BIPOLAR

Chapter Thirteen: Prometheus Part 4.

   As Sarah and Mai prepared to leave, Edith walked them to the door. "I'm so glad you girls came to visit. It's been...tough since the incident."

   Mai's expression softened. "What's been the hardest part?"

   Edith sighed. "Losing my teaching job was hard, but it's been even harder to deal with the guilt and shame. People in town still look at me differently."

   "That's not fair. You were trying to protect those rabbits", Sarah said.

   Edith smiled weakly. "Thanks for understanding, Sarah. It means a lot."

As they said their goodbyes, Mai noticed a flyer on Edith's bulletin board. "Edith, what's this?" Mai asked, pointing to the flyer.

   Edith's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's a local animal sanctuary that I've been volunteering at. They're doing amazing work to rescue and rehabilitate animals. They are doing something very special there."

  Sarah's eyes sparkled. "That sounds amazing. Can we help?"

   Edith's face lit up with a warm smile.

   "I'd love that."

   As Sarah and Mai spent time with Edith at the animal sanctuary, they began to notice a deep sadness in her eyes.

   Sarah's kids, Lisa and Favour, were also helping out at the sanctuary, and they loved spending time with Edith and the animals.

  One instance, as they were all helping Edith care for the animals, Mai asked, "Edith, can I ask you something?"

   Edith looked up, her expression guarded. "What is it, Mai?"

   Mai's voice was gentle. "What were you before you became a teacher? You seem to have a deep connection to animals."

   Edith's eyes scrambled, and she looked away. "I...I grew up on a farm. My parents were animal lovers, and we always had a menagerie of creatures. But...one day, a terrible accident happened. A fire broke out, and...many of the animals didn't make it."

   Lisa, who was sitting next to Edith, looked up at her with big, sympathetic eyes. "I'm so sorry, Edith. That must have been really hard for you."

   Edith smiled weakly, her eyes shining with tears. "It was...devastating. But it also made me realize how precious life is, and how important it is to protect and care for all living creatures."

   Favour, who was busy feeding a rabbit, looked up. "Yeah, we have to take care of the animals! They're our friends!"

   Edith laughed, a warm smile spreading across her face. "You're absolutely right, Favour. Animals are our friends, and we need to protect and care for them."

   As Edith finished her story, Sarah's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Edith, do you think Juke's investigation had anything to do with his death?"

   Edith's expression turned somber. "I don't know...but I do know that Juke was getting close to something big. He mentioned that he had discovered something big."

   Mai's eyes widened. "What kind of thing?"

   Edith hesitated, looking around nervously. "I don't know...Juke didn't tell me specifics. But he did say that it was connected to the corporation that owns the local factory."

   Sarah's expression turned determined. "We need to find out what Juke discovered. Do you have any idea where he might have kept his research?"

   Edith thought for a moment before responding.

   "Now that you mention it...Juke did give me a small package before he died. He told me to keep it safe and only open it if something happened to him."

   Edith led them to a small storage room in the back of the sanctuary. She rummaged through a stack of boxes and pulled out a small, unmarked package.

    "This is it," Edith said, handing the package to Sarah. "Juke gave it to me before he...before he passed away. He told me to keep it safe and only open it if something happened to him."

   Sarah's hands trembled slightly as she opened the package. Inside, they found a set of photographs.

    The pictures showed a burnt-out factory, with two people standing in front of it. The factory looked abandoned and decrepit, with broken windows and a crumbling facade.

   But it was the two people in the picture that caught Sarah's attention. One of them was Juke, her husband who had passed away. And the other person was...

   Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Grace," she whispered.

   Mai's eyes followed Sarah's gaze.

   "What? That's impossible. Grace wasn't...."

   Sarah's expression turned grim."I know. But look at the picture. That's definitely Grace."

   Edith lowered her gaze with concern. "What does this mean?"

   Sarah's voice was firm. "It means we need to find out what's going on. And we need to start by figuring out what Juke was doing at that factory."

    Mai's eyes narrowed. "And what's going on with Juke? Why is she in the picture with him?"

    Sarah's expression turned determined. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Let's start by investigating the factory."

   As they began to make plans to investigate the factory, Lisa and Favour, Sarah's kids, walked into the room.

   "Mom, what's going on?" Lisa asked, noticing the serious expressions on their faces.

   Sarah hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal to her kids. "We're just discussing some things, sweetie," Sarah said. "Why don't you and Favour go play outside for a bit?"

   Lisa and Favour nodded and left the room, but not before Favour caught a glimpse of the pictures on the table.

  "Mom, is that...?" Favour started to ask, but Sarah quickly ushered her out of the room.

   As the kids left, Sarah turned back to Edith and Mai. "We need to be careful about what we say in front of the kids," Sarah said. "We don't want to scare them."

   Mai nodded. "Agreed. Let's keep this between us for now."

   As they continued to discuss their plan, Sarah couldn't shake off the feeling that something big was about to happen.

   She looked at the pictures again, her eyes scanning the burnt-out factory and the two people standing in front of it.

   What were Juke and Grace doing at that factory? And what did it have to do with Juke's death?

   Sarah's determination grew stronger.

   She was going to find out what happened to Juke, no matter what it took.