People are drawn together in the strangest ways but sometimes we have to look deeper into what is below the surface because things are not always what they seem. When a girl goes missing unexpectedly, it is the determination of those closest to her...
As the tremors diminished, Avery noticed her mother's limbs relax until she could hear was her slow adulating breath, as she tried to recover.
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Avery, wiped her mother's brow and the back of her neck, stroking her hair in a way that calmed her mother's anxiety. Her mother's breathing became normal and her face relaxed before becoming taunt again. Her eyes fluttered open with a look of anguish.
"Avery, I saw that man again. The soulless man. They seek him. He's hidden in the shadows. They won't find him." She reached over, grasping at Avery's arm with hot clammy hands. Her pupils were large and dilated.
"Mum, breathe, it's okay. It isn't real." Avery tried to ease her mother back to the ground. Concerned that it was too soon for her to be getting up, in her weakened state. Her lashes fluttered, highlighting the burden of keeping them open; as her mother's fingers shook grasped within her own but it did not lessen the intensity of her grip.
"Avery - you need to listen to me. He's empty... like an... invisible man. It makes him blend into the background unnoticed. They won't find him."
She pulled Avery until she sat an inch from her face, her voice a husky whisper, "He's looking for something. Or maybe someone," she swallowed so hard a lump was visible as she pushed her hair away from her eyes, rasping as she spoke, "He's getting closer, so close. Can almost touch him." she gasped and went white as the color drained out of her.
With her eyes closed, she continued, "I love you, Avery," she whispered, brushing her daughter's hair, "Avery, please promise me you will be wary when you go out. Keep your wits about you. He is close, so close I can smell his aftershave."
Avery rose for a glass of water, the words worried her.
"Lemons," her mother whispered.
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"Sorry mum, what do you mean lemons?" Avery let the water run, her finger under the tap waiting for the temperature to cool. The change was instant, a shock causing her to stumble back and focus on what her mother was saying again.
"Lemons," she said as her face became pinched. Her eyes darkened. Fear filled her voice, "Like a lemon grove mixed with a distinct leafy scent. That aroma you get after rain."
