Short stories

The return

The bathroom was hot and very humid. She had just close the water. A long hot shower to relax. Get ideas back in place. She needed to think. She loved scamming people, but it was getting a little too dangerous. She had to be very careful not to go after the wrong people. She uttered a long sigh as she approached the mirror. She raised her hand and wiped the mist to see her face. What was she supposed to do now? She always found a way out. She just had to think about it. She returned to the room. She heavily dropped on the bed. She had just arrived in town. The shabby hotel where she was staying was accommodating her by the week. There was not much money left. Credit cards fraud didn't represent a very large investment. She was going to have to find something else. At the moment, she was exhausted. She watched the ceiling for a moment, wondering what questionable stains they could be. She turned on her right side. She preferred to ignore it. Too disgusting to imagine.

She pushed back everything that was on the bed so she could sleep comfortably. The book she had started on the bus attracted her attention. She loved fairy tales, love stories and biographies. Before leaving town by bus, she had bought a book to entertain herself: "Tragedy among the rich". Entertaining on the road. She already knew the story of the disappearance of the Lindbergh's baby - who had never heard of it? - but she discovered others unknown to her. A five years old girl had mysteriously disappeared at a family party. Still lying on the bed, she ended up falling asleep. She had strange dreams where she played in a huge labyrinth of high hedges. She heard the laughter of a child and music in the distance. She didn't remember going to a picnic. She was running, approaching her goal. When she turned a corner, a little girl dressed in a beautiful white dress smiled at her. She ran to her and took her hand.

"You are me."

She jumped on the bed while outside, a car had just started suddenly. Heart pounding, she fell back on the pillow while sighing. It was just a dream. But that seemed so real. She growled, straitening herself on her elbows. She noticed she was still wearing the bath towel. Her gaze was again drawn to the book. There was a picture of the little girl on the cover. The one that entered her dream. How old are you today? Twenty? She made a quick calculation. Mid-twenties. Barely younger than me. And she remembered the little hand in hers. What are you trying to tell me? She opened the book to better observe the other photos. You are me. She frowned. Would she be able to create an adult copy of this little girl? She had read several stories where people - man or woman - were passing themselves as missing family members. Could she do it? She abruptly rose and ran up to the bathroom mirror. She put a picture of the little girl near hers. She could do it. Maybe she should color her hair, fade it for a more authentic note. The girl had blond hair, almost white as so her hair was pale. As she got older, it was possible that her hair would become darker.

"I can do it."

She now had to learn all she could about the Minstern family. The girl was still quite young when she disappeared. As a result, she had not had time to have "bad habits". But she needed a story, something credible that would explain her absence throughout those years. What could she tell them? Who had taken her? And why? So many details to elaborate! But if she succeeded, she would have enough money for the rest of her life. Otherwise, she would have to disappear very quickly. No way to go to jail! So she had to do some research on the family before approaching them. And then she could change her appearance. She nodded again, still looking at the mirror.

"Yes, I can do it."

She hurried to take a shower before going out to buy something to eat. She took the opportunity to bring back a few bottles of water, having no confidence in the quality of the "drinking" water of this charming establishment. She also had a coffee. A long day awaited her. She needed to be on the lookout for every detail. She recounted the story of the disappearance and took some notes. It all happened during a family reunion in the imposing Minstern's mansion. Dally, the little girl, was having fun with the other children. Nothing suspicious throughout the day. Apart from the employees serving the family, there were no strangers. Everyone knew everyone. Very impressive thing for a wealthy family: they knew the names of all their employees. Towards the end of the afternoon, a family portrait was to take place. This was the moment Dally's absence was noticed. They searched the huge property, both inside and outside. She wasn't anywhere. Police were called to the scene and each family member was questioned. It was at this moment that a detail emerged: Dally seemed to have been missing for a while. A teenager, an older cousin, remembered seeing her by the fountain after lunch. She watched the ducks swim. But no one remembered seeing her before the photo was taken. During the employees' interrogation, a maid seemed very suspicious to them. They tried to make her talk. She kept telling them she didn't know anything. No one was arrested that day. The little girl just vanished. No ransom demand was found. The police suspected the family's employees for a long time, but could not find any clues.