Chapter Twenty-Six:

Chapter Twenty-Six begins just a few days after our fourth heir passed away. This chapter begins Petra's reign over this long standing family. 

 

 

 

Petra's husband felt the loss of his mother-in-law deeply. After all, Nora's potion had changed his life from the invisible toy he had started out as.

Unlike her cousin and her husband, Petra wasn't as upset over the loss of her mother. She felt a strong connection to the other side, and she knew that Nora was happy to be reunited with her lost family. Besides, she was so close to giving birth to her first born child that her mind was busy contemplating this little bundle of joy growing inside her.

Ziggy worried about the baby. Would it take after him or his ghostly wife? All he hoped was that they were happy and healthy.

 The baby grew and Petra continued to work in her new garden. The days were flowing past so quickly and the due date loomed ever nearer.

While Petra and her husband were lost in a world on their own,  her cousin Niki was still stuck on the loss of her beloved aunt Nora. She had experienced loss too early in her life, when her uncle, mother and twin sister were taken in a house fire. Niki had never dealt with that loss and now Nora was gone she felt it all crashing down on her again.

Niki was rather ill for the next few days, but she was too preoccupied with the loss of Nora, she just assumed it was the grief. She took a few days off from work and decided to take it easy. Luckily she worked in the music industry and her boss was pretty happy to let her rising star take some time to come back better than ever.

Petra knew how much her cousin depended on Nora. Luckily for Niki, Petra took after her mother and she talked with Niki over the next few days, doing what she could to ease the pain. And though it still hurt, Niki felt better after talking with her quiet, ghostly cousin.

It was during one such 'therapy session' that Petra went into labour. Niki though she had quite a cool head under pressure; but this proved her wrong.

If Niki was freaking out a bit over the labour in the living room, Ziggy was worse. But Petra kept her family calm, and in between contractions she managed to calm them both down and she led Ziggy out to the taxi off to the hospital.

Petra seemed calm on the oustide as she strolled in to the hospital lobby, but on the inside she was freaking out. Ziggy came in after her, and held her cool hand in his and they walked in to the birthing room, feeling not at all ready for this baby.

While her cousin was off having a baby, Niki was sitting on the cool tiles of the upstairs bathroom, her head resting on the edge of the toilet. What was this sickness that had plagued her for the last few weeks? Niki still hadn't connected the dots. She decided to take a trip out to the doctor to see what he could do.

It was a few hours later that Petra emerged from the hospital, holding a beautiful little girl in her arms. Esmeralda Diehl looked just her mother did. The proud parents looked into their ghostly daughters bright eyes and knew in that moment that they had never been happier.

It seemed that fate intervened that day, because just as Esmeralda was born, Niki had a bombshell dropped on her. It seemed stupid that she hadn't noticed for this long. She headed straight to work to tell them she was on maternity leave. Niki's head, which had been preoccupied by the loss of her aunt, was now filled by the immense responsibility that she had growing inside her.

Meanwhile Ziggy had set up Esmeralda's new nursery; in Nora's old bedroom, with Nora and Alvin's prom picture above her crib.

Petra held her little girl in her her arms, and even though she had passed on her ghostly looks to her daughter, she couldn't be more proud of her first born.

With her family around her Petra couldn't be prouder of what she achieved in her young life. She was just a year out of high school, and she was happily married to her childhood sweetheart and she had a beautiful young daughter in her arms. What could get better than this?

 Luckily for the her young parents, Esmeralda slept well that first night. And ironically they hardly slept.

Now that Niki was on maternity leave she was at home a lot more. She didn't want the father finding out. Which was a bit problematic as she didn't know exactly who the father was.

As Esmeralda settled in to life, her young mother took to raising her beautifully. Petra was a natural mother and was never happier than when she held Esmeralda in her arms.

Ziggy was so proud of his wife. He was back at work at the lab now but made sure he made his wife feel special every day.

Just a few weeks after Esmeralda was born Petra got a familiar sick feeling in her stomach. Her heart lifted a little at the thought she may be pregnant again. She had always wanted a big family.

Niki's baby bump was growing. She was still in shock over finding out that she was pregnant. She had no idea what she was going to do about the baby. She had this wonderful life on the music scene, got to hang out in great bars till whatever time in the morning, had wonderful flings with random men and loved every minute of her life. But now it had changed.

 

Niki decided to just let life carry on the way it wanted. There was no sense in worrying about something she couldn't change. She was going to enjoy her down time while the baby was growing.

Petra loved to take Esmeralda for walks around town. There was nothing more fulfilling for her than to take her baby out to show her the world.

 One of her favourite places to walk was the graveyard. She would take her little girl through the peaceful grounds and tell her the stories of her ancestors. From the story of Raven and her beloved vampire Finn to the tragic tale of Nora and her lost love Alvin. There were a lot of stories of love and happiness and a lot of loss and grief. But it was their family history, and Petra delighted in telling her daughter.

 

Petra soon discovered that she was indeed pregnant. It did feel pretty fast after Esmeralda's birth, but Petra was over the moon to tell Ziggy when he got home from work.

Ziggy held his little Esmeralda in his arms, happiness washing over him from Petra's news that she was pregnant. He had been so worried in those first few months after they got married that he wouldn't be able to have kids, but now he had a daughter and another one on the way. He never imagined that his life would be this good.

Soon the bump was beginning to show.

Petra worked hard to keep her household running smoothly. Esmeralda was a quiet baby so while she slept Petra divided her time between housework, work in her garden and making sure her pregnant cousin was doing ok.

 Niki didn't know yet that Petra was pregnant too. But she was very thankful that her cousin was there to help her out the more pregnant she got. Petra was so much like her mother, and Niki was glad for that.

Even though she tired easily now, Niki would sometimes follow her cousin into the garden. She noticed one day that Petra was glowing a little more than usual, and was humming under breath as she watered her vegies.

And so when Nikki asked her, Petra told that very excitedly that she was expecting another baby.

The girls talked excitedly about their impending births. Both girls were thankful that they had the other. Through all the loss they had faced early on, they depended each other.

Niki's baby bump was growing alarmingly quickly. Soon she found it too difficult to play her guitar over the growing bump, so she spent more time with her kayboard, perfecting her piano skills. She still refused to worry over what would happen after the baby was born.

 The months had flown by, Niki and Petra's baby bumps grew and grew. And soon it was Esmeralda's birthday.

Esmeralda was the spitting image of her ghostly mother.

Esmeralda was a quiet little girl and she loved nothing more than playing make believe with her grandmother's old doll house.

Niki was gearing up for another restful day of maternity leave when she felt the beginnings of labour. Not wanting to attract attention from the neighbourhood, in case word got back to the possible father.

Instead she retreated her her music studio, the old garage. It was a few hours of painful labour, in which she thought of nothing but how much she missed her mother and twin sister.

Soon she gave birth to a little girl. She name her for her late mother, Lexi Cooper. But the pains of birth weren't over yet.   

 

 

No sooner had she laid Lexi down in her new crib, did Niki give birth to another little girl.

 This small little surprise she named for her twin sister Mia. Tears flowed down her young face as she looked on at her little girls.

Petra was tiring early these days as her own due date got closer and closer. But she still had time for Esmeralda.

Ziggy worked hard at his job at the lab. He loved his family and he knew that although he worked long hours and it was sometimes difficult for Petra when he stayed late, but he knew he was working to secure a stable future for his wife and children.

Meanwhile, Niki was deciding what to do now. These little girls epitomised everything that Niki had never imagined she could have. She never thought that another being could depend on her for everything, let alone two.

Niki held her little daughters in her arms and kissed the tops of their tiny little heads. She stood by their cribs in her music garage for hours. Petra and Ziggy stopped by to say hello to the little twins before they went to bed. And still Niki stood and watched her little girls in their cribs.

It was very late by the time Niki had made up her mind on what she was going to do. She still had tears in her eyes as she tucked her girls up in bed and headed off to Esmeralda's room.

She gave her cousin's daughter a big hug and told her how special she was. Little Esmeralda was too young to understand why Niki was crying, but she gave her a little kiss on the cheek as Niki tucked her into bed.

Niki's stomach churned as she walked past Petra and Ziggy's closed bedroom door. She decided not to knock, instead she left a letter under the door and quietly walked out of her childhood home into the cold night.  



Thanks for reading chapter twenty-six. Twenty-Seven in on the way soon. For now here's a sneak peek:

Lexi and Mia were just starting out their lives, but is this going to be the first heartbreak of their young lives?

Niki's room remains empty. Will she ever come home again?