Short Story - Grace

♾

Once upon a time there was a pretty young girl. When her father was still alive, he often tells her that she would find out the truth at some point. A few days later, he was found dead in his apartment.

One evening Grace was bored, she decided to clean her bedroom. Suddenly she tripped over a loose floorboard. As soon as she had opened the small hide, a book came into view. A history book? A fairy book? A book of spells? Curiously she took the book out of the small compartment. Grace opened carefully the red ribbon and opened the first page. 'For Grace' was written there in curved writing. The young girl leafed thought the mysterious book. On the next pages there were a lot of strange symbols that Grace didn't understand. Confused she noticed that the book with the red ribbon is full of strange signs. She thought for a moment. Then she left her bedroom and quietly she went to the library. Her aunt sat down in the living room and didn't heart her niece in the floor. Her aunt hated when Grace crept though the house late at night. Arrived at the library, she searched the rows of shelves with books to find a book that could help her. Again, and again she pulled a book from the shelf and leaf though it. After a time, she founds on a shelf behind the other books a small booklet with a red ribbon. As she pulled the book out she noticed joyful that it looks exactly like the book that she found in her bedroom. Slowly she opened the book. "Wow.", breathed Grace. The book is written like fonts lexicon. The whole alphabet is written on the one side and on the other side are the weird symbols again. Grace decided to read the book in her bedroom, so she left quietly the library. "Grace? What are you doing?", ask suddenly a voice. Her heart was pounding fast as she turned in the direction the voice came from. A woman in a blue sweater, gray sweatpants and black slippers is standing a few meters in front of her in the floor. Her straight perfect hair falls over her shoulder in gentle waves. Her aunt. Saige. "Hello, Saige? What am I doing here? I ... I couldn't sleep and I read something in the library. And you? What are you doing here? Why are you not sleeping yet?", asked Grace. Discreetly she hides the book behind her back so her aunt couldn't see the book. "I wanted to go to sleep now and then I saw you sneaking around in the corridor. Grace, you know I don't like it if you sneak around the house at this hour.", said Saige slightly annoyed. "Yes, I know. Sorry. Now, I'm going to sleep. Good Night.", without waiting an answer, Grace turned and ran back to her room. She presses the book in her hands protectively against her chest, because she somehow felt that it was only for her and not for her aunt. When Grace arrived in her room, she took a pen and a sheet of paper and immediately she began to compare the foreign characters and symbols in the book with those in the other book. It was well past midnight when Grace finished translating one page of the book. And even though it was so late, she didn't feel tired. She took the sheet gingerly and started reading the lines.

Look at the mirror. Look at this ray.
Don't be afraid. Don't believe her. She took a blade.
Search for the fairy. Search the cherry.
To call her. That's all.
Do it. Take the key an find the lock.

Three days had passed. And Grace still didn't understand the verses. She didn't understand what is meant by these lines. Which fairy should she look for? Which key? What did the writer mean by this cherry and this mirror? When she got the first clue, the young girl was sitting on the bench outside. Her aunt Saige suddenly came out to her and complained about the mirror hanging in her bedroom, just opposite the window. As soon as the sun shines, the mirror reflects the sunlight, so that it lit up the whole room. Later, when her aunt went shopping, she sneaked into her bedroom. The words with this mirror couldn't get out of her head. Briefly she looks around the room. She had only been here once or twice and then Saige had chased her out of her room again. The little mirror on the wall opposite the window immediately caught her eye. As her aunt said, sunlight shines on it and illuminates the whole room. The edge of the mirror was golden, and the decoration looks like a cherry bush. In this moment there was a wide range of feelings in Grace. She felt afraid, curious and excited. A reflected beam of light stood out clearly and shone on the nightstand. There was a golden key on the small cupboard. Grace's fingers trembled slightly as she put the key in her hands and looked for a keyhole. After three unsuccessful attempts to find a suitable keyhole for the golden key, she finally found what she's looking for. Slowly she turned the key in the little box. She had accidentally found the wooden box under the bed when the key fell out of her hands. Slowly, she opened the lid of the box. There was a white envelope inside. On the front of the envelope was a blue stamp from a fairy. Did the writer of the lines mean this fairy? Grace carefully opens the thick envelope when a small piece of paper suddenly falls out.

"Saige had murdered me, your father. All the evidence is in this envelope."