Triallaire

Ghosts

March 2165

Aberdalgie, Scotland

ELTON POV

Late at night, Elton sat up on his computer with a drafting app open designing a more efficient machine for milking the goats when all of a sudden, he heard the sounds of loud moans and grunts. Glancing at the door, he let out a heavy sigh, then grabbed his earbuds and stuck them in his ears, selecting a Cat Stevens album and turning up the volume loud enough so he couldn't hear those sounds anymore. That was one of the downsides to being the only hearing member of a deaf family - if anyone was having sex, no one else knew about it but Elton.

I'm lookin' for a hard-headed woman...

One who'll take me for myself.

And if I find my hard-headed woman,

I won't need anybody else, no! No! No!

He glanced briefly at the notecard that Maevis Fowlis had given him two months before, which had become obscured by blueprints of designs he'd made for a new barn. He slid it out from under the blueprints and picked it up to look at it, reading it:

Meta - Ellie Murray (Maevis Fowlis)

Email - emurray68@students.princetonunj.edu

Ellie Murray... She'd said it was the name she was given when she was sent to America. Elton had had friends who were sent to America and came back after the war, and they never had to change their names, so why did she? Then he remembered that she also mentioned their mother - no, her mother - was Catrìona Fowlis, the war hero. Opening Safari on his phone, he searched 'Catrìona Fowlis' and came up with a few pictures, but the most remarkable was the one of her when she was younger. She was identical to Maevis - well, it was obvious that she was Maevis's mother, but that didn't mean that she was his. However, there were some features that did kind of look like his... Her nose was a little like his, as was her brow. Scrolling down a little, he came across a picture of a man - Archie Fowlis, father to Catrìona Fowlis. Now, he looked a bit more like Elton - perhaps it was because Elton was a man, just like Archie Fowlis. He closed out Safari, then went on Meta and typed in 'Ellie Murray'. A lot came up, so he cleared the search bar and typed in 'Maevis Fowlis' - and there she was. He clicked on her profile and read it:

Maevis Fowlis (Ellie Murray)

Studies Biomedical Sciences at Princeton University

Went to West Windsor-Plainsboro High School

From Castlebay, Eilean Siar, Scotland

Lives in Princeton, New Jersey

Elton let out a soft sigh, then clicked on the 'message' feature. He glanced up at the clock - it was nearly two in the morning, meaning it was likely around six or seven where she was. After taking a deep breath, he typed into the message bar:

'Hey.'

And then he waited. And waited. What for, he wondered? She was probably asleep, and besides, he hadn't exactly been the nicest to her, so why would she want to talk to him? God, this was stupid. He should just delete the message and-

'Hey! What's up?'

Oh. She messaged him back. So she is awake. Well, she was a student so she probably would be for class and shit, something Elton never bothered with. Suddenly, he felt very warm and nervous - Why? He'd met her already, why was he all freaked out? Letting out a shaky breath, he typed back to her.