Frankenstein

CHAPTER 8: Frankenstein Goes Home

A letter from my father was waiting for me when I got home. I happily tore it open and found that it contained bad news. I read my father's wordsbslowly: "There is no easy way for me to tell you this, but your brother William is dead."

Tears sprang to my eyes. The family had taken their usual walk after dinner. The evening was warm and calm, so they decided to stay out longer than usual. My father and Elizabeth walked behind William and Ernest. Instead of trying to catch up to them, they decided to sit and wait for the boys to return. When Ernest found them, he explained that William had run off to hide and he couldn't find him anywhere.

My father and Elizabeth were scared. They started looking for him right away. They spent hours and hours looking, but they couldn't find him. The police were called and a search party was put together. Everyone spent the night looking for William. They searched high and low, every place a small boy could hide, but with no luck. No one said anything, but they all feared something terrible had happened to poor William. It was an awful night for Elizabeth, my father wrote.

In the early hours of the morning, my father discovered my brother. His worst fears had come true. My brother was no longer alive. My father was very upset. Everyone was.

"Come home, Victor," my father's letter continued. "You are the only person who can help Elizabeth through this hard time."

Elizabeth had taken the news harder than any other member of the family - she thought it was her fault! That morning, she had given William a gold locket that had belonged to our mother. She thought the jewelry must have been the cause of teh terrible accident. William must have gotten in the way of a thief trying to take the locket. If she had never given it to him, he would still be alive.

I put the letter on the table and started to cry.

"Victor," Henry said. "what's wrong? Has something happened?"

I couldn't speak, so I handed him the letter. "Oh,no!" Henry exclaimed. "What are you going to do?"

"I must go home right away," I answered. "My family needs me, and I need to be with them."

I quickly packed a bag. There was little time to be neat.. I threw things in every which way, trying not to think about my poor brother. Henry helped me. He asked the woman in charge of the apartment to pack a lunch, which she did happily. Together we organized my books, papers, and clothes for the trip back to Geneva.

Henry was going to stay on in my rooms at Ingolstadt. He had to continued with his studies, and that was fine with me. I did, however, lock my laboratory and take the key with me. I didn't want Henry going in there while I was gone.

We walked slowly and with heavy hearts to the carriage. Henry gave me a long hug and said a tearful goodbye. "Tell your family I send my love, Victor. I am so sorry for what happened."

"I will, Henry. You are a good friend. I will miss you terribly."

There was nothing else to say, so I climbed on board. The driver called out to the horses and we were away. I turned around to look out the window at Henry. He stood there long after the carriage rode away, waving. Tears fell down my face. I wept for my dear, sweet brother. I thought of my mother. And I felt sorry for myself, how I had let my family down. How I should have been there for them during this awful time. I just hoped it wasn't too late.

The carriage was warm and comfortable, but my three-day trip was full of pain. Six years had passed since I had seen my hometown. When I saw the top of Mont Blanc, I began to cry. My country, my beloved country! As we drew closer to home, the day turned to night. The city gates were closed by the time we arrived in Geneva. The carriage turned around and crought me to Secheron, a small town about a mile away, where I stayed the night.