It almost felt like Helga blinked, and it was suddenly her birthday. Steven had not gotten back to Helga about the letters, or her sister. She'd thrown herself into her studies, would even go outside and study. Anything to get out of the house. Even though Steven said she could leave at anytime through the gate, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Was she becoming a hermit? Was that what was happening to her? Being so isolated from other people?

Lila hadn't been brought over again, and despite Helga requesting her maybe coming over for a birthday dinner, Olga and Steven both shot it down. They were going to go sailing.

"Sailing?" Helga asked, looking at her sister shocked. "Why sailing? Why can't I just have a friend over?"

"With summer coming up, we thought it would be a good idea to get used to going out on the water," Steven said.

Helga looked over at her sister, who was wearing what could only be described as a poker face.

"Besides, you've been saying you've been wanting to get out of the house and away from the place," Steven reminded her. Helga wanted to slap herself. Maybe she had made a mistake confiding in him. "So our summer will be spent mostly away from here."

"Away?" Helga asked, feeling panic rising. No! No, not away! Arnold . . .

"Yeah. We could all do with some time out, am I right Olga?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Oh, definately," she said, smiling and nodding.

"So it's settled," Steven said. "We may even make an overseas trip. Italy perhaps . . ."

Helga swallowed the lump in her throat and tried not to cry.

After dinner, her sister left to go upstairs, leaving Helga playing with her food.

"I have something for you," Steven said suddenly, looking in the direction Olga had gone. He moved into the chair next to her, and leaning close pulled out a stack of envelopes from the inside of his jacket. "I found them in her vanity drawer that she keeps her feminine products in."

Helga covered her mouth to smother her squeal of excitement. She snatched them from him, then threw her arms around him. He laughed and returned her hug, kissing her cheek, which surprised her bit, but she was too excited to finally get all those letters from Arnold!

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said in his ear, tears coming to her eyes and one running down her cheek. She pulled back as another tear ran down her cheek. She never thought she would be so happy to see snail mail in front of her. Steven cupped her face and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Read them, then put them back in the envelopes and I'll return them to where I found them, so she won't know we know, okay?" he told her quietly. "It'll be our secret."

Helga nodded smiling, and hugged him again. Then rushed up to her room, and started to read.

. . .

Helga laid the second to last letter down, then came across one addressed to her in different writing. Flipping it over she saw it was actually from Phoebe. She frowned, then remembered Phoebe didn't have her email. Biting her lip she took the letter out from the envelope. They all been opened, so Helga guessed they'd all been read, too. Nothing intimate or too personal was in any of the letters. Mostly just worry and concern and gossip from Arnold. But she had something completely different from Phoebe.

Helga,

I'm sorry i wasn't by your side after news of your parents passing got about. My parents and I went to the service, but only they went to the ceremony. I didn't know if you would feel like seeing me at that time, so thought I'd stay away. Arnold says you've gone to live with your sister and her husband. My, isn't he handsome!
Anyway, I'd like to patch things up between us. I have missed your friendship.
Well, hopefully I will hear back from you. Please?
Phoebe.

Helga folded the letter and placed it into it's envelope, not sure what to think or how to feel. She sighed, then read the last letter that was Arnold's. More hum drum about what was happening at school. She hadn't read the letters in order, so the news was all over the place. When she finished she placed it in it's envelope, and put it on the pile. A lot had happened in the short time she'd been gone. The last letter had been dated two months ago. She wondered if she should risk going up to the attic and sending a text or making a call. She quietly got up and had a went to her door to look into the hallway. No one seemed to be moving around and there were no lights coming from under the doors. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost one in the morning. Everyone wold be in bed and asleep now, surely.

So she snuck out of her room, and made her way towards the bedroom at the end of the hall which had access to the attic through a wardrobe. Helga hadn't been able to find the main entrance yet. She kept glancing behind her, making sure she wasn't being followed, then, once at the door to the room, quietly opened it, taking one last glance down the hallway, then entering, quietly shutting the door behind her, then went to the wardrobe, and made her way up the narrow staircase, using the torch on the phone to light her way up the stairs. Once at the top she had to open another door. But turning the knob she found it was locked! She tried again, but still it wouldn't open. He must have locked it! But why? She clenched her teeth to keep herself from shouting out in frustration, then turned to make her way down the stairs again and came face to face with her sister.

"What are you doing out of bed, wandering around the house?" her sister demanded.

"I was just-"

"Is that a phone? Where did you get a phone? That better not be mine," she said, her voice threatening.

"What, no, it's not yours," Helga said, backing back up the steps.

"Where did you get it? Who are you calling?" Her sister demanded, walking up the stairs towards her. "Give it to me. Now."

Helga looked down at her outstretched hand.

"Now Helga!" she screamed at her.

It made her jump and she threw it at her sister, who proceeded to smash it on the floor, then remove the sim card.

"Who gave this to you?" she asked, looking at the broken phone on the floor. "Lila? It must have been Lila." She snapped the card in half.

"Why are you doing this?" Helga asked. Olga ignored her question.

"Just go to bed, Helga, and don't think about running to Steven about this," she told her. "He won't care."

Once her sister was gone, Helga rushed down the stairs, tears stinging her eyes. She stepped over the shattered phone, and left the room. She saw her sister walking down the hallway.

"I'll run away!" Helga screamed. Olga turned to look at her.

"Then go," she said. "If you have somewhere to go."

"What is going on?" Steven asked, coming out of one of the rooms. It hit Helga like a lightening bolt. Steven and her sister weren't sharing a room!

"Helga's been sneaking around with a phone and no doubt calling boys," Olga told him like it was nothing important. "Were you planning to meet him somewhere?"

Helga shook her head, then a horrible thought struck her. The letters! She ran into her room and to her horror the letters had been torn up and thrown all over the floor. She screamed in rage and anger and went back into the hallway, just as Steven was entering her room.

"She tore them up!" she screamed in his face. "That bitch tore them up!" She continued screaming until Steven wrapped his arms around her and buried her face into his shirt. He was practically smothering her, but it made her stop and pull away and gasp for breath. "I hate her!"

She pushed Steven away and entered her bedroom and locked the door behind her.