Blind Step Part 8

11:10 am Anya and Rebecca met up outside storage facility  and walked in with not a single word spoken by Rebecca just a forced smile and a wave. She remained quiet when they got the spar key from the receptionist desk. Luckily the party shaped man knew face and her storage number because she didn't speak a peep, she was quiet then  and the entire elevator ride up to the sixth floor and when in front of storage unit 60 she was mute quiet. They both knew when Joseph Peters said there totems had to be a item with deep value to them, they both knew there item they didn't have to think hard, they knew what it would be and where it would be. That was the easy part but the act of retrieving there items would be like pulling teeth with no novocaine.

Rebecca stared at the closed storage door the same way Anya stared at the box in her room. Rebecca like her classmate before her would've had a hours long starring contest with this door, but unlike her classmate she had a trump card that being Anya. With no words she held out the key to the door, Anya turned her head and locked eyes with her she questioned them understood them and took the key. After the door was opened and the dust inside settled what was laid before them was any average storage unit full of someone's crappy junk, a couple of mattresses, a bike from the 80's an old ass TV, cloths on racks boxes on top of boxes crap, crap and more crap. Telling a random person to find something in this massive Rubik's cube would be impossible but Rebecca knew what she was looking for she knew where it was but she just couldn't get it herself.

Rebecca reached out and touched Anya's shoulder and when she turned to look back at her she saw that Rebecca's finger was pointing and what the finger was point at was a old dusty antique looking jewelry box.

She spoke for the first time that day her voice was low and shaky.

"Top drawer"

It was basically empty but except for the one thing inside, what Anya pulled out was a faded lime green plastic bracelet she gazed at it and turned back to Rebecca. She nodded so this was her item this is wht would be her totem, the whole thing took about 3 minutes but the tension in the air the fear that could be touched and felt made it feel like a life time.

"It belongs to my grandmother or more like it use to"

She said after taking a sip of her soda,the girls were now at a local Wendy's after Anya gave Rebecca the bracelet back at the storage unit she felt as if she was going to vomit and she cried out needing air.

"What.. um what happened"

"She died a couple of months ago, back in the day during my Quinceañera she gave it to me she told when was a little girls she saved all her money back in Mexico and bought it at a local market"

She kept sipping while playing with the bracelet  rolling it back and fourth.

"And... she was the one who did this to me"

She rolled up her right sleeve exposing her burned arm and she removed her beanie exposing her head. Back when Anya was still oblivious  to what was under Rebecca's hat she had  just thought she was keeping her hair hidden but it turned out she had none, under her beanie she was bald and her head was littered with cuts, burns and wounds. Anya's went big and the beanie was on before other eyes in the fast food joint could see.

"She became one of those distorted spirits after she died I'm assuming and she attacked me and my family"

"But.. why.. how"

Anya said with concern and curiosity in her voice.

"Well"

Rebecca placed her chin in her palm.

"If what we learned is true the she didn't immediately pass on and probably stuck around and she over heard"

Rebecca began to softly cry.

"Over heard that we killed her"

Killed her now that wasn't what Anya excepted she was caught of guard with her pants down she wanted Rebecca to slow down and give her a minute but she kept going never stopping.

"My grandmother was never a educated woman but it didn't mean she was smart, she had many lucrative small businesses ever since she was young, she was a wizard with money and when she hit 90 she had a nice sized nest egg saved up. Savings she would give to her grandkids"

Rebecca slumped down into the booth starring blindly at the bracelet.

"She wanted to make sure her grandkids could go collage debt free, she had gotten terribly sick and wanted to change her will to make sure it came to us"

She began to blubber Anya picked out every other word

"She... was.... living with us.... at the time.. she refused any hospital care... she wanted to be surrounded by family but.. that was her mistake"

Anya grabbed a stack of napkins handing it to her, Rebecca wiped her tears blew her nose and then continued on.

"My Papa was a gambling man and mama was a drunk and are family was in terrible debt, they hid it well but the debt and bills were still piling up so..."

She took a deep breath.

"They came up with a idea I don't know how or when but they got us all involved me and my two younger brothers... We knew that grandma was sick and they convinced us as a family we had to ease her pain and being stupid we agreed"

"We...ah we messed with her pills, honestly I don't remember what we did to them but it doesn't matter because it worked and she shortly died after that"

They both became silent out of concern, wary and curiosity Anya wanted to know what happened next in the story.

"So after your grandmother died what happened... How did you get hurt"

"I umm.. I had just woken up and was brushing my teeth. All I remember was hearing a sound and then nothing, when I was semi conscious I was being put on a stretcher. After I woke up three days later I was told my home had a gas leak and because of the leak there was a explosion, it was the only explanation that made any since at the time"

"But what happened to to the rest of your family"

Rebecca teared up but she forced them back down.

"My papa and brother Miguel died before help could come, my mama was taken to the hospital but her injures were to severe she died a day later. But my youngest brother Avery was outside playing at the time when the house exploded the debris heavily damaged his legs he'll need need physical therapy for a while but he'll live"

Another long moment of silence hit as Anya soaked up everything she heard, Rebecca fell back into a familiar silence the silence was long but Anya broke it first. She reached over grabbed Rebecca's hand, with her head held down she spoke words that she hoped would be comforting.

"I can't  say that I have been through what what you've been through but I know how it feels to lose family, to have everything turn upside down and go to shit"

She squeezed her hand hard.

"And now were apart of something that in all honesty is freaking weird but since were in it together, if you need me I'll be here for you"

Rebecca thought about it  smiled with a singular tear coming down her face.

"And if you need me then I'm here for you"

They sat chatting for a hour Anya found out in her grief Rebecca wounded up finding the school. Then Anya ended up sharing her story and her situation, though the two were still bothered by there past and wouldn't get over so easy in that moment they felt good because for the first time in a longtime they had someone to share there feelings with.

10:20 pm after the day was over Anya began to open the brown flimsy box every part of her body screamed in revulsion but she opened it anyway. She grabbed the single occupant inside the box what she pulled out was a golden Mickey Mouse wand, Anya didn't know the last time she had held this dinky piece of plastic, no scratch that she did know because the last time she held it was the first and only time she put it in the box. 10 years it stayed she never once took it out not once looked at i and she never threw it away.

The wand was special it meant the world to her it represented the last time the Chesterfield family was all together and happy. Disney Land was the last trip they all took together Anya was 8 years old and she saw the wand behind one of the game booths, it could only be won by knocking down bottles a classic game Anya wanted the wand bad she told her dad it speaks to her, he would always laugh when she was being dramatic but no matter how much of a drama queen she was he could never say no. He spent 50 dollars until he knocked all the bottles down they had been in the park all day and he pretty much spent the last bit of there cash but to see her smile made all the world to him.

Anya was now smiling ear to ear with eyes full of tears, a lot of crying went on today between Rebecca and Anya but goals were achieved missions were accomplished both girls had there items that would be there totems and they gained a deeper connection with one another.