After the war

Chapter 18 : Millbury

Millbury was a quiet village almost forgotten in the countryside. The flowered gardens and balconies and the green grass gave an atmosphere of peace and silence which could sooth the most stressed person of the world. All the houses were built with stones, and none of them were like the other. Under the blue sky and the shy sun, Jane was enjoying the singing of the birds and the bright colors of the place. It was so different of Hawkins. Hawkins was dark with a thick fog everywhere. It was like if she entered another world.

She was walking on the cobbled road, looking at the buildings around her -people staring at her with a frown- when she saw a young woman with short red hair, around her age, smoking in front of a shop. Jane stopped in front of her and showed her the picture of her aunt.

- "Yeah? What do you want?" the other girl asked, blowing her smoke.

- "I just wanna be sure I didn't come here for nothing," Jane answered.

- "You're looking for her?"

- "Yes. She lives here?"

- "She does. Why are you looking for her?"

- "I just...need some help."

The other girl nodded and took another puff of her cigarette before saying:

- "Follow the canal. You can't see her house from the road, but you'll see tall trees and a dirt path. Follow it and she should be here."

- "Thank you," Jane said, putting the picture in her pocket again.

- "Hey. If you need new clothes, you know where to find me."

The girl looked with insistence to Jane's military outfit to make her understand it was time to change it. Jane nodded, gently waved, and continued her walking. She followed this girl's indication and found the path she was talking about. The small stone wall guided her to the big house at the end of it. A short woman with black hair was watering her flowers. She had changed, but Jane recognized her aunt. Jane slowly approached the woman, but her aunt started and grabbed a rifle from her flowers and pointed it at Jane.

Jane didn't fade. She had already been in a situation like that, and the people facing her had more reasons to shoot her than her aunt. Jane slowly dropped her bag and raised her hands. Cassandra walked to Jane, still pointing the rifle at Jane's head. Jane remained calm. She didn't want to stress her aunt or to show any form of threat which could convince her to use her rifle.

Cassandra had met too many militaries those last years to know they were not all trustable. No matter on which side they were. And being tired wasn't a guarantee of honesty. But...those tired brown eyes were not unknown by Cassandra. She frowned to look closely at them and remembered where she saw that small spark of softness. She lowered her rifle to say:

- "Jane?"

- "Hey, Cass'."

The aunt exhaled of surprise and joy before putting the rifle on the stone wall next to her and taking her niece in her arms for a tight hug. Jane felt a pleasant heat travelling her body, a reassuring heat which was telling her that she was okay now. She wasn't alone anymore.

- "Mom and dad are dead," Jane said, feeling her throat tightening.

- "I know. I'm sorry..."

Jane felt her heart tensing and made her fingers twitch on Cassandra's back before breaking down on her shoulder. She had never felt the need to cry about their death until now. Maybe having someone who could understand her pain was the initiator.

Cassandra tried to comfort Jane the best she could, rubbing her back and tightening the hug. All she could do was to let her free her tears now and talk about it after. But Cassandra noticed that Jane came here alone and wondered how many other people she had lost too.