Children's Games: A Story of Modern Consequence

Chapter 46

~Emilia~

Emilia stood at the edge of the town square waiting for the remaining two elders to appear for the announcements. It was the first time that Emilia had been back to listen since her second day in Fimiston. She looked over at Anna. Mary. Mary had a whole different personality than Anna now. She was almost nervous and blended in with the scepticism of the other people surrounding them, shocked at the rumours.

Elizabeth and Edward strode from the large double doors of the council buildings and entered the balcony like it was a stage. Their white robes bellowed behind them in the harsh wind like forces to be reckoned with. But there was a stiffness to their backs and a sag to their shoulders as they spoke to what seemed like the whole of Fimiston.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" came Edward's booming voice set a little too high on the loudspeakers. There was a solemn undertone to his voice that silenced the entire crowd. "Thank you for coming to these last-minute announcements. Unfortunately, the tragic rumours are true."

There was a wave of gasps and noises of despair as the news seemed to choke at the people's throats. Emilia could feel it as everyone started moving; whether to start walking away to hide the panic or turning to the person next to them to cry openly.

"Our dear Victoria was found this morning in her home, having had passed peacefully in her sleep. I know that all of our hearts will be with her and her family over these next few weeks, and I urge all of you to reach out to the people that you love, especially our dear elderly."

They invited everyone to join them the next day for a ceremony to send her spirit free, where everyone would be welcome to share some words of farewell. There would be complimentary food and drinks to aid the funeral through each prayer and support available for anyone who felt lost without Victoria. They apologised briefly for George's absence and told a short tale about how the elder was unwell as he struggled to mourn the unexpected death of his friend.

"Why didn't they mention George?"

Mary sighed before she answered as they struggled to move through the crowd, still half frozen as they processed the information. "Since his body has disappeared, they can't confirm that he is dead, just missing. They wouldn't want to release what they're not a hundred percent sure about. Plus, revealing that another elder, another council leader, has been 'misplaced'... well it would set these people over the edge."

You almost sound sincere.

Everyone around them was completely distraught. It was Emilia's understanding that Victoria had been an image of the mother, in spirit and in her leadership of the small city. She had been advocating for the support of appropriate healthcare all throughout her time in the council, and she was the head of nursing in the main hospital. She was close to everyone's hearts, and her death hit home for a lot of people that day. The sunny, warm day did not match the mood of the people and did nothing to mask the mass of people openly weeping.

Victoria definitely did seem motherly and sweet for the few minutes that they interacted amicably. She had helped them after all, which saved them from either a painful evening, or drawing too much attention at that party. Joshua had been perfectly polite to her, and Emilia felt bad that she hadn't reciprocated the same courtesies.

Emilia and Mary were walking side by side, but a large group stood crowding the middle of the road. Emilia led them to the left, but suddenly realised that Mary was no longer beside her. She caught sight of her friend's blonde hair going the other way around the small crowd- then someone stepped directly in front of her. At the last second, she stopped in her tracks as to not collide with the scary man in the military uniform.