{"id":5944,"date":"2026-08-18T18:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T18:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awestories24.press\/?p=5944"},"modified":"2026-08-18T18:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T18:55:15","slug":"a-goth-girl-started-visiting-my-73-year-old-mom-every-saturday-after-my-moms-funeral-the-girl-handed-me-a-key-and-said-your-mom-told-me-to-give-you-this-only-after-she-wa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awestories24.press\/?p=5944","title":{"rendered":"A Goth Girl Started Visiting My 73-Year-Old Mom Every Saturday \u2013 After My Mom\u2019s Funeral, the Girl Handed Me a Key and Said, \u2018Your Mom Told Me to Give You This Only After She Was Gone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

Part 1:<\/strong><\/h1>\n

I always assumed the young goth woman who visited my mother every Saturday was simply an unusual new friend.<\/p>\n

After Mom died, I discovered their relationship had begun because of something much deeper.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

And the more I learned, the more I realized my mother had spent years carrying a regret none of us had completely understood.<\/p>\n

Raven waited until almost everyone had left the funeral before approaching me.<\/p>\n

Throughout the service, I had tried not to watch her.<\/p>\n

She remained near the back of the room in a long black coat, silver rings and piercings catching the light whenever she moved.<\/p>\n

For months, I had seen her sitting at Mom\u2019s kitchen table every Saturday as though she belonged there.<\/p>\n

I had never understood why.<\/p>\n

Now my mother was gone, and Raven was walking toward me with one hand tightly closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaeve.\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned.<\/p>\n

Her eyes were swollen from crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for coming,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

She nodded and slowly opened her palm.<\/p>\n

A tiny brass key rested there.<\/p>\n

I frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother told me to give it to you after she died.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said you\u2019d understand once you found it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t Mom give it to me herself?\u201d<\/p>\n

Raven hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe because she thought you\u2019d put it somewhere safe and avoid finding out what it was for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comment stung.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Raven replied quietly. \u201cBut Doris did.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment, grief turned into irritation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why did my mother trust you with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Raven\u2019s expression softened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know her better than you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why do you have the key?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I knew a part of her you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before I could ask what she meant, my husband, Tom, appeared carrying my coat.<\/p>\n

Raven stepped away.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t hide the key in a drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then she left.<\/p>\n

I remained standing there, the metal key pressed into my palm.<\/p>\n

One question wouldn\u2019t leave me.<\/p>\n

What had my mother been hiding?<\/p>\n

The first time I met Raven, she was sitting in my father\u2019s old chair drinking tea from Mom\u2019s best china.<\/p>\n

I had walked into the kitchen carrying groceries and stopped immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother, Doris, looked up.<\/p>\n

At seventy-three, she was still happiest in that little kitchen surrounded by books, tea, and the garden outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere you are, Maeve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman beside her turned.<\/p>\n

She couldn\u2019t have been much older than twenty-five.<\/p>\n

Black clothes covered her from neck to boots.<\/p>\n

Tattoos ran along both forearms, and several silver piercings reflected the afternoon light.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Raven,\u201d Mom said. \u201cShe\u2019s a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raven stood politely.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou too.\u201d<\/p>\n

But my attention kept returning to Dad\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

Raven noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I sitting somewhere I shouldn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. How exactly do you two know each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met over coffee,\u201d Mom answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the bookstore caf\u00e9,\u201d Raven added. \u201cShe told me the novel I was reading was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried to laugh, but something bothered me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we were spending the afternoon together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom\u2019s smile faded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do that next Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re asking me to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re discussing something private.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raven immediately offered to go.<\/p>\n

But Mom stopped her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

That hurt more than it probably should have.<\/p>\n

I grabbed my purse.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaeve,\u201d Mom said gently. \u201cI love you. But I don\u2019t need you managing every part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSaturdays are usually ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

I glanced at Raven, then Mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine. I\u2019ll get out of your way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before leaving, I noticed a small wooden box beside Raven\u2019s elbow.<\/p>\n

Mom quickly covered it with a dish towel.<\/p>\n

That did absolutely nothing to reassure me.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d I repeated.<\/p>\n

Mom sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere it is again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat word you say when nothing is actually fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I left before anger made me say something I would regret.<\/p>\n

That evening, I complained to Tom.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was there again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRaven?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo Saturdays in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom looked at me carefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid your mother seem upset?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. That\u2019s almost what bothers me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause she looked completely comfortable with her. Happy, even. And I still don\u2019t know who Raven really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom waited.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s twenty-something,\u201d I continued. \u201cMom barely knows her, and suddenly they\u2019re having private conversations every weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think Raven wants money?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHas Doris given you any reason to believe she\u2019s being manipulated?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom leaned closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what\u2019s really bothering you?\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared into my tea.<\/p>\n

Finally, I admitted it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you\u2019re worried?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019m jealous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom reached across the table and touched my hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen stop guessing. Pay attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I did.<\/p>\n

Raven kept returning.<\/p>\n

Soon Saturdays clearly belonged to them.<\/p>\n

One afternoon, I arrived early and saw birthday cards scattered across Mom\u2019s kitchen table.<\/p>\n

The moment she noticed me, she quickly gathered them into a wooden box.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are those?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOld things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading <\/a><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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