The day starts with breakfast. Andrew and Melissa are sitting opposite of each other, in silence, just like the past seven mornings. Melissa doesn't even seem to notice his presence.
[It has been a week already, and it still feels awkward. As if a stranger is sitting in front of me.]
He takes a glance at Melissa.
[She still has the same characteristics as I remember. Same face shape, eye shape, hairline. But, if I were only counting that, she would've been the same person. She's not. Though I keep repeating the same thing over and over, it's true. Her nasty, quickly agitated and boisterous personality has changed into a silent, unsocial and almost shy persona. She used to yell at me when I didn't do my job, like clean up my own dishes, or when I took too long of a shower. That's how I remember her. But now, she doesn't seem to care. No, she actually doesn't care.]
He faces down again and continues eating.
[Well, she took a hit too. Her believed to be dead brother suddenly moved in with her forty years later. Now that I think about it like that, I guess it kind of makes sense? That she would have trouble accepting it, that is. Though, I wouldn't mind if someone who was supposed to get buried keeps on living, even if it's forty years later. But, I haven't experienced it.]
Melissa gets up and takes her plate, cutlery and glass to the kitchen, and places them in the dishwasher. She peeks her head around the door, and looks at Andrew.
"Can you do the rest? I don't feel too well, so I'm going to bed." She says.
"Sure thing." Andrew replies, muffled by his mouth full of cereal.
Melissa closes the door behind her, and Andrew hears her walking up the stairs.
[And that's going to be the longest conversation for a while. A few hours, at least.]
Andrew finishes his breakfast, and takes everything from the table away to the kitchen. He turns on the dishwasher after filling it up, and places the cereal box in the correct cabinet.
[She didn't talk much to me yesterday either, and the days before I visited the shop. I feel like it's diminishing, getting less and less, every single day.]
After finishing up all the work downstairs, he puts on his coat and shoes and heads outside.
[The weather is fine today, good for a long walk. Cloudy, but not raining. And then I have to believe it's July. July… why does it feel important. It should just be like any other month. Though, something's… up with it.]
He leaves the porch and heads for the docks again.
[It's already the end of July anyway, so whatever was important probably has already happened. Let's check out the docks again today, I don't have anything else to do.]
Andrew arrives in front of the shop again. He looks at the large sign attached to the roof.
[Out of Business. It's way too plain for my dad's liking, someone else must've put it up.]
He looks inside through a small window, and notices something.
[It's less dusty then how I remember it. Or how it was two days ago. I can see the objects clearly, even through the dusty window. Wait…]
Andrew notices footsteps, all around the room.
[Those aren't mine. They wouldn't be so thorough, the dust should've covered them at least a little. Further more, I didn't walk around much, at least not that much. They weren't there when I entered the first time either.]
He goes to the door and takes a look at the barricade.
[That's… not how I constructed it. It was opened up again. Someone else must've entered after my visit. Could she have…? Melissa? Why would she have business here? She's the only one that knows, or she should be. I didn't talk to anyone else that day, not even on the phone.]
He ducks under the large wooden beam and enters the building. He takes a look around.
[It looks cleaner. It is cleaner. Maybe because the door… let more air in… or… no, that doesn't make sense. Someone else must've entered. Melissa. But why?]
Walking around the room, he thoroughly checks everything he touched or looked at last time.
[There.]
The notebook he picked up and put down again is gone.
[She took it. Something is written in there, that I am not allowed to know. At least, according to Melissa. It was most likely dad's notebook, he used to carry one around all the time.]
Andrew places his hand on the place where the notebook was.
[That's it! Dad's notebook! He used to write in there every… eh… week I'd say. He told me daily, but I only saw him write in it on the weekends, after dinner.]
Andrew takes a final look around the abandoned shop.
[Nothing else has been moved. If there is something in there that Melissa doesn't want me to know, asking her probably won't do any good. But, I'll ask it anyway, if she keeps silent about it.]
He leaves the store, and heads towards the beach, right of the docks.
[Still the same muddy, brown sand. No one wanted to visit this side of the beach, except people looking for stones and geodes. The left beach is more suited for… well, a nice summer beach.]
Andrew picks up a small rock from the ground. It is glistering and pointy on one side, and flat on the other side. A small geode.
[This can be a fun way to pass time, mom used to pick geodes everyday we went to the beach. Maybe Melissa has some tools to crack them open.]
He continues collecting more geodes, and fills his jacket's pockets with them. Arriving at the end of Perigowinkle, Andrew leaves the beach onto the right side of town, where most of the stores and communal spaces are.
[I haven't been here yet, if I don't count the day I arrived. Looks like no new areas were made, or new stores have opened. Boring.]
Crossing through the main street, he heads up the hill and arrives at the graveyard. Next to the graveyard is a small church, used for funeral days and prayers on Sunday. The church's outside has fainted, giving off a desolated white-grey presentation.
[The church really aged throughout the years. At grandma's funeral, it was shining brightly whenever and wherever the sun hit it.]
Continuing his stroll past the graveyard, he notices all the graves are weathered, just like the church. Not a single new one has been placed.
[Looks like this place just hasn't been used in a while. Could be that people cremate more nowadays, I was told it's better for the environment. Speaking of, the environment didn't take such a bad turn as everyone expected. I haven't heard or read anything about global warming lately. Were we able to revert it? Or did we stop in time and did the Earth restore itself? I'll look that up if I feel like it, though it isn't really a bother at the moment.]
Andrew arrives at the Forb station, and gazes at Clifftell, residing far in the distance.
[I got my own pass, so I should go there some time soon, to… I don't know why, actually. Visiting at least once before going back to school is a good idea.]
He continues to follow the path, and arrives at Melissa's house. A mailman exits her porch and passes him. Melissa keeps the door open and Andrew increases his pace not to let her wait too long.
[The mailman? Who would she get a letter from? And why?]
"Welcome back, I see you went there again." Melissa addresses him.
"Huh? How- oh, yeah, the dust." Andrew replies.
"Yeah, the dust." She gently pushes him outside. "Whisk it off, and enter afterwards." She says, and she closes the door behind her. Andrew stares at the door for a short while, after which he starts wiping the dust off of his clothes. After he's done, he opens the door and enters.
"Hey." Andrew starts. Melissa looks up. They are having dinner, at around half past six. "You took the notebook, right?"
"I did." Melissa responds.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you to have it."
"Why can't I-"
"Because there's something in there I don't want you to see, yet." Melissa finishes off the conversation, and Andrew doesn't start it up again.
[Of course she has to be secretive about it. That's just perfectly her. Just the good old Melissa.]
For the first time since his arrival, Andrew finishes dinner first, and takes away his dishes to the dishwasher. Afterwards, he heads upstairs. He falls onto his bed.
[Bitch. Actually a bitch. Half-assed answers like that. They're clear, but not fulfilling. She has to explain everything to me someday, I'm sick of playing detective, searching for clues like today and yesterday. I forgot to ask her about the mailman too. And a tool to split those stones. I was just thinking about the notebook all day, and forgot to ask.]
He picks up his old phone from the desk, and starts it up. It's half past seven now, and he hears Melissa entering her office.
[She doesn't ask me about my day either. She doesn't even care about me. But why would she take me in if she doesn't care? That, I still don't understand. Asking her won't help.]
The phone finally started up, and he gets a pop-up message immediately. It's from his calendar app. A birthday hat icon, today, on July 29th.
[Oh. So that's why July felt important.]
Andrew exits his room and goes to stand in front of Melissa's office, as silently as possible.
[She never told me it was today. Though, I forgot it too.]
He wants to open the door, but hesitates.
[What good would it do, wishing her a 'happy' birthday now? I don't even have a present, or a letter, or even something to say. It explains the mailman, probably a letter from Connor. I'm sorry, Melissa. Even though you probably wouldn't care one bit, I feel bad about forgetting your birthday. But, nothing else. You probably forgot mine too.]
Right as Andrew is about to leave, he notices the door is slightly open. He takes a peek inside, and sees Melissa sitting behind her desk. A worn notebook is in her left hand.
[She's reading his notebook. Of course. She doesn't want me to read it, but decides to give it a thorough look herself.]
As Andrew is about to leave again, he notices another thing. Tears, rolling down her cheek. Just her right cheek, the left is completely dry.
[She's crying. Something from that notebook made her cry. I never expected dad to write stunning poetry. She's just got to much on her mind, I'll leave it at that. Sorry I called you a bitch, I might as well add that.]
Finally, Andrew heads towards his room. He speedily brushes his teeth and switches to his pyjamas, after which he falls onto his bed.
[This bed still sucks.]
He turns off his old phone completely, and tucks it away in a drawer.
[Fucking hell, why does life have to be so annoying? Why can't I just live in peace, without secrecy or half-assed answers?]
His hands move to his head and he pulls on his hair. Not too rough, but not softly either.
[I still haven't written anything interesting in that notebook, even though a lot has happened already. I promised them to write in it and show it to them. Hulive was a lot better. The beds were comfier, the food was easier to get used to. The people were better, less quiet. I haven't met anyone else in this small little village of nobodies, besides, her.]
Andrew lets go of his hair.
[I'm thinking too much again. I get the feeling I contemplate way more ever since leaving Hulive. Ever since waking up maybe. I got to keep them in control, my thoughts.]
He pulls the blanket over himself, and falls asleep shortly after. Melissa turns off her lights almost two hours later, near midnight. She places the notebook in a safe, under her bed.
"He will never find it here." She whispers to herself.
"I will show him next week, and explain it too."