I must become a lion-hearted girl. (Rabbit Heart, Florence and the Machine)
The phone rings.
My eyes snap up toward the device. It rings once more before Uncle Fiske stands up from his usual chair by the window and picks it up.
"Hello?" he greets, swallowing hard.
My heart pounds in my chest.
I watch with growing anxiety as Uncle Fiske nods, his grey eyes now looking at his feet. There's a dull but unreadable look in his eyes, which makes me even more nervous.
"Thank you," he says, barely whispering as he hangs up.
I stare at him expectantly, longing to hear his voice, informing me that everything is okay. That they found her, that I will get to see her again. . . that she's not dead.
He remains quiet, gazing at me.
And even though I already know what the answer is, hope still lingers in my heart. She can't be gone. . . she isn't gone.
The atmosphere feels surreal as I hold his gaze, my eyes wide with concern and expectancy.
Fiske opens his mouth to speak.
"They found her."
I feel my heart skip a beat as I look down at the floor, a smile forming in my lips. "I knew it. . ."
I look up at him, my face bright.
"I knew she'd be back," I exclaim.
Fiske places his hands together in front of him, his lips curling down. He hesitates. "They found her body."
My smile falters. I feel my face pale, my green eyes sting. But I still don't grasp the situation.
"I'm so sorry," Fiske continues. "Nellie. . . Nellie's been dead for three weeks now."
My head falls down, and I try to clear off my mind. To think, to understand what's going on. But my sister's smile keeps popping up in my mind, and I can even hear the upbeat music emerging from her room. As my eyes travel toward the kitchen, I can already imagine her standing there, baking her desserts as she tells me about her recent article. An article about her adventure. I can hear her, telling me with the strongest voice how she never gave up, how she always kept herself convinced that she'd return home. How she was never scared for her life, because she knew that they'd find the ones that took her. I can even feel my admiration for her as she tells me her story, my longing to be as brave and strong as she is.
But that won't happen.
She's dead.
She will never be back home.
She will never bake my favorite cookies.
She will never make me laugh, or tell me stories
She won't ever braid my hair, she won't ever help me pick out a book.
She's gone.
"The police want us in their office," Fiske's voice rings out.
I nod, not able to talk. And even though the tears well in my eyes, they won't slide down. But that's better. Nellie used to be the strong one, and us the weaklings, the ones who received her daily encouragement. Now that she's gone. . .
I look up at Fiske, whose cheeks are streaked with tears.
He's sixty-seven, and sick. The news probably shook all of his will out. He won't be able to be the strong one of the group, and so won't Dan. He's too busy with college. I'll have to be the one who endures.
I stand up from the couch, dropping the book I was reading in the process. Not that I could read much, anyways. Nellie has been on my mind in the past weeks, and she hasn't been able to get out. And apparently, she won't.
"Boston Affairs will also be there," Fiske announces.
It is quite obvious, actually. Boston Affairs is a newspaper founded by the Kabra family a decade ago. They are a powerful British family, who moved here ten years ago to expand Affairs, a series of newspapers created by them. Seven countries already count with a national edition. Nellie had recently gotten a job with them a year ago. And according to Mr. Kabra, she was a delightful worker.
"Let's head out," I suggest, grabbing my coat.
A long day awaits, better start now.
So I know this is short, but hopefully, the coming chapters will be longer. If you find this quite confusing, don't worry, the next chapter will definitely explain everything that's going on. And as I'm sure you already know, this has nothing to do with the hunt.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed :)
-Elizabeth