Dess could hear the footsteps of children running on the rocky shore of the Thames. She had taken to walking here since she had moved to London, one of the only spots of nature in the ever-abysmal black stain known as Greenwich. It was still dirty, but she supposed it suited her.
She was interrupted in her musings by a little girl tugging on the sleeve of her sweater.
“Excuse me, miss, do you have any food?” the girl asked. “Not for me, for the birdie.”
Dess took a moment to study the girl. Her hair was bright red – like Cass’ but her smile was even brighter as she looked into the distance, presumably at the bird she had spoken of.
“Lucky for you, little miss, I have some of my lunch left!” Dess handed the girl the remainder of her sandwich. The girl grinned, showing her missing teeth.
A blur of black, white, and blue soared through the air. This had to have been the bird the little girl wanted to feed. It circled the area before landing on a rock a short distance away from them.
Now that it had landed, she could see it was a magpie. Once upon a time, she and Cassie had loved birds. Their wings had mesmerized her, entrancing her by the way they glided through the air. It was in the way they could leave, she thought, the way they could vanish with the wind and fly to wherever they wished.
Once upon a time another girl with red hair, long forgotten, had told her a rhyme about magpies.
One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a story yet to be told.
There was only one magpie here. Like Dess, there was only one for sorrow.
She was surprised to see a magpie here. As far as she knew, birds like it didn’t usually fly around places like London. It was too filthy for their tastes.
The little redheaded girl was clearly pleased by the magpie’s descent. She squealed as she threw pieces of Desdemona’s sandwich, the magpie devouring each bit of crust.
“I’m going to name him Jasper,” the girl told Dess, “he looks like a Jasper.”
“Yes, just like a Jasper,” Dess replied. Suddenly, the bird began flapping its wings, flying closer towards the water. She assumed he had found something shiny – magpies had an inclination towards glittering trinkets – and was on his way to search for it.
What she hadn’t expected was for Jasper to return with a silver “C” necklace and set it directly in front of her.
C for Cassandra. It was the same necklace she had worn every single day without fail, even on her very last. Desdemona had thought they had buried her in it.
Cassandra’s ghost was back to haunt her. She was sure of it. Dess had thought moving to England would stop it, would stop her from seeing Cassie everywhere. For a moment, it had. But Cass would always follow her.
Beside her, the little girl gasped.
“It’s a C!” She exclaimed. “It’s a C for Charlotte, my name! Jasper brought me a gift!”
How could Dess explain to this sweet, innocent little girl that the necklace was anything but a gift? How could she explain that it was her punishment?
“I don’t know if you should touch that, sweetie,” Dessie’s voice shook. “It might be dirty, being in the ocean.”
“I’m sure it’s fine, if Jasper brought it to me,” Charlotte smiled. “He’s my friend, he would clean it for me!”
That bird sent from the deepest pit of the underworld was no one’s friend. She could hear Cassie laughing at her now. One for sorrow, she says, your fault we aren’t two for joy.
She hoped, desperately, that Charlotte didn’t have a sister. It would be cruel, for this little girl to suffer the same fate as Cassandra.
(Cass was a little girl then, too.)
“Charlotte! There you are!” A woman who Dess assumed was Charlotte’s mother ran towards the girl and scooped her up into tight arms. “Don’t run off like that again!”
“I won’t, Mama,” Charlotte giggled, “I was feeding Jasper and talking to the nice lady!”
The woman looked over at her gratefully. “Thank you so much for keeping her safe. She likes to run off, Charlotte.”
Dess felt sickened. How could this woman think Charlotte was safe with her?
“Of course,” she smiled, ignoring the lump in her throat.
“I’m so sorry about this. It’s hard to take care of her alone while keeping my job.” The woman looked at Dess, hope flickering in her eyes. “She seems to really like you. Do you babysit?”
And how could Dess say no, to spending more time with this girl who looked so much like Cass? Maybe this could be her penance, a second chance with another redheaded girl with a silver “C” necklace. Maybe Cassandra would finally stop haunting her.
More magpies flew by to join Jasper and Charlotte by the shore. Sure enough, there were six more.
Seven for a story yet to be told.
Written by Avery Milton from New City, NY
