The Photograph – Chapter 1

It Was Another Cold Winter's Day In The London. John Was Sat Around The Fireplace Updating His Blog, Nothing Unusual There, But For Some Strange Reason Sherlock Was Nowhere To Be Found. John Heard An Unfamiliar Noise And Assumed It Was Sherlock. He Called Out, "Sherlock." He Shouted With An Eager Sense Of Hope That He Would Reply. He Said It Once More "Sherlock." Silence Hit The Room Like An Old Unacquainted Friend. John Placed His Laptop On The Floor, Arose From His Chair To Find The Where About Of This Strange Noise. He Could Only Assume It Was Sherlock Charging In And Going Upstairs To Sulk In His Room As Sherlock Had Left Monday Night To Start On A New Case And Had Told John Nothing About It. He Went Upstairs To Look In Sherlock's Bedroom, He Opened The Door Only To Find His Blue Silk Dressing Gown Lying On The Floor Surround By Piles And Piles Of Old Case Notes. This Wasn't Like Sherlock. He Always Left Everything So Perfectly Neat And Tidy; John Knew Something Wasn't Right. John Grew Curious And Searched Around The Room To See If He Could Found Anything To Help Him Find The Where About Of Sherlock. After Ten Minutes Of Looking Around Sherlock's Room He Stumbled Across An Old Family Photo And Straight Away Recognised Sherlock As A Young Boy. He Studied The Photo Carefully And Could Only Assume That It Was Sherlock Stood Next To His Brother Mycroft With His Mother And Father Stood Behind Them. John Was Confused As To Why Sherlock Had Never Mentioned His Parents Before; He Has Made Brief Remarks About Mycroft But Never About His Parents. John Knew Sherlock Was A Person Who Liked To Keep Everything To Himself, But This Was One Thing That Made John Stop And Think. He Quietly Said To Himself "Why Has Sherlock Never Told Me Anything About His Parents Before?" He Sat On Sherlock's Bed And Looked At The Photo Closely. John Heard The Door Slam From Downstairs. He Quickly Placed The Picture In His Back Pocket And Went Downstairs To Investigate. He Was Hoping And Praying That It Was Sherlock As He Had Some Many Questions He Wished To Ask Him Now. But When John Reached The Bottom Of The Staircase He Was Only To Be Greeted By Mrs Hudson. "Hello John My Dear" "Oh Hello Mrs Hudson" John By This Time Was Upset As He Longed For Sherlock's Company. He Sat On The Bottom Of The Staircase With His Head In His Hands. Mrs Hudson Could See The Upset And Disappoint In John And Sat Down Beside Him "John, What's Wrong? You Seem Upset." John Removed His Head From His Hands To Reveal His Teary Eyes. Mrs Hudson Reached For A Tissue From Her Pocket And Gave It To John. "Thank You." "Now John My Love, Why Are You So Upset? This Is Not Like You At All" Said Mrs Hudson Giving John A Warm Comforting Hug. "It's Just Sherlock Hasn't Been Around For A Couple Of Days, And I Just Worried About Him Sometimes" Said John, With Tears Flowing Strongly From His Eyes Now. "Oh John My Dear, Sherlock Always Goes Off On His Own There Shouldn't Be Anything To Worry About." John Stood Up And Saw A Moment Of Opportunity. He Reached For The Photo From His Back Pocket And Gave It To Mrs Hudson. "I Was In Sherlock's Room Earlier And I Found This Photo As What I Assume Is Sherlock's Family, Do You Know Anything About It?" Mrs Hudson Took A Long Hard Stare At The Photo. "This Is Sherlock's Family, And That's Sherlock There" "Yes I Know That, But Do You Know Anything About Sherlock's Family?" John Hesitated. "John, I'm Afraid I Can't Tell You, Sherlock Once Told Me About His Family Life And Asked Me Never To Speak Of It Again" She Handed Back The Photo And Stood Up. "This Is Something You Need To Ask Him Yourself." She Gave John A Warm Smile And Walked Off To Her Flat. John Was Left Stood There Looking At The Photo. He Said To Himself "Something I Have To Do On My Own"