Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

Perry stood beside me and took my hand. After the graveside ceremony ended, we returned to the house for the final greeting of mourners.
    I saw very few students from our school at the church and none at the funeral. When I mentioned that to Cassie, she smirked, nodded, and said, “The hypocrites told their children not to mourn someone who committed suicide, I’m sure. Who cares? Who wants their empty sympathy, anyway?”
    I did. I wanted to see a friendly face. I had hoped Kent would come, but he didn’t, and neither did any of the girls who had become my new best friends. Cassie’s decision for me to stay home and then attend a private school seemed very sensible to me now. I hoped she hadn’t forgotten and would convince Daddy.
    When everyone was finally gone, Cassie sent Daddy up to bed and took care of the caterers and locking up our house. She sent me up to bed as well. Before he left, Uncle Perry came to me and asked me please to call on him for anything at any time. He hugged me and kissed me.
    “It’s all right to cry now, Semantha,” he said. “You’ve been a good soldier for your father, but don’t hold your grief in your heart. Let it spill out.”
    I thanked him and went up to my room. I was still moving in slow motion like someone in a trancemyself. After I got into bed, I heard Cassie come up the stairs, but I didn’t hear her go to her bedroom. I waited and waited but still didn’t hear her. Curious, I got out of bed and looked down the hallway. I didn’t see her for a few moments, and then suddenly, she emerged from Daddy’s bedroom with an armful of clothing.
    Now she was the one moving like someone in a trance. She seemed not to see me standing in my bedroom doorway and almost walked past me and into her room before I called out. She turned slowly.
    “Why aren’t you asleep?” she asked.
    “I was just getting to sleep when I heard you. What are you doing with those clothes?”
    “These are some of Mother’s things that I want to keep and wear,” she said. “We are about the same size. Daddy was always fond of these outfits.”
    I just stared.
    “Actually, I can fit into everything that was hers,” she added.
    I didn’t know what to say.
    She smiled.
    “Good night, Semantha,” she said, and went into her room, closing the door behind her and leaving me shivering in the darkness of my own bedroom.

The Deal
    D ADDY WAS GOING to return to work the next day right after a little breakfast, but Cassie asked him to leave later so we could have a family meeting.
    “Then you don’t want to return to school yet?” Daddy asked.
    “No. This is why we must meet and have a family discussion,” she told him.
    The idea of it being a family meeting without Mother seemed strange. I winced at the sound of it, but Daddy agreed, so right after breakfast we all went into the living room, where Cassie could discuss important matters. She would say nothing until Daddy and I were seated. Even then, she paced back and forth for a few moments, looking as if she was taking great care about how she expressed herself.
    I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and I was holding my breath in anticipation, but Daddy looked quite subdued, his gaze on the floor. I didn’t expect him to be himself, of course, but he looked as if all of his strength, his love of life, and his energy had been buried alongside Mother in her grave. Maybe that was why he was so willing to agree with Cassie, whyhe presented little opposition to her requests, which sounded more like her usual faits accomplis.
    She began.“You might have noticed, Daddy—although if you didn’t, we understand, of course—that few, if any, of our classmates were at the church for Mother’s funeral services.” She turned to me. “Am I right, Semantha?”
    I looked at Daddy and nodded. He said nothing, but the sadness in his face deepened.
    “As you know, Daddy,” Cassie continued, “both Semantha and I have never been happy in public school. For me, it’s been little or no challenge, and as some recent events proved, it’s not been a happy time for Semantha, either. It’s not your fault, but because you are so successful, because the Heavenstones are so well known and respected here, Semantha and I are often resented at school. So many are jealous of us and eager to criticize us or see us have misfortune. Even our teachers look at us though green eyes of accusation, accusing us of thinking we are better than anyone else.”
    “Have any