The Heritage Paper

Chapter 85



Flavia walked past Stuyvesant Park, en route to her Jeep. Her feet were killing her, but she would never admit it was connected to her choice of footwear.

When she got in the vehicle, she removed her heels and flipped on the radio.

She still didn’t know what to make of Veronica, but thought it would be nice to have some company at her lonely farmhouse, especially the sounds of children. She was about to put the key in the ignition to start her journey back home, when she felt the sharp pain in her neck. A pointed object penetrated her skin. She immediately grew dizzy and felt sick. The world began spinning.

She used all her strength to turn to look at the man who had hidden in the backseat. As her breaths became shorter, he explained to her why he was sucking the life out of her.

Her mind flashed to the first time her mother brought her to the farm in Rhinebeck, when she was just a little girl. It was the first time she had ever seen the fall foliage. She was amazed by the leaves falling from the trees. Their beautiful colors and how they so gracefully cascaded to the ground. She sat behind the barn and watched the leaves for hours.

And here she was, over forty years later, just as awestruck as the first time she’d watched them. Flavia watched every last beautiful leaf hit the ground, and when the last one floated softly to the ground …

Everything went dark.