She nodded. “I had a baby boy many years ago. I wasn’t married, not that that bothered me at all.” She stopped. “Have you ever wondered why I live up here all alone and almost never go into town?”
I thought she was trying to distract me from Lucan’s story.
“I guess I never gave it much thought. . . .”
“No one ever does, I suspect. Crystal Haven has all sorts of people who can do amazing things and the idea that there might be a scary witch really isn’t so surprising.”
I smiled at her. “I don’t think you’re a scary witch.”
“No, but you did. Until you came up here a week ago, if you gave any thought to me at all it would be to wonder if I was still alive, first, and whether I was really a witch, second.”
I started to argue, but she held my gaze and I nodded.
“I’m to blame, in part, for the rumors. I never did anything to stop them. In fact, I welcomed them when I decided to retreat from the world. It made it easier that everyone in town was a little afraid of me. No one ever got too curious.”
“Why did you decide to retreat?”
“Your grandmother was the only one who stood by me, but it wasn’t enough. My kind of talent is one that is guaranteed to keep people at a distance.”
I waited.
“I do see some bits of the future, and of course I can read the cards and tea leaves,” she said and waved her hand to encompass all of Crystal Haven’s offerings. “But my main talent, if you can call it that, is that I can see a woman’s children.”
“What do you mean?” I leaned toward her.
“I can see how many children she will have, whether there will be boys or girls, or both.”
“I don’t see how that’s such a scary talent.” I smiled and wondered where this was going. “I would think people would pay a lot of money to find out that sort of information.”
Neila nodded and clasped her hands tightly together on the tabletop. “In some cases, I can also see if the woman will outlive her child.”
“Oh.” I felt my smile fade, but forced myself not to look horrified.
Neila took in a deep breath and seemed to steady herself. “I can tell if a person is going to lose a child.”
I realized that this was why she had sequestered herself. The fewer people she met, the fewer tragedies she would see.
“Who knows about this . . . gift?”
Neila shrugged. “Most of the older members of the city council are aware, I think. They may not have firsthand knowledge, but they’ve probably heard the rumors.”
I grimaced at the word “rumor.” It seemed most of what passed for certainty in this town was based on chitchat and hearsay. Unfortunately, there was always a piece of truth buried in the gossip. I thought back to the story about Neila. The kids told the tale of how she was a witch who would take children from their parents and they were never seen again. Much like the “Hansel and Gretel” fable, the witch killed children. In Neila’s case, she knew which children would die.
Neila watched me while I struggled with this new information. No wonder she hid herself away. Not only did town legend have her pegged as a child killer, but her visions would show her which kids would die before their parents. I couldn’t imagine living with that kind of knowledge. Either as Neila, who had the knowledge, or as the parent, who didn’t want it.
“I tried for a long time to keep the information to myself, but that got to be just as bad. If someone’s child was in a car accident, they would blame me for not telling them and if I warned them ahead of time, they said I had ruined their last months with the child.”
I nodded, thinking about the burden she had carried all these years.
“What would you do?” she asked.
I already knew the answer to that one. I would run, just as I had been doing for the past fifteen years.
We sat quietly for a few minutes and then Neila seemed to gather her strength. She sat up, dried her tears, and took a deep breath.
“Rafe Godwin was my son,” she said.
My mouth dropped open and my brain froze. I didn’t know what to say.
“What?”
“I gave him up for adoption when he was born.” Her voice shook as she spoke. “The minute they placed him in my arms, I knew that I would outlive him. It’s amazing to discover what you will do for your child.” Her eyes filled again with tears.
“Oh, Neila,” I said and laid my hand over hers.
“I thought I’d figured out how to beat the prediction. Maybe if I sent him away, and didn’t try to find him, let him disappear into someone else’s life, I might be able to protect him.” She shook her head.
“What made you look for him now?”
“I guess I just got curious.” She lifted a shoulder. “I’m getting old. I wanted to know that he was okay. It never occurred to me that hiring Lucan would lead to anyone’s death.”
I squeezed her hand to get her to meet my eyes.
“There is nothing to indicate that your investigation of Rafe was related to his death in any way. You can’t take the blame for this.”
“Maybe not, but I can take the blame for not knowing my son.”