The Stars Tonight

36. Mirrors for the Soul

Pleasant woke in the middle of the night to the sound of the door opening. She listened as the doctor's tired steps made their way upstairs to his bedroom. She was in a way rather glad that she didn't have to be the one to break the tragic news to him. Florence had said she would wait up. The sound of Addison shutting his bedroom door told her otherwise. The night seemed deafly quiet. Each sound made in the house seemed to resonate. Her mind drifted back to Polaris' eyes and the fear in them. It had been like looking at her own reflection.

/

The following morning Pleasant came down to breakfast ready. Florence bustled about the kitchen asking help from no one. She smiled at Pleasant as the confused woman sank into a chair across the way from Addison who was reading a paper and sipping juice.

"Turn the pancakes over, Florence," Addison said casually from behind his paper.

Realizing that Florence was only worsening her nerves Pleasant got up from the table. "Let me finish," she whispered.

"I'm managing," Florence said nudging Pleasant away.

"You need to tell him."

Florence looked back at her brother from the stove and lowered her head.

"It isn't your fault you—"

"Nike was stolen!" Florence shouted.

Addison looked up from his paper with a special breed of frown for the two women before him. "What?"

"Mr. Braxton stole Nike," Florence said. "We went out to the stable and she was gone. I'm so sorry."

Addison folded his paper and laid it neatly.

"Addison..."

"Neither of you were hurt?"

"We didn't see the thieves," Florence said. "Addison, please don't do anything irrational."

"My horse was stolen!"

"But this man is as you said," Florence pleaded as she walked over to her brother, kneeling before him. "I know you love Nike but starting a fight with Mr. Braxton could get you killed. You've seen his eyes... There is no soul in there."

Addison placed his hands on Florence's head. "I'm not going to fight him," he said. "Maybe I should have just let him have Nike in the first place. If he was willing to steal her then who knows what he would have done to keep us out of the way."

Pleasant flipped a pancake onto a plate and added more batter to the pan. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and turned around. "You ought to not let him take her."

The siblings turned around in surprise at the meek woman's protest.

Pleasant had to draw another whole breath before she could speak. "Nike is your horse, your animal that you bought and paid for and bonded with. No one has the right to take that away from you. No one ever has the right to rip away something from you. Be it family, or property or something else...something deep inside." She brought her head up. Her chin felt stiff and rusted from spending so much time low. "You are a giver, Dr. Geiger. But it is for nothing if you let the taker wear you down."

Addison leaned back in his chair. "Well I'll be," he said. "That's the most I've heard you speak since you've been here." He laughed. "I guess that means we get Nike back. Now you may want to flip that pancake."