Multiverse of Magic & Mistakes (Completed)

1.2.14 Chapter 14

Bath, UK, Earth, August 2019.

Several more weeks went by in a flurry of work and summer sun, and Lily's concern over her best friend grew, not diminished over time. She tried calling and messaging Vi daily and checking all her social media accounts. The calls did not connect, the messages were all left unread. Vi's once-active social media pages remained un-updated. Which did not fit someone who was supposed to be having an amazing summer travelling.

Lily asked Matilda every time they met up at the pool or the Rainbow Roast quiz nights, but Matilda was unconcerned, her eyes would glaze over, she would stare into space and then repeat a line to Lily about being sure that Violet was having an amazing summer, and was too busy travelling and working to contact them, or update her socials. The more times Matilda repeated the same phrase, the more worried Lily was. It was like her friend had been brainwashed or mesmerised, and even more strange, the phrase was almost word-for-word, exactly what Vi had written in that strange letter. Could the letter have somehow brainwashed Mattie and the Talloways? If so, why had it not worked on her? Was she making this all up, mixing up sci-fi and fantasy concepts with reality?

The day after meeting Vi's parents, Lily had headed into Gulliver's Travel Agency, to speak to Vi's boss. She just had to know, had to hear it straight from Mr G's lips that he had sent seventeen-year-old Vi out across Europe alone. It has been a brief conversation that had gone down remarkably like the one with Edward and Harriet.

"Excuse me, sorry, I'm looking for my friend from school. I believe she works here. Violet Talloway?"

"Oh, yes, Violet!" Gulliver's eyes also took on that milky far-away look "Violet is not here, she is in Europe visiting some new hotels that we are partnering with, producing promotional content. I'm sure she is very busy working and also having an amazing time travelling! Sorry, I'm not able to give you any more details."

Lily had then tried reporting Violet as missing to the local police, but that went nowhere. The officers spoke to Vi's parents and boss, and with the same glazed look on their faces repeated the story about Violet having gone travelling.

Which left Lily stuck for what else to do. Her only lead was that boy Vi had seen.

Almost every day, Lily would head to Henrietta Park, to see if she could spot any boys with blue-grey hair. She kept an eye out whenever she went into town. She tried to subtly check out every customer that entered the café. She had spent countless hours scrolling through social media, looking at friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends, seeing if she could find anyone who might be the boy Vi met. None of them looked promising. Olly Stone had recently dyed his hair a bright, fake blue, and the tall and muscly sixth-former, would not be described as a 'boy'. Whoever it was, they appeared not to have a social media presence, or at least one Lily could find.

She ended up meeting the boy when she was not actively looking out for him. Lily had decided that it was time to pay Harriet and Edward Talloway another visit. Their oddly emotionless demeanour, when asked about their daughter, had terrified her. And after Matilda's repeated use of the same phrases, Gulliver's glazed-over look and his use of nearly the exact same words, Lily decided that she just had to meet with Vi's parents again. She needed to see if they were OK and to see how they would respond to her questions again.

It was another wonderful sunny afternoon. Lily's recently re-dyed red hair shone as it dried in the afternoon breeze as she made her way up to Henrietta Street toward the familiar number 64. She was enjoying the warmth of the sun on her bare legs and arms after the cool water of the lido, thinking about her excuse to the Talloways. More borrowed books? Seeing if Vi was home now?