Episode Ninety Eight
Standing in her mother's study seemed to make something clear in Gwen's mind. It was now imperative for her to open that box. Perhaps the truth about her father would not be within, but she knew that the truth her mother died with would be.
She sat with her back to the wall, barefoot on her mother's cushy rug. Her feet were sinking into the delicious fabric as she concentrated as much of her brain on the black box as humanly possible. There had to be a way to get passed the password.
She might have spent days there, on the floor with only her burning desire as company. She would never know afterward because she never asked, didn't put much stock in the Roman calendar.
Finally it came to her and she wondered how her mother had known. Her mother had seemed almost omnipotent up until that point and it was something she had taken for granted. She had never considered that her mother would know her so well, would know things about her before she did.
She stood quietly and removed the sleek silver key from the top drawer of the desk. She slid it gently into the lock, which had not complained when she battered it against the wall. It clicked as she turned the key and repeated as if no time had passed: "password please."
"Agropyron Repens." She held her breath and shuddered when the lock clicked again and the lid popped open. She exhaled heavily. Here it was, answers at last and she didn't have the heart to open the lid any further.
She set the box on the desktop and leaned her head onto her hands, staring down at it with something of regret. After all that trouble she just didn't want to know anymore.
