A Vision of Crows

Chapter 19 - A Happy Reunion

Meg woke up with a jolt, only to seek darkness around her. She looked around her surrounding until she heard Mr. Avci, who had been seated beside her, ask, "Are you alright?"

Then, she remembered. They had taken a taxi to Fenrir, where her parents had told her to wait for a family friend. There, she would take Cia with her and part ways with Mr. Avci. The price for a taxi to drive that distance was hefty, but since the driver didn't ask too many questions, she was willing to pay instead of risking taking public transportation.

She rubbed her back and replied, "I'm alright, just a little nightmare."

"What kind of nightmare?"

"It was just- ah, I forgot. Do you ever just get a strange feeling that something just bad happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just, ah never mind," she sighed. "I always knew that the world wasn't perfect, but this last week especially, I suppose you could say it has opened my eyes quite a bit. It's like, I no longer understand the world."

Mr. Avci fiddled with his watch and said, "When my mother died, I felt the same way you do, I think. I felt lost, and this watch was the only thing left of her, I remember she told me, 'Deniz, take this watch and go as far away from here as you can, until you find someone who can open it. I want you to be the one to escape.' And even, now, I still feel lost."

He chuckled nervously, "What I'm trying to say is that, well, it's alright to feel lost."

As much as she wanted him to elaborate, she still felt comforted by his words. She whispered, "Do you ever feel, just perhaps, that the real danger has just begun?"

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing."

On her other side, Cia and Nocht snored gently, and she couldn't help but pat the girl's head. She smiled softly, resting her head on Mr. Avci's shoulder as the car drove into the night.

Within an hour, the car finally arrived in Fenrir, and at the stop. Meg and Cia waved to Mr. Avci as he left.

He had insisted on paying for the whole trip, but Meg had managed to convince him to let her pay for half of it.

"Good luck, Miss Margaret," he smiled.

Meg returned the smile, "You too, Mr. Deniz."

He shut the door, and she watched as the car drove away. Cia tugged onto her sleeve, and asked, "will we see Mr. Deniz again?"

"Maybe."

The girl said nothing, but pouted a bit before Nocht began to rub against her face. She grabbed Meg's hand, "Let's go!"

The two of them walked a short distance until they finally reached the address her father had jolted down before she had left. In front of a café, there was an older woman knitting while she waited in front of a car. She lifted her head, then exclaimed, "Are you Margaret?"

Lora had been ecstatic the entire ride to her house, though she seemed mildly uncomfortable about Cia's presence, for she had not been aware of the extra girl. Once she opened the door to her house, she told Cia to wait in the living room before leading Meg to the basement where she happily announced Meg's arrival to her family.

Will was the first to greet her, hugging her with all the force that he could muster. Then her parents embraced her within their arms. They led her to a bed in the corner where Liza lay, drenched in the cold sweat of a never-ending fever.

Using the berries that Meg had brought back, her mother cooked up a broth, when was then promptly fed to Liza.

Liza's eyes fluttered open. Weakly, she sat up and turned to Meg. "You're back Meggie!" she murmured happily.

Celebrating her recovery, the family went upstairs where Cia was still waiting for Meg. She lifted her head before immediately lowering it. Astra looked at Meg, who quickly rushed to the girl's side. "Mum, father, I want you to meet Cia. I, well, I couldn't leave her behind, so now she'll part of our family!"

Damon raised his eyebrow at her, before he cheerfully clapped his hands together as he approached Cia, "Well, the more the merrier! Tell me, child, how did you come all the way here? You know, it doesn't matter, because you are now part of the family!"

He lifted the girl in the air while her mother and siblings smiled on the side, accepting Cia. In the kitchen, as their mother poured drinks, Liza realized that she had left her favorite bracelet in the basement and asked Meg to retrieve it for her. Their father placed his hand on her shoulder. "Meg's probably tired, "he said, "I'll go get it."

Meg thanked her father as he headed downstairs.

Damon O'Keefe was feeling happier than ever. His eldest child had returned, and his younger daughter had begun to recover. He hummed an old childhood tune as he walked down the stairs to the basement.

As he checked underneath Liza's bed for the bracelet, he noticed a small booklet, right next to Astra's cane. The cane had been inherited from her grandmother; it had been one of the few relics of her past.

Spotting the bracelet, he grabbed it, before glancing at the booklet. Curiosity winning the better of him, he reached for it too.

He sat on the bed and began to flip through the pages. It was a notebook, but the handwriting was one that he had never seen before and written in another language.

Damon closed the notebook instantly. Who did this belong to? He considered asking Astra, until he saw her at the entrance to the stairs. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she pointed at the notebook.

"Whose book is that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, I thought it was yours."

She shook her head, and gently took the notebook, "Then it must be Lora's. I'll go return it to her."

Holding the bracelet in his hand, Damon realized that he should probably go back upstairs, but something about the notebook still bothered him. When he returned to the kitchen, Astra and Meg were busy baking a cake. He saw Lora retreating to her room, the notebook in her hands. He took a deep breath as he stepped in. He held his hands as he smiled and announced, "I found the bracelet! Let's get this party started!"

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to mention the bloodied fingerprints in the book.