𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 ━━ 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘺

𝟐 ──𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴

( 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘴𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢, 1998 )

( 𝘏𝘦𝘮𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 )

AFTER ALMOST TWO YEARS OF BEING IN THE ORPHANAGE FOR HEMLOCK GROVE'S THE LOST, LITTLE SAGE BEGAN TO FINALLY TALK. Instead of saying the usual first words like 'dada' or 'mama' it had boiled down to her saying 'fate' only a handful of times.

The various sisters and care takers of the orphanage hadn't known how she learned or heard the interesting word seeing as they probably barely said it, if ever. Most found it weird, especially to some of the other children. Most of the children there had been accepted into homes, loving families. Whereas, she hadn't. Granted, she was pretty young compared to a lot of the other eligible children.

As of now, the murder-suicide case had only recently been closed due to the matter of adoption options for her. The police force for the lively town had concluded that Donovan had stabbed Vera a handful of times before conclusively shooting her right between the eyes as they said before intoxicating himself and killing himself caused by decapitation as he jumped off the roof.

It had seemed he lacked any kind of motivation but they obviously couldn't ask him. The community had their bodies buried in the local cemetery, a reminder of the fateful tragedy.

Many friends of the Jones' had grieved so much, even two years after the fact but their sadness was more in place of what would happen to Sage—well, what was going to happen. She became an orphan at seven months old and didn't even know it yet.

Although, no one really found the Jones' toddler to be smiling or laughing all. It was a challenge to get her to do so and it had been like some kind of sight she knew the truth of her situation but that had to be impossible, she was just about two years old.

"Awe, come here, Miss Jones" Sister Judith cooed at the dark-skinned infant as she picked her up. She stared at the nun that had found her in the luxurious home about two years ago. Sister Judith had worker with the police a few times which resulted in her being involved in the case.

Mary Judith-Smith was a latino woman with a seemingly light but tanned skin done with dirt brown orbs for eyes. Her long, sleek brunette hair was put in a ponytail while she wore a simple outfit consisting of a flannel, jeans, and sneakers.

"Sister Judith! Sister Judith!" a child of the orphanage shouted out to her as she ran to the twenty-something woman. An officer she barely knew was behind the child, offering a smile as a greeting.

"Nick, hey! And who's this?" she asked the adorable six-year-old.

"This is officer David, he said he needed to talk to you!"

"Oh, well, then thanks for getting my attention. How about you go hang out with sister Williams, Nick?"

"Okay! See you later, officer David!"

"Officer David? Something you need?" she asked as she shifted Sage in her arms, the two-year-old Jones' staring at him.

"Well, you know how I said the Jones' case was closed?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, we found evidence of what might have given Donovan Jones' motive at the time. The case is opened, for investigation.

She scoffed at the discovery, finding it ridiculous. "Why is the police apartment hell-bent on berating Sage's parents even after their deaths? It's been two years!"

"Every case has its tribulations, ma'am" he replied nonchalantly.

"Bullshit"

"Ma'am—"

"I'm not gonna stand around and let the police tarnish their family name. I know for a fact Donovan Jones' would never want to kill his wife" she stated with much confidence.

"Then try explaining why Vera Jones' had stab wounds and a bullet through her brain before Donovan drank himself silly and then decapitated himself"

"Maybe it's that fucked up but it wasn't a murder-suicide, I know that much"

"Look, miss Smith, please know that it's currently opened up again for investigation"

"Okay, I'll keep it in mind. Now, if you would leave so I can tend to this little angel" she orders him, almost sounding more pissed than calm.

Officer David subtly leaves after taking a quick glance at the Jones' child. Upon his departure, Mary smiles as she chuckles at the baby in her arms. She holds onto Mary's pointer finger and begins to swing it around, a tad bit.

"I don't know why someone would ever leave you, huh" she states as she bounces her up slightly, resulting in a small smile from her. She laughs with her and continues to hold her as she heads off to watch some of the other kids.

| 𝕬𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊 |

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘰𝘰𝘧