Chapter 8: CHAPTER 8!
Three years… it's been three years… now I'm going to finish all of the stories I never finished, all the ones I had saved up and all of my ideas in progress… IM BACK!
On the day of his arrival, Alfendi viewed the quaint little cabin that he was quickly approaching. It was to become his new living arrangements and it had stood empty for years at the top of a large hill, surrounded by a small evergreen forest. He was in the passenger seat and his driver was a woman sent from the protection agency to help him relocate. As they pulled up to the gravelly driveway he saw the exterior walls with it's dried peeling paint and the almost dead garden set out before him. As he exited the car and walked closer to the windows he saw a thick layer of dusk and cobwebs along the window sills.
"I guess I have my work cut out for me" He sighed and spoke aloud to no one in particular.
The petite woman from the protection agency smiled politely. "I guess you do, if you need any help just ask the town mayor, he'll be easy enough to spot. Oh and all forms of communications are to be monitored through the agency so don't be goin' and doing anything funny, alright? Not that you have access to many communication devices anyway." She said with a thick Texan accent.
Alfendi gave a slight hum of dissatisfaction and opened the front door to an empty fireplace and a small green chair a few metres away from it. He walked past the living room to examine his new temporary home and the floorboards creaked loudly with each step he took. The kitchen was small but homey and he reckoned that he could cook a decent meal if he wanted.
Next he went to the bedroom, a double bed sat in the middle of the room with wooden shelves for clothing to the left and a TV rack hanging above the foot of the bed with no TV on it. Everything had been covered in a film of plastic to protect them from dust. He slowly progressed to the bathroom and with nothing to note, he moved into the living room. He took a better look at the room and noticed the fireplace had a strange looking, glass statue of a horse with wings and glowing crimson eyes. A small wooden table sat on the other end of the room with a stack of papers bundled on top.
He turned back to the woman, "Thanks I guess..."
His hair colour changed into a crimson hue and the woman stared in amazement.
"Argh, you can leave now!" She was shocked at his sudden change of attitude and gasped.
"Oh... One more thing! There is another cabin not far from here, down the path. The people there will be keeping an eye on you, feel free to ask them if you need anything. And we'll be contacting you shortly, you have enough supplies for a month. Please do not leave this house until you are contacted by the WPA… I guess I'll be leaving now. Goodbye Mister Layton."
She rushed out the door and hopped into her car. She took one last glance at the cabin and drive down the forest track.
Alfendi slammed the wooden door shut and grunted. As he turned around he noticed something else, a big black piano sitting in the dark corner of the living room. It was caked in dust but other than that it was in perfect condition. He pressed a key and remembered the time he used to play.
Time moved slowly and days went by, after three weeks of settling in Alfendi had cleared the mess and tidied up the place. He had received a letter from witness protection and he scanned it several times to assure himself that he wasn't imagining anything. He felt quite relieved at the details after the long days and nights of paranoia.
-To A-
You need not worry, L has been transferred safely to the new hospital. We cannot give away the whereabouts in this letter for the danger that she could be placed in if it fell into the wrong hands. Meet at the town hall, quarter to midnight on the 12th of April it is important you be there for it will become harder for us to contact you afterwards.
L shows miraculous signs of recovery, your friends all wish you well. Your father worries for you, he wishes for your safe return and L as well.
-Good luck - WPA
Afterwards Alfendi places the letter into the lit fireplace and watched it slowly crumble to ashes. He smiles to himself and plans out his journey for the town hall. The closest city was a half an hour's walk, any other towns were miles away.
Alfendi peered outside through the slightly opened door. As he scanned the area he noticed a deer roaming the grass while birds chirped happily to the first morning rays of sunlight. A bright, salmon pink and white galah (bird) walked along the grass in search of worms and seeds, it reminded Alfendi of Lucy.
He softly closes the door, strides over to a cardboard box and starts to rummage through the small box of things that he had brought- his favourite white coat, spare clothes, a few newspapers to read when he was bored, shoes and the necessities.
Alfendi pulled out three other objects and held them close. Lucy's mother had allowed him to keep the items close for her when she woke clutched Lucy's salmon pink hat to his chest as he thought of her honey coloured hair flowing whenever she ran around, then he grabbed a green jacket out of the box. He pressed it down and flattened it across the bedside table, he sighed and remembered the first time they had met, her sharp accusing sentence, and her finger pointing towards him across the room. He had another box marked Lucy for when she woke.
Lastly he pulled out a small, blue velvet box with a silver edging. Inside was a beautiful two carat diamond ring with three diamonds adorning the edge.
He stared at the ring which reflected the light from the fireplace behind him. He thought of Lucy's bubbly smile, her cheeky laugh and the way her face lit up when she figured out a clue or solved a crime.
He thought of her deep crimson eyes and the way she stared at him when she thought he was asleep, then smiling and kissing him on the forehead or holding him tightly whenever he had a nightmare.
12th of April 6 am, Alfendi is feeling restless as he thinks of the day to come. He is dressed and showered and he has planned for the day to be spent in the town. Potty didn't like the idea too much.
'I suggest we just go later and avoid everyone staring at me'
'No, we go now.'
'We could ask the neighbours...'
'If we have to.'
Alfendi ties his hair into his usual pony tail and heads out the door. After a few minutes of walking up the dirt path he comes into view of a cabin, a woman is outside tending to her garden. As she lifts her head and spots Alfendi she calls to another person.
"Dave, come see, the neighbour is here!"
A man walks out and a small girl runs up behind him. The man called 'Dave' smiles and lifts his hand to give Alfendi a handshake.
"Hi I'm Dave, this is Katie" He gestures to the small girl hiding behind his legs. "And this is my wife, Elizabeth" He gestured.
"Please, call me Liz!" She exclaimed.
She smiles heartily as she lifts herself off her knees and wipes the dirt from her legs.
"What your name?" The little girl says
"Alfendi. Well, I really need transportation into town and I'll be staying the night there" Alfendi said awkwardly.
"Sure we'd be happy to help!" Dave says.
"Where is the town hall?"
"Run and go and get daddy's keys will you sweetie? It 's just down the road there." He points in the direction that he originally arrived. Just then Katie runs inside and brings out car keys for Dave.
"For you daddy" the little girl cheerfully.
"Aww thanks hun, I'll be back before you know it!"
He kisses her on the forehead and waves to Liz.
"Are you coming Al?"
Alfendi follows Dave into a blue car. The engine roared to life and Alfendi sat in an awkward silence for the whole trip.
Just before they arrived Dave asked. "So what are you going to call yourself when you get there?."
"I hadn't really thought of that..."
"Well you can't go using your actual name, it's not a very common name either... How about Luke?"
"Hmm maybe not that one... I haven't really had the best experiences with that one. Let's just say my father prefers him over his own son.."
"Ooh I'm sorry about that… I didn't know. What abou-" Dave said, trying to change the mood before he was interrupted abruptly.
"Call me Alastair Layne." Alfendi said quite pleased with himself.
"Clever! And then you can get people to call you Al and you won't get your name mixed up!" He chimed with a cheerful look and his grin stretched from ear to ear. Al's hair became dishevelled and turned a deep crimson colour. He scowled at him and crossed his arms defiantly. Dave was already well informed of his difficult attitudes and knew better than to mess with him any further.
"I already figured that out myself." Alfendi huffed to himself.
"Sure you did Mister Layne"
... IM SORRY ITS BEEN ALMOST 4 YEARS BUT ILL BE FINISHING THIS FOR GOOD!