Elaine
"These are pictures"
"I can see that"
"Why are these just pictures?"I scroll down, overwhelming emotions clouding me as I clicked on each one. They were so many of them. From their wedding to my fisrt day of kindergarten. It was like a portfolio which revived so many dead memories. As much as I was carried away by the hurricane of retired time and afflicted bliss. My heart was still disappointed over the fact that I was back to square one. With no clue or hint to lead a way.
"Were they suppose to be something else?" Nathan said as he patiently sat beside me on the rug, our back leaning against the foot of our bed. We've been like this from the past fifteen minutes or so and yet we're not half way done through the media the drive had garnered for years.
When I nodded unconsciously biting on my finger nails, he softly grabbed my wrist with a warning look when I looked at him.
"Like what?"he asked when I zoomed in a portrait of my Mother's opera performance. Her lips curled Into a graceful smile as her features were accentuated by the stage light, no word could justify the beauty she was.
"I don't know. Something that could lead me closer or give me a gist of my parents past lives" internally groaning with the caged sense of helplessness and infuriating forlorn I closed my eyes, very well aware of how much vulnerable I was in front of him now.
"Is that even necessary? You had known them for eleven years. what could you possibly not know about them." His voice held a thread of confusion with intrusiveness.
"That's the problem, I think I know them but there's this itch which had always been in my head after they died." I cast him a glace through my lashes as my fist curls up with a strong desire to punch something. Funny how a dead end and breaking point of distress could cause a person to unreveal the secrets and prospects they had been keeping from people their whole lives. For me it was tonight. I could feel the patience curdling in me.
"Itch like?"
"Like there's a missing puzzle or lost frontier about them which led to their death"
"What do you mean by that?"
"My parent's, their imprint that they ever existed vanished along with them passing away." gesturing my hands in air, I tried to make him understand. There was no way I could make him perceive my situation or what I am upto and be discreet about it equally.
"How do you know that?" His lips puckered on corner as if he was strained he asks, but I could also feel the concern in his warm brown eyes as he watches me intently, watches me loose my shit.
"I learned to snoop around on people's private lives from you for a reason" I looked away from him feeling the shame hiking up over my past actions. I know I did some mistakes in past, but one being judging Nathan for his gullible persona to be overbearing. Now that I know him, I wish we could've been friends earlier than we gave ourselves a chance.
"You saw my medical files when you sorted out your Mother's cabinet didn't you?"he nods mechanically as I continued when I felt him wait for me to catch up on my breath as I realized I had spaced out. He said nothing but neither was his demeanour judgemental or accusatory.
"I believe in those nasty depressing pages somewhere in between my parents death must've been mentioned" he stiffened at my words, his mouth opening to say something but I cut him off.
"What were they?"
"Accident" his answer came few hesitant second later. But tonight if I am going to tell him everything, It's me who needs to be strong.
"Specify"
"Drowning. The car skidded out of the road , over a slanted ridge, it tumbled down the river. You were found unconscious on the river bed the next day. But -but your parents couldn't make it" he watched me with unreadable expression as he blurted on what he knew, but I know better than to accept his calm posture to be in difference over my condition. He was trying to be strong for me. And I was grateful for that.
"Is that all?"
"Yes"
"What was I expecting them to do? Add on my hallucinations?"I muttered under my breath, chuckling humorlessly already feeling sick.
"What did you say?"he asks me as if I was a fragile piece of glass that would break if he was too harsh. I know he heard what I said.
"It's just half the story, the one they could prove. The other side, which I know is painfully real is something they wouldn't believe in." I said clearing my throat, making myself small as I felt the time nearing. This is it.
"El, you need to be more accurate. Stop beating around the bush and tell me what it is. I think it's time I have my questions answered. Just because I don't ask them, it doesn't mean I don't think about it" divergent to his balanced tone I saw his crumbling mask of nonchalant act. I've always known deep down that I can't do this on my own. I needed some one and Nathan could be it. So I tell him, every last thing and detail I could as I relived that night again. Torturously hurtful for me but a lineage closure for him.
I felt the metallic taste of blood pooling over my tongue as I dug my teeth onto the lower lip to keep myself from screaming.
It was silent, too numb after I had heard the screams of my mother.
I could hear footsteps in the room as I brought my knees closer to my chest, the wardrobe was dark enough to hide me, but my relief was short lived when I felt hurried footsteps in my direction.
I clasped my eyes shut, shrinking it to the point of hurting my lids. When the door cracks ajar I let out a whimper.
"It's okay sweety, its me" a loud gasp leaves my mouth as I open my eyes to see my dad crouched to level his face with mine. Immediately he pulls me into a hug as I cried on his shoulder.
"Now listen to me carfully , don't make a sound. We need to leave this house now. Okay" I nod still snuggled to his neck as he carries me out bridal style and strides out the room fast, but making sure his steps were reticent.
He rounded the staircase falling on steps, now faster than before and thats when I saw it.
"Dad" i swiveled as my gaze was hooked to the black silhouette of man lying on his own puddle of blood by the Scattered broken pieces of glasses from the window. It was dark but enough streaks of moon light and street luminous seeped in through the screen frames for me be substantiate that the man was dead.
"Shh, it's okay. Don't look at it" he whispered angling me so that I faced the other way. But I knew what I saw was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
I closed my eyes to scared of what I might possibly see again, I refused to open them until I felt the breeze under the open night sky on my skin.
We were out.
Dad placed me on my feet, I took on a run when I saw Mom on the driving seat of our car on the drive way .
"Are you alright Elzi?" her concerned filled eyes scans my visage, as she breaths in relief as soon as she noticed me beeline towards her, I nodded tears of solace falling freely upon my cheeks on seeing her.
Dad was by my side as he motioned me to the back passenger seat, after fastening the seat belt he leaned in to kiss my forehead.
"Dad? What's going on?" I ask shivering internally praying silently for this all to turn up a disillusioned nighmare.
"Everythings going to be okay sweety, just try to get some sleep while we drive. we have a long journey ahead" though it wasn't the answer I expected, I nodded as he sat shotgun while Mom drove in silence.
"Pick up the phone dammit" for wee hours of night we were way past the city on some deserted road when I heard my Dad curse mildly while trying to make call to someone.
But on the other hand my Mom acted strangely silent for her situation. I peered at her side to see her knuckles turning pale on the wheel while she took calculated breaths from her mouth.
"Mom?" I called her when there was no answer both Dad and I looked at her,
"MOM!" I exclaimed when I traced a trail of thick blood sneaking out of her ears. Her eyes now drooping.
She's hurt!
Dad's eyes widens with realization but before we could act upon it we were already falling off coast.
The sounds and screams drowned with each jab of pain shooting through my body until we were drowning.
Literally, as the car flooded with water wadding in like syrup.
Making it hard to breath, and harder to stay alive.
As I finished I looked at Nathan mustering up some patience and ignoring the ache.
After a thick prolonged contemplated silence he asked not bothering to hide his disturbed and appalled nature. He even looked angry.
"But -how did? Why did they call it an accident when there was an intruder involved?"
"Because FBI has better things to do than work on a case involving a common bank accountant and a musical tutor in uni, that and they thought I was crazy" I say taking a subaqueous intake of breath, in an attempt to fence the emotions from fogging my utterance.
"Why would they even think that?"he asks the his words thick with proding skepticism divirted towards the latter.
I blinked at him and soon found myself sinking back to the episode that took place after I was conscious.
I woke up four days back, with three broken ribs, a dislocated arm, internal bleeding in lungs and a big concussion. It was more gruesome to know if you have fair idea of human anatomy like me. The whole candid image of what my body was going through was quite disturbing.
But what was more disconcerting was the fact that I slept for almost a month. They called it medical induced coma.
My eyes were sore and heavy from drugs, not from crying. I was too numb to feel it. They had told me yesterday, about my parents.
I listened, heard them disclose the information expecting tantrums, shouts and wails of protest. But I did none. They left when I told them to go.
But today morning I had an officer with some queries to persuade me into some talk, he seem shocked when I metioned if the intruder was found.
He had me recall all the details of the night. Mechanically I did without much of a turbulence. He went and I was left alone.
The clock on the white tiled walls read 7.45 pm. I directed a glare at it with hostility, wishing my time could end right now.
The door to my room opened, expecting a nurse with enough enthusiasm of a slug I groaned internally, but to my surprise it was a tall man with broad built accompanied by the officer who accounted me this morning.
"How are you Elzina? I am Mr. Matthews who has been appointed for the case involving the accident" he gives me a practiced smile as he takes a seat beside my bed.
"You're an FBI agent" I state, reading the badge across his chest.
"Really smart and observant I see. All as I heard before" still keeping up the act he says.
"Were they found?" I cut to the core, I frown when his features becomes serious all of a sudden.
"We took into account of what you said Elzina. A team of our best forensics and search party led by me had been to your house and the sight of incident" he paused as I impatiently waited for him to continue.
"There was no break in"
"What?"
He hardly budges as I exclaim, as if he goes through this on daily basis.
"There's was no forced entry and neither was a glitch in security footage that we found. The home was in mint condition." He glaces at me with pity filled eyes "there's one possibility of why you think that events from night as such took palce. You are a smart kid Elzina, more than any other child of your age could be or even adults in regards. You may have heard about PTSD and aftermaths of concussion and guilt related to accident might cause the victims to hallucinate th-
"You thing I am crazy?" My chest was heaving up in anger as I seeth.
"No dear, we're trying to help you understand-"
"Just because you can't solve a damn case you blame it on me?" I scream trying to sit up wincing in pain.
He gives me a sympathetic look helping me to an adaptable position.
"I am sorry, but we can't keep the case open unless we have a strong evidence" I kept quiet biting my lips refusing to meet his eyes.
"Is there any other thing you need help with, please tell me. I have a daughter of your age too and I know what it would feel like to lose her or the other way around" he softly pats my back as I gave him a blank stare.
"You want to help me?"
"With Anything that I possibly could"
"I want a new identity"
The dread nipped at my skin like it did that day. A thick blanket of silence fell across the room until I lifted it off.
"You see, that's what happend. There was no evidence of someone breaking in, let alone a dead body. The last straw was the security footage which showed nothing. It just means two things_ either I was crazy to hallucinate such events which I am sure I did not, and the other is-"
"Someone else was involved in this who cleared up after you left" he completed for me. His stance that of a stark intellectuality. Connecting dots he went on.
"And your Mother was prepared for such intrusion which leads to the conclusion that they were aware." I nodded as he paused to look at me for confirmation, but what he said next angered me a little. "Are sure the man you saw was dead?"
"What? Now you think I am mentally unstable too?" I hiss, disbelief surging in as I felt him frown at me.
"Now why would you accuse me of such thing?"he asked his shoulders shrinking up on his side as he narrowed his eyes at me.
With a sarcastic grimce I waved at him "It's fine. Everybody eventually does-"
"Will you shut up for a second. I trust you and every word of what you just said. Nothing, no medical analogies or anyone is going to change that. understood?" He grabbed my shoulders, giving it a stiff shake for effect.
"Okay" I nodded out of breath, hairs falling on my face, but genuinely relaxed from inside at what he said.
"Now let's get back to scan these images maybe we could find something in there" we sat back to resume our previous task, but this time it was Nathan who was so engrossed and devoted to it that a sad smile made it's way to my lips. Internally I was glad he didn't wasted time expressing his shock, though it was kind of evident with his intense posture with tight jaws and hefty frown. But I was more grateful over the fact that he dived directly into something which I thought should only concern me. He didn't pity me. He was with me.
Suddenly my gaze travelled to an image of hospital were my Dad held an infant body of mine with mom by his side bed, boring a tired but love filled smile towards me. But my whole attention was focused on the young man leaning behind my father to have a look at me, or should I say the baby.
"Stop"
"What is it?"
"Him, that man." I said with my index finger directed at the man who had a broad smile on his angular face, his black curly hairs cropped and young but still the same eyes and dimples that I saw months back. "He's Alex's fathers Attorney. I knew I had seen him before"
He Magnified the image to the man's face "Really? By the looks of it he looks quite close to your father And you never mentioned that you were born in Orlando. I always thought you were born and brought up in Seattle" he said rubbing both of his hands as the cold night air seeped through the open window.
"Because I was" I said frowning at him before going back to the screen.
"The Logo on the hospital bed." He said motioning towards the red plus sign followed by the rhythmic pattern of heart beat on the headboard of the bed my Mother had rested her back on "That's from one of the finest healthcare chain in Orlando. I can prove it to you If you want"
For once I felt confident enough to verify him that he was wrong, may be Seattle had the same brach of hospital from the city. But I know were I was born and to confirm that I got up from my spot dusting my clothes "You don't have to do that, I can show you my birth certificate"
I rummaged through the files in my wardrobe I finally found what I had been looking for. I went to my desk tugging in the lamp for a clear view as Nathan walks over with his phone flashing brightly.
"See" I show him, not even bothering to look at it. His features contorts that of confusion and then of pity as he looks at me.
"El" he breaths, frenzied I follow his line of vision. He had kept his phone with the information of the hospital that was in the image and my certificate side by side and-
The logos,
They don't match.
Neither do their names.
"El? Are you alright?"he asks as my body froze. Stoned and rooted to the ground.
"I need to go"
"Go where?"
"This city, it has answers. I need to go Nathan. Not after being aware how terribly I've been lied to my face most of my life, I can't sit back knowing there are people out there who could possibly know what happend that night, or at the least help me understand what my parents really were like" I almost scream inside my head as tears stung over my eyes.
"I understand El. But you are not eighteen yet. I don't think Diana will allo-"
"Then we find a way, I don't care how, but we have to. Please, I am begging you to help me out here" I grab his hands with both of mine, he silently nods but says nothing.
For a long time he contemplates about what i said until a flash of light fills his eyes, and when he saw that I had grasped on it, it goes off as fast as it came.
"you've got something to say?"I ask narowing my eyes at him.
"No, it's useless And stupid, really"
"Tell me"
He tries to dodge my protests and after ample amount of tries he gives in sighing "I thought if you received some scholarship from a reputed school, just maybe Diana would compromise considering it to be a path for your bright future"
"And which reputed school do you exactly think will allow a student that to in a scholarship to barge into their system right in the middle of school year?" I shake my head, weighing the impossible probability of such thing to take place. My heart heart falling like a stone in water with each second until -
"I know a place were I can pull some strings in" he looks sick with the idea itself, but he also realizes what it means to me. Which is far more important than some illegal card we might need to play for a better cause.
"A place like what?" I ask dauntingly with my chin raised up in the air, that is until he gives me a mock smile, something about it warned me that I won't be appreciating what's going to come out of his mouth next.
"Not exactly a place. More of a hell disguised as Heaven. We call it Stuart Academy for gifted Elites"
***