Bella was walking home from the last day of school, by herself of course. It wasn't because the kids in her class thought it was odd that she liked to read sci-fi novels, or that she kept to herself during lunch, it was because she lived on the opposite side of the city, far away from anyone else. Well, it felt far when she had to walk half an hour home after a long day of school every day. She adjusted her backpack, it seemed a bit lighter now that all the books she had borrowed from school were returned, however, in its place were her folders filled with old homework and meaningless assignments. She also had a yearbook that only her teachers, lunch ladies, and janitors signed, but that was just fun to see their reactions. She figured that the janitors rarely got recognized, so this was her way of saying thank you to them.
She finally got to the front door and went inside the apartment. She closed the door and made her way to the kitchen for an after school snack. "I'm in the mood for some apple slices and peanut butter," she thought to herself as she dropped her backpack down and went to grab the peanut butter. As she was doing this, her father walked in tiredly. She saw that he was in his suit, which didn't surprise her, however, his tie was crooked, his shirt was wrinkled and his hair was extremely messy. She put down the nutty goodness and looked at him curiously, "What's wrong, Dad?"
Mr. Deetz sighed and took a seat at the table, he took a few minutes to choose his words, then he finally spoke, "A couple of days ago…" he cleared his throat and continued sadly, "A couple of days ago, Adam and Barbara were found dead, both shot with the same bullet…" Bella went pale and covered her mouth in disbelief. Charles continued looking down at the table, "They haven't found the murderer, although the police suspect it was a burglar who got interrupted…"
Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing! Her chest tightened and tears threatened to fall down her face, 'This can't be happening! Not again!' she held the sides of her head as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Her dad got up and put his hand on her shoulder, "I know this is hard Bella, I am struggling with their death too…" She looked down at the floor willing her tears to wait a little longer. After her mom had passed away, she had never seen her father cry, so she silently vowed that she wouldn't let him see her cry either. He let go of her and said cautiously "I was thinking that perhaps we could look after their house for a while, so I need you to go pack your things for tomorrow..."
Bella looked up surprised and confused, "But what about our apartment? Who will look after it?"
He looked away from her nervously and she understood why he was acting funny, "Are we- Are we moving into their house?" She had a plethora of thoughts and feelings inside her head, 'If we move then I'll have to start over. But we will be in the house of my childhood… But Uncle Adam and Aunt Barbara died there! Who knows if the killer is still there!?' Her father winced at her question but decided it wasn't worth it to lie to her, "Well, we were given the house in their will, and I thought it would be good to keep their wishes…" Bella couldn't take it any longer, she grabbed a snack bag full oats from the cupboard, a water bottle from the fridge and left the house frustrated and upset. Mr. Deetz sighed and shook his head, "Emily… I wish you were here right now…"
Bella didn't know where she was going, her feet just kept walking in some direction, but she didn't care at the moment. She just wanted to get out of the house and find someone who would listen to her. So when she got to the park, she wasn't too surprised. There was an older, homeless gentleman who liked to watch the birds from a bench every day, or at least every day she saw him. She had become friends with him due to her wandering the park frequently and naturally wanting someone to have a conversation with. She did find it rather odd that someone would consistently spend their time just sitting on a bench, and that everyone just ignored him, but she assumed it was because he wasn't the cleanest and the people had other things to do with their time.
When she found him, Bella smiled in relief and had a seat next to him. The old man gave her a craggy smile, "It's so good to see you today, Ms. Bella," he said in a hoarse voice. Bella chuckled and threw some oats on the sidewalk nonchalantly, "I told you, you don't have to call me "Ms." I'm just a regular girl…" He laughed and replied, "Be that as it may, you act more grownup than the adults that pass me by everyday…" Bella quietly thought about how to respond, while watching the birds peck at the oats she threw. She wondered how peaceful it would be if she was a bird, not having to deal with school, dad's who neglect you, or…. 'Mothers dying in car accidents' she thought bitterly. She then looked back to the man, "I'm afraid this will be the last time I see you for a long, long time…" She said quietly. The man raised an eyebrow and said, "You're moving away, aren't you."
She was surprised at his guess, but nodded anyway, "Yeah… Dad told me that we were moving to my deceased aunt and uncle's house. I don't know how long we're going to stay there, but I don't think we're coming back…" The man gave her an understanding smile, "I know this has got to be hard for you, but I'm sure there will be some good that'll come out of the move…" He turned and gestured to the birds, "Take the birds, for example, in the spring and summer they are the owners of the park, but leave in the fall for winter. We may never see the same birds again, but we can be sure that others will be here by next spring…" He turned to Bella sympathetically, "I will miss your visits, but I'm sure we will meet again someday. And who knows, you might make some new friends at your new home?" She nodded slowly, "Okay… You're probably right…" She gave him a thankful, yet sad smile, "Thank you for your advice, I will miss you very much Mr. Benchman,"
He chuckled at her nickname of him, she never really asked his name and he never gave it to her, and she was okay with that. She stood up, threw away her now empty bag, and headed back to the house, nervous about the future. If she knew about the chaos that would soon ensue, she might have hesitated on that walk back to her apartment. Perhaps she would have focused on the future instead of making sure her clothes fit in her suitcase. Whatever the case, she slept dreamlessly that night, unaware that her life was about to be turned upside down.