[The Wattys 2021 Shortlisted Finalist]
One case, two detectives, three friends, and a thousand emotions.
Sometimes nothing is a coincidence, but then again, everything is.
After the mysterious deaths of Amyra Valdez's eldest Uncle followed by her...
The next few days were nothing out of the blue. Thankfully. Having a normal day without any hindrance seemed like a blessing now. Although the bits and pieces of the case didn't seem to leave my heart and mind even for a slight second, I really wanted to delay my next risky mission as long as I could. After the attack in the forest, I would have completely stayed out of the case if I could, but I knew that I have to face it again one day or another. I just hoped it wasn't very soon.
It was just more than a week since I had arrived here, with a backpack on my shoulder and Bruno at my heels, but it felt like ages that I had left my home. It would be a lie if I say I didn't miss the Valdez Mansion. I did. A lot.
At least my two favourite people called me every day- Aunt Nora and Sierra. I was really close to Brian as well as we were about the same age, but I didn't have a word with him ever since my name was found on the will. That hurt actually. On the other hand, my hatred towards my uncles surged with an overwhelming intensity as each day passed. Uncle Nick-because of the repeated evidence against him, and Uncle Josh- because of disowning me from the family like that. Aunt Kylie, Aunt Lucy, Hannah, and Hazel would be the only neutral members of the family.
Then there was my mom. Aunt Nora didn't pick up her calls anymore after I asked her not to. Or maybe she did, I didn't know. Didn't tell me at least. I didn't want to hear from her anyway.
June had become my best friend now, always cheering me up whenever I would get gloomy. Now and then, we both discussed the possible routes of the case, trying to search for the answers to the questions in my head, without coming to any logical conclusion though. He also took me to visit Pappa's graveyard two days back.
I had stopped crying every now and then like I used to before. Maybe when life gives you lemons, you just suddenly become mature. Thinking on that, I literally didn't know how I managed to stay in this house with so much compromise; I had so many more requirements when I was in Valdez Mansion. I just didn't realize when the pampered girl inside me grew up so much. I had also learnt how to silently tolerate my pain now, probably from watching Kelvin.
Kelvin went back to his usual rude form after the day we had our first and probably the only conversation. I would frequently go to dress his wound though, and he wouldn't object. Curious enough, he had dropped the title of 'Miss Valdez' and called me by my name now.
It wasn't quite a 'trio' yet which Jonas had dreamt of, but a bond was surely developing. I don't know why, but it started to feel like home. A new family. A weird one, of course. We three had dinner together every night; it was mostly Kelvin quietly gulping down his food amidst June and my curious mutterings, which I could bet, annoyed him to the core.
I was quite used to this house now, so was Bruno. Surprisingly, he seemed to take quite a liking to Mrs. Arabella's cats, so I would frequently drop him at her house while bringing lunch. The injured cat I had saved while coming to this house seemed really delighted to be under her care too. I decided to name it 'Meow' because- I'm just random, never mind. She never really talked to me though, didn't even bother to ask my name. It was just a silent exchange of plates. No doubt she loved cooking though, never complained about having to cook for one extra person every day.
Well, she seemed to be at a phase in life where she would love to snatch every moment of silence from the surrounding world and spend it on her own, or with her cats. Must have gone through something terrible for totally cutting off human interaction like that. Jonas had told me that her husband used to abuse her and eventually left her for being infertile. Made sense why she preferred seclusion over social interaction now. Poor lady.
Kelvin didn't yet decide to tell me anything about Friday night, I wonder when his 'right time' would come. I didn't pressurise either. Jonas would always say that Kelvin preferred keeping things to himself; well, he was indeed a man full of mysteries. Very unpredictable. Ends up almost everywhere without warning; first at Valdez Mansion's garage, then at the forest. I still wasn't aware of how he ended up at both the places at the right time. Saved me both the times though.
The university application deadline was drawing near. I scrolled through my Facebook feed after weeks to find many of my friends getting admitted to renowned universities. It completely slipped out of my mind amidst all this chaos; I had not applied for any university. Well, at this point in life, I honestly didn't have any more interest in it. Just a month back, I was really ardent about applying to the best of universities since I had remarkably great grades in my high school and money was never a factor. All zeal seemed to fade away now, thanks to the game life had been playing with me recently. I didn't have a hundred percent guarantee for my survival, studies were a faraway topic.
The days passed silently. I just hoped it wasn't the silence before the storm.
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