The Hummingbird

Miss Lemay,

I regret to inform you that your brother’s sister Carol Lemay is deceased on the date of the 3rd of March.

I write to also inform you that you are a beneficiary in the deceased’s will. I require you to make your way to your aunt’s home in Silverlea in order to receive your inheritance from her.

I look forward to meeting you on the 17th of March at 9 am.

Regards,

David Crowley.



A young woman sat behind the wheel of a stationary car, her hands gripped the wheel tightly as she stared at the large house before her. She had spent most of her summers here, helping her Aunt run the bed and breakfast inn, but now her Aunt had passed away and much to her surprise she had been left something.

When Delilah had heard that her Aunt had passed away she initially felt shocked. Delilah had always thought her Aunt would live forever because she was the type of woman who had a plan for everything, even death. Though it seemed Aunt Carol really did have a plan for everything, why else would she have given something to Delilah?

The slim woman stepped out of her vehicle and closed the car door behind her as she slowly walked up to the house, wondering what her Aunt could have left her. Her brown eyes flickered up when she heard footsteps, a middle aged man approached her and she assumed he was David Crowely, by the suit he was wearing.

“You must be Miss Lemay,” the man spoke suddenly, offering his hand to shake.

“Yes, I am, but call me Delilah, please,” the woman replied back, smiling softly as she shook the man’s hand.

“Excellent, let’s get on with it.” He said hurriedly before continuing, “so I’m not sure how close you and your Aunt were, but in her will she has written that she wanted to leave this place to you,” he informed Delilah, indicating to the Inn behind him.

Delilah’s eyes widened in shock and she was struck speechless for a second. “This whole place?” she gasped.

“Yes, that’s right. However, whatever you choose to do, she has made it clear that if you accept the inn or decide to sell it, it is on the condition that bed and breakfast business along with the café must stay open. You can redecorate and rearrange existing furniture to your heart’s content but the inn and the café must continue running,” the man read from his documents before handing a large stack of paper to Delilah.

“O-okay, I think I need to make a call, and I’d like to look around,” Delilah replied, deciding her best option was to get a second opinion on what to do.

The man nodded his head and walked to the front door, opening it up wide and letting Delilah step in first. She looked around, scanning the spacious reception room, finding that it was a chaotic mess, the décor was far out-dated but other than some hard elbow grease to get it clean, it was in good shape.

The rest of the rooms were more or less in the same state as the reception and Delilah shook her head in disbelief, unable to comprehend that she would be the owner of this place if she chose to be.

Stepping outside after her walk through the building, Delilah took a deep breath, the scent of flowers wafting through the air and filling her senses up with its familiar atmosphere. Around the time Delilah had turned eight, her parents decided to move to a bustling city where Delilah spent the rest of her childhood years living. She only came back to Silverlea during the summer season to help her Aunt run the Inn when it was busy, as it always was, in the summer. That had had to stop four years ago however, as Delilah went into university and didn’t have the time to help out.

Delilah sighed, pulling herself out of her thoughts as she pulled out her iPhone and browsed her contacts list. Finding the right name, she called the person and put her phone to her ear, letting it ring.