Inheritance
By TT

Stephanie let out a sigh as she pulled Big Blue in front of the old building. With the days getting shorter and dark coming earlier, skips seemed less likely to be out and about the city.

This was both a blessing and a curse. It meant that they were usually home and a curse because they were rarely at their own homes. In addition, those who she managed to find at their own homes were usually sitting down to dinner when she found them.

In her family, a person never interrupted the evening meal. That rule was one in which she firmly believed. She hated it when her dinner was interrupted, but, with her rent due, she didn’t feel she had much choice.

Stepping out of the car, she double checked the apartment number and moved toward the building.

As she reached the door, she scanned the wall for a button that would let her announce her presence. Not seeing one outside, she tried the outer door, surprised when it opened easily.

Looking around the entryway, Stephanie felt impressed by the quality of her surroundings. She had known the building was old, but hadn’t realized how well kept it would be.

Not seeing any other way of announcing her presence, she made her way up the staircase to the second floor. “Two B,” she murmured to herself, repeating the apartment number.

Arriving on the landing, she looked both ways and released a sigh as she realized that the apartment with higher letters would be at the back of the building.

As she headed in that direction, Stephanie started making a number of turns. Instead of a straight hallway, she found herself tracing her way through a maze of hallways to try and locate her destination.

Her eyes grazed the letters on the doors as she moved. It really was a nice place. Much nicer than anything she could afford and definitely not her style.

The further back into the building she moved, the more fragments of music, laughter and conversation seemed to assault her ears. She couldn’t distinguish what was being said as the words faded too quickly. As she continued, she began to wonder at the source. It almost seemed like the sounds she was hearing were whispers from the building’s past, voices out of history that echoed through the ages to today.

Stephanie let out a snort of disbelief at her own fanciful notions. Shaking her head she dismissed that thought and moved forward.

Making yet another turn, the whispers and remnants of sound faded entirely. She found two doors before her. The one on the right bore a gold A. The one on the left had a golden B.

“Finally,” she sighed. With a quick movement, she knocked on the door labeled “B” and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. A few moments after knocking, the door opened to reveal a tall thin woman in slightly antiquated clothes and sporting a steel-gray bun. Smiling warmly, the lady greeted, “Hello, Miss Plum.”

Startled, Stephanie felt her muscles tense. “Miss Costak?” she inquired.

“Yes, dear,” she assured, opening the door wider and motioning Stephanie inside. “I called Vincent a little while ago when I realized I’d missed my court date. He told me that you would be stopping by,” she informed, leading Stephanie into what could only be described as a sitting room. “Make yourself comfortable. I just have a few dishes to finish and we can be on our way.”

“Do you need any help?” Stephanie asked. She might not be able to cook, but she was a wiz at washing dishes.

“Not at all,” the older woman denied, already at a doorway leading further into the apartment. “Help yourself to the candy on the table.”

Settling back into the surprisingly comfortable armchair, she looked at the coffee table and saw some candies sitting in a dish. A smile curved he lips as she realized it was her favorite type. Reaching out, she quickly took a piece and ate it, letting out a contented sigh as she did so.

With that first piece gone, she reached out for another as the sound of running water and the gentle clink of dishes filtered to her through the apartment.

A while later, Stephanie drew herself upright and blinked a few times. She lifted her arms and stretched as her eyes sought a clock.

She spotted a rather elaborate crystal clock sitting on the mantle of the fireplace and saw that only about twenty minutes had passed.

A quick glance around the room showed she had eaten all of the candy in the dish. Feeling slightly embarrassed by that fact, she stood and decided to try and avoid letting Mrs. Costak see. With that determined, she took a step toward the doorway through which the older lady had disappeared, only to stop short when Mrs. Costak appeared in the doorway dressed to go out in her coat complete with hat, gloves and purse.

“Are you ready, dear?” she asked with a kind smile.

“Sure,” Stephanie agreed, moving toward the door. She waited while Mrs. Costak closed and locked the door to the apartment before following her out of the building and opening the passenger door for her.

Once she was settled behind the wheel, Stephanie turned the Buick toward the police station. For once, she felt no desire to talk, and just enjoyed the silence.

She was approaching a flashing yellow light and slowed slightly. She knew the cross-traffic had a flashing red and would be stopping, so she prepared to go through the intersection.

Before they reached the intersection, however, Mrs. Costak reached out and rested a hand on Stephanie’s arm. “You need to stop here and wait for a moment, dear,” she cautioned.

Uncertain as to why she followed the instruction. Stephanie slowed Big Blue to a stop.

The moment they came to a complete stop, a semi roared through the intersection, not even pausing for the flashing red light he had.

Stephanie’s eyes grew wide as she watched the truck pass. Without a doubt, had she not stopped, they would have been in the intersection and been hit by the truck. Turning to look at her passenger, Stephanie asked, “How?”

Mrs. Costak neatly folded her hands in her lap and looked ahead. “We should go now,” she instructed.

Shaking her head, Stephanie looked both ways and moved through the intersection.

“Every blessing can also be or be seen as a curse,” the older woman said, apropos of nothing, as far as Stephanie could see. “It all depends on your perspective. An act of courage can be seen as cowardice, if looked at a different way and an act of love may be seen as nothing more than lust. A sacrifice may be seen as a cruelty and a brave woman as insane.” Turning her eyes to Stephanie as they reached a stop sign, she waited until Stephanie met her eyes. “Life is lived on many levels and every action echoes through time. We each perceive the world around us according to our own prejudices and experience. Look to the heart of person acting, read it there and you will never be led astray.”

Stephanie absorbed the words and just blinked. She had no idea what the lady meant, but it seemed amazingly important that she remember.

Feeling a shiver race down her spine, Stephanie turned her eyes forward and continued the drive to the police station. The rest of the drive was made in silence.

Reaching the station, Stephanie parked her car and quickly got out in order to help Mrs. Costak.

As the two women reached the door, Mrs. Costak stopped Stephanie by taking the younger woman’s hand in her own. Smiling, she said, “Accept the gifts with joy and always trust in yourself, in your heart, in your instincts and in your knowledge.”

Though she didn’t understand what that meant any more than she understood the previous comments, Stephanie felt compelled to smile and assure the older woman, “I will.”

As she uttered the words, she felt her hair ruffle in a breeze and a chill race down her spine. Shaking it off, she smiled again and led the older woman into the police station.

She settled Mrs. Costak on the bench and turned her attention to getting the body receipt.

With that in hand, she turned to say goodbye only to see Carl escorting the older woman back toward the lockup. The gray-haired head turned toward her and the older woman smiled.

After the door closed behind Carl and Mrs. Costak, Stephanie shook her head and left the station. Starting Big Blue, she wondered if she would still have time to make it to her parents’ house in time for dinner.

Pulling up in front of the house she had always known as home, she felt surprise that only one person stood in the doorway waiting for her.

She exited the car and made her way to the front door, “Grandma,” she greeted, stepping inside and looking around. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“I sent them out,” she informed, her face more serious than Stephanie had seen in a very long time. Edna latched a hand onto Stephanie’s arm and dragged her into the living room. “Sit,” she commanded.

Stephanie sat on the couch and watched her grandmother pace back and forth. “What is it?”

Edna turned and looked at her. “That idiot cousin of your father’s told me he gave you Viola Costak’s file today. Did he?”

“Yes,” Stephanie confirmed, confused. “I just dropped her off at the police station.”

Rapid, angry Hungarian flew out of Edna’s mouth. Stephanie had never heard such a thing from her grandmother and didn’t know what to do. “Did you eat anything while you were there?”

Stephanie nodded. “Ju-just some candy,” she admitted, still feeling guilty for eating all of it. If she didn’t know better, she would swear there was fear in her grandmother’s eyes.

“How much?”

“All of it.”

All the energy seemed to drain from Edna at this information and she sank down into the armchair opposite the couch. “All of it,” she whispered.

Stephanie felt great concern as, for once, her grandmother looked her age. She saw just how frail and small the older woman had become. Moving across the room, she knelt beside the chair and took her grandmother’s hand in her own.

When Edna looked up, there were tears in her eyes. Offering a shaky smile, she reached out with her free hand and patted Stephanie’s cheek.

“What’s wrong, Grandma?” Stephanie asked, her voice sounding small in her own ears.

A sigh escaped the smaller woman. “We have a lot to discuss,” Edna informed, gathering herself and her energy together. For years I’ve tried to protect first Ellen and then you and Valerie from this, but it looks like Viola won anyway.”

“Grandma?”

“Don’t worry dear. I’ll explain it all. Let’s both settle on the couch.”

Moving to the couch, Stephanie settled next to her grandmother and faced her. “Who is Viola Costak to you and why is this an issue?”

“Viola is my sister,” Edna admitted quietly, smiling at Stephanie’s gasp of surprise. “Many years ago, when she received the curse, my father banished her from our family and forbid us ever to speak of her. Off and on throughout life I would catch a glimpse of her, but never for long and we never spoke. When your grandfather died, she came to me that night. Her own husband had died and left her childless. She tried to explain to me that she wasn’t cursed, but blessed, that she needed to pass the blessing on to a blood relative. Horrified, I told her to leave and to leave my family alone. When I returned to the kitchen I found a casserole on the table that I hadn’t seen before she arrived. Knowing that food could be a conduit, I got rid of it and destroyed the casserole dish. I wanted nothing to do with her.

“She has tried off and on since then to speak to me, to seek you out. I’ve been able to deter her until this.” Turning, she looked into Stephanie’s eyes. “I don’t know the details of what will happen, but I do know that by dawn tomorrow, the curse will have been passed to you.”

Stephanie stared at her grandmother, stunned. Then Mrs. Costak’s words came back to her. “Every blessing can also be seen as a curse,” she murmured.

“I only pray that’s true,” Grandma Mazur said, her voice soft and filled with tears.

Stephanie blinked and looked at her. Offering her a small smile, she reached out and briefly hugged the older woman. “We’ll figure it out,” she assured, quickly releasing her grandmother and feeling her cheeks heat at the uncharacteristic display of emotion.

Grandma Mazur offered a small smile in return.

Two hours later, Stephanie stepped into her apartment and leaned against the door, relieved to be here.

She and her grandmother hadn’t spoken much past the hug, but, then her parents had arrived home just about then, so there wouldn’t have been time.

Turning, she locked her front door, dropped her bag and stepped into the apartment. Moving toward the kitchen, she spotted a large manila envelope sitting on her kitchen table, her name neatly written across it.

Worry filled her as she began to check her apartment for signs of a break-in. The last thing she needed right now was another stalker.

Satisfied that everything was as it should be, she moved to the envelope and carefully opened it.

As she slid the papers out, she glanced at the top sheet. She realized it was a letter written to her. Glancing at the bottom, she saw the signature belonged to her Great Aunt Viola Costak.

Settling in the chair she began to read:

Dearest Stephanie,

Please accept my apologies for not telling you all of this in person, but my father’s fears and misunderstanding of what I received and what I have passed to you, stayed strong in your grandmother, my sister. This is the only way I can tell you of the blessing I have passed on to you this night.

By dawn, I will no longer be amongst the living and you will be in full control of all of my gifts. Please, please, always look at them as such. I did not leave them with you to cause pain or sorrow. I’ve watched over you and your family from a distance and recognized early on what an extraordinary woman you are in your own right. These blessings will only enhance what you already possess and can aid you greatly in your chosen career.

The letter continued for some time. When she finished reading it, Stephanie started in on the papers underneath.

Dawn found her sitting by the window in her bedroom, watching the morning sky change color.

She had only finished reading the papers about an hour ago. They held a vast amount of information and she knew it would take a while for her to digest and understand it all.

Despite the fact that her life was changing, and she never asked for this blessing, curse or whatever it was, Stephanie found she couldn’t be mad at her great aunt. Being perfectly honest, after reading and understanding what this change would bring, she felt a certain excitement and anticipation to see what the future would bring.

As the sun crested the horizon, Stephanie felt warmth fill her. It was a comfortable feeling, a joyful one. A smile appeared on her face even as a touch of sadness brushed her soul.

Following the advice of her aunt, she accepted the gifts with joy and wished her aunt well on her journey to wherever the dead went.

Stephanie was uncertain how long she stood at her window, just enjoying the new experience. She knew without a doubt that she would need to get ready to face the day. She also knew there would be a call from the station telling her Mrs. Costak had died.

She wondered, briefly, what these new gifts would mean to how she viewed the world.

The sound of a high-powered engine reached her ears a moment before a powerful looking black Porsche turned into the parking lot.

A smile curved her lips as she saw the car come to a stop.

As she expected, Ranger stepped out of the car and immediately looked up to where she stood by the window.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. Physically, he was a beautiful man, but, now, Stephanie could see him so much more. The mystery, the disguise, the questions were gone. She still didn’t know the address of the bat cave or anything else, but she was finally seeing him, without the masks that he wore. She briefly wondered what Joe would look like now, but the thought quickly passed; after all, they were in an off phase.

After a moment he broke eye contact and disappeared into her building.

Stephanie raced for her door and hurriedly unlocked it.

The door to the stairway opened and Ranger stepped through. His stride faltered only slightly as he once more caught sight of Stephanie, but he swiftly arrived at her door.

She stepped back so he could come into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

Their eyes locked once more. Stephanie could see emotions swirling and flashing in his eyes and around him.

“Babe,” he whispered reaching out a hand but letting it fall just short of touching her. “How?”

“Viola Costak,” she replied. “She was my great aunt.”

Ranger just nodded.

Stephanie saw joy, excitement and nervousness forming within him and starting to push outward. She felt his joy echoed in her own heart and felt that joy grow within her. “Do you see like this all the time?” she asked, her voice hushed.

Ranger nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but she shushed him.

“I know,” was all she said. Taking a deep breath she asked, “Will you help me with this?”

“You’re my Eliza Doolittle,” he replied, smiling.

“Yeah,” she agreed, her smile bright, as they both reached out to hug the other.

As they touched, something happened to them. It was completely unexpected and changed them in ways they didn’t entirely understand. They both realized, though, that their life paths, their destinies, in that one moment, had become irrevocably entwined. The gift Stephanie had received was a perfect compliment to the one Ranger had received years before from his grandfather.

Blessing or curse, courage or cowardice, good or bad, Stephanie knew her life had just gotten much more interesting

End

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