Dorothy Topfer

Past Presence Dorothy Topfer

Grief can follow a person throughout life and impact in so many ways. For Deedee the sudden and tragic loss of her parents when she was nine years old helped shape the adult she became. Immediately after her parents' death she left the security of a loving home and was taken to a small country town. There she was raised by her great aunt Minerva aka Minnie - an outwardly stern woman unused to children and her flamboyant artistic partner, Alice. Their home an enchanted cottage, a refuge to other long-dead residents, also sheltered Deedee and provided her with a safe haven in which to grow and recover.




Now an adult Deedee has returned home to care for Minnie who is increasingly frail. Her return after much time away reawakens many memories from her childhood, the bullying at school, and time spent playing in the garden with the spirit child Bertie, whom for so long she had believed was real.




So much has changed in this little country town yet much remains unchanged. The cottage and the garden are still as enchanted. Minnie continues to be as fiercely independent fighting her infirmities even as she mourns the death of her partner. Harry, Deedee's childhood protector remains nearby and with his reminiscing Deedee recalls the trauma of those bullying early days. Harry so friendly and so capable eases into her adult life. Is he destined to still be her protector? And what of Julian the strangely irresistible half-brother of her childhood bully? Does he really care for her as he says or is there a hidden motive with his talk of redevelopment? Can she trust him or does that matter? Should she just surrender to his charms regardless of the consequences?




And what of little Bertie who still lingers in the garden and those scary old women who haunt the front parlour? Why can she still feel their presence?