Veiled

Adrian

The wind was howling in his ears as he ran across the dewy grass lit up in the moonlight. He couldn't think straight, and most of all- he couldn't believe what he just saw. He did nothing, he had left Amanda helpless. The thought of her in pain brought him to his knees while the guilt was eating him alive. Burying his face in his hands, he knew what he had to do...He thought about Amanda, and how she would've handled the situation. It was what he did in all times of doubt, and it never failed, not once. She wouldn't have wanted anyone else to know about this so he wiped away the idea of calling the police from his mind. What he had to do was help her, and fast. But how?

He decided it would be best to go to her house to search for anything that might be able to help him.

                                                                                               **********

"Knock- knock" Adrian tapped on the glass window next to the door. "Anybody home?" he called. No reply. He gave a try at the doorbell- no one home. He looked through the keyhole. The last time he'd seen Amanda's living room was back when they were 12 when he came home to play monopoly with her one day. He remembered how she always won each game they played. Walking upstairs, he recognized the sweet fragrance that surrounded him, the smell of strawberries- Just like her hair.

While Adrian's house was filled with pictures of his family on the wall, he couldn't find one in Amanda's. He asked about her parents once when they were little, but she burst into tears. Adrian then decided it was best not to talk about it again. He just couldn't see her cry. Till she was 14, Amanda was taken care of by her nanny. Nanny Josephine was an old, delicate lady but she did her best to make sure Amanda grew up with care. Taking care of such a big house was hard work, but Amanda always helped her out in any way she could. After she passed away in her sleep one day, Amanda knew it was up to her to feed herself, living independently. Ever since then, she began to become really secretive about herself and hid things more and more. 

A creak of the wooden floor interrupted his thoughts. He could see that the place was pretty old and as he tried moving his leg, the floor cracked. Losing his balance, he looked for anything he could hold to stay steady. The only thing in his reach was the lamp on the bedside table. As he desperately reached his hand out, it touched the button on the bottom of the lamp.

What he saw next was a bolt from the blue...