brontide ; stranger things

THIRTEEN

Psithurism

the sound of the wind through trees

-Collie's Word of the Day #85

•••

  THE man dropped Collie off later that morning on the side of the road by the woods in Hawkins, just as she'd instructed him to do. When he drove away, she hurried through the forest towards the cabin, her chest feeling like lead. She'd left Jonathan and Nancy at Murray's without any explanation, Eleven needed her to come home immediately, and Hopper was still probably mad at her.

  A breeze passed through and Collie took a breath, trying to clear her mind and do one thing at a time. The wind whistled through the leaves that were still on the trees, giving the woods an eerie feel.

  "Psithurism," Collie said to herself. Soon, the cabin came into view and a slight weight was taken off of her shoulders. She hurried up the steps and knocked out the special code on the door, waiting for Eleven to let her in. After a moment, the locks were undone and she stepped inside, somewhat glad to be home.

  Eleven stood waiting for her, immediately wrapping her arms around Collie's middle and burying her face into her chest.

  "Eleven," Collie sighed and got to her knees, embracing the younger girl as tightly as she could. The invisible link between them was reconnected and a few tears worked their way to Collie's eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

  "Eleven," she said once they pulled back, "I'm so sorry for leaving you. I was just... so mad and Hopper-"

  "I know," Eleven cut her off. "It's okay." Collie looked around, taking in the cabin. Everything had been put back and cleaned up, though tarps were placed over the broken windows and a candle was lit since the electricity had yet to be fixed.

  "What's wrong?" Collie asked, remembering why she had returned home. "Why did you come find me?" Eleven silently took her hand and led her to their bedroom. She grabbed the covers on her bed and lifted them, extracting an old manila file that was hidden underneath them.

  "What's that?" Collie questioned as Eleven sat down beside her and handed over the file. Written in bulky letters on the front was the name 'Terry Ives'. Collie cautiously opened it to find dozens of papers and news clippings, all related to a woman called Terry Ives. There was also one with the title 'Daughter Jane Taken When She Was A Baby, Ives Claims'.

  Eleven grabbed a photograph and held it up for the older girl to see. It was of two people, the first being Martin Brenner. Beside him was a woman with a slender face and long hair.

  "Mama," Eleven said quietly, pointing to the woman. Collie furrowed her brows together in confusion and looked over at her.

  "This... this is your mother?" Eleven nodded in response. "So does..." Collie's mind whirled with information, trying to sort everything out. "So that means... you're Jane?" Another nod, though Eleven also added,

  "I saw Mama." Collie looked back through the file, pulling out a paper with an address on it. She assumed that was where this Terry woman lived.

  "Eleven," Collie breathed, "where did you find this?" The younger girl pointed to floorboards.

  "Cleaning," she answered.