The Color of Knowledge

Chapter Fifteen (pt. 6)

Mrs. Stone

Mrs. Stone was not an unfriendly person; she just liked to keep to herself. She had not always been like this. There were those times a part of her book club and when she had taken cooking classes, but times do change. Dealing with the loss of a child was something she tried to face alone. Distraction was key. She loved her family, but they reminded her of what could have been.

The accident involving her eldest daughter with the youngest sent her over the edge—a hypothetical one, of course. She withdrew herself from Ivy, often wondering if she even noticed, and then she reminded herself that the way Ivy looked at her sometimes held the answer.

Her adopted sister, Nova, had told Scarlett when they were young how her life was going to turn out. It wasn't a full explanation; something more like a riddle for the then Scarlett Novak to puzzle out as she watched Nova ascend to the stars. Trevor had been there too—it was the first time he had said he loved her. They got married and had Ivy, forgetting about Nova's prophesy until Maple had shown up on their doorstep.

When her daughter was exiled, Mrs. Stone felt an odd sense of relief. Then she cried. Her thoughts did not make sense: no one to hurt the one who lived, but what about the first? Ivy was there first, should she not be given the prime real estate in her heart?

Asked to do something by her eldest daughter, Mrs. Stone would not have turned it down for anything. That morning, she made Spencer and Mr. Stone breakfast as if everything were normal. Spencer left earlier than usual. Not normal. Her husband left before she did and did not kiss her goodbye. Not normal. Nothing was what it seemed.

On the way to work, Mrs. Stone walked with pep. Nothing out of the ordinary. Do not draw attention. A smile carved into her face made her cheekbones quiver. The announcement that called mandatory attendance to a meeting, made everyone stop to listen. It was time. She hurried towards her destination.

"How old are you?" she asked a coworker. She did not look up from what she was doing. Not suspicious at all.

"Just turned twenty-nine. Good thing, too. Who would want to spend the late afternoon at a meeting when they could spend it with a ripe, green tomato?"

Mrs. Stone nodded and smiled, still busy with her work.

"How about you?" she asked another.

"Forty-five, unfortunately." This coworker glared at Twenty-Nine. "We can't all be lucky."

"I don't think you should go," said Mrs. Stone, still busy. "How can they possibly enforce 'mandatory'?"

Forty-Five stopped working. "You know, you're right. I think I'll just stay home."

"Be sure to tell your friends," said Mrs. Stone. This might not be as hard as she had thought.