Sammy stares out the window, wondering when it had gotten so dark, unconsciously drawing the same symbol over and over again into her palm.
Five minutes of research had come up with a name for it, something called a Unicursal Hexagram which is a six pointed star made by the interlaced lines of the Hexagram passing over and under one another to form a knot.
She doesn't remember ever seeing or hearing of it before but her dad had been obsessed with it before his disappearance.
In less than an afternoon she had found it everywhere inside the stacked up boxes collecting dust in the dark corner of the garage, from different centuries, in paintings, in photos of old buildings, all made by different hands.
After that she spent the entire day at the Everwood daily but it had been a slow one. There didn't seem to be any new stories for them to report on.
She notices how no one seems all that worried about it which is understandable, after all this is Everwood, it doesn't take long for something weird to happen in this town.
She'll soon realise how correct she is about that but for now her mind lingers and her fingers scratch over and over again until a stack of paper is dropped on her tiny desk.
"Take these to the shredder will you?"
"Sure." she replies, not even bothering to make eye contact with the person who hands them off to her, just feeling grateful to be busy, especially if that involves using her hands.
She strolls across the room towards the shredder hiding inside the closet sized cupboard behind the coffee room.
The machine groans to life as soon as she starts feeding it, so used to its monotonous clanking that it no longer makes her teeth grinding together as it rocks from side to side.
After a few minutes a head pops on followed by another; the first being a man named Stewart Golding who is the editor-in-chief here at the local newspaper.
The second is a woman who Sammy has never met before but from the looks of things she seems nice, wearing the same nervous smile that she can feel herself mimicking.
She also notices how she covers her ears with her hair, wondering if she naturally her shade dishwater blonde is natural or if she dyed it to look that way.
Admittedly, Sammy starts feeling a little lightheaded, especially once the stranger catches her looking a little too closely.
It's even weirder once she realises how little room there is now that they're all squeezing into the same space.
"Sammy, I would like you to meet Braiden. She'll be our newest reporter starting Monday."
Sammy's eyes widen, wondering when the hiring of this stranger had gone down. "Congratulations?"
"Thanks."
"Nervous?" Sammy asks, ignoring Stewart as he tilts his head and gives her a look she doesn't understand.
"Not at all." Braiden replies, combing her long wavy hair out of her right eye, her laugh sweeter than honey. "I'm pretty used to working under a lot of pressure. If anything, I'm looking forward to something a little simpler."
"Well this is Everwood, simple comes and goes like the wind."
Thankfully Braiden finds her words to be more amusing than Stewart who looks just about ready to murder her.
"Braiden this is Sammy, she's younger than the furniture but has been volunteering at this place longer than I have. She's like everyone's little sister."
YOU ARE READING
The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023
Fantasy[Book 1 in the Displaced Angels Series] "You took the life of my best friend, made her life a living hell...so I took your building and everything inside, and turned it into ash." °°° Being abducted the first time was already crazy enough, but twice...
