Secret Hollows Read Online Free Page B

said.
    Her mother came up beside her, placed her arm around Mary’s waist and hugged her. “It does,” she said softly. “You’ll be such a beautiful bride.”
    She met her mother’s eyes in the mirror and saw the glisten of tears. “Are you upset about this?” she asked.
    “Oh, no, darling,” her mother replied. “I’m just wondering where the years went. It was only yesterday that you were playing dress-up and getting into my makeup.”
    Mary sniffed back a tear. “When I wasn’t stealing the boys’ toys and making them angry.”
    “You were always caught between two worlds,” her mother agreed, “Wanting to be a girl, but also wanting so badly to have your brothers’ approval. And now look at the beautiful woman you’ve become.”
    “I still see the tomboy when I look in the mirror,” Mary said.
    Smiling, her mother hugged her again. “And who does Bradley see?”
    “Me,” she replied softly. “He sees the real me and loves me in spite of it.”
    “Oh, darling, he loves you because of it.”
    Mary nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “Yes. Yes, he does.”
    Tears filling her own eyes, Margaret wiped at them. “Now, see what you’ve gone and made me do.”
    “We’re going to stain the dress with our tears,” Mary said, her voice shaky.
    “This dress has seen plenty of tears,” her mother replied, “but only tears of joy.”
    A slight ripple in the air behind them caught Mary’s eyes. She stared into the mirror, searching the reflection to determine what she saw. Slowly, the figures materialized. Their transparent features becoming more clear with each passing second.
    Two women stood side by side, their arms around each other, radiant smiles on their faces. The one on the right looked directly at Mary and nodded. Suddenly Mary remembered her time back in Ireland at her grandmother’s home, listening to the stories of the fairy folks. She was only a young child, but the memories of that time were still clear in her mind. Her grandmother had died when she was a teen, so she hadn’t seen her again.
    “Ma,” she said softly. “Grandma’s here.”
    Margaret nodded, “Aye, I know, I can feel her.”
    “But, she’s crossed over,” Mary said. “How can she come back?”
    “The veil between this world and the next is fairly thin,” she replied. “And the bond of family is strong. An occasion such as this deserves a visit from our loved ones, don’t you think? It isn’t every day a granddaughter gets engaged.”
    “So, ghosts can come back?”
    Margaret smiled. “They’re not ghosts, darling, they’re family in their spirit form. They come to check on us now and again, but most people can’t see them as you do. Most of us just feel their presence and are comforted by it. She was there at the hospital on the day you were shot, I’m sure of it.”
    “Can she talk to us?”
    “I’d suspect not,” Margaret said. “They’d want to tell us about heaven and the wonders they’ve seen. And then we wouldn’t have to live by faith, now would we?”
    Mary turned and smiled at her grandmother. “I love the dress, Grandma,” she said. “Thank you.”
    Her grandmother nodded again and turned to the woman next to her.
    Mary looked at the other spirit. “Does my great-grandmother look like Auntie Moira?” Mary asked, referring to her mother’s younger sister.
    “Yes, it was said the resemblance was quite startling.”
    “Well, then, great-grandma is here too.”
    “That’s lovely,” her mother said.
    “Great-grandma,” Mary said. “I hope you don’t mind if I wear your dress.”
    Translucent tears slipped down her great-grandmother’s cheeks. She angled her head and nodded at the dress, and then she blew Mary a gentle kiss.
    “Thank you,” Mary said. “Thank you so much.”
    The women smiled at her once again and slowly faded away.
    “They’re gone,” Mary said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
    “You’ll wear it then?” her mother asked, her voice shaky with