Final Blow

Nora Gianni sat at the base of the hill and peered up at the old farmhouse her mother had once called home, letting her chocolate brown eyes take in the view. Much to her surprise, the stately structure still had glimpses of its former glory. Crimson roof tiles stubbornly held on to remnants of their color despite the harsh, Upstate New York winters and pieces of childhood memories flitted through her mind. She smiled as she remembered proudly proclaiming to anyone who would listen that the deep red roof color had been chosen because or her red hair. Now, even though the matching red shutters either hung precariously by what appeared to be a single nail or were altogether missing and the sleeping porch had long ago disintegrated into a sea of broken timbers, it still felt like home.

An early-winter gust cut through the collar of her Anorak jolting her mind back to the present and Nora began slogging up the steep, snow-covered hill. She was thankful she’d managed to arrive before the snowfall had gotten too heavy but irritated with herself that she had forgotten about the blackberry briars that snagged her jeans with nearly every step.

I’m going to look like a pin cushion when this is all over, Nora mumbled to herself, and for what? Some stupid bag that was probably long gone.

Despite her irritation, she kept moving. She had made a promise to her Godfather and there was so little he asked of her, the least she could do is try to put his mind at ease. So, with yet another yank of her pantleg, she used her frustration to propel herself up the rest of the hill.

Finally, she managed to crest the hill and she peered wistfully at the swing set her daddy had put there so many years ago. He had anchored it with concrete to make sure his little girl would be safe as she swung high into the sky and it was because of this concrete the set still stood upright instead of being blown over by the ferocity of the blast that destroyed a quarter of the house, but there was noticeable damage. Dented pipes and missing seats echoed the sense of loss she felt in her heart and Nora swore she could still smell the acrid aroma of charred wood and cordite from the blast.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Nora pulled the small, black notebook she had tucked into her jacket pocket and used the silky, red ribbon to locate the page of instructions from Uncle Leo. She knew most of her friends laughed at the fact she still took physical notes in a notebook these days. Her best friend, Lisa, constantly chided her for not using her voice recording app to leave herself quick notes, but she preferred the feel of the pages and having a physical record of her thoughts. They helped her feel grounded and focused on the task ahead and the soft moleskin cover gave her comfort. Gaining a little strength from its presence in her hands focused on deciphering the chick-scratch that passed for handwriting she could get this little task completed and head home.

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It was not uncommon for Nora to get a telephone from her parents’ attorney cum Godfather that managed her parents’ estate. In many ways, he had taken the place of her father after he passed. He had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember, and she spoke with him on a regular basis, but this call was markedly different. Instead of chatting all the miscellaneous happenings in both of their lives, Uncle Leo dove right into a discussion about the property in New York, something they almost never talked about. After all, the property had been owned by her family for generations, so as far as she knew, it wasn’t something that needed to be dealt with on any sort of time frame. Apparently, now was that time.

“Nora,” Uncle Leo said sharply, “Listen closely and please don’t interrupt.”

“And hello to you, too, Uncle Leo!”

“Right. Hello. Now, no more interruptions.”

She mimed zipping her lip, not that he could see her because they hadn’t ventured to using Zoom or Facetime, but the snarkiness of the action made her feel a little better. Uncle Leo told her to grab her notebook and take down the instructions he was going to provide in explicit detail. She was instructed to not just return to her family home after all this time, but to search for a bag filled with something he either didn’t know or was unwilling to divulge.

“Your flight is this afternoon. Nobody knows you are coming and there isn’t really anyone up there any longer, so you should be able to slip in and out without any drama.”

“Ok, but Uncle Leo….”

“No buts. Please. I know this is strange and I am sorry for how abrupt this is, but you’ll understand when you get there. Travel safely.”

And that was it. No goodbye, no jokes, nothing. It all only served to make her more anxious, but she was here now and hopefully, she’d figure out what it was it was almost over now and soon (hopefully) she will understand what this was all about.

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Nora climbed through the iron gate that blocked the entrance to the kitchen. Tears stung her eyes as she was immediately transported back to her childhood. The blue and white china she’d eaten breakfast from still sat on the table where her mother had placed it and her grandmothers’ china stood stoically in the corner breakfront. There was evidence that others had been there through the years, but it was both remarkable and eerie that so much of the room looked exactly as she remembered it and as she entered the living room, the eeriness only increased. The crushed red velvet chairs that had belonged to her grandparents sat dusty and forgotten along the wall facing shattered windows and motheaten curtains. Her heart was heavy as she spied graffiti and trash scattered around the living area reminding her that the area had fallen on hard times. She looked for anything that might resemble the bag she had been sent to retrieve, but nothing caught her eye, so she quickly moved through the room and began heading toward the stairs.

The aged stairs creaked and groaned with her weight and she stepped closer to the outer edges in hopes that part of the wood wasn’t completely rotted through. Her parent’s bedroom was at the top of the stairs and she held her breath in anticipation for how it might look, but in her wildest dreams, she didn’t expect this. The room looked pristine. Not only was there no trash or graffiti like downstairs, but the bed was perfectly made, not a wrinkle or mess in sight. Stepping closer, she saw her mom’s favorite dress was laid out waiting for some ethereal being to dress for dinner. And then she saw something she never thought she would see again. There, propped against the pillow at the head of the bed as if waiting for her return was her favorite stuffed animal, Flopsy. It had been a gift from her dad on the day she was born, and she had carried him with her everywhere she went until that fateful day. She couldn’t resist picking him up and squeezing him tightly. It was silly how much love she had for this inanimate object, but the joy she felt in having him back was beyond anything else she had felt. As silly as it seemed, she had missed this ancient bunny almost as much as she missed her parents and having him back felt like a piece of her heart had been returned and for a moment, she thought maybe this was what Uncle Leo had sent her to find, but as strange as this trip was, she was certain he wouldn’t have paid for her to travel across the country just to pick up a silly stuffed animal, regardless of how much he knew she loved it. Tucking him into her jacket, she felt fortified by his soft fur against her chest and moved on to continue her search.

Exiting the bedroom, she turned left toward the charred remains of half the house. It seemed improbable, but she thought she would at least peer into the black pit that had been her bathroom to say she had looked everywhere.

Wrapping one arm around her waist to keep Flopsy in place, Nora leaned forward in anticipation of using the flashlight on her phone to peer into the darkness of the bomb site when she heard something crunch inside her bunny. She hadn’t heard it earlier when she squeezed him, but pulling him from her jacket, she squeezed up and down the toy and in the arms and legs, she heard something that felt and sounded significantly different than the plush cotton that filled the rest of the body.

What was that she felt? It sounded kind of like paper, but she was certain that she had never stuffed any notes or anything inside Flopsy as a kid, but she examined the seams around his shoulder, Nora definitely saw something other than stuffing…

…she saw money!

Nora slid back into the safety of her parent’s bedroom and carefully separated the seams further. She hated to destroy her prized bunny, but she could always repair him, and this seemed to be the purpose of her visit.

Pulling one arm free, Nora began to pull $1,000 dollar bills from the bunny. She had never even known there was such a bill, let alone seen one in her life and she wasn’t even sure they would still be considered valid currency today, but after verifying she had them all, Nora counted twenty of the unusual bills and immediately burst into tears. Returning the bills to their hiding place, Nora quickly made her way out of the house and down the hill to her car before calling Uncle Leo to report her findings.

“I knew that bunny would come in handy,” Uncle Leo exclaimed, “But Nora, it’s especially important you leave as quickly as possible. That money already caused the murder of your parents. Please get out before…”

And the line went dead.

Nora never heard her Uncle Leo’s warning. The explosion, triggered by the closing of her drivers’ side door, ended the call and her life before she could even think twice about the origin of the money or what it could possibly mean.