Charlotte
***
"We're not looking for him," I assured her. Her lack of confidence in my words oozed from the tension in her stance and her refusal to meet my eyes. I tried again.
"He's going to be looking for you right? So if we look for you too, he's more likely to find us. We'll be in the same place."
She looked at me finally, completely lost.
"Just trust me on this."
Her eyes doubted still, but at least she was looking at me. That was a start.
"Ok, where's the first place he's going to look for you?"
There was no answer, and I felt we were back to when I first met her.
"Where you said you'd meet him, right? Do you remember where that is? Can you show me?"
She considered this lengthily.
"Is it a secret place?"
She shook her head. Thought about it. Picked up the car keys and put them in my hand and made for the door.
***
"This is where you were supposed to meet him?"
She nodded.
It was a good hiding place. Souls would never see any reason to venture inside. The grimy windows let in a sickly yellow light that barely reached the corners of the space. The floor was grey with dust and spiders had taken over every angle. The land around had reverted to parkland all the way down to the river.
Right, so he had left her here, and gone to do something else; look for her Mum? But then something had happened and he hadn't come back.
"Is your Daddy late sometimes? Does he get held up, sometimes?"
She perused the insides of the building thoughtfully before replying.
"Sometimes he's late, but he always comes back."
Ok, but this time he's really late, and so she gets picked up by the Seekers and brought to the Healing Centre.
"Why didn't your Dad ask for you at the Healing Centre?"
But this was another question that required careful consideration.
"He doesn't like Healing Centres," she said finally.
"Ah."
A phobia of Healing Centres. Interesting.
There was nothing more this place could tell us, and I felt her begin to fidget the longer we stayed. I took her home and the fidgeting stopped.
I returned there alone later that night and left a note, headed by a picture of a small black cat.
In case you come back
Because you left something small behind here
It's safe with me
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