A Forsaken path

Chapter 2

"Annabella! Oh my little girl, how have you been?" Ari's mom asked as she scooped me into a big hug. "I've been good. How's grandma? Is she going to be fine?" i managed to ask while i was having the life squeezed out of me. Mrs Bennett's hugs were so......so......so tight. She released me and then gave me a sad smile. "She's going to be fine but it looks like the Alzheimer's has completely taken over her brain. It's so sad. I feel as though she's already gone." tears clouded her eyes but she didn't let them drop. I didn't know what to say. Where were Frederick and Ari?. I thought the moment of silence would never end when Ari's mom sat down and said, "It's okay, Anne. I know how you feel. Oh how much my mother loved you and Ari. Come on, You should go get Ari. She's in my bedroom doing only God knows what." Ari's mom was wrong, she didn't know how i felt. I felt horrible. Ari's grandma was my one and only grandmother. She always looked out for me, made me the prettiest dresses and took me to church on Sundays. She would tell Ari and me the most amazing stories. I nodded my head. I would miss her dearly. "I feel horrible. I thought she was going to be fine. Grandma wasn't so bad when she left." I voiced out my thoughts. "You're right. Maybe we shouldn't have sent her to the home. It doesn't seem to have helped." Ari's mom answered. She got up and held my back. "You don't have to feel horrible. Grandma is Grandma. We can't have her forever. We don't know that staying here would have helped. Go up and get Ari out of my room. We can have this conversation later."

"Okay, Just please tell her I love her when next you speak to her?" Ari's mom answered with a nod and a smile. I dashed up the stairs to find Ari. Frederick had headed for the attic the moment we got here, to get the book. We had to hang out in the shed today because Ari's mom was back. We didn't want her finding out about our little discovery and withholding it's content from us. The stairwell in Ari's house was spiral. Ari's house was one of the most beautiful ones in our town. It was also quite big. Her father had bought them the house before his demise. Ari was just twelve when she lost him. I could only imagine how she felt hearing about grandma's condition. Poor Ari. The stairwell led into a huge corridor with several large paintings on the wall. Some of the painting's were of family members and some of famous artists. Ari's dad was a terrific painter, but there was a separate room downstairs for his work. Ari's mom would show it off to all of the visitors they had after Ari's dad's death. I always followed on each tour while i was there. I found his work fascinating. A lot of his paintings exhibited the beauty of nature. Some of them were extraordinary. A particular collection was titled "The human soul." That particular collection always had me enchanted. The corridor ran to opposite sides of the stairwell. There was a large living room upstairs where we were restrained to hanging out in as kids. Ari's room was to the right. I always admired the house when I was in it. The white walls and beautiful ceilings. The lights which did so much in illuminating the beauty of the house hung from the ceilings in chandeliers.

Frederick appeared in front of me, Bumping into me. "I'm so sorry." We said in unison as he bent down to pick up the backpack that had fallen during our collision. "Yeah, have you seen Ari?" I asked. "No, I've been attending to other things. Where are you going? I thought you were going to get her?" Frederick said as he scooped the book back into the back and stood back up. Frederick could be such a muggins so I asked, "Frederick? Did you go snooping in the book in our absence?". He mused before answering me. "Not exactly. I'm sorry. I was drawn." He said. I smiled. He wasn't drawn, curiosity got the better of him. He looked so nervous. "I really don't care Frederick and i promise not to tell Ari." Now he smiled. "Thanks, I'll be in the shed, don't be long." Frederick headed down the stairs for the shed. "Do you guys want some Oatmeal cookies?" Ari's mom shouted from the bottom of the stairs. We couldn't risk having her walk in on us in the shed. "Sure ma." We couldn't risk her getting suspicious either. I finally headed for the largest room in the house, Ari's moms. It was about half my entire house. I opened the door quietly and called for Ari. No reply. I looked in the breakfast room, the closet, the inner closet,underneath the covers, the bathroom, even the pool room I couldn't find Ari. "I'm here." I heard. I looked round, still no Ari. "Behind the curtains dimwit." Ohh I had forgotten about that spot. The little bed behind curtains. "Ariii! let's go down, Frederick is waiting. I have to be home soon" I said as soon as i opened the curtain. No response. "Ariii!" I shook her.