Chapter 13

Elizabeth had already decided that she would be better if they came back. She would answer all of Rosalind's questions even if she didn't understand them. That would make them want to visit her all the time.

She would ask questions too. She wanted to know if they had always been out there. If they had, why didn't they talk to her before?/ She wouldn't have been bad, she would have listened to them and did whatever they wanted.

Elizabeth also decided that she would not tell them about the little windows that appeared when it was dark. She just knew that she would get in trouble if they knew about them. They would probably try to stop them if they knew about them. Maybe they already did... Robert knew so much, how could he not know about the windows?

Rosalind had asked her how she knew how she looked, so maybe Rosalind didn't know about them.

Speaking of Rosalind, she said that they would return in the morning and Elizabeth realized that she didn't know when the morning was. Was that now? Or was it after she went to sleep. Had she missed it? Had they returned and left because she was asleep? Or maybe Rosalind had only said that so they could leave...

What if they were already out there? What if they decided that they didn't want to talk to her anymore? How would she convince them to come back? She had drawn them so many pictures but what if they didn't want them?

There was a click, the same click she heard when the window opened the first time. Elizabeth hurried to sit down and waited. Her heart started to beat really fast again when she saw them, "You're back." she was happy now.

"Of course," Rosalind said, "I told you we'd be back in the morning.

"I...I don't know what that is," she said quietly.

"Hmm, I suppose you don't." Rosalind stepped away and returned with a meal tray, "Here, eat and we'll talk after. Robert and I have a few things to prepare."

"Just speak up if you have a question," Robert added. He smiled more than Rosalind did. Did this mean he liked her more? "Did you sleep well?" Robert asked as he started looking at pieces of paper.

"I think so." she said, "I went to sleep after the lights went out." She had stayed up a little longer because of the window but that was it. Elizabeth began to eat her food. it didn't taste as nice as what she had eaten before. It was all still gray. Would they give her more tomato soup if she asked?

"Have you ever read a book?" Robert asked. She didn't think so. Comstock read books thought. All of his stories came from books, like the one about the lamb.

"Lamb," she said.

"Lamb?" Robert repeated.

"Uh... Comstock read a story." she swallowed her bread, "I... I can't."

"I expected as much." Robert didn't look at her and she set her food down. She didn't want to eat it anymore. "What did you do after we left?"

Elizabeth didn't want to tell them that she cried. She didn't want to tell him about the windows either. "I drew you a picture." she drew it to make them like her and it occurred to her now that if he didn't like the picture, he might not like her. She didn't want to show him anymore.

"Can I see it?" Robert looked at her and smiled. She looked to her sketchbook and shook her head, "Are you sure, I'd like to see it." She touched the sketchbook and looked back at him.

"Okay." she handed it to him slowly, "It's the last one." Robert took the sketchbook and flipped to the last page. His eyes widened as he looked at it and he called Rosalind over.

Rosalind looked at the picture and took the sketchbook. Why weren't they saying anything? Did they like it? Or maybe they hated it. "It's a lovely picture." Rosalind said, "Now I have a question. Do you want to leave your room?"

"I..." she nodded, "Yes."

"We'd like that for you too." Rosalind said, "I think you'll be amazed at what the world holds. There are a few things you need to do first." Rosalind finally sat down, "Like learning to read and counting."

"Counting." she didn't know how to do that either. She had heard about it before... but she couldn't remember where. Thinking about it made her head hurt.

"Why don't we begin?" Robert asked, "If you're done eating."

"I don't want to eat anymore." she had not finished her soup. Would they be mad about that?

"We'll put it away, just in case you want it later." Rosalind took the tray away.

"Now," Robert held up a piece of paper with several large pictures on it, "Do you know what it says?" the pictures were all the same size and some of the pictures appeared multiple times. After she had looked at them all, she shook her head. Robert held up a few more but she understood none of it. She didn't understand how she was supposed to read the pictures.

Robert turned and started to talk to Rosalind and Elizabeth felt her face grow hot again. Why did that keep happening? Was it bad?

"Just as we expected." Rosalind said with a nod, "We've much to teach you."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly.

"Please, don't be." Robert said, "We'll help you learn as much as you can."

"It won't be hard." Rosalind said, "We'll start small and work our way up." Robert placed 2 sheets of paper on her table, "That will help you learn faster."

Robert pointed to the first picture, "This is the letter A." he said, "It's the first letter of the alphabet. Can you say it?"

"A," she said.

"Perfect, the next letter is B," Rosalind said. They went through every letter of the alphabet and then asked her to repeat them without looking. She didn't remember the first letters once they reached the end but Rosalind didn't seem mad about it.

"You're doing well." Robert said, "Once you learn to write the, we'll move on."

"Write..." she frowned, "What does that mean?"

"It's like the drawings you do." Rosalind said, "Writing would be to copy down these letters in a way that makes words. People can then read these words."

"But let's not get ahead of ourselves." Robert said, "Just copy these down onto your own paper." He gave her back the sketchbook, "Just as you did with the drawing of Rosalind, copy them until you can do so without looking at a picture of them."

They left her alone to copy the letter down onto her paper. It made her happy to know she was learning something. She whispered the letters as she copied them down. "A...B...C...D..." it seemed so simple now as she drew-no- as she wrote the letters down.

Elizabeth hoped that she was doing well enough for them. She wanted to leave the room and go with them. She had never really wondered what was out there until the little windows started opening. When she had seen the pointy thing and she'd hurried to draw a picture of it. None of the windows had opened there again but she couldn't forget it. The flowers and the lights. She wanted to go there. Maybe Rosalind could take her...

If she left her room, would she live with Rosalind? Maybe if she were smart enough. Then she wouldn't have to worry about them never coming back because they would always be together.

"Am I doing okay?" she found herself asking. She needed to know so that if she wasn't, she could try harder.

Rosalind came back to the window and leaned inside to look at the letters. Elizabeth was overcome with the urge to reach out and touch her. She was standing so close...

Elizabeth had never felt another person. Would Rosalind's face feel the same as hers?

Elizabeth reached for Rosalind and paused suddenly. Was this allowed? Rosalind glanced at her hand but didn't move. Instead, she looked at her and waited. Rosalind's eyes were blue like her own but they were still different. Did everyone have different eyes?

Elizabeth dropped the pencils and raised her other hand to Rosalind's face. It was soft and warm... was this how everyone felt? Her own skin wasn't as warm as Rosalind's was. Maybe that was because Rosalind lived outside and this was what people who lived outside felt like. Elizabeth couldn't imagine Robert feeling the same way.

Elizabeth moved her hand to Rosalind's hair, it didn't feel anything like her own. Rosalind's hair wasn't as soft as her own. "You're doing well," Rosalind said softly.

"You have spots on your face." Why hadn't she noticed them before? She rubbed her thumb over the few on Rosalind's cheek. They didn't feel any different from the rest of her skin.

"Freckles." Rosalind moved away and Elizabeth tried to hide her frown. She didn't want her to leave anymore. "They're called freckles and a lot of people have them."

"I don't." Elizabeth said, "Is that bad?"

"No." Rosalind shook her head, "You'll see soon enough that not everyone looks the same. Robert and I only look alike because we're twins." Rosalind sat down and began to write something herself. Elizabeth could see the letters but Rosalind was writing really small.

"Now, why don't we take a break?" Robert asked, "You've done so well, I think a reward is due."

"A reward?" she sat up straighter. Comstock's videos had always said people were only rewarded for good things. Maybe she wasn't doing as bad as she thought.

"Yes." Robert sat down and placed an object on the table, "That's butterscotch. Its candy."

"Candy." she looked over the wrapper. She had pencils this color, but she knew her pencils were not food. She had learned that long ago.

"Yes, have you had it before?" Robert asked.

"Yes." she nodded as she picked it up, "But I don't know where." She was starting to remember a lot of things now but she didn't know why. "Can I ask a question?"

"Of course," Robert said.

"Why do I live here?" They both looked away from her.

"We... aren't sure." Robert said, "But none of that matters, what matters is getting you out." Rosalind yawned and Robert frowned.

"You're sleepy," Elizabeth said. Rosalind had slept last night, Elizabeth had seen it through the window. Maybe this was what Robert meant when he asked if she had slept well. Maybe if she went to sleep but was still sleepy when she woke up, it would mean that she hadn't slept well.

"Yes," Rosalind nodded, "Please forgive me, I'm a tad bit sick at the moment. A bad case of food poisoning." She had gotten sick from her food, that wasn't good.

"Still sick?" Robert mumbled.

"It's nothing to worry about." Rosalind said, "I'll be fine." Robert looked at Rosalind and Rosalind looked down at her notes. Robert was frowning now, was he mad at Rosalind for being sick?

"Are you mad at her?" she asked him quietly.

"Uh..." Robert blinked, "Perhaps a little."

"Because she's sick?" Elizabeth asked. Was it bad that Rosalind was sick? "I don't think that's her fault." She had been sick once. She remembered it had started suddenly and she had laid in bed all day. She hadn't done anything differently so it wasn't her fault then. Was it Rosalind's fault she got sick? "Don't be mad at her..." she found herself saying.

"I... You're right." Robert sighed, "I'm not being fair."

"Don't be upset about it." Rosalind spoke up, "I won't be sick forever. Robert's only worried."

Elizabeth nodded, "Are there other people out there?" she hadn't seen anyone else but maybe...

"There are." Robert said, "People your age and people my age. Younger and older." Elizabeth decided that she would like to meet all the other people out there but figured that they didn't feel the same. They could probably read.

"Do you think-"

The door opened and she stopped. Someone else was coming? She felt nothing but dread as the man stepped into the room. She knew who this was. "Father Comstock." that was what he called himself in the video. She didn't think she would ever see him and she never wanted to. He would be mad that she broke all of his rules already

"My child," he walked over to her, "I've come to have a word with you." He turned to Rosalind, "Alone."

"Right now?" she stood, "You couldn't call first?"

"I don't need to." he said, "She's my child and I'll see her whenever I please." No, this man was not her father. He couldn't be. Why would he leave her alone in the room if he was? Was that something all fathers did? She looked to Rosalind for an answer but Rosalind never looked at her.

"Is an hour enough time?" Rosalind asked.

"It will be more than enough," Comstock said. It became clear that Rosalind and Robert were both going to leave her alone with this strange man. She wanted to ask them not to but she was sure that would only get her in trouble. Elizabeth watched them leave before looking back to Comstock. She didn't know why the feeling felt so familiar to her. Her heart was beating really fast and she only wanted to run away. She didn't know how long an hour was, but she hoped Robert and Rosalind would come back soon.