Sixteen-year-old Carrie Reed once led a charmed life, with her three siblings and loving parents. Then, her father seemingly went mad and murdered her mother. Suddenly, life was empty of love and joy. The Reed children were sent to live with their Aunt Tanya and Uncle Charlie. Things improved, but Carrie had trouble understanding what had happened to her parents. When had their love gone wrong? How could her father have done such a thing? On her birthday, her aunt and uncle bought her an antique sapphire ring. Sapphire was Carrie's birthstone, and she adored her gift. Even so, Carrie had learned from her grandmother that certain objects retain the memories and feelings of the past owner. With the death of a distant relative named Irene, Carrie comes to realize that the ring may have been in her family for decades-and it might be cursed. Strange things begin to happen to the Reed family, especially when the children get involved in witchcraft. Carrie is fascinated with the idea of the afterlife. She must find out what happens after death-but she doesn't realize that communing with the dead can lead to tragedy in life. The curse of the ring has come back with a vengeance, and this time it has Carrie in its sights.

ETERNAL TWINS

By Ruth Parker Riddle

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Ruth Parker Riddle
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4697-3244-2

Chapter One

It had been an unseasonably warm day that October in the small town of Sea Crest, North Carolina, in 1988. Carrie rode alone in the backseat as her Uncle Charlie drove down the highway heading towards what was now an unfamiliar area from her distant past. Her shoulder length golden-blonde hair was windblown, because she insisted on having her window rolled down all the way. She felt the warm breeze blowing in her face, and she could smell the pungent aroma of the briny marsh. The wind howling in her ears faded out the sound of her aunt and uncle talking about the events of the day.

Carrie reminisced about the last time she had taken that same road long ago, only this time they were traveling in the opposite direction. It had been eight years since her father was transferred out west to the coastal town of Port Hueneme, California. Her father, Allen, was serving in the Navy, and they had moved several times over the years. So, they were always eager to embark on a new adventure. If they had only known that things would turn out so terrible.

She still remembered how cozy and warm she felt with her siblings sitting in the back of their 1978 blue Dodge Station Wagon. Tears came to her eyes as she thought of her mother sitting in the front seat, smiling and singing along to, Heaven Must Have Sent You on the radio. How she missed her mother; she was always so patient and kind. Carrie never could bring herself to forgive her father, even if he was having a mental breakdown; that was no excuse for him to take the life of their beautiful mother. Beth was not only a good mother, but she was a good friend to her children. She was a lot like a child herself, usually involved in all the children's activities. It seemed like Beth's only purpose in life was to make her four young children happy.

Carrie remembered how much her mother loved their house on Tidal Point Road. She always said that living out in the country would be the perfect place to raise her growing family. It was a big new home, with a bright country kitchen. There was a wooden swing hanging from a big oak tree in the back yard surrounded by tall pines and huge azalea bushes. The honeysuckles gave off a sweet aroma attracting hummingbirds, which were her mother's favorite birds. Clover grew abundantly in the thick green grass. Carrie could still recall the excited look on her mother's face when she found two four leaf clovers in the same day, when nobody else could find one.

As they drove down the dirt road through the thick brush, she thought of the day they first discovered that cemetery. It was when they had gone out into the woods to find a place to bury their family pet. Their beloved first dog was a yellow lab named Sonny. He had been in the family since he was just a little puppy. When they moved there he was an old dog but still very protective of the children. He had never been an outside dog before, so they thought it was strange when he refused to go inside the house.

One day when the children were playing in the yard, Sonny just ignored them. He just lay on the side of the house sleeping all afternoon. When their father came home from work later that day, the family was shocked to hear him announce that the dog was dead. He said it so bluntly without any consideration for their feelings. That was just the way he was about animals. He was indifferent to the emotional bond people have with their pets. That was their first experience with death, but as luck seems to happen by chance, it wouldn't be their only experience with death that year.

Uncle Charlie interrupted Carrie's thoughts when he loudly announced, "We're here!" Then he quickly pulled over to the side of the road where they exited the car and headed down the footpath through the woods. They came to a clearing and found the few friends that had gathered to pay their last respects to their cousin Irene.

Irene never had children of her own making Uncle Charlie the only blood relative she had left. At the age of eighty-two she had outlived most of her family and friends. Although she knew she had cousins she hadn't made any effort to keep in touch with them. Her parents died when she was just a little girl. Therefore, she was raised by her mother's sister, Helen, who knew very little about her brother-in-law's family.

Irene and Ivan had been born on the family estate known as Tidal Home. It was a Victorian style house that caught fire nearly seventy-five years before. Later, it was sold and eventually torn down to make way for new homes, but the family cemetery in the woods behind the house had been left untouched. Uncle Charlie decided Irene's final resting place should be there beside her twin brother Ivan.

Carrie's parents never knew their ancestors had lived on that very same property. It was just a strange coincidence that they had rented a home built on that very same plot of ground when Carrie was just eight years old. Her sister Lisa was ten. Her brother Tyler was four, and their brother Cole was just two- years-old, when they moved to the home on Tidal Point Road.

Uncle Charlie directed everyone to the gravesite and spoke, "We have gathered together today for this, I might say, very informal memorial service in loving memory of a dear friend and family member. Irene lived a long and happy life working for many years as a bookkeeper for First Federal Savings and Loan Association. She had so much tragedy early in her life. Her twin brother died of pneumonia when he was just six years old, and her parents passed away just a short time later. Her father died after having a heart attack, and it was said that her mother then died of a broken heart. Luckily Irene's Aunt Helen took her in and raised her in a loving home. Irene never married nor had children of her own and outlived most of those who were close to her. She will always be remembered for her kindness and generosity. God rest her soul."

The preacher asked for everyone to bow their heads as he began to recite, the Lord's Prayer. Then the small coffin shaped box containing Irene's ashes was lowered into the ground. It was buried at the site next to the weathered marker that had already been there for more than three quarters of a century. The gravestones were engraved with the words:

Ivan Reed Irene Reed 1906-1912 1906-1988 Eternal Twin of Irene Twin sister of Ivan Born to be an Angel Eternal Twins forever

After the service Uncle Charlie and Aunt Tanya went over to talk with some of the other mourners. Carrie set out by herself to explore the area. While she was looking at the other gravesites she felt a chill, and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. She could feel someone standing close behind her, so she quickly turned around, but to her surprise nobody was there. Then she heard a hissing sound and turned back to see a black cat with huge yellow eyes sitting on a nearby tombstone. "Where did you come from?" she asked the cat. It growled at her and ran off into the thicket. Carrie then noticed a man and woman standing at the edge of the woods staring at her. She nodded to them and feeling uneasy, she quickly started walking back towards her aunt and uncle. Then she remembered that she wanted to see the house where her family had once lived. So, she began searching for the path in the woods that would lead her to the farmhouses. Carrie soon found the familiar trail...