Whispering Suits

I start the day waking up from the same strange dream. Though, I still couldn't hear anything from the figures on the other side of that strange wall. I shake the dream off, there is no point dwelling on a dream, not when there is so much to do. I decide to start with mum's room, seeing as it's right next door it just makes the most sense to start there before I head to the library. It still feels weird to poke around her things, but I try not to disturb things too much as I look through each draw. A part of me wants to leave everything where it is, so that everything is where she last touched it. But, doing that won't change anything, and if there is even one thing I can find that will help me I need to do it. I sit on mum's bed to go through her bedside table. There's an old slightly broken hairbrush, some very well used eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks, and then there's her jewellery box. I've seen it a hundred times before, and always loved it. It's a beautiful green velvet box with stars and a moon embossed on the top in gold thread. I run my finger over the raised design, and a memory fills my mind of when I was about ten years old and mum caught me looking at her jewellery box. She'd been getting ready for a night out and had left it on the side. She let me have a peek at all her necklaces and earrings, and she even let me wear this gorgeous small ruby ring she has while she got ready. For some reason, I never knew where she was going on those nights when she'd get all dressed up to the nines. I always assumed it was for dates, or something like that, but now I find I'm questioning everything I ever thought I knew. What if mum was doing exactly what I did yesterday, getting dressed up to meet some Faerie. Was she more involved with the Fae world than I realised? Was everything she ever taught me about our gift a lie, or should I keep faith that everything she did was to look after Dan and I? It's times like this I kinda wish I had a Dad, or at least another relative who had been round long enough to tell me what mum's deal was. Gran is…well fine. But before mum died we'd only really see Grab once a year round Christmas, though sometimes she would try and make it round for my birthday in May. The only things mum really kept from Gran were these pieces of jewellery that had been passed down through the family over years and years. I finally crack open the box, and am still blown away by how beautiful the jewellery is. The silver and gold glint in the light as I turn the box on my hand, and there's a cacophony of colour from all the different gemstones. My eye is drawn to one in particular, one of mum's favourites, a stunning gold necklace with a large ruby pendant surrounded by flames at its centre. I pick it up gingerly, if I close my eyes I can still catch the faint smell of mum's perfume on the metal. She used to wear this nearly every time she went out to one of her ‘dates’. I decide to take it with me, hoping that wearing something of mum's will bring me confidence. As I lift it out the box, I notice a small tab at the bottom that I swear was never there before. I put the necklace down on the bed beside me and tentatively pull the tab, it lifts the bottom of the box up to reveal a small gap underneath the bottom. I flip open the new flap, and pull out a little black pouch that has been tucked away in the hidden compartment. I put the box down and then tip the contents of the pouch into my hand. It's a necklace, but it's nothing like anything else in mum's box. The silver chain looks almost as if it's made from a vine, the leaves dancing and swirling together. Dangling from the chain is a pendant made of swirling metal that curls and wraps around a gemstone unlike anything I've ever seen. The stone is a mix of blue and purple hues, with a streak of silver that swirls through the gem. The stone is a perfectly smooth oval, but somehow doesn't look like it's been cut to that shape. As I lift the necklace up to the light, I could swear the colours in that stone moved, flowing and twisting as I watch in awe. It's only when I hear a clatter from downstairs that I snap too. I check inside the pouch, and spot a small piece of paper folded up and stuck in the bottom corner of the pouch. I manage to pull the paper out with my fingers, and unfold it. Written on the paper are two words, For Indigo. I can tell immediately that it isn't mums handwriting, it's too neat and cursive to be hers. But then, whose is it? I’m fairly sure it isn't Nat's writing either, she always had Me write her signs up for the Café because she said her handwriting was atrocious. Then I have a thought that sends a chill down my spine, could this be from…my dad? I mean, I must have a dad. That's just how things work, even if I've never met him. I try to remember if mum ever talked about him, but to be honest the only thing I can really recall is her telling me that we didn't need a man in our lives for us to be ok. She said that I was the best gift my dad had ever given her, and she didn't care that he wasn't around. I never thought to really ask more about him. I figured he had just been some sleazy guy she'd dated. I mean, she was a teenager when she had me, and the guy wasn't in the picture by the time she made her way back home to Gran. I don't think that kind of thing happens unless the guy you're dating is kind of an asshole. Heck, even Dan's dad stuck around. Mark and mum couldn't make it work, she was a bit too wild and free for him and he wanted steady and sensible. But they made it work, and Mark still stops by to visit Dan every now and then. Though, he didn't make it to the funeral and hasn't been around these last few weeks, which may or may not have something to do with his new Fiancée and the new wonderful life they are planning together. There's not much room for a young kid he had with his ‘messed up ex'. The light glints off the necklace as it spins in the air, and I have to remind myself to focus. If this was from dad, then that might be why mum hid it. Maybe she didn't want me to go looking for him. I can't help but chuckle at the thought. She apparently had no problem sending me into the arms of Faeries, but giving me anything connecting to my dad was just a step too far for her. Still, the card says it's for me, and whether mum likes it or not I can't resist wearing this necklace. It's just…like it was made for me. I fasten the clasp behind my neck and let the pendant fall, it rests perfectly against my chest, although that might be helped by the binder I'm wearing. I make sure to check the hidden cavity of the jewellery box, but there's nothing else inside. I carefully put the false lid back down, and replace the ruby necklace I'd taken out. I can always come back to borrow it another day. Once I'm sure there's nothing else of note, I put the box carefully away back in the top of the bedside table. I check the rest of the room, but it looks like whatever secrets mum kept there's nothing else here that can help me. Before I head downstairs, I pop my head into Dan's room and tell him it's time for breakfast. For once, he's already properly dressed and ready to go. He starts excitedly telling me about his plans to go to Nic's house later today. I try to smile, and listen along, but my mind is too busy with thoughts to really take on board what he is saying. I mentally tick off my search of mum's room off the to-do list and start planning my trip to the library, though I might catch the long bus and stop by The Pearl Cafe on the way. I'm starting to think 3 days isn't a lot of time at all, and I wonder if I'll be ready for the next time I see Cyrus.