UNTITLED

eight

Fred pulled me straight to the stairs, giving me little to no time for me to look around the house. Even so, I took in all that I could, completely in awe. The walls were covered with wallpapers in a colour that reminded me of paprikas, elegant designs drawn all over the paper. My free hand ran over the wall, finger tracing the designs as we both climbed up the wooden stairs. 

Our footsteps were clearly heard, thumping softly against the wood. I hadn't even realize that I was gaping until Fred spoke up, breaking the silence. 

"Close your mouth, Adeline. You'll catch flies."

Though he sounded annoyed, I could easily hear the smile evident in his voice.

"This place is beautiful," I said as we finally reached the second floor.

From where I was, I could see Fred's shoulders tense up at my words and I squeezed his hands lightly.

"Yes," I heard him mumble. "It was."

Was?

I was about to ask him what he meant when he stopped abruptly in front of a door at the end of a hallway. My hand shot up to my nose and I rubbed the soreness away as it had ran into Fred's back. Looking up, the look on Fred's face made any sort of remark that I thought of disappear.

It was melancholic, eyes clearly showing sadness as his lips formed into a frown, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Fred?"

He turned away from me at the sound of my voice, apparently hearing my unspoken question. His hand pulled me along with him as we continued to walk down a dark hallway.

Softly, he spoke as though he was scared of breaking the silence, "this was my birthplace, child."

"Birthplace?" I asked, speaking as softly as he is. "You mean this is where you were born in?"

Fred was silent for a moment and I was close to believe that he didn't hear me. But then he spoke up.

"Yes," he replied, speaking softer with every word, a tint of longing in his voice. "I grew up within these walls. This very household."

I opened my mouth to say something only to close it when Fred glanced at me, giving me that sad look again. My gaze were cast downwards and only then had I finally took notice of his tattered coat. My free hand went to grab at it but its movement stopped when voices reached my ears. Though they were faint, I knew that my ears weren't deceiving me.

Fred's hold on my hand tightened and I looked up to see that we were walking to a room with an open door. As we came closer, the voices inside were louder, clearer for me to hear. One of the voices obviously belonged to a woman while the other was a man's though the latter sounded strangely familiar.

As we moved to walk in the room, I couldn't help but to let my eyes wander to the window near me. Moonlight was streaming inside making the place seem as if it was glowing ethereally. But what I saw next made me gasped, freezing me in my spot.

There she was, lying in bed as she held the man's hands in hers. Her skin was sickly pale, so were her lips and her brown eyes were dull. It seemed as though her life was seeping right out of her. Sure enough, it was Frederick Harlow that was sitting beside her, holding her hand so tightly that made me worried if it had broken her bones.

But that wasn't what caught me. Instead it was the woman.

A gasp escaped me and my hand flew to my mouth, feeling shock take over my whole being. My other hand tightened its grip on his. I was completely, utterly speechless, shaken to my core.

That woman, lying on her deathbed, was me.

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A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Holla, my lovely readers. I apologize for my disappearance over the past month(s) but fret not, for I am back. Exams were tough but hey, they're called "exams" for a reason right?