Helen Speaks

Introduction: https://helenspeaks.wordpress.com/2025/04/06/lucy-skylarks-magical-year/

Characters: https://helenspeaks.com/characters/

From: Vera Sparrowfield

3 The Willows

Grainthorpe

Dear Lucy,

Yes, it was good to see you last week, and wonderful to meet your friend Teddy at last. He is quite an unusual ghost. I do believe it has done him good being around your magic – usually ghosts aren’t quite so coherent, and they can only make limited memories. I am never quite sure how much I believe in Fate – a witch should never be too much of a skeptic, I know – but it would be good to think that there is a reason why you two found each other.

I was hoping you might be able to help me with an unusual errand. A friend in St Bernice’s Field runs an old fashioned pub called The Green Dragon Inn and they’ve been bothered by some strange behaviour. There has been some clattering in the night, some objects have gone missing only to reappear in strange places, and when they set up cameras overnight, they saw the metal pokers fall from the fireplace and a candle light and extinguish – but nothing and no one else.

She asked if I could help, and honestly I would love to, but the journey is really too much for me, at least until I get my hip replaced, whenever that shall happen! It is terribly inconvenient that some things simply cannot be reliably fixed with magic. Would that more people had your friend Jacob’s gift.

However, this feels like an interesting mystery for you, and hopefully one that will be more fruitful than your exploration of the ice cream parlour. I’ve enclosed their phone number, address and a small map – please could you get in touch and see if you could help? Given we’re not sure what we’re dealing with, you could always take your friend Olive, or Jacob if he has not left yet.

Take Teddy too – he may be able to see things that you can’t.

Look after yourself and let me know how you get on.

Your friend Vera.

Question: Do you believe in fate, or the idea that things are “meant to be”?

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Next entry (Olive’s next letter): https://helenspeaks.com/2025/06/19/olive-framley-entry-17-19th-june/

News clipping: https://helenspeaks.com/2025/06/21/teen-missing-in-magical-misdemeanour-21st-june/