three remaining members of the household..

Max especially seemed to take it really hard, and would occasionally faint at the thought of his long time wife no longer being there.. They were only teenagers when they first got together, and though it was against their will, and their marriage had it's ups and downs, over the years they both learnt to respect and even love one another.. 70 years is a long time to be married..

Three days later they decided to host a small funeral ceremony, only inviting some of their closest friends and family before her urn would be placed inside the family mausoleum..

A stone and a plaque to her memory was already in place in their backyard, along with the flowers and wreaths they had been given as expressions of condolances and grief by the local community.. She may have been rumoured to be a criminal, but that doesn't mean people would be unwilling to show their last sign of respect... Bad guys feel sorrow too..

Bill and Julienne were still griefstruck on the day of the funeral...

..and not to mention the now only remaining head of the family, Max, turning to the Watcher to get some relief from the pain he felt, before serving the food to the guests that were soon to arrive..

Supper was served while the stereo in the background was playing Mariannes favourite soul records from her younger years when they sometimes would spend their weekends out on the town enjoying the local nightlife.. those were dreams to remember..

All these people, the music.. it was still a little to much for Bill to handle after his mothers passing, so he picked up his meal to eat it inside. That was just the way he wanted to handle his grief, in private.

Palash had also shown up at the party, though he was uninvited. The Skurchk family may have a sketchy reputation, but they were neighbours – and being the family oriented man that he is, he couldn't let this opportunity to show support to the family in their time of sorrow pass him by...

He walked over to Max's table to sit down with him and was met with a low grunt from Max where he thanked him for the consideration, but he would rather eat alone.

 

So Palash had to turn back and sit with the other table alongside the rest of the guests. And as it would be, the Skurchk family couldn't even arrange a funeral without having a paparazzi come in and crash the event..

The paparazzi didn't even have the decency to dress in all black formal wear, but chose to just show up in his everyday attire.. no respect from that lot.. Normally, Max would have gotten up to tell the paparazzi to get the hell out of there and stick the camera up a place where the sun never shines, but now.. he just didn't bother...

If the general public wants to feast on stories about an old man grieving, then let them...

After supper was over Pattina Knekknes, Juliennes mother, and Julienne walked over to look at the condolence flowers and say their last goodbye to Marianne, but both found themselves unable to do so without bursting into tears...

Rosa and Rikard Rikerud somehow found it more fitting to display romantic affection towards one another instead.. A part of them knew that their relationship with the Skurchk family was mostly based on them being affluent mostly, so though they were saddened by the passing of Marianne, they had no issues keeping their uh.. composure...

After finishing his meal and mourning for a while on his own inside, Bill finally felt ready to join the others and let his emotions show..

Father and son spent a moment grieving together, while the guests of the party do their best to talk and mingle..

Dudleif had, for obvious reasons, not showed up, or even been invited to the ceremony, but he wasn't the only one of Mariannes sons absent this evening. Though his wife, Sol, was there, Bills twin brother Dennis was lacking in attendance... "He just couldn't make it" Sol told Bill as they slowed dance to another one of Mariannes favourite soul tunes. "I.. I really tried to encourage him to come over with me, but.. he just shut down and locked himself into his office and refused to speak to me..."

Bill looked away. He thought he knew how his brother felt..He didn't at all blame him for wanting to keep to himself. "We were not..... he uh.. he probably just needs some time alone" Bill said with a soft voice. "You know.. it was always like that..."

"I know." Sol said, giving Bills left hand a gentle squeeze. "I know..."

Over by the swimming pool things were a little more dramatic...

    "I never asked for your condolances!" Max scoffed at Palash. "What makes you think you can just come in here, grab a plate of MY food and ask to sit at MY table and pretend to be oh-so-sad about..."

"Just get the hell out of here before I whoop your ass, you little punk! Get the hell out of here and go home to your mistress! If it was up to me, we should've done her in too!"

"Wow, chill there Max.." Palash said with surprise. "I only came here to pay my respect, you know.. and what was that last thing there...?"

"Just get off my property before you end up at the bottom of the river there!"

    "Fine! I'll leave! But know that I heard everything you just said!" Palash shouted back, before turning on his heel and heading for the door. Now, Palash knew that Skurchks were a little dubious to say the least, but he wasn't expecting to receive death threats directed at both himself and his wife.. and what sounded like an admittance to murdering someone.. but whom? Was there something there that Sofia hadn't told him...?

Max was frustrated and angry now, still riled up from the confrontation with Palash as he walked back over to Pattina to berate her for wearing a sleeveless and open back dress at his wifes ceremony..

That didn't receive much understanding from Pattina as she snapped back at him. "Look! We're all grieving here, and I'm deeply sorry for your loss, I really am, but that doesn't give you the right to act like a dick the way you're doing!"

Julienne overheard the quarrel between her mother and her father-in-law, and stepped in to change the topic. Not necessarily a more lighthearted one, but still one she hoped would cool things down a bit, as she began to talk about placing Mariannes urn at her final resting spot in the family mauseloum.
    "She's going to feel right at home there, right next to several generations of this wonderful family" Julienne tried. "She'll love it, and I'm pretty sure it will give her all the peace she wants."

Pattina agreed, and continued in the same vein, talking about how beautiful it was to have everyone in the family gathered in the same spot like that..
    "Wow... wow, ladies..." Max was a little freaked out by their conversation... Sure enough, he was convinced there would be no better place for his wife now, then inside the family mauseolum, but.. did they really have to talk about this now...?

It was getting late and all the guests except Pattina had left by now, and Bill had stood for a while by the poolside overhearing the arguments and strange conversation and decided it was time to go to bed and get some rest... It would be a hard day tomorrow as well when they would – in private – put Mariannes urn at her final resting place....

He could hear his father lashing out at Pattina once more for being disrespectful towards his wife as he walked up the steps to the back door entrance to go inside..

Pattina decided enough was enough and offered them both a brief goodbye and goodnight, before she went back to her car to drive back to her own estate just a few blocks down the road...

Max knew he had crossed the line maybe once or twice, and apologized to Julienne for his behaviour, and Julienne offered him an apology in return. "I'm sorry, we probably shouldn't have talked about... the mausoleum... "
"I should've known it would be upsetting.. Marianne.. she sure had her ways, but.. she was always good.. she was always good to me, and I..."

"...I always felt welcome in this family you know, and I'm just so.. grateful..." Julienne struggled to keep her voice from cracking "...grateful for every.. for everything... you know.."

"I know..." Max whispered, and for a split second he almost gave Julienne a hug... "I know.... now, if you don't... if you don't mind.." he said "..I would like some time... some time alone with my... ...with my wife..."

The last three words were almost inaudible, but Julienne felt she knew excactly what he meant.

"I understand..." she whispered quietly as she turned to walk back to the house with her tears being a secret shared only between her and the absence of light by their backyard swimming pool..

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Chapter 9.4 – June 2023 – part I: Remorse is for the dead..

Skurchk household.

"If these walls could talk, they would tell a horror story"

 

The most rumoured house in town, the home of the Skurchk family, stands tall and alone at the edge of town in the rich peoples area. It has always had a sinister vibe to it, with its bleak facade and tall, thin windows casting their malign gazes on the vast empty lawn in front of the not so humble abode..

The Skurchk family has lived in town for generations, always accused of being run like a mafia, but in spite of all the wrongdoing they've been suspected of being the masterminds behind, they've never truely been pinned down for anything...

The most recent rumour surrounding the family is that the health of the matriarch of the family, Marianne, has been declining rapidly, something which has been actively denied by the immediate family..

..but she knew that her time would soon be up, and everything was already set up for her sons Bill and Denis to take over the reigns of the family 'business'..

Her morning on this particular day in june started almost like every other morning, by discussing the family politics with her husband and lifelong partner in crime, Max Skurchk. Outwardly, of course, they have portrayed an image of being happily married, but behind closed doors their marriage and partnership has definately had it's ups and downs for many a reason, one of them being differing opinions on how the syndicate should be governed..

Having been married since their teen years, their marriage was not one of love, but rather a marriage designed by their own parents to merge one wealthy (and no doubt sketchy) family with another of the same creed.. A marriage that couldn't be broken without certain.. let's just say.. consequences...

The tradition of arranging marriages for the younger generations of the family had been going on since the days of poet and playwright William C. Simspear. This was back when the town of Bewickton wasn't much more than a small fishing village on a remote island, some 300 years before it was officially founded by the Twinbroke family.. a family of which today there are no known living members of, for some mysterious reason..

Though Marianne and Max have mostly governed their family with an iron fist, like all of their predecessors have done, there are signs that the grip might be slipping, as all of their kids have atleast been able to choose for themselves who to marry, or even if they would marry at all..

Marianne has always been a bit envious of her oldest sons Bill thriving marriage with his beloved Julienne, but knew better than to bring it up.. Somewhere inside maybe she had a heart afterall, as she wanted all of her sons to choose their own path...

...even Dudleif, that she viewed as the black sheep of the family, who turned his back on all of them to get a job in the police force.. though, he wasn't going to inherit anything from the household when the moment came for her to meet her Watcher.. that would be much to risky, and ruin the family business once and for all.. She couldn't let that happen, she couldn't let him inherit a single cent, or a speck of dust... least of all the dust, she definately had to keep that from falling into his hands...

The Skurchk family were not murderers, and their house wasn't haunted.. they were all evil lies and rumours made by people jealous of their fortune.. a fortune they had all built through hard, honest labour..

In spite of her feelings of greed and envy, Marianne loved her family, and wouldn't want to see it turn into ruin at the hands of a clumsy do-gooder, even if that do-gooder was one of her own sons..

Romance was definately thriving for Bill and Julienne as they headed to the bedroom to do their part in securing the bloodline and hopefully the future existance of the dynasty.. and it is really striking how similar in appearance Bill is to his more good natured brother...

While the loving couple was doing their thing, Marianne headed for the gym, hoping to extend her lifespan by just a little more...

..though rarely would she get to walk anywhere in peace, given all the rumours that surrounded her family, and this was certain to make the headlines in the next edition of the Bewickton Post.. She could picture the headline already.. 'Mafia boss Marianne Skurckh (84) still going strong at the gym', or something like that.. No doubt would the journalists find a clever way to squeeze another tabloid 'news' article out of her daily activities...

...but maybe she should have stayed out of the gym on this very day. She had felt the pressure building on the left side of her chest before, but this time it felt a lot stronger.. and instead of going away after a while, it only got worse and turned into a pain radiationg from her chest and out towards her arms and feet..

She felt a cold sweat on her back as she had to get up from the machine while the pain grew stronger, making her feel light headed and as she was about to faint.. When it didn't pass, she knew this was the moment..

Time to go.. She felt a brief moment of regret for cutting all ties with her son Dudleif all those years ago and wished she could have talked to him, to get to know her grandchildren.. and even his wife, whom she had heard had an admirable work ethic..

..but she quickly brushed off that thought.. that goody two-shoes of a traitor! Pah!

..and just like that, she was relieved of all pain and felt a strange unexplainable light that seemed to come from both inside of her and from somewhere above.. The Watcher was calling her home..

"So this is what dying feels like...."

"Dear Watcher... have mercy on me.. please forgive me, for I have sinned..."

..but it was to late. Things had to go as they went and even the Watcher could do nothing but, well.. watch... everyone at the gym had of course noticed what happened, and flocked around with the mixed feelings of sorrow, shock and amusement at the sight of this now crooked, helpless old woman meeting her final fate...

Then he appeared, the Grim Reaper himself, just another one doing his job.. "Marianne.." he said with his deep voice "..fear not! Though I have come here to release you from your mortal flesh, your prayer shall be heard and I will not cast you into the fire and brimstone..."

 

 

"Please don't take me to hell, oh Angel of Death.. I don't want to die yet... all I want is one more chance to square with my son, Dudleif.."

"I can't grant you that opportunity, atleast not in the flesh. It is like I said, you will not be cast to the fire and brimstone, but for all your sins, you will not get to join the Watcher either, and thus your spirit is sentenced to roam the soil for all eternity."

"So it be done!" the Reaper said as he lifted his scythe to give her a whack across the face with it's blunt end making her spirit appear to instantly dissolve into nothing...and just like that Marianne Skurchkh (11.09.1938 – 12.06.2023) had come to an end..

Good night...

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