Hello there :-)

This is the eigth chapter and I'm really excited about this one. I hope you'll enjoy it!


For the past few days Andy had been helping Grace with her documentary article on Hawkings - Volkov family. Grace was pleased that Andy was so eager to help her and find old articles, photos and other documents that could help their article. One the other hand Andy was just as happy as Grace because she had an opportunity to find out as much information as she could to conclude what happened to her and maybe even find her family. A few days ago she came across a picture of a woman who helped in the company. Her name was Vera Kalchik. When Andy saw her photo she felt something inside her move. It came suddenly and unexpectedly and it scared the daylights out of her. The moment she'd been waiting for - a feeling, a distant memory she couldn't quite recognize, it finally came. Andy would scream if she could but she had to focus on her work therfore she would be able to finish early and leave. And truly, as soon as she got a chance she said goodbye to Grace and set off to the Moonlight. When she got there she immediatelly called Theo realizing she needed to talk to someone. She felt a bit sorry for him because she was using him to vent on her problems but she knew he understood. And right now she didn't have anyone else to talk to. Sometimes an idea popped in her head that she could call Robert but she quickly brushed it away.

I closed this chapter when I left Seattle. I need to focus on here and now.

But sometimes she couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. She thought about telling everything to Grace but she hardly even knew her. And frankly she didn't even know how to tell her something like that she, herself barely understood. With these kind of ideas she slowly proceeded to make a plan for what to do next. For a few days she was wandering around and trying to bring Vera Kalchik into the conversations and get to know more about her. A few times she even dared to watch her from the distance. And when there was nothing else she could find out that way anymore she decided to gather courrage and speak to her. She knew Vera went to church every other day to help out since her daugther went missing in that terrible accident along with other kids. Andy thought it would be the quietest place to approach her so she decided to went to that little white church at the end of the main street and take her chances. As she got closer to the church she got more and more nervous. She walked to the main entrance and suddenly she didn't know what to do. Andy was raised in Catholic religion so she knew that she had to cross herself when she walked into the chruch, but she hadn't been in any church for a long time and she had to admit she kind of lost her faith too. Pruitt never pushed her to go to church he didn't really care about it either. He believed in God but that was pretty much it. Andy didn't know what she believed, she thought there must be something or someone beyond this world or else this life would be pointless. Sometimes in those moments of realizing how messed up her life was Andy wondered what would her life look like if she would bother to go every now and then to church.

As if it would make any difference. I'll still be screwed up, Andy thought to herself. She didn't want to think about it any further so she walked into the church and made an awkardly crossed herself. As she was looking for Vera she noticed how lovely the chruch was. It wasn't full of statues and colourful frescoes, just a few frescoes and colourful windows but it made an extrordinary effect. The atmosphere was calm and welcoming. She spotted Vera near the altar where she was arranging flowers. Andy took a deep breath walked up to her. She stood there for a few moments trying to figure out how to start the conversation. Finally she came up with something before Vera could see so she walked a bit closer.

"You're arranging flowers beautifully."

"Thank you Dear", Vera simled at her, "I pressume you're the new girl. The whole town is talking about you."

Andy was surprised by the woman's kindness. In Seattle there weren't many people that were so kind to strangers.

"They're really talking about me? Well, um, I'm Andrea. I'm from Seattle."

"Nice to meet you Andrea. With this accent I'd never guess that you're not British, how intriguing. Why did you decide to move to Gealach?"

Andy didn't know what to answer to that question. She couldn't tell her the truth but she didn't want to say something stupid.

"I wanted to find peace."

"Well then you're certainly in the right place. This place helped me a lot. You know I lost my daugther and for a long time I didn't know what's the point in living, in believing... But people here helped me in my darkest times. I guess that's what matter the most when you're trying to find a place to live there. The comuntiy that accepts you for who you are and love and understand you. Well, I must leave now. I left my chicken in the stove. Will I see you on Suday here?"

There was so much Andy wanted to ask this woman, so much she wanted to say to her. How she is sorry for what happened to her daugther, if there's any hope that her daugther is alive, how unbelievably strong this woman must be to stay positive after all that. But it wasn't the time or the place for her to say something like that. All she could do was smile and said: "Maybe"

"Good. Живы бу́дем — не помрём."

"We will be alive we won't die."

"You speak Russian? Well, it means everything will be alright; let's hope for the best. Goodbye darling.

As Vera left Andy was left alone in the church and she didn't know what to do. It was the first time she showed her ability to speak Russian in public. She sat down, deep in her thoughts that were running through her head. She had to admit she was a bit disappointed because she had not found anything that could have pointed her in the right direction. However Vera seemed like a very sweet lady and also very inspiring. It got her thinking, how much that woman had been through and she still kept a positive attitude towards life. Andy didn't see when the priest aproached her and she almost jumped out of fright when he started talking.

"Hello there. You must be new here".

" Um...Hi, yes, I'm Andrea"

"Welcome in Gealach. How are you?"

Andy was trying to wrap her head around the image of a person who appeared to be the priest of this church. He was rather tall and he was probably in his forties. His red hair was slowly turning grey and he had a funny simle on his lips that would make any person laugh. He didn't look like a priest whom she remembered from Seat; that one was serious and rather dull.

"I'm fine, thank you."

He took a deep look at Andy, scanning her from head to toes and he especially focused on her face. At last he spoke up.

"Is there something that troubles you, Andrea?"

That question came totally unexpectedly for Andy and it really confused her. It seemed as if the priest had read her thoughts because he said:

"You have that kind of look on your face. If you want you can tell me what's troubling you. After all, it is my job to try and help people as much as I can."

" I don't have a lot of faith anymore, sir."

"That's all right. I don't care what you or do not believe. You're a human being, just like any other person that comes to chruch every day and just as important. And if you worry that I'll try convince you in some crazy catholic things, I can tell you that this is none of my intention to do. But if there's a tiniest possibility that you'd feel better if you tell me what's troubling you, I really hope you do tell me."

Andy took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what to say to that. She had zero intention of telling him that she might be one of the missing children from the incident twenty years ago, but she wanted to say something, she wanted to clear at least some things in her head. She looked away because she was too scared to meet his eyes.

"I'm lost. I don't know who I am or what I want anymore. I had a husband in Seattle and I messed us up. I mean, it was his fault too, but I don't know why I left him, not really. I just felt - I felt like I couldn't breathe. And then I got transfered at other station and someone attacked me and I killed him in self defense, but no one was there for me, all the friends I thought I had at 19 just forgot about me... My best friend for whom I risked my own carriere in firefighting never stood up for me when I needed her the most. I was in the darkest place of my life and there was no one to help me see the light. And then my life shook even more...well, let's just say I have no idea of who I am anymore."

She slowly met his gaze. It was full of empathy and she felt a big lump forming in her throat. He just sat there in silence, trying to take everything in.

"Let me first say that I'm very sorry for what happened to you. I think and it might not be like that but what I think is that you lived your entire life under the influence of other people, mostly friends I pressume. And you're finally starting to realize that and that's why you feel lost. Your life has been full of trials and challenges and sadly you haven't found any true and loyal friends or a community that would accept you for who you are with all your good and bad traits. You subconsciously adjusted yourself in many ways to fit in and consequently got hurt. But you are starting to heal now. You're in a process of discovering yourself, what you want to do with your life and that's good. The path might be bumpy and difficult at times but you're a strong woman. You will manage, so have faith in yourself because Lord has His faith in you, that I can promise you. And if you'll ever need to talk - these doors are always open. But what you must remember is to never stop looking for the truth."

He gave Andy one of his funny smiles and Andy thanked him. She felt the lump in her throat getting smaller and she felt calmer, maybe even happier. She said goodbye to the priest and left the chruch.


Robert was walking on the dusty main street of a small village. At the end of the street he could see a small church. One houre ago he landed on the airport in Scotland and he took a taxi to the small village called Gealach. He still wasn't quite sure why he made that decision to go after Andy, but there he was - in Gealach, not having a tiniest idea how to find her. Obiviously he first tried his luck in a pub, where rumors quickly spread, but he just found out that there was a "new girl" who worked there as a reporter or photographer. Therefore he went to the press office and met a nice young woman called Grace who seemed very interested in why did he come all the way to Gealach to look for her colleague. After she asked him about a hundred questions she finally told him that Andy wasn't working today. So there he was wandering along the main road asking strangers if they had seen her. After a few minutes he saw a black-haired figure who walked out of church.

I might catch her and talk to her if she had seen Andy, he thought to himself and quickened his pace. He got closer to her and awkwardly patted her shoulder. She almost jumped out of surprise and tourned around. Just as he was about to ask her he realized who was actually standing in front of him.

Andy

She just stared at him her face pale in shock. He didn't know what to say but he had to break the silence somehow.

"Theo told me."

Her face changed from shock to anger.

"You shouldn't be here. You - this is not your burden to carry. Just -just leave, please."

"I want to help you please, Andy."

"No. Leave me alone!", She screamed and ran away. Robert tried to ran after her but he lost her out of his sight.


Andy was running as fast as she could but it was hard with her body constantly shaking. She didn't understand why Sullivan just couldn't let her alone and mind his own business. Instead, he came after her to this little town and she had zero idea of what to do. She wanted to distance from her life in Seattle, from everyone because she wasn't able to look at her life like before. Now all she could see was a pretend, a lie. Tears started streaming down her face. She didn't want to think about how much she had lost but the thoughts kept buzzing inside her head. Robert is still here for you, a tiny voice inside her head said slowly. But was he really? Andy knew Robert would help people if he saw they were in trouble, after all that's what he did for living but that didn't necessary mean he loved her. However she couldn't keep herself from wondering why did he come after her. She wiped her eyes as she reached Moonlight and stumbled inside. She greeted Matthew's mother and rushed up the staires even though the owner wanted to say something to her. She wasn't in a mood to talk but as she got to her room she realized what Matthew's mother wanted to say to her. Grace was standing in front of her door. When she glanced at Andy her expression changed from happy to concerned.

"Andrea, what's going on? Are you alright? A man came earlier to my office, looking for you but I told him that you've already left. Oh my God did he hurt you?!"

"No, no he didn't. I'm fine."

"Who is he?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm tired, I think I'll go now."

"Wait. I don't know how you handle things in America but here we care about people and you so kindly volunteered to help me with the story and I think we became quite good friends. Don't you?"

Friends? Was that really what Grace thought about her? It hit Andy strongly than she thought it would. She realized she forgot what it's like having a friend.

"That was my ex-husband."

They walked in the room. It was messy but they didn't care. Grace sat on the sofa while Andy sat on the floor next to the sofa it bring her sort of comfort but Andy felt a lump forming in her throat once again as she started telling Grace about her life in Seattle and Sullivan.

She told her about their marriage and divorce and she told her about the adoption papers and how they led her to this town. When she finished her storytelling Grace was looking at her with wide eyes and open mouth. She shook her head before speaking.

"Do you still love him?"

Andy was surprised at Grace's question. She expected Grace would ask her more about her adoption.

"Ammm, I don't really know."

Grace nodded and gave Andy a reassuring look.

"You'll get there eventually. Anyways, now that we're over this we can discuss more about your adoption. Are you actually telling me that you might be one of the kids who disappeared in that accident?! That's exclusive! Do you remember anything?"

"I had some dreams with memories from when I was about five or four but I don't remember much. You won't put this in the article, right?"

Grace anxiously promised her that she won't tell a soul about it and pleaded Andy to continue.

"Well, I realized I understand russian and I had a strange feeling when I saw a picture of one of the people who lost thier children in the accident. I went to visit her today but I didn't found out anything new neither did I feel any dfferent."

"Who?" Grace was practically bouncing in her seat.

"Vera Kalchik"

"Oh" Grace sounded rather disappointed.

Andy was quite confused over her response.

"Oh? I thought you'd be more excited about it."

Grace sighed disapprovingly.

" Well I am about you being possibly one of the kids but you can't be Vera's daugther because they found her body in the next few days after the accident in the lake"

"Oh that poor kid. Wait did you say lake?"

"Yes, why?"

Andy remembered one of her dreams in which she was drowning in the lake. She told Grace about it and this time her reaction was more intense.

"The rumor is that the children tried to escape something or someone so they jumped in the lake. Some of them drowned. You just might be one of the survivors."

They continued talking about the details and then it was so late that Grace had to leave. Before she left she gave Andy a big warm hug. And Andy felt like she finally had a friend too.


This chapter was really long and I'm glad you read it till the end.

Follow the story if you want to read the next chapter.