The Robber Bride

Charis—formerly Karen—is a single mother who lives with her daughter, Augusta. The two have very different sensibilities—Charis’s New Age clutter chafes against Augusta’s modern, minimalist efficiency. They live on an island, away from the city that Charis finds “too clear-cut, too brash, and assertive” (47). She rises in the morning and goes through her morning ritual: yoga, shower, breakfast, and consulting her crystal pendant for its daily prediction. Augusta chides her mother about looking “washed up,” but Charis claims she is happy with herself the way she is, though her certainty has begun to waver. She sees daily reminders of her ex-partner Billy, and she deals with the pain through creative visualization. She learned this strategy from Shanita, the owner of Radiance, the crystal shop where Charis works: “‘All right then,’ says Shanita’s voice, ‘Let it wash. Let it just wash over you. It’s only a wave. It’s like water. Think about what colour that wave is’” (50). As she makes her morning tea, Charis refuses to turn her back to the kitchen door, the result of seeing Augusta’s face in the window panel late one night and mistaking it for Zenia’s. 

Charis believes that death is simply a transition, so when she thought she saw Zenia’s face in her window—after thinking her dead for five years—she was not entirely surprised. She often tries to explain her ideas on mortality and the afterlife to Tony, but her friend’s skepticism makes her nervous. Zenia, she believes, had shown up at Charis’s window—before she realized it was Augusta—because her spirit was lost and needed help, unable to find its way to the light. Charis also believes Zenia’s presence is Charis’s own fault for not “cutting her free” (54), and she resolves to ask her the next time she appears what happened to Billy. As she boards the ferry to the city, she remembers the last time she saw Billy, on board the ferry with Zenia and receding into the distance as Charis, exhausted from running, stood watching, cradling her pregnant belly in her hands. 

Charis disembarks from the ferry and walks through the city. The sheer number of people, all of whom share the same air and the same physical space, stresses her out. She wonders if somehow she has shared the same air as Zenia, which would mean that Zenia is part of her. It is possible that Zenia’s spirit is restless and needs to be set free. Perhaps, Charis thinks, she should exhume Zenia’s urn and set her ashes free to mingle with the universe: “That would be a kindly thing to do” (60).

At Radiance, Shanita complains of merchandise not selling and contemplates turning the store into a hipper five-and-dime selling “all cheap stuff” (63). Charis does not like the idea but realizes that, in the current economic climate, she is just as expendable as the scented candles and crystal pendants. Change may be necessary for her to keep her job. Charis feels anxious that morning, and Shanita reads her Tarot cards. She predicts a sudden change involving a strong woman.

Charis arrives at The Toxique first and settles into her table with a bottle of Evian and a glass of wine. Observing her environment calls to mind her impressions of Roz and Tony: Roz, she thinks, is scattered and self-consciously progressive; real people are those poorer than her. And Tony, though befuddling, is admirable for her clear-headedness during a crisis.

As Roz and Tony join her for lunch, she tunes out their words and tries to focus on their auras, though her sensitivity to them has waned of late. Her mind digresses to her own exploration of religion. Most organized religions are too punitive for her taste. Roz and Tony’s discussion of war distresses Charis because she believes dwelling on something will cause its manifestation. She does not voice this opinion though because she is afraid her friends will think she is silly and irrational. When Zenia enters the restaurant, Charis thinks she is a spirit, unwilling to believe she is still alive; but as Zenia breezes past their table without so much as a nod, she is forced to believe it, muttering quiet meditations to fend off Zenia’s bad energy.

Outside The Toxique, Roz and Tony say goodbye, but Charis, off work for the day, does not know where to go. She sits in a café across the street, waiting for Zenia to exit the restaurant. When she finally does, she is accompanied by a man—not Billy though. At least Tony and Roz have had some closure, she thinks; they know the final results of Zenia’s interference. Charis, however, does not. Billy’s disappearance is still a mystery, an open wound. Despite Charis’s vow of compassion-for-all, she feels none for Zenia, imagining herself pushing her off a cliff. As Zenia walks away from The Toxique, Charis gathers her things and follows.