The Gatekeeper's Wife

By Rita Dasilva

Two families, one secret that will tear them apart. Evelyn loves Bryce, but Bryce is not who he says he is. Unbeknownst to Evelyn, neither is she. In a place where many worlds exist, Keepers guard the gates between them, and Watchers command the Keepers. However, an archaic war between Watchers and Keepers ensues, which threatens to destroy Evelyn and Bryce’s happiness if Evelyn’s best friend, Sylvia, does not come in between them first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Feb 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645759195

Rita Dasilva

Rita Dasilva lives in Ontario, Canada, with her family, where she enjoys the arts. She has a degree in English from the University of Windsor. The Gatekeeper’s Wife is her second novel.

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About the Author

Rita Dasilva lives in Ontario, Canada, with her family, where she enjoys the arts. She has a degree in English from the University of Windsor. The Gatekeeper’s Wife is her second novel.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my sisters – Susanna, Lisa, Sandra, and Sylvia – who have always been there for me. Thank you, my beautiful sisters, for your constant encouragement.

Copyright Information ©

Rita Dasilva (2021)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Dasilva, Rita

The Gatekeeper’s Wife

ISBN 9781645759188 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781645759171 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645759195 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021901915

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Part One

"There is a legend of an old man,

If you meet him and you greet him,

Then you will stay no more;

How your parents will cry

When you disappear through that door.

But be warned if you go,

You cannot turn back,

For those who try always fall through the cracks."

Eleven Months Ago

To hell with all of you, I don’t need this life anymore. Inside she was screaming, wreaking havoc, creating chaos, and torturing all those around her. But on the outside, she wore a calm composure, a sweet smile, and went about her usual business. Suppose there was an opposite world, where every occurrence here occurred opposite there? She contemplated this on the green park bench across from the birch tree near the swings. She glared at the swings; why so close to a tree? And she could just imagine a child getting caught in a branch. Do the people who run everything lack such common sense? she pondered, but already knew the answer. She had for a long time. Evelyn. A familiar voice caught her off guard. She looked up to the most unwelcome face.

Hello, Bryce.

His smile grew; Evelyn remained seated on the bench in a collective poise.

I’m so glad to see you. So, how have you been?

How have I been? The nerve. Who the hell does he think he is? Her sense of calm almost dissipated.

Good. I’ve been good. She sat quietly and he stood looking at her and then out into the distance. He’s probably expecting me to ask how he’s been. I would if I cared, but I don’t, Evelyn thought.

Well, you look good. He smiled.

Thanks. She looked up at him catching a glimpse of that smile before it faded.

Okay then, I will see you around. She nodded in response. Bryce walked away muttering something and shaking his head. Evelyn watched him walk away feeling a sort of emptiness in the pit of her stomach. She was not the kind of person to hold on to the past, including people, and Bryce was her past. For a while there, she was certain Bryce would be her future, but like most men in her life, he fell short of the task. Still, something inside her moved a little when her eyes met his sea blue spectacles and he smiled that way at her. But she couldn’t care, not anymore. So she was silent, cold like the November air that surrounded her outside in the park, but inside she was burning. Two worlds, she thought.

Forty-Eight Hours Ago

Bryce shifted at the gate, hesitating to enter. His thoughts were on yesterday and all that he would sacrifice if he walked past the gates alone. And yet he knew he had no choice but to go and leave behind the only person he had ever loved, could ever love. His hand trembled as he slid it into the right-side pocket of his pants. He reached in and clasped his hand around a locket.

Evelyn. The name softly left his lips in a mist of moist air. It was time. Two steps forward, the ground began to awaken beneath his feet. He heaved from the convulsions below. His heart was pounding inside his chest, the palpitations too much for his body. Bryce fell over, colliding with the earth. He needed her to come to him, to free him. Evelyn!

His voice boomed across the endlessness, the gate lay untouched. He stood, trapped in the prison he created for himself.

Four Years Ago

I don’t know, go with that one.

You sure?

I just said I didn’t know.

Yeah, got it. Evelyn looked at both dresses, the red and blue, twirling in her hands. I’ll go with the blue. This is a date, finally.

You’re such an old maid.

The sound of a solid knock pierced the quiet apartment. He’s here! I’m not ready.

Hurry up, I’ll get the door.

Sylvia.

Don’t worry, I’ll play nice.

Present

She quivered beneath the sheets, perspiration smothering her pores. Evelyn, a man’s voice called out to her. She turned towards the darkness of her empty room, lifting her head off her pillow. Nothing. A dream, she thought. But his voice felt so real, so familiar. Bryce. It suddenly clicked. She scanned the room. He still had a key, did he not? Why was she scared? Bryce wasn’t the stalker type or the violent kind. No, not scared; she was anxious. Anxious to see the man who had left her several months ago. Why was he in her apartment now and what did he want? She pulled the covers off and sat up. The sweat from her head trickled down her neck and onto her chest. She felt slimy.

Bryce? she called out hoping to hear him return an answer. Nothing. Maybe I was dreaming, she spoke, reassuring herself.

Evelyn. This time she heard it clear, what she hoped was Bryce’s voice, coming from the darkness beyond her bedroom. She reached for her phone. Shit. It was in the kitchen on the counter where she had left it the night before. It was nearly dawn, she could wait till the sunlight lit the place up or she could lock herself in the bathroom. But Evelyn was not a coward. She’d follow the voice that was calling her name wherever it led her, no matter how afraid she was. Once when she was little, she followed a rabbit into the woods behind the summer cottage she used to go to as a child. Somehow, her apartment seemed much more eerie than the dark woods.

Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn, the voice repeated her name chant-like. She put her hands to her ears and held them there for a moment to drown out the dreariness.

Four Years Ago

Hey, sexy, get over here. He reached for Evelyn, his hands wrapping around her waist.

Bryce, not now. He tickled her. Knock it off.

Ohhh, come on, just a quickie. His lips paraded the nape of her neck and rested behind her right ear.

Everybody’s probably already waiting.

Uhh, you’re driving me crazy.

You should talk.

She expected this from Bryce, always wanting and desiring. The man had stamina. She had no reason to complain usually, except tonight her parents were waiting to have dinner. He adjusted his tie and smiled. His blue eyes seemed to always pierce past her barriers the way no other man’s ever could. She wanted to melt in his arms. Instead, she finished putting her hair in a bun, applied her blush, and puckered her lips for a deep plum paint.

You know, it wouldn’t hurt being a little late. We could make an entrance.

She gave him a queer look. We’re already going to make an entrance. Anytime I bring a boyfriend to dinner, it’s a big thing.

Come on, real fast.

No, we’ll smell.

Smell?

Like sex. And I can’t smell like sex in front of my parents.

Then we shower.

No time, dinner is in twenty minutes and we still need to drive.

I tried.

I know.

Eleven Months Ago

Fuck off.

What?

That’s what you should have told him. I’m just saying. The man doesn’t have the decency to propose after wasting all this time, that’s what he deserves.

Sylvia finished emptying the drier then grabbed the white basket with the broken handle. Evelyn walked behind her.

I know you’re right, but there was just something else. I can’t explain. Like he wanted to say something more. And—

And what?

I don’t know.

Good, ’cause I thought I’d have to sit and listen to a bunch of excuses. Now, have a seat on the sofa and help me fold.

Sure. Hey, Sylvia?

Yeah?

Is it wrong of me to miss him still? Sylvia looked up from folding a shirt and smiled.

No, girl, it isn’t. You’re human. You love him.

Loved him.

Oh okay, who’s not being honest with thyself?

I have no idea what you’re talking about. I once loved him, but not anymore. End of discussion. So just fold your laundry.

Ha, okay. I’ll let it go for now. But one day you’ll sing that tune differently.

No, I’ll take your advice, the next time I see him, I’ll tell him to fuck off. With that Sylvia began laughing.

Present

Evelyn. She continued to hear her name pierce the darkness. She turned and stumbled from her ivory bed, reaching for the lamp on her nightstand before making her way towards the door. An unlit corridor greeted her. She took a few steps. Evelyn. This time the voice was barely a whisper fading from the night as the morning sun began to peek through the neighboring apartment buildings. She knew it was Bryce.

She made her way down the hall into the living room and kitchen. Empty. A practical joke, she thought, not at all amused. Evelyn. She jumped from the feel