A Taxidermy Tale: Shambala

A Taxidermy Tale: Shambala

By Emma Tynan

Off of the main road and down the winding lane is a beautiful little cottage called “Shambala” in Tibetan Buddhism its meaning is “Magical Kingdom” Past the cottage is a boat house with a recreation room above it and further down from that on the beautiful and secluded Sharbot Lake is a small workshop. This is truly a peaceful place, a place filled with love.

The workshop is warm and woody with peeling green paint and an old paraffin heater flickering in the middle of the room. A tinny sounding radio plays Massive Attack Teardrop as a soft and calming background to dull the silence and the weary noises that come off of the lake at night.

There are many strange looking tools and a man is busy working away stitching something.

As the warm light of the heater flickers and the light swings you can just catch the twinkle of eyes, the outline of snouts and the paws of various animals. What is this man stitching? A glass eye rolls off the table and onto the floor...

***

Jalen was all of 19. He was mousy, freckly and had bright green eyes, he bolted down the hall, late for his class, not really stopping to talk to anyone. Instead just giving the odd nod to the various smiles. He fell through the door and interrupted a class on the theory of embalming and the machinery used for it. That is when he saw Ahura, a beautiful dark featured feline of a woman who was 22 years old. She laughed at him and kicked out the chair next to her for him to sit in. Jalen turned bright red and felt somewhat flustered. He settled in and then she leant over and whispered, I’m Ahura.

Jalen met Ahura at Mortuary School, well Humber College. He was taken by her laugh, big brown eyes and the way she romanticized death. She was incredibly well versed in ancient ceremonies from all over the world and had a wickedly dark sense of humour. It was love at first sight.

Jalen and Ahura would sit under a tree near the residency on the campus grounds and talk about all kinds of things.

Jalen would tell Ahura stories of how he grew up in a warm and loving, farming household with two loving parents just outside of Guelph, Ontario. He loved nature but saw animals being slaughtered on a regular basis living on the farm. He understood it was a part of life, but then at 9 years old he witnessed the death of a beautiful Red Cardinal as it fell out of the sky at the talons of a Hawk. Jalen had picked it up and carried it to his Dad, he wanted nothing more than for the Cardinal to live and he started to question certain aspects of life and death. Jalen would ask many questions about dying, why death happens, how can you prevent dying, how do you stay the same once you die, why do you rot with the worms or have to be cremated in a fire, he wanted to know what else could be done. So he developed an interest in biology, death and the process of preservation – Pickling, embalming, taxidermy. He studied YouTube videos and experimented with these skills. First with the pickling of insects, then with the processing and stuffing what the family cat would drag in if it wasn’t too mauled and eventually the actual cat when he passed away. His parents popped Mr. Bigglesworth by the fire in the living room and would have to move him when it got too hot due to the chemical emissions and the stench. The poor thing was singed, in death. With his interest in the sciences he enrolled in school to study Mortuary Science to become a Funeral Director.

In return Ahura would share stories of how she grew up in Egypt and moved to Toronto at the age of 15. She had moved to Canada for political reasons with a family of a strong Christian background. Ahura had rebelled by developing a passion for Egyptology and the history, arts and practices of Ancient Egypt. Ahura shared how she grew to become increasingly interested in the belief that death was a temporary condition experienced during mortality in order to get to the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians believed that your soul split into two parts as one part watched over your family, the other part went on to enjoy the afterlife, as long you should pass the tests to enter. Ahura had been and still was fascinated by all of this and the mummification state it took to preserve the body in order to reach it. Exasperated her parents had sent her to Mortuary School in order to put her morbid obsession to good use. Just like Jalen she was studying to become a Funeral Director.

The friendship grew and Ahura started dragging Jalen to the ROM and various other exhibits to learn about how different cultures celebrate or mourn the dead. They promised that when they graduated they would travel together to study death and the various cultural rituals associated with it. They discussed how they would go to the UK, France, Italy, Egypt, Japan, Nepal, finally Mexico and Peru where they would get married. They got excited about how they were so would come back to Toronto and get jobs in funeral homes.

***

Eventually after travels, interning and various jobs, Jalen and Ahura purchased a small funeral home in the West end of the city. With their open minds and interesting experiences, they’d become a choice for families of various cultures in the city. After a successful few years they were able to purchase a beautiful little cottage in Sharbot on the Lake, they called it “Shambala”. This is where Jalen could dabble in his taxidermy for local hunters and Ahura could bury her face in books. They’d spend summers and holidays there just the two of them and sometimes with friends until they had their daughter Arelis.

Arelis, like her namesake, was confident, self-assured and independent. The girl was the spitting image of her mother and had developed the same sense of humour. She grew up with a healthy attitude towards life and death from growing up in the family funeral home and summers spent at Shambala. Arelis during high school became a bit of a prankster, she’d play tricks on her friends that generally revolves around ghosts and zombies. She’d get her Mum involved much to her Dad’s despair... But the home was happy and whenever a family would come in for assistance with their passed loved ones, it was always all hands on deck.

As Arelis was finishing up high school and preparing for college Ahura became ill. She was diagnosed with ALS, Arelis who had helped out with the family business in all departments since she was very young and had gotten pretty good at embalming had decided to study psychology at McGill, she wanted to go to school to brush up on her French and knew the cottage was halfway between school and Toronto for her holidays, it was perfect...

But now Ahura was sick, things were looking bleak and Arelis was struggling with her high school exams and instead preferred to spend many hours with her Mother discussing their childhoods and the travels she took after mortuary school with her Dad and the travels that Arelis would take after University. They spent so much time talking about working together in the embalming room and how they’d make up stories about the lives lived by the lost ones, so they would seem less empty and how the families would always be so grateful that they took such good care of their loved ones. Arelis hugged her Mum often telling her that she was grateful that their story was real.

As Ahuras' health started to decline Jalen became more heartbroken, Arelis tried very hard to hold them all together but Jalen just got more distant. As Ahura began to lose capacity physically she realised her time was coming soon, so she let Jalen know that she wanted an Ancient Egyptian style burial. Jalen reluctantly agreed to do that for her. As did Arelis. They agreed that when the time was right, Ahura would have an assisted death.

When finally Ahura lost the capacity to swallow, they knew it was time and they pumped her with Morphine for the humane death she had requested. Grieving Jalen and Arelis spent time holding Ahura’s hand to say goodbye. Arelis left her Father so he could tell Ahura all of his favourite memories of her. Crying he carried her down to their embalming room and started the process. In her plans she was promised a beautiful and ornate casket painted similar to the ones of Ancient Egypt. Inside the family was to place photos, jewellery, her favourite spices and such…

Jalen kissed her softly on the forehead and told her he wasn’t ready to let her go.

Ahuras ceremony was true to her wishes, she was embalmed, bandaged and the family was able to place gifts in her casket. A few days after Arelis who still managed to get into McGill left for University in Montreal and Jalen left to spend time at Shambala.

***

Jalen arrived at the cottage and opened the back door to his big black Land Rover and reached into the back seat and kind of grunted a bit as he grabbed onto and dragged something heavy wrapped in a blanket out and over his shoulder. He carried the package down the garden, past the boathouse and into the workshop where he placed it on his work table. Jalen turned on an old light and a couple of lamps and unwrapped the blanket… It was Ahura. He kissed her on the head and started to work.

***

Arelis arrived home for the summer holidays from University, and brought a friend with her. They are busy, shopping, partying and hanging out. There is a strain between Arelis and Jalen, they have drifted apart since the passing of Ahura. One night Arelis sat with her Dad and said he needed to start making friends again and going out. She asked why he didn’t FaceTime her at Uni anymore, which he blamed on his shitty old iPhone. He said he couldn’t part with it because of all of the videos and photos of Ahura. Arelis suggested that maybe He should try to go on some friendly dates just to help distract him from his heartache and maybe make a friend, she says maybe something beautiful will grow from it. Jalen promised that he would try and the next morning Arelis left for school.

Once Arelis had left, Jalen went to the Apple Store to pick up a new phone, he had decided to make a conscious effort to FaceTime Arelis once a week. A woman came up to him at the table where he was looking at a phone and asked if he was waiting for help. He said that he was already being served and that he wouldn’t be long. They ended up having a conversation about being tech illiterate while she played with a demo iPad, Jalen made her laugh and the iPad slipped, as she fumbled she yelled “FUCK! SHIT! BOLLOCKS! WANK!” it fell to the ground and the screen cracked. Jalen couldn’t stop laughing at her outburst and offered to pay for the damaged product. The salesperson said it was ok. The woman was very embarrassed, Jalen suggested they go for a coffee, very grateful she accepted.

The woman introduced herself as Sara. Sara owned a flower shop on Queen West, it turned out she supplied many of the flowers for the families whose funerals Jalen had worked on. They bonded over why funerals are less of a headache than weddings. Sara lost her son the year before and Jalen discussed losing Ahura. They agreed to see each other again.

Sara and Jalen dated for a few months, things started to get serious and then Jalen started to suffer from anxiety, he asked Sara about her family health history, he wanted to know what their life expectancy was. Sara, a little taken back, told Jalen not to panic and brushed it off as a cold and him off as dramatic. Jalen started to spiral as he got paranoid about losing Sara.

After a couple of days Jalen invited Sara to his cottage for the weekend. Sara stayed over the night before as they wanted to make it a good time to enjoy the whole weekend. Jalen and Sara had a beautiful night together, eating, drinking, carrying on. They had phenomenal sex and Jalen told Sara he loved her and that he never ever wanted to lose her.

After they went to bed and Sara fell asleep. Jalen kissed her on the forehead and told her he wasn’t ready to lose her. Jalen injected her with embalming fluid and watched the poison move through her veins and then carried her downstairs to finish the process. He wrapped her in a blanket, took her to the cottage and carried her to the workshop where he unwrapped her and began his work under the flickering lights to the calming sounds of his tinny radio.

After his handy work, Jalen carried Sara up to the house and introduced her to Ahura, who was sitting comfortably in a chair with an Archeology book propped on her lap. He sat Sara at the dining room table and gave her a book of wild flowers. He kissed them both and told them to keep each other company because he’d be back. Everyone just seemed to come to life when they were at Shambala he thought to himself as he left.

Jalen got on with work and life, he started to FaceTime Arelis as promised. Concerned about her Father she asked if he was sleeping, eating and how work was going. Jalen said he was starting to feel lonely and was thinking of dating again. Arelis was over the moon by this and decided to give her Dad some space, so she asked about use of the cottage as Sharbot was only about three hours from McGill. Jalen told her it’s not ideal as he needed to sort it out and clean it since her Mum had died and that it was something he wanted to do alone. Arelis respected this and said she could wait.

***

Jalen had taken to walking on Sunday mornings and grabbing a coffee at Easy Restaurant and then walking down to Lake Ontario, it got him out of the house and the walking calmed his mind, he’d discovered the ease and vast number of genres and artists on Spotify, so he could completely tune out. This particular sunshiny morning, a gorgeous golden lab with a big red sparkling eyepatch sat outside. It took a shine to Jalen who responded in kind with ear rubs and pats.

A woman came out and said with a cheery smile, this is Murdock! Jalen looked up and said well he’s a lovely fella and pointed to his eye – he said I guess he doesn’t make much of a guard dog. The lady laughed and said no he just slobbers people to death. They both laughed and she introduced herself as Abbi. They chatted for a bit and parted ways.

The following week they ran into each other again then two more Sundays in a row. Jalen asked Abbi if she and Murdock would like to take a walk by the lake with him. They chatted about life and the curve balls they’ve been thrown and agreed to meet for dinner.

Over dinner they discussed plans they both had for the future, Abbi loved to travel, she loved Great Britain, the history and talked about loving Scotland and Ireland the most. Jalen shared about his time there and learning about West Kennet Longbarrow the Neolithic graves in Britain, that had been built around 3650 BC and used for at least 1,000 years. He got excited as he talked about how they were there before The Henges. Jalen went on to tell her that his name means Calm and his last name means Dragon in gaelic…

After a few more dates like this and a relationship started to evolve, Jalen asked Abbi to come to the cottage for a weekend, to his delight she agreed and asked to bring Murdock.

Arelis FaceTimed her Dad to ask about the cottage again. He insisted that it was still not organised but he is thinking of going that weekend. Arelis told him she would join but he blundered and said she couldn’t because he was taking company. Arelis started to ask all kinds of questions and bugging her Dad, who is it, is it serious, is she kind, Does she have kids, what does she do? Jalen gets annoyed and hangs up on Arelis, he has nothing to discuss with her because he doesn’t even know if it will last… Abbi could be sick.

Jalen was questioning Abbi’s health and didn’t know how long she had to live, he was starting to get concerned that he would lose her.

Abbi arrived with Murdock, to stay the night so they could get up early in the morning and head to Shambala. They had a beautiful night together as Jalen did a bit of a show and tell with photos, trinkets and artifacts demonstrating various ceremonies from all over the globe. They went to bed and Jalen watched Abbi fall asleep. Jalen got up and went to get his syringe but tripped over Murdock. Murdock yelped and Abbi awoke to see Jalen injecting the dog. Abbi started to freak out. Jalen panicked and started to cry telling Abbi that Murdock was sick and he needed help, he said he was scared to lose her too. Abbi was now up and rifling through her bag by the bed looking for her mobile phone, she was screaming that Jallen shouldn’t have taken matters into his own hands. Jalen tried to get Abbi to calm and sat her on the edge of the bed, he said it was the best thing to do and that it was ok because they could keep him still, Abbi was now bewildered and in shock. Jalen said it was okay because he was going to keep Abbi too, he told her he loved her, kissed her on the forehead and injected her as he held her tight. Abbi crying just kept asking over and over again what had Jalen done, as she started to froth at the mouth, vomit and convulse Jalen keeps holding her and stroking her back telling her it’s ok, he will take good care of her as she slid onto the floor.

Jalen picked Abbi up and carried her downstairs to the embalming room, he finished the process but struggled because she was awake when he started and he hadn’t been able to empty her bodily fluids properly as they have dripped all over the house from her convulsing on the floor and vomiting. He finally got her finished, wrapped her in a blanket and immediately drove her to the cottage arriving in the wee hours. Jalen took Abbi out of the car and down to the workshop. When he was finished stuffing her, he took her to the cottage where he introduced her to Ahura and Sara. Jalen told them that Abbi was sick and then put her in his and Ahura’s bed. Jalen then fixed himself and the girls drinks and proceeded to share with them the hell of a time he’d been having while working alone at the funeral home because he couldn’t find any good help these days, how Arelis has terrible friends at university and how people don’t look after themselves anymore and are always becoming sick... Tired and drunk, Jalen curled up on the sofa with his head in Ahuras lap.

On the drive home Jalen heard the news on the radio about Sara going missing, he looked at the radio and said – It is ok Sara is safe with me and the girls, we’ve got this! He flipped the channel to Q107 and started to sing “Here comes the sun”. Jalen was beginning to feel chirpier and happier about life. He didn’t feel a loss anymore. Arelis called on the drive back to Toronto and they had a really good chat about her summer break. She really wanted to stay at Shambala, but he told Arelis it was inconvenient, due to leaks and wiring that needed to be taken care of to make it safe, he explained how the place was becoming a death trap. Arelis begged her Dad, to which he put his foot down and said absolutely not because it isn’t safe for a bunch of students to be partying there.

Jalen arrived home and cleaned up. He checked his work messages and had one from the police department, they had come by but no one was home. They would like him to go to the station for some routine questions. Jalen went to his work office to check his email, someone from the flower shop had gotten in touch as well.

Good Morning Mr. Aerouant,

My name is Liz, I’ve met you a few times when I’ve driven flowers over to your home for Funerals. I work at Just Flowers for Sara, as you may have seen on the news she has been reported missing. I wanted to let you know that I have given your name and number to the police because Sara had mentioned the pair of you were dating. They will be in touch just to ask a few routine questions. I hope you don’t mind.

My sincerest condolences.

Liz

Jalen remembered that Murdock was still by the bed, he went and picked him up, wrapped him up in a blanket, drove a couple of hours straight back to the cottage, where he left Murdock on the workbench in the workshop. He then turned right around and drove straight back to Toronto, Jalen had a wash and went straight to bed.

At the police station, as a somewhat respected man in the community, the officer apologized to Jalen for bringing him in and explained they just needed to ask a few routine questions. The officer offered him a coffee and started asking how Jalen and Sara had met, how long they were seeing each other, the last time they saw each other and why they didn’t see each other again. Jalen said he was fond of Sara and had invited her to his cottage. He explained she had said it was too soon and had asked for space. So he gave her space. Jalen said he is still in shock and would assist in any way he could. The officer apologised again and said to Jalen… “By the way my Mum passed a couple of years ago, you and your wife did a beautiful job, she looked so peaceful. Thank you. I am also sorry for your loss”. Jalen thanked the officer for his heartfelt words and said he needed to get back to work.

***

Jalen was at the cottage listening to his tinny sounding radio in the workshop and working away quite merrily on Murdock. Jalen popped the last eye in and patted him on the head. “There boy we will have you with your Mum in no time at all”. As he walked up to the cottage he heard “That’s a fine one you’ve got there Jay!” Jalen thanked the man, it was his neighbour Beau. Jalen had stuffed Beau’s pheasants from his last hunt and three ducks from a few years before. The ducks now resided over Beau’s fireplace, despite being told not to put them there. They gave off a weird smell with the heat during the winter months when the family had Christmas at their cottage down the road, Jalen was convinced it was the chemicals that made them all so annoying and his opinion a little dense. Jalen told him it was his friend's Golden Lab and a prize duck hunting dog. Beau was really impressed with this and went into a story about the time his lab came back with the ducks above his fireplace. Jalen was eager to get up to the house with Murdock, he really needed to be with his Mum. He told Beau to hold on a sec, he would drop the dog off and grab a couple of beers. Jalen got Murdock up into the house, he greeted Ahura and Sara and introduced them to Murdock. He told them that Murdock needed to be with his Mum, he kissed Abbi on the head and told her that her baby was back and placed Murdock on the end of the bed, wished them sweet dreams in a whisper, backed out the room and gently closed the door. Jalen then turned around with a smile and announced to the girls that he was going for a beer with Beau, he grabbed a couple of cold ones out of the fridge and whistled on his way back to Beau. They sat by lake and talked about the old times when the families would all be up there in summer and Arelis was little.

Jalen was beginning to enjoy his family at the cottage but he was craving real conversation before he went back to the city, Shamabala was magic, but not magical enough. He decided to go to the local pub for some food and a pint. While there he got chatting to a woman and her son. They had come to Sharbot to stay with friends for a few weeks while the weather was nice. The boy is about 9 and loved birdwatching. He showed Jalen which birds he has spotted so far and was very proud to show a photo of a beautiful Red Cardinal on his phone. Jalen told him about the bird that had dropped out of the sky from the Hawk when he was the boy's age. Elise and Anouk introduced themselves and Jalen asked if Anouks name was after the Goddess Anuket! The boy got very excited and both him and Jalen said in unison “Nourisher of the Fields”. It turned out that Elise is from France and was married to an Egyptian man who went home and never came back. She moved to Montreal for work, when she was pregnant with Anouk and they were convinced he was going to be a girl so called him Anuket. When he turned out to be a boy they called him Anouk. Elise laughs and says that they were never concerned it was a girl's name because it was so ethnic they figured no one would know out of pure ignorance! She turned to Jalen and said “AND then YOU came along… How did you know?” Jalen explains about Ahura.

Jalen thanked both Elise and Anouk for spending time with him and said he was heading back to the city but would be back in a week. Elise told Jalen that they will be driving into Toronto for a weekend to visit the ROM and a couple of other spots she asked if he’d like to show them around.

Jalen met Anouk and Elise outside of the ROM; they awkwardly greeted each other and headed in. Jalen had so many memories that came rushing back… They walked around, discussed the things they knew and read about as well as the ones they didn’t. Anouk ran off to look at the Dinosaurs while Elise and Jalen talked about seeing each other again. They decided to meet at her friend's cottage for lunch the following week. Jalen drove up and started to think about his cottage family, he wondered what he might do with them if Elise and Anouk decide to visit. Jalen decided that the girls and Murdock should hang in the boat house for the weekend. There was a pool table and a couple of sofas. They could take their books, Murdock could have a blanket on the floor. It was perfect and he figured they could do with a change of scenery. Jalen arrived early to make the arrangements. The next day he went to lunch and had a really good time, they went swimming, bird spotting, made a delicious BBq’d lunch together with fish from the lake and had a fire in the evening. That night he and Elise had a kiss. Jalen told her that Anouk reminded him so much of himself as a kid that she herself possessed the beautiful qualities of his late wife. They talked about Ancient Egypt and the afterlife. He told her of the ceremony he had for Ahura and said he still felt her watching over him and Arelis. Elise told Jalen how beautiful his thoughts and memories were. Jalen tells them goodnight and heads back to the cottage to put his family back in the cottage for the night.

Jalen and Elise dated for a while and saw each other for outdoorsy activities and the odd day trip in the city. The weather started to get cooler and then Jalen decided it was time to invite Elise and Anouk for a sleepover in the city. Jalen was starting to get anxious about the mortality of Elise… He phoned her up and went through the ritual of asking her how she was, what her family health history was and what she believed her life expectancy to be. Elise asked why he has become so morbid and dark all of a sudden and told him that all though she wouldn’t be popping off anytime soon, he must remember how beautiful the unknown is and how many cultures believe there is something waiting for them after life.

Elise and Anouk headed over to Jalens, they arrived for dinner and played some video games then stayed up incredibly late to ler Anouk watch 2 of the 4 Indiana Jones films. Anouk had a cold and Jalen was visibly upset by it, he was pacing around grabbing tissues and insisted on taking Anouks temperature. Jalen had convinced himself it was more than a cold and had convinced himself that Elise must have it too. Elise brushed Jalen off and had another glass of wine, saying kids catch things all of the time. She fell asleep on the sofa, Anouk had already gone and crawled into Arelis’s bed to spend the night.

***

Arelis had been having an on and off relationship with someone at Uni, she was getting a bit fed up of him and had decided she needed a break. She packed a bag and drove to Toronto in order to spend some much needed time with her Dad. Driving from Montreal to Toronto she considered staying at the cottage for one night but missed her turning because of a story on the radio about 2 missing women. Sara McGillin and Abbi Cesario both women were in their mid-late 40’s, dark hair, olive skin and brown eyes. Arelis thought about how her Mum would just turning 47 this year. Both women were seen with a man in his 40’s with mousy hair, dark clothes and bright eyes on more than one occasion and that the police were already interviewing family and friends to see if they could find any leads. Arelis laughed and thought to herself, those descriptions sound like my parents! Arelis arrived home and yelled to her Dad, he came running up the stairs and said that he had a mother and son that just came in that afternoon. He asked Arelis for her help, she dropped her things in her room and asked her Dad who was sleeping in her bed? She had noticed two wine glasses and popcorn in the living room and giggled… Her Dad blushes and said he had company but they had to leave so he could work. Arelis gave her Dad a massive hug. They headed to the embalming room and started work. Jalen started to tell a story about a Mother and Son like they used to as a family. He told a story of a family from France, the Mum is French and the Dad is from Egypt, when the Mum was pregnant she believed she was having a girl and spoke to the baby by the name of Anuket, Goddess of the fields. When the baby was a boy they called him Anouk. Eventually the family moved to Canada and they opened a flower shop called Just Flowers, they decided to get a dog and went to the humane society where they found a beautiful golden lab with one eye called Murdock, they gave him a beautiful Sparkling Ruby Red eyepatch. Arelis was really taken by the story, she laugh-cried and they started to talk about her and the pranks they used to play on her friends like sticking sheep’s eyeballs in the fridge from the butchers and asking her friend to get the juice out and then telling her one of the “guests” must have left them there... .

Arelis was tired, she changed the sheets on her bed and a syringe fell out, but she didn't notice it drop on the rug on the floor because she had seen that there was a bird book and phone on her night stand. Arelis flipped through the book and threw it to the side. She picked up the phone and rolled it around in her hands and fingers. The phone display came on and it was a Red Cardinal. She admired it for a minute and then slid the screen open, it was not locked. Arelis looked at the apps and then put the phone down thinking it rude for her to go through the photos. She gathered the things from her room that did not belong to her and took them down to the front door before heading back to bed.

When Arelis awoke and went down for coffee the next morning, she found a note on the kitchen table.

Arelis,

I am sorry I had to go, Beau called a pipe burst at Shambala. I have gone to fix it. See you soon

Love Dad XX

Arelis had her coffee, hopped in the shower and decided to surprise her Dad at the cottage. She packed her bag and gathered her things to go. As she was leaving the house, Arelis noticed she had left a light on in her room. So, she went back into the house to switch off the light and noticed the syringe glistening on the rug just under her bed. Arelis muttered to herself that her Dad is becoming complacent or losing it. Arelis took the syringe and switched off her light, she went all the way down to the embalming room and dropped it in a sharps box. As she headed back up the stairs she noticed a coat slung over a chair in the office that she didn’t recognise. Arelis went in and inspected the coat, she put her hands in the pockets and found a wallet. Arelis rifled through the wallet and found two health cards. One for an Elise and one for an Anouk. A mother and son. Hmmmm weird.

Arelis hopped in the car and drove to the Shambala.

Arriving at the cottage Arelis saw that the light was on in the workshop but not in the boathouse or cottage, she figured her Dad must still be working on stuffing animals and due to the leak in the main house decided that she would spend tonight in the boathouse. She headed over, went up the stairs and screamed! Startled by a Golden Lab on a blanket with a Sparkling Ruby Red eye patch. Arelis said to herself “You are a gorgeous thing but you are most definitely not staying here with me tonight” she said this as she picked up the dog and thought to herself that her Dad really was losing it, leaving his projects around. As Arelis awkwardly made her way up to the house she heard a scream from the workshop. ARELIS! What are you doing here? You can’t go up to the house… Arelis screamed back come on Dad it can’t be that bad, I am staying in the boathouse and taking your handy work here to the living room. Jalen came running out and grabbed the dog. He said you can’t go to the house Arelis, your mother is entertaining. Arelis went pale and said Dad, that’s not funny. Jalen said no sorry my love it is not, I just feel like she is still here. Don’t you? Arelis took the dog from her Dad and plopped it on the ground. She said Dad, you need to come and sit with me please… They walked down to the lake and sat. Arelis and Jalen talked for hours about his mental health, what she had been studying and some of the case studies. She started to talk about the profiles of serial killers and motives… As she started to tell her Dad about all of the things she had been learning in psychology her stomach pitted. The news on the radio, the things she had found at the house, the story her Dad had told during the embalming the night before. Arelis looked up at the dog sitting on the grass and his eye patch. As her eyes drifted down past the boathouse and to the workshop she noticed that what was shadowed in daylight was now illuminated by the incandescent light and a couple of lamps… Arelis noticed a boy leaning up against the workbench and something larger on it. As Arelis met her Dad’s gaze. He said come on up to the house Arelis it is time you hung-out the family.

Jalen took Arelis gently by the hand and walked her up to the cottage, he picked up the Murdock and brought him with them. Once in the house Jalen placed the dog on the sofa and told Arelis to sit next to her mother. Arelis was silent, pale and wide eyed… She touched her Mother's face. Tears started to trickle uncontrollably down her cheeks but no sound would come out… Jalen said “I love you Ahura, you are my everything” he looked at Arelis and said “this is what she wanted, she wanted a place for the afterlife and people around her. I have provided that for her with my loved ones, she will love them as I have loved them. They are our family now” Arelis turned to her Dad and said what have you done, Jalen said I told you I have done what your Mother asked for. Arelis got up and Jalen grabbed her hand, he said Arelis, I love you and I am worried about… How is your health? Arelis said let go of me you are hurting me. Jalen forcibly sat Arelis in a dining room chair opposite Sara, he said they are going to all sit and have a beer together, maybe play some cards. Arelis very calmly agreed. Jalen busies himself gathering beer, some snacks and a deck of cards, he fumbles around in the kitchen a bit. He placed everything on the table and paced a bit. Then put his hands in his pockets “ouch” he pulled out a full syringe and placed it on the table. He laughed and said “I wouldn’t want to hurt myself with that”.

Jalen and Arelis played cards for a while and drank, Arelis was still in shock but was very calmly listening to and watching her father. Jalen slammed down his drink and said right, it’s time for you to sleep Arelis, you don’t look so well. Your Mother thinks you should join her on the sofa, look she saved you a spot to go through the albums, you do like to go through the albums together don’t you. He reaches for the syringe…

Arelis punched her Dad between the eyes and he fell off of his chair and he started to pull himself up off of the ground Arelis grabbed the syringe in one motion and stabbed her Dad with right in the neck unloading everything in it without a second thought. As Arelis had squeezed the fluid into her father and jumped back, his eyes had started to roll into the back of his head, his mouth frothed and as he dropped fully to the ground from leaning on the chair he began to convulse. Arelis waited until the convulsing finished and then dragged him down to the workshop. She moved Elise and Anouk up to the house and placed the child in her old room with the toys and the mother at the side table with the records and the old record player. Arelis then furiously cleaned the house and went back to the workshop. Arelis had to use a small device to drain her Dad’s fluids, it seemed like hours, she went back up to the house and got a cooler where she placed his organs. Under the workbench were wood shavings and craft store stuffing, the same you’d use for a teddy bear. Her fathers body was starting to cool. Arelis thought about the word Taxidermy and how he had told her it means to “arrange the skin”. Arelis just kept thinking, Dad is dead and he wants to be with Mum, she put on the radio and it started to get dark. Finally after hours and hours Arelis emerged from the workshop and carried her father up to the house, she placed him on the sofa next to her mother. Arelis drew the curtains, dimmed all of the lights and placed a photo album on her parents laps. It was a book of their travels. Arelis kissed them both on the forehead and told them she loved them and that they’d be together forever in Shambala, the Magical Kingdom. She turned off the main light, took one last look, closed the door behind her and quietly locked it.

The End