If I Found Finn (#Wattys2015)

eleven/ empty

Later on Bas had disappeared to god-knows-where, leaving me on the couch in a too quiet house. Finally the silence proved to be too much. I got up and decided to go to the bathroom, even if there was no real purpose to do so.

I counted the soft footsteps of my sock clad feet against the dark wood floors.

Gosh, the house had never seemed so empty before.

As I stepped into the barely lit hallway and reached towards the silver doorknob of the restroom, I glanced wearily down farther along the hall. The door all the way to the end was slightly ajar.

Don't do this to yourself.

My hand spasmed for a second, unsure of what do to. An unnecessary lump formed in my throat.

Like my body understood what to do better than my mind, I found myself at the other end of the hall, in front of a room I didn't think I would be seeing for a very long time.

You can still turn back.

Gingerly, I pushed the door, holding it slightly. His room looked practically the same. Expect for the fact it didn't.

What laid in front of me felt like a crime scene. A wrapper strewn like it was meant to be there, calculated at the right angles and degrees. Books laid out in stacks, never to be finished. The bed, unmade.

The navy curtains were pushed together, giving the room a soft eerie glow. I felt like an observer, more than anything, a viewer sitting in a cinema awaiting the next scene. But there wasn't anything to wait for.

The only thing that seemed odd was the night stand by the bed. The bottom drawer had been slightly open. Making my way from the door frame, I stepped around stack of books, didn't bother to put the wrapper in the trash can, and made a point not to sit on the bed.

I bent down to close the bottom drawer shut. Instead it just stayed put. Thinking I didn't shove hard enough, I tried again. It remained open.

Mildly annoyed, I sat on the floor trying to figure out why the stupid drawer wouldn't close. My answer was a rectangular figure wedged in the back. Using the light of my phone, I maneuvered my arm to get whatever was in there out. When my fingers were able to grab onto the object, I sighed in relief and put it beside me. It's a small box, thinly shaped and tied with string. Assuming it's nothing, I didn't think much of it.

That was until I read the messy scrawl on the top of it.

I assume this Fiona reading this because she cannot control herself around slightly open drawers and such things. But if it isn't, please give it to her, it's very important. Best of wishes.

-Finn