Thursday, was a dreary October evening. Daphne sat in a small café near her sister’s home, staring out the window. Her hot tea steamed up the glass, as rain gently tapped on the pane in front of her.

  It’s already been nearly two weeks since I somehow returned to the past. So much and so little has changed at the same time.

  The leaves were beginning to yellow, some of them showing bits of vibrant red coming in, too.

  It’s been nearly two weeks and I still have no new clues about who murdered me. Daphne chewed on her lip. All I’ve been doing is going to work, and going home. The only person who’s stood out is Fiona. But I have no idea why she would want me dead.

  She shook her head, ice gripping tightly around her guts. Her breath felt constricted. What if really was a random event after all? Will I be destined to die, even if I’m not there at that specific moment?

  She gently chewed on her tongue. But by that logic, wouldn’t I have died after the break up with Gary? Or will I be involved in another breakup in only a couple short months? She narrowed her eyes thinking through other possibilities. Maybe I really was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

  She nodded, attempting to convince herself that it was most likely the case, but the woman’s smile lingered in the back of her mind, the ice further vice gripping around her insides.

  It’s probably not someone wanting to kill me specifically. I’ve worked so hard to make sure everyone likes me. It must have been some kind of mistake.

  Daphne swirled her spoon in the teacup. Her heart still unconvinced by her thoughts. If it’s anything I do know, though, it’s that I can’t go back to living my life the way I did. I don’t ever want to feel like how I felt in the snow…

  Her chest squeezed as she was reminded of her final moments. Thankfully, she was pulled from her thoughts as the chair in front of her scraped across the floor, screeching loudly, and Maggie sat down.

  Daphne couldn’t help but smile. As frustrating of a situation I am in, I really ought to count my blessings. I at least have this opportunity to try to live a better life.

  “Thank you so much for being willing to come out here again, and on such short notice,” Maggie said, scratching the back of her neck.

  “Of course,” Daphne replied. “You were able to get Michael to watch the kids when I needed you last week, so I’m happy to come out for you.” Daphne took a drink of her tea.

  Maggie smiled, looking sheepish. “I just don’t have a lot of people in my life who understand what we’ve gone through…and what I continue to go through, just because I have a relationship with Mom.”

  Daphne swallowed hard, still holding the warm teacup in her hand. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Do you want to talk about Mom?” she asked, her throat tightening.

  Maggie sighed and ran her hand through her short hair. “Yes,” she replied. “If you’re willing to listen.”

  Daphne’s heart sank in her chest. “Oh,” she replied simply, chewing on her tongue.

  Maggie let out a heavy breath. “I’ll be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of time before I have to run back to Michael and the kids. To put it simply, whenever I talk about Mother to anyone outside of our family, people don’t believe my stories. I know you don’t want to hear about her, or really have anything to do with her. I just don’t know who else to turn to.”

  Daphne took a deep, shaky breath. “What about any of our other siblings?” she asked, trying to come up with someone else Maggie could talk to.

  Maggie shook her head. “You know what they’re like,” she said. “Nothing ever changes in Mom’s world, and as a result, no one in our family tries to change either.”

  “Cy is still team Mom?” Daphne asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “More than ever before,” Maggie replied with a grimace. “If I were to say even the smallest insult towards Mom to him, she would know within five minutes of me doing so.”

  “And Ollie?” Daphne asked, taking another sip of her tea.

  Maggie shook her head. “Oliver is still the same. He will do anything to keep the peace with Mom. Whenever I’ve tried to talk to him about Mom, he just shuts me down almost immediately.”

  “Viola’s probably too young, too,” Daphne replied, nodding and sighing.

  “And she still lives with Mom. She’s already dealing with adult issues when she shouldn’t have to.” Maggie let out a heavy breath. “And it’s about Mom and Viola, so it’s not like I can talk to Viola about her own issues.”

  Daphne felt her stomach flip flop. “It’s also about Viola?” she asked. Her heart ached for her littlest sister, who still was suffering under their mother’s tyrannical rule.

  Maggie nodded. “So, I don’t really have anyone else to turn to,” she said. “So, please, Daph…would you be willing to listen? Just this once?”

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  Daphne let out a small sigh, knowing that her surrender was inevitable. I have too soft of a spot in my heart for Viola.

  “Fine,” Daphne said. “But just this once, and only because it’s about Viola.”

  Maggie looked relieved. “Thank you,” she said. “Honestly I would also appreciate it you would keep trying to think of solutions that I could potentially try to get out of this…sticky situation I’m in with Mom.”

  Daphne nodded. “I’ll keep it in mind at least to the best of my ability,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Maggie said, looking relieved again.

  “So what’s going on then?” Daphne asked.

  “My eldest is in grade school now,” Maggie said. “So starting this past fall, Mom has been asking me to pick Viola up from school.”

  Daphne grimaced. “Seriously?” she asked.

  Maggie let out a short, heavy sigh. “Yes,” she answered. “You, out of all of us, really should know that Mom is never going to change. That’s why you walked away, isn’t it?”

  “I know, but she absolutely adored and babied Viola when she was young. And now that she is in high school, Mom is foisting the responsibility on to someone else again.” Daphne sighed and shook her head.

  Though I loved the moments when my dad would come and pick us all up from school… I could tell that he was frustrated with the situation.

  “Of course,” Maggie replied with a chuckle.

  “Is she even using the same excuse that she did back then?” Daphne asked.

  “Her garden?” Maggie asked. She started nodding. “Yes, would you expect anything less of Mom?”

  Daphne pinched her forehead. “I thought living with Mom would be easier for Viola,” she said. “I’ll never forget the moment she came home from the hospital with her. It was like none of the rest of her children even existed.”

  “Well, its not only the same, but in some ways, it’s actually worse,” Maggie said, shaking her head. “Viola asked if she could put me down as her guardian and I said sure. The school was having a terrible time trying to get a hold of Mom, you know how she is, so I said sure. The school called me about two months ago and told me they had concerns Viola was expressing classic signs of depression.”

  Daphne felt her eyes go wide. Her stomach tightened. Just a couple of weeks ago…when Gary broke up with me right before Christmas, I went to the riverbank and was feeling bad about myself in comparison to my family. I even compared myself to a sixteen-year-old and felt bad for myself. She squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Do you think the school said anything to Mom?” Daphne asked, returning her gaze to Maggie.

  Maggie shrugged. “I have no clue,” she admitted. “It wasn’t long after school started that they called me and said it. So, I think she probably only would know if they tried to tell her this past spring.”

  Daphne nodded. “Good. I know Mom probably wouldn’t believe it, but Viola does not need Mom mocking her if she really is depressed.”

  Maggie nodded in agreement. “So, you know how sensitive this is. Well, I’ve started taking Viola to therapy because I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Daphne’s jaw dropped. “Maggie…” she said, pinching her nose. “Mom will kill you if she finds out.”

  “I know,” she replied, nodding rapidly. “But what else am I supposed to do? Just let Viola suffer? After all we’ve gone through with Mom, I know that was the one thing I couldn’t do.”

  Daphne closed her eyes, conjuring up Viola’s cute, girly smile in her mind. Even I know I wouldn’t be able to resist trying to put that smile back on her face.

  “So how are you hiding it then?” Daphne asked.

  “Honestly, I’m not,” Maggie replied.

  Daphne took a breath sharply. “That’s so risky,” she murmured.

  Maggie pursued her lips. “I know it is. Mom has started complaining that Viola is getting home late only on Thursdays, and I can tell she’s starting to become suspicious of me. But it gets worse, Daphne.” Maggie closed her eyes clearly upset by the situation.

  “How can it get worse?” Daphne groaned. Her mind was starting to go a million miles a minute with all possible things that could actually be worse.

  “Mom basically ignores Viola whenever they are home together, and Viola basically is making her own food. Mom is almost always in the garden.”

  Daphne groaned, turning away from Maggie. “You’re lying to me, right?” she asked.

  “I’m not,” Maggie replied firmly.

  “Stop,” Daphne replied, looking back. “It’s not like when we were kids and Mom needed to spend all of her free time in the garden. She’s won so many gardening awards at this point that she could live comfortably for several lifetimes.”

  “I know,” Maggie replied, taking a sip of her drink. “You and I both know that. But if you believe it, it somehow is still worse than when we were kids. Mom also has a strange man coming to the house. Viola has even told me that it seems like Mom might be dating him.”

  Daphne just stared at her sister. Her heart ached for her father. Though he was no longer of the world, he had loved their mother so dearly, and had bent over backwards to make sure their mother was happy.

  “It’s barely been two years,” Daphne murmured softly. She felt like each breath didn’t hold enough air. “How can she already have possibly moved on? She was dad’s whole world.”

  “But you and I both know she didn’t feel the same,” Maggie said, shaking her head and grimacing. “Anyway, as you might guess, Viola is also feeling the same way you are.”

  Daphne bit her lip. It’s one thing to lose my father at twenty-four years old, but it’s probably a whole other thing to lose a father at fourteen years old.

  “Is Viola’s therapy at least helping her?” Daphne asked.

  Please let there be a silver lining to this story.

  Maggie nodded. “The psychologist has told me that it’s fairly significant improvement, too. I just need to come up with a way to make sure she can keep going.”

  Daphne nodded, tapping her finger on her chin. “What if you tell Mom, you have been taking her to tutoring lessons?”

  “Do you think Mom would buy that?” Maggie asked, her tone excited as she grabbed Daphne’s free hand.

  “I haven’t talked to mom in two years, so I’m not really sure,” Daphne admitted. “But it would at least be difficult for her to figure out you were lying.”

  Maggie nodded. “I’ll try it,” she said. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep Viola getting treatment.” She smiled. She looked at her phone, checking the time. “Shit,” she said, standing quickly, the chair teetering behind her, threatening to fall. “I need to go.”

  Daphne chuckled. “Alright. Happy to have helped. But next time, no mom. You know I don’t want anything to do with her.

  “Next time, no mom,” Maggie promised, sticking her pinky out for a pinky swear. Daphne interlocked her pinky through Maggie’s. “Thank you for your help. Love you.”

  “Love you, too,” Daphne replied.

  Her sister turned and walked towards the cash register. Daphne’s eyes were drawn to a Halloween display that was off in the corner of the café.

  “I forgot,” her sister said, coming back to the table. “I just wanted to let you know that Mom asks about you frequently. I know that we’re talking now more than we used to, but I don’t update Mom about you at all.” Maggie nodded assuredly. “And I’m going to keep it that way.”

  “Thank you,” Daphne replied with a smile.

  “See you soon, then,” Maggie said with a little wave.

  “See you,” Daphne replied.

  As Maggie walked away for the second time, Daphne’s eyes found the pumpkin decorations again.

  “God, I hate this time of year,” she muttered to herself.