Tales of Gloomsdale #1: The Hidden Attic

Chapter Eleven

At least, he thought it was. He had no idea what she looked like, but he had gotten a pretty good idea of her just from reading the desperate letters in her untidy, childlike handwriting. As opposed to the unhappy somberness displayed in the letters, she had a wide, happy smile on her face. Her reddish brown hair was in braids against the sides of her face, similar to the ones Willow wore on her first day of school, and her brown eyes glistened with relaxed happiness not shown in the letters. Her skin was lighter than Willow's, but darker than Matt's.

"The stepdaughter," Matt muttered.

Willow stared at him. "Huh?"

"Nothing," Matt said quickly. He tried to force the thoughts out of his mind, but he couldn't forget what Kyle had told him. It all fit perfectly. The stepdaughter who was left in the house after her mother married the mayor...

"She's so pretty." Willow gazed over Matt's shoulder. "And she looks happy."

"Happier than she was most of the time," Matt quipped, gazing at the letter where she wrote about running away. He could understand how she felt. He felt like running away sometimes as well. He still hadn't fully adjusted to his new town, especially after hearing the rumors and remembering his friends back home.

He jumped as he suddenly noticed something at the bottom of the photo, around her neck. It was a deep bronze that went nicely with her light brown skin, but something near the bottom caught Matt's attention. A glistening, blue jewel.

Matt dropped the photo in surprise. Willow picked it up while Matt aimed his flashlight down to the bottom. The jewel seemed to glow in the piercing light, and even without it. The light also helped him make out the cracks and flaking in the necklace she wore.

"Willow..." Matt muttered. "Did you see that?"

"She kind of looks like if your mom and my dad had a kid together," Willow suddenly said.

Matt glanced up to make a disgusted face at the thought, momentarily distracted. "Are you serious?"

But he could see what she meant. The girl really did look like that, except for her hair color. He remembered how Kyle had said she had brothers and sisters who didn't look anything like her. Like him and Willow...

Then he returned his attention to the necklace, reaching out his hand to lightly touch the section in the photo.

Willow followed his gaze, her mouth dropping open as she realized as well. As she turned over the photo, they were both surprised to see writing on the other side. The same messy writing as the letters.

I know you think I threw away the necklace you got me, but I didn't. It's pretty, even if I don't like jewellery. I tried it on to make you happy. I look kind of pretty in it, don't you think, Mama? But not as beautiful as you would be. It's too bad he never buys presents for you. Not like Father used to.

Willow exchanged glances with Matt. "The necklace... it's still down there. What if Cal sees it?"

"If he did, he'd probably smash it to pieces," Matt remarked. As Willow wrung her hair in her hands, Matt quickly added, "Don't worry. I slipped it under the bed. He shouldn't find it... probably." Willow relaxed slightly. "But I don't think we should keep it. Or anything that used to belong to the family who lived here."

"But she's not around anymore," Willow pointed out. "None of them are. What difference does it make if we keep their things around? It's not like they can use them again."

"It still feels wrong," Matt argued. "But I guess I can't return the knife. I gave that to your dad."

"He was saying he had a new carving knife," Willow admitted. "And I used the needle to sew, even if I didn't go a good job. I pricked myself more times than I can count. Your mom was very patient with me."