Ashes of eden

Eden came to own the Estate kind of by strange chance.

 

She was in the forest one day, hunting for a couple of herbs she needed, when she stumbled upon the house. It was unoccupied and seemed to have been for a long time. It was in disrepair – windows smashed, doors broken, and things vandalized. However, something didn’t sit right with her. She could sense something about the property, but just couldn’t put her finger on it. But she felt drawn to the property and really wanted to get out of the rather shitty little apartment she was renting inside the City. So she decided to hunt down the needed information on who owned the property and see what it would take to purchase it.

 

After some time, she finally found the last (though still current) owner. It was an elderly wheelchair-bound man in a nursing home – Thaddeus Lattermore. She was unsure about approaching him about the estate, but figured it was a possible now or never situation. So she introduced herself and went from there. He explained that after his wife died many, many years ago, he couldn’t bring himself to live there anymore and so he left it. Eden told him of her interest in the property and that’s all it took.

 

He said he would gladly sign everything over to her, but with one condition. She didn’t have to pay him a single dime, he didn’t want her money, but he asked that she take the time to clean it up and restore it again – however she saw fit. Just as long as it had some life to it again. Eden could agree to that, though it still didn’t feel right to not give the man something, anything. So she asked him what she could possibly give him because she couldn’t just accept the property on the basis that she fix it up and it’s all hers. He thought for several long minutes and then looked at her, almost like he was looking at her soul, and took her by surprise when he spoke.

 

“You can help me with something. I know it. That will be your payment to me. Once you help me, we can get everything signed over to you and get it all shipshape again.”

 

Eden agreed and they shook hands. Then she sat down with him to discuss what he needed her help with. And it took her by complete surprise.

 

“You want me to hunt what?!” she exclaimed, taken somewhat aback, and shocked as well.

 

“You heard me, girl. A Wendigo. That is what took my wife from me all those years ago. Hunt it, kill it, avenge my wife, and set her spirit free so that we will be together again when I finally pass from this world. I have held on all this time without the love of my life, knowing a chance would come along. And here you are. Do this for me and you can have the property in its entirety, free of charge. I will even throw in a bonus: I will have the best contractors and repairmen sent out to see what needs to be done, quote everything, and I will even finance all of the repairs and whatever it will take to get the property squared away. So what do you say, Miss Morgenstern?”

 

Eden was flabbergasted at first, and not just from his offer to fully finance everything. This man didn’t have a supernatural bone in his body. She knew. She could sense those things. Yet he knew exactly what had killed his wife. Perhaps she had been connected to the supernatural in someway…? Apparently able to read the question on her face, he answered the question she hadn’t yet voiced.

“My wife was a witch, Miss Morgenstern. As I am assuming you are, though I feel there is much more to you than that. She taught me some things in the time we were together. She knew the Wendigo was coming for her. She told me as much. We tried everything to keep her protected. But nothing worked and soon after, she was dead. There is nothing I can do. I am just an old man. An old human man confined to this wretched wheelchair. But you… You have power. You can face that damn monster and kill it. Do this for me and you will have whatever you wish. All the money I have means nothing to me without my wife, and we were never able to have children. So my wealth, everything I have, will become yours. You have but to kill that damned Wendigo in exchange.”

 

She was silent for a moment as she soaked in all of the information that he just dumped on her. It was a lot to process at once. She had come simply to see what it would take to purchase the property, expecting to pay money to the man and have it signed over, then go about her way and work on fixing it up. She hadn’t expected any of this. But here it was. This was fated and she knew it. It was decided.

 

“You have a deal, Mr. Lattermore. Allow me some time to do what I need to get a trail on the Wendigo. Then I will hunt it down and bring you its head. And I will keep you updated regularly, of course. You have my word, bound here and now by the Divines. Should I break this deal, may they curse me in the worst way for the rest of my days.”

 

“A deal it is, then. And please, call me Thaddeus. Mr. Lattermore was my father,” he’d said with a chuckle, reaching out to shake her hand to finalize their deal. Eden shook his wrinkled hand and smiled. The deal was made. Now to pick up that Wendigo’s trail, hunt it, and kill it.

​

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​

Eden kept her word. The very moment she left the nursing facility that day she began her hunt for the Wendigo. She spent day and night for over a month trying to find signs of it, always keeping Mr. Lattermore informed. Then she struck luck, finding signs going into the third month. But just finding signs of the Wendigo was not the end all be all. She needed to track it, learn its habits, and learn the best time to strike. She had to be absolutely thorough and ensure that no mistakes were made, because she would only get one shot with this Wendigo. And if she failed it would be her ass.

 

She stopped by the nursing facility to let Mr. Lattermore know of her progress. She expected the same as always. They would sit down like old friends, talk over some tea and a snack, and then talk business. It had become something of a ritual for them and they had formed something of a personal relationship and not just one of business.

 

He had told her of his wife and how they’d met, how they married in six months of meeting, how he had scraped and saved to have the house built for her, the day they found out they couldn’t produce children, how they had spent twenty years together before her death… Basically his life story. He’d give a little more of it each time she visited. And sometimes she’d just visit without having any updates to give him.

 

Something about the man made her feel at ease, and she enjoyed the fact that it was easy to feel the love he had for his wife. He was a good man that had tragically lost his wife long before she should have ever passed. She had started to see him almost as a father figure; despite the relatively short amount of time she had known him. And unbeknownst to her, he had started to see her almost as the daughter he never had.

 

But this time it was going to be different.

 

When she walked in, she knew right away that something was wrong. Monitors were set up, an IV and wires were hooked to him, and a nurse was with him. Dread settled into her stomach like a stone. But she couldn’t seem to do anything at first but stand and stare at him. It was like her brain needed to process what her eyes were seeing before her legs or mouth would move.

 

“Thaddeus! What’s all this? Are you okay?” she asked, rushing over to him.

 

He lifted a hand slightly as if to tell her to calm down. He looked tired. “Be still, Eden. Sit and let me talk. It’s important,” he said. She gulped and nodded, grabbing a chair to pull it over. She parked herself in it, though she basically sat on the edge, and bent over some, resting her elbows on her knees.

 

“I’m sick and I’ve been given less than six months to live. I’ve already contacted my lawyer and written out a will. As you know, I have no other living family. And though our time together has been short, I have come to see you as a daughter. I admire your tenacity and resolve and your heart. You are strong and will no doubt survive longer than anyone can imagine. You are everything I could have ever hoped for in a child and I wish Minerva could have met you. She would have loved you, as I do. That is why, in my will, I am leaving everything I own to you,” he said, pausing for a moment before continuing.

 

“I have already spoken with all of the contractors and repairmen. They have been informed to begin work on the estate and that they will deal directly with you once I pass. All of my financial assets will transfer to you; and there is no debt to be afraid of. I lived a very frugal life after Minerva died and so there is a sizeable amount of money that should last you a long time, even after everything you need and plan to do to the estate. You were meant to find it that day, Eden. Fate or Destiny, whichever, brought you to me and I am grateful for that. I feared I would live out the rest of my life here, alone and with no one to truly care. But it would seem that my fears were unfounded. And I am glad. I believe Minerva sent you to me. It is something she would have done… Now, child… You can speak,” he said. He seemed almost out of breath.

 

(And he knew how old she really was, but he still called her ‘child’. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have stood for it. But because it was Thaddeus, she knew it was endearing and made him happy, so she didn’t care.)

 

At first, Eden couldn’t speak. There was a lump in her throat that wouldn’t budge and her thoughts were in such disarray that she didn’t even know where to begin. And, if she was being honest with herself, this made her think of her birth mother. Of course, she had no real heads up when it came to her mother’s death. She had no warning. But this was hitting her in the same place that her mother’s death did. At least this time she knew in advance.

 

She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she quickly covered her face, not wanting him or the nurse to see. Then she felt one of his hands gently pat and then rest on her shoulder. She reached up to gently grasp it, holding onto it like it was the only thing keeping her tied to the earth, trying her absolute hardest not to break down. He was the closest thing to family that she’d had in over 300 years, because she never included her birth father in that particular grouping. She sniffled and let go with one hand to wipe at her face before releasing his hand and straightening up again.

 

“I don’t know what to say, Thaddeus… I-I’m lost for words. I… Let me do something. I can heal you.”

 

“No, child. I will have none of that. None. It is my time and you know that. Better than anyone. Minerva has been waiting on me for all these years and now I know that it won’t be long before I’ll be with her again. Not to say I want to leave you, Eden. I know what my presence in your life has become to you. The same as yours has become to me. It’s a damn shame to have had such little time with you, and doubly so that Minerva never got to meet you at all. But it’s time for these weary bones to finally rest,” he told her.

 

Eden knew that it was the end of that particular conversation. He had a point, she knew. And she was being selfish in even wanting to keep him around longer, much less even suggest it aloud. He was ready and she knew she needed to respect that. No matter how much it made her hurt.

 

“Okay, Thaddeus. Forgive me for being selfish. I will just sorely miss you. You’ve changed my life in more ways than one. And what will I do almost every afternoon? Things are not going to be the same. I’m going to be alone again; lost. But I know it is not fair for me to make this about me. I’m sorry…” she said. She was finding it difficult to hold her emotions in check and she hung her head. Thaddeus reached out with a shaking hand, placing it gently on her head.

 

“There is nothing to forgive, Eden. Nothing to be sorry for. That is normal. I won’t ask you not to cry for me. I won’t ask you not to miss me or be sad. I ask that you grieve and then move on with your life. Don’t stay stuck in sadness because that is no way to live. I want you to be happy, child, and to live your life. And you won’t be alone. I want you to do something for me, if you would, hm?” he said to her.

 

“What’s that?” she asked, her voice cracking.

 

“Get out and spend some time around other people, dragonfly,” he said, using one of the nicknames he’d given her, one she cherished. “You’ve spent far too much time alone and that can affect the mind. When I’m gone, I want you to go and be social. Work your way up in steps if you have to. Take it slow if you have to. But do it. For this old man. Maybe you will find more than an opportunity to socialize. Love, maybe? Friends, for sure. But please do this for me. It’s all I ask of you. Promise me,” he said. She nodded without hesitation, careful not to jostle his hand too much. For this man, she would have done anything.

 

“Good,” he said. “Now, tell me the news.”

Eden sniffled and started to lift her head, waiting patiently for him to move his hand first before continuing, and then sat up to look at him. She tried to give him a smile. But it came out sad.

 

“I’ve finally found some signs of the Wendigo, Thaddeus. I came straight here to let you know before I started making my plan. I have to track it, learn its habits, and learn when it’s best to strike. I’m going to have only one shot at this and I’ve got to get it just right. The only thing is that it usually requires me to be on constant watch with my target for a minimum of at least two weeks. Knowing what I know now, of you being sick, I don’t know if I want to risk it,” she told him. That earned her an automatic ‘tsk, tsk, tsk!’ in response.

 

“I’m not going out just yet, dragonfly. I may have six months or less left on my clock but a few weeks is nothing still. Go track the monster. I will make sure that they have your number. That way they will be able to call you in the event that anything does happen. The most important thing is that you get that Wendigo!” he said, beginning to cough.

 

The nurse gave a disapproving look, as if it were Eden’s fault. Unable to help herself, Eden curled her lips back, flashing fang at the woman. She gasped and started, shocked, and fumbled to get an oxygen mask to put over Thaddeus’ face to help him breathe better. The woman avoided eye contact with Eden and hastily stepped back as Eden reached out to help hold the mask over his face.

 

“I’ll get it, Thaddeus. Don’t worry. Just try to stick around until I do, okay?” she said to him. He nodded to her, gently patting her arm. She laid a gentle kiss to the top of his head as she stood, half gaze focusing on the nurse. Her eyes narrowed, as if to say ‘Don’t fuck up’, and the nurse gave a slight nod, terrified. She was not above eating a nurse if she had to. She didn’t care. For those she loved and cared for, Eden would do great and terrible things.

 

Eden turned and walked out, determination renewed. She could get this thing. She would get this thing. And she would do it before Thaddeus’ light flickered out for good…

​

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​

That had been the plan, anyway. Unfortunately for Eden, Thaddeus’ condition worsened a lot quicker than anyone expected.

 

She was on the trail of the Wendigo, going into the third week, when her phone went off. She had been tracking the monster and keeping close on it; though far enough that it wouldn’t sense her and get spooked. But the ringing of her phone, which she had forgotten to put on silent, sent everything to Hell. It caught sight of her as she fumbled for her noisy device and went on the attack.

 

It caught her off guard, just as she saw that it was the nursing home calling, and she looked back up at the same time that the Wendigo took her to the ground. Her phone fell from her hand and landed a few feet away as she hit, the force of it knocking the breath from her lungs and leaving her gasping for air. It made a move to strike her face and she barely moved her head in time to avoid it. Time seemed to be trying to slow down and speed up all at once and she was disoriented, still trying to drag air into her lungs. The Wendigo didn’t let up, striking again and again and again. She could only move so much with the little space she had and eventually a strike landed. It caught her in the face and then again in the chest while she was stunned.

 

Then her phone began to ring again. That gave her an advantage as it momentarily distracted the monster. It’s head whipped about to zero in on the sound and light. When it did, she jerked the sleeve of her jacket up to summon the Demonic dagger from her forearm where it was inked, the wicked blade rising and forming into her hand. She would have summoned the Hell Beast, but she wanted to kill this Wendigo on her own. She needed that satisfaction.

 

Then the Wendigo struck her phone, smashing the device into pieces. Eden let out a very inhuman scream. Rage welled within her, the iris of her good eye changing in color before that color swept out to eat up the white of her eye, leaving it an eerie black with what looked to be cracks that seemed to flicker like a fire, in oranges, yellows, and reds. With the destruction of her phone went the pictures she had taken of Thaddeus and herself. That had flipped her Demon rage switch.

“You motherfucker! I will gut you and wear your entrails!” she growled, a demonic tone to her voice. That didn’t mean a damn thing to the Wendigo, of course. It didn’t give a shit. All it knew was that she had been hunting it and it needed to kill her. And it was going to try. But Eden was bound and determined to do exactly as she said and then take the monster’s head to Thaddeus.

 

But that wasn’t to be. At least not yet.

 

Suddenly Eden was no longer in the forest, face to face with the Wendigo. She was hitting the ground outside the nursing home, practically dropped to the ground like someone had picked her up, moved her, and then let her go. She got to her feet and her head whipped around as confusion set in. She hadn’t teleported herself there. But there she was. How…? And the fucking Wendigo! She let out an inhuman snarl in anger and frustration, kicking at the ground before remembering in a rush that the nursing home had been calling. They would only call if something had happened…

 

Fuck.

 

No…

 

She shoved the Demonic blade back into place on her arm and ran for the door, flinging it open and rushing inside. She looked like Hell from her tussle with the Wendigo, though her eye had returned to its normal blue and gold, but she didn’t care. She only cared about Thaddeus and what was happening. She ran to his room, coming to a skidding halt at the door. She saw the on-call doctor and several nurses milling about in his room and Thaddeus lying motionless in his bed. Her heart dropped down all the way to her feet and her mouth became as dry as the desert.

 

“Thaddeus…?” she managed to croak out, heading for his bedside. The nurses tried to stop her, as did the doctor, asking who she was and why she was there. That same snarl ripped from her throat and she flashed fang, making them all quickly step away. “I am the only family this man has and you will not stop me from being here. If you try, I will rip you apart and have you for dinner. And I do not mean as a guest,” she snarled out. “Now, tell me what’s wrong. I got a call and the only reason I would ever get a call is if something was wrong.”

 

The nurses looked at the doctor to speak to her, obviously too afraid to even speak after Eden’s thorough threat. He tried to compose himself but couldn’t hide the way he shook. He definitely couldn’t hide the scent of fear she picked up from him, not that he could if he wanted.

 

“W-Well, miss… He, uh… Mr. Lattermore took – he took a sudden d-decline. We don’t… We don’t know why. Our apologies for trying to stop you. We didn’t know who you were. If we had known… We apologize. But you must know that he doesn’t have very long left. If you want to say goodbye, now would be the time to do that,” the doctor told her.

 

Eden turned to look at Thaddeus, sadness blooming in her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. She moved closer to the side of his bed and gently took one of his wrinkled hands into her own. He was still alive but he was barely hanging on.

“Thaddeus. It’s Eden. Please open your eyes. Please speak to me. I need that before you go. Please…” she begged, her voice cracking as a tear escaped to roll down her face. It took a moment before his fingers flexed to weakly grasp her hand and his eyes fluttered open.

“Dragonfly…?” he rasped out.

 

“Yeah, it’s dragonfly,” she said, laughing sadly.

 

“Minerva… She brought you. She’s waiting…for me… The monster?” he managed to say to her, his words hardly above a whisper.

“I almost had it, Thaddeus. Minerva kind of interrupted. But being here right now is more important. I can always track it again and kill it. But I can’t say goodbye to you after you’re already gone…” she told him, a lump forming in her throat as tears tried to choke her, another one rolling down her cheek.

 

“We will meet…again someday, dragonfly… I love you. Remember…your promise…” he said. She could see the light fading in his eyes. He was slipping away and her heart was breaking.

 

“I love you too, Thaddeus. And I will keep my promise. And I will kill that damn Wendigo, if it’s the last thing I ever do. Divines as my witness. Please give Minerva my love when you see her. Goodbye, Thaddeus…” she told him, a sob escaping her as she clutched his hand. She could feel his soul detaching and drifting away. But he gave her one last smile before he went.

 

The monitor flat lined a moment later, the sound one that would haunt her, and she hung her head; unable to hold her emotions and tears back any longer. Tears welled and fell from her eyes, falling steadily onto the blankets of his bed. One of the nurses inched around to turn the monitor off before skittering away as the doctor looked to the clock on the wall and wrote down the time, all of them then stepping out of the room to give her space. They had brains enough to know not to bother her as she gave into her grief. She sobbed, wailed, and cursed. She let her tears flow, unashamed as her heart shattered into pieces.

 

Now she knew why it was that any Immortal or Supe with longevity wouldn’t have a human in their lives for long. Attachments form and then their short lives were over, leaving a gaping hole behind. It was torture. It was a painful lesson to her. One that she hadn’t learned in over 300 years until now, because she had never wanted to get close to anyone for any reason.

 

At some point she pulled herself together enough to fetch the doctor. She made it explicitly clear that Thaddeus’ body was to be handled with the utmost care and respect, or else, and informed him that all of the appropriate arrangements had already been made and were to be followed to the letter. She stayed and oversaw everything, not caring that each person felt nervous of her and the way she watched their every move like a hawk. The doctor came to check Thaddeus’ vitals just to confirm that the man was dead and then had the nurses come and remove all of the IVs and wires. Once they completed their tasks, they all exited the room once more, leaving Eden there alone with the body of the man that had become like a father to her. Out of respect for him, she gently pulled his sheet up to cover him.

 

A call had been made to the funeral home, despite the late hour, to come and retrieve his body. Eden remained in the room until they arrived, at which point she told them the same thing she had told the doctor regarding Thaddeus’ body and the arrangements.

 

“Of course, Miss Morgenstern. We wouldn’t dare deviate from the arrangements Mr. Lattermore made or do anything to disrespect his corpse. You can trust us to do our jobs in spectacular fashion,” the mortician said to her, his voice soft and full of sympathy. He was used to people being worried about their loved ones and the last wishes of the deceased.

 

The use of the word ‘corpse’ made Eden flinch, her jaw clenching. Dead bodies had never bothered her. But this… This situation was so different and she was going to struggle with thinking of Thaddeus as being a corpse and no longer alive. She knew it, obviously, but didn’t want to think it. As another lump rose in her throat, leaving her momentarily unable to speak, she nodded to the man. She stepped back and let him and his assistant bring the gurney in.

 

Standing just outside the door, she watched as they removed the sheet she had covered Thaddeus with and then gently lifted his body out of the bed. They moved him into the body bag that was open on the gurney. They zipped it up, secured and tightened some straps over it, and then rolled the gurney out to the waiting vehicle outside, loading it up and shutting the door once it was secured.

 

Eden followed and watched, unable to bring herself to let Thaddeus out of her sight. But she knew she was going to have to when it came time for them to take him to the funeral home and prepare him for his little service before his cremation. That’s why she was hovering and staying close now. The mortician went back inside to get the paperwork from the doctor, the assistant remaining outside. He looked at Eden, unable to hide his curiosity.

 

“You’re, like, his granddaughter or somethin’?” he asked her.

 

“No. We are not related by blood. But he is like a father to me,” she said. She still used the present tense without thinking about it. It still wasn’t fully real for her yet despite being there when he departed this world. The first stage of grief: denial.

 

“Oh, I see. Old man with a lot of money. Sugar daddy, right? No judgment,” he said, chuckling.

 

Eden’s eyebrows drew together, confusion clear on her features. She had no idea what this guy meant by that; she had never heard the term ‘sugar daddy’ before. But she could tell by his tone and his chuckle that his meaning was profane in some way. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand…” she said, wanting to prompt him into explaining so that she knew for sure whether to rip him limb from limb or not.

 

“Seriously? You don’t know what a sugar daddy is?” he asked, shocked by her lack of knowledge of the term. “It’s usually some old dude with a lot of money that pays younger women to spend time with him, usually sex is involved,” he said, finally explaining.

 

That made Eden bristle, anger boiling up in her instantly. That fact that this little maggot even suggested such a thing about Thaddeus – a man that was still in love with his wife when he died, had never been untoward with her, and that lay dead in the back of their vehicle at that very moment – was enough to make her go off. She spat something out in an unknown language, that Demonic tone rising for the second time that night, and started toward the assistant. Her good eye began to change again and she could feel the air around her spike in warmth. The assistant realized he had angered her and put his hands up in front of his chest, shaking his head.

“H-Hey… I wasn’t b-being serious. That was a shitty joke, man. I’m s-sorry,” he managed to stammer out, backing away. Since he was keeping his eyes on her, he wasn’t paying any attention to the curb and tripped backwards, hitting the ground. “Oh, fuck…” he whimpered out, scared.

 

Eden snarled, baring fang as she watched him back away and then trip and fall. She was going to reach into his chest, rip his heart out, and show it to him. She was closing in on him when suddenly a man’s voice rang out, grabbing her attention. Her head whipped around to see the mortician come running towards them.

 

“What is going on here?!” he demanded as he reached them. His assistant jumped up, running behind him.

“I’m going to rip his heart out and show it to him,” Eden stated, pointing to the assistant. The mortician turned to look at his assistant.

 

“What did you do this time, James?” he asked the younger man.

 

“I made a bad joke and it made her mad,” he said, looking down and refusing to look the mortician in the face.

 

“He said that Thaddeus was my ‘sugar daddy’ after asking if we were related and I said not by blood. Is it normal policy to have your lowly assistants make jokes in poor taste regarding deceased persons?” she asked, trying to hold her anger in check. She wanted so badly to follow through on showing James his heart.

 

“God Almighty, James!” he exclaimed, whirling on the younger male. “Do you not have a brain inside that skull of yours, boy? Mr. Lattermore just passed away and she is the closest thing he had to family. And you make a total fool of yourself and insult her and the deceased. Have some sense and some shame! You are lucky I don’t let her have her justice,” he said, effectively smacking James in the back of the head. James winced but didn’t say anything, knowing he had fucked up. The mortician then looked back to Eden.

 

“My most sincere apologies, Miss Morgenstern. James can be extremely thoughtless at times and doesn’t know when to shut his mouth. I will make sure that he is justly penalized for his abhorrent and shameful words. He will also be apologizing to you right this very moment, so that we may leave and attend to Mr. Lattermore and get him ready for his service,” he said, giving a very pointed look to James.

“I’m really sorry, Miss Morgenstern…” James mumbled quietly. He wouldn’t even lift his head to look her in the eye.

 

She still wanted to rip his heart out, but knew she didn’t need to make a scene. She sneered and waved a hand dismissively at the both of them. The mortician seemed to relax some, having obviously thought that Eden was still going to follow through. He pushed James towards the vehicle and James practically ran and threw the door open, then scrambled in and slammed the door shut.

 

“My sincerest apologies again – for everything. We will contact you when he is ready for the service. Have a nice evening, Miss Morgenstern,” the mortician said, giving a slight bow towards her before heading for the driver’s side and getting in.

 

Eden’s hands clenched into fists and she squeezed her eyes shut. The urge to be destructive, to kill or maim, was overwhelming. She heard the vehicle start and then pull away. There were so many emotions battling for space within her, each strong and ready to come to the forefront. She wanted to be numb. But she also wanted to cry and scream. But she needed to destroy something, or kill something.

 

No. She needed to smoke, to center herself.

 

She began thinking of the estate. A sudden howling wind whipped up around her, dark smoke engulfing her. Then, suddenly, she was gone and all was still and quiet once more, only a charred spot remained where she had stood.