Hiding in Daylight

Chapter 6

"Why is it so late again already?", Lena cursed as she shut the motor of the car in her driveway. She got out and hurried up, and as she pushed open the front door, a comfort enveloped her. The familiar and unique scent that only one's own home could provide, greeted her senses. Additionally she recognized the aroma of something delicious cooking in the kitchen. She smiled, as all the stresses of her day momentarily fell off of her.

"Mommy's home!" called out an excited voice from the living room down the hall. Lena's heart swelled as she saw her daughter Lily, running toward her with arms outstretched. She dropped her bag and scooped the little girl up into her arms, showering her with kisses.

"Hey there, how was your day? Did you have fun in school?" Lena said, her voice filled with love. Her daughter giggled and hugged her tightly before wriggling out of her arms and answered: "It was good mama! Our math teacher was sick and I could draw something. Oh and Tina played with me during the breaks! Mama, can I play some video games? I did all my homework and even helped papa earlier in the garden. Can I, please?"

Lena smiled, "Sure honey, sounds like you finished your chores for today." With a joyful cheer her daughter ran back into the living room, to which she followed her.
As she entered she looked around for her husband, only to find him in the kitchen, wearing an apron and humming to himself as he chopped vegetables. The sight of him, so at ease and content, helped her to relax even more.

"Hey, you," Maik said, turning to greet her with a smile that revealed his chipped front tooth. "How was your day?" Lena walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss, before she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. "Long," she admitted, exhaling softly.

Maik put his arms around her, watching his greasy hands didn't touch her clothing and squeezed her gently, before he kissed the top of her head. "Well now you're home. Dinner will be ready soon, so why don't you change and lay back now."
Lena pulled back to look at the shining kitchen. "You've been busy today, haven't you? Everything looks great."

He grinned proudly. "Yeah, I figured since I'm working from home, I could just clean the house and have everything finished when you are back. Lily also helped."
She felt a surge of gratitude and was close to crying. "I love you. You're amazing, you know that?"

He shrugged, a bashful smile on his lips. "Just trying to help out. Isn't that what partners do?" With a smile Lena gave him another kiss, before hurrying up to switch into something more comfortable.

As Lena sat at the dinner table, her mind kept drifting back to the articles Oliver had shown her earlier that day. Despite her best efforts to push them aside and focus on the present moment with her family, she found herself unable to shake the nagging sense of curiosity and unease they had sparked within her.
Between bites of food they chattered about their day. Maik was retelling a meeting he had with a client earlier that day, but Lena couldn't fully engage with him; her thoughts kept wandering back to the articles and the questions they had stirred in her mind.

"Maybe there is some gang activity and the officials are trying to keep everything under covers to avoid panic. But is it then safe for Lily? Maybe I should consider driving her to school from now on, not to imagine what I would do if she got kidnapped or something else happened to her."

A shiver ran down her spine as she considered the possibilities. Part of her wanted to delve deeper into the articles, to research and explore the strange phenomena they described.
Lost in her thoughts, Lena barely noticed when Maik reached across the table to gently squeeze her hand, his concerned gaze meeting hers. Startled, Lena looked up and noticed her daughter had already left the table.

"Hey, you seem to be lost in thought," he said softly. "Is everything okay? How was your meeting with Oliver?"
Lena forced a smile, trying to push aside her inner turmoil. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, I guess."

Mike studied her for a moment, "So everything is alright with Oliver?" "Yeah he is doing alright. You know how he is, he likes to complain but then proceeds to tell you he recently had an affair with some foreign prince." 

Lena hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words. "It's those articles Oliver showed me today... about strange phenomena. They've been bothering me, and I can't seem to shake the feeling that there's something... I don't know, unsettling about them."

Her husband listened attentively, his brow furrowing in thought. "I understand, it's only natural to feel unsettled when you are bombarded with information. But remember, those articles are just stories. There could be countless explanations for the phenomena they describe, most of which are probably perfectly ordinary. But if you pile everything up, our brain just looks for patterns, and if we don't find any it makes them up."

Lena nodded, grateful for his reassurance but still unable to shake the sense of unease gnawing at her. "I know, but... what if there's more to it? What if there is something happening and we are kept in the dark?"
"Who knows. Maybe there is something, but maybe there isn't. I just think, there are enough things we need to worry about, why search for no reasons? If you ask me, Oliver is just bored and is searching for some way to escape his daily life."

His words were able to calm her a little, though she couldn't shake off all of her concerns. Still, she didn't want to ruin their evening, so she just smiled and said: "You're probably right, I do tend to get carried away with my thoughts sometimes."

They cleaned up the kitchen and then proceeded to settle onto the couch together to play with Lily. After a short discussion, they all joined into a comparative racing game, fighting relentlessly for first place each round.

However, their gaming session was interrupted soon by a series of loud noises coming from outside. Maik's expression darkened as he paused the game, his frustration evident. "Not again," he muttered under his breath, pushing himself up from the couch.
Lena watched with concern as he made his way to the window, his brow furrowed as he peered outside. She could hear the telltale sounds of rustling and scurrying, making her worry about the presence of an intruder.

"Raccoons," Maik grumbled, his irritation growing. "They've been getting into the trash again. I thought I'd dealt with them earlier, but they just keep coming back." "I'm sorry, honey. It sounds like you've had a rough day dealing with them."

He sighed, running a hand through his black hair in frustration. "Yeah, it's been a constant battle trying to keep them away from the house. I'll have to go out there and scare them off again."
"I can't believe how much of a nuisance these raccoons are becoming," Lena grumbled, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "It's like they've taken over the whole area. I curse those Americans for bringing those cute bastards with them."

"Well, no curse is gonna help us now.", Maik echoed from the small storage room, where he was searching for a broom.
After successfully scaring off the raccoons, they both returned inside, feeling a sense of relief. As they settled back onto the couch, Lena's worries had faded to the back of her mind, replaced by a light-hearted mood.

"So, where were we in the game?" she asked with a mischievous grin, picking up her controller. Maik chuckled, a playful glint in his eyes. "Oh, I believe I was in the lead, demolishing you two."
Lena mock gasped, feigning offense. "Is that so? Well, prepare to be dethroned, my dear husband." "Yeah, we are gonna kick your ass!"
"Lily, where did you learn this kind of language?", to which her daughter just replied with a wide grin.

As the evening wore on and everyone had a chance to win, they cleaned up and got ready for bed. Their daughter had already succumbed to sleepiness and cuddled with Felix on the couch.
Gently Lena roused Lily from her slumber, guiding her sleepily to her bedroom to tuck her into bed, before joining her husband in their warm shared bed.

Several hours passed peacefully before, a persistent noise from outside stirred Lena from her sleep, pulling her back to consciousness with a jolt. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and listened intently, trying to pinpoint the source of the disturbance. Outside, she could hear the rustling and scratching of raccoons rummaging through the trash once again.

With a frustrated sigh, Lena cursed and glanced at the clock on the bedside table and groaned; it was well past two in the morning. "Darn raccoons," she muttered to herself, swinging her legs out of bed and slipping into a pair of slippers. "Some people need to work." Determined to put an end to the racket and reclaim some peace and quiet, Lena made her way downstairs.