Ken's POV
Without Lola around I feel very out of place at this house, it's a very familiar feeling for me, seeing as I have always felt out of place with my adoptive parents and especially with the church. But it's still a lonely feeling and I can't quite explain it. I know this is more a family to me than I have ever had, but for me Lola is the main reason for that.
I ponder my feelings as I sit on my bed with this blank paper in my hands. It feels special to me and the puzzle of it make it even more entriging to my brain. I know I need to get help and I would have asked Lola right away but now i guess I can ask Ryan or Eve they will help me. Having finally made up my mind I hold the paper in my hand and walk into the open living room.
I first see Ella, she looks so sad and really it breaks my heart to even look at her too much, but maybe she needs to not feel out of place like I do. So I decide I ask her for help first maybe it will help her take her mind off her troubles.
"Ella" I say in a soft voice trying not to startle her, but when she looks up her eyes are white and she stand and is next to me in a second. Her golden hair a strange contrast to her creepy looking eyes, that are anything but her normal blue eye.
"You have to read it, you have to be there, we need to talk." A voice is coming from Ella but it is not Ella's voice. I jumped back and tried to distance myself from Ella's body I stared into her vacant eyes and in the next moment Ella's body collapsed onto the floor. I couldn't move and Ethan rushed by me and scooped his twin sister up and sat her on the couch.
"What just happened….." Ethan yelled to me, his voice seemed to be far away even though he was only a few feet away. I just shook my head, I looked down at my hand still holding the blank paper and I turned and walked back to my room.
I sat on my bed staring at the paper when Ethan bust through the door. "Ella doesn't remember a thing so you tell me what happened." I was still struggling with not wanting to tell but the concern for his twin radiated off of Ethan and I knew I would feel too guilty not telling.
I took a deep breath and began, " I was going to ask Ella if she could help me figure this out," I held up the blank note, "and when I started to talk to her she spoke in not her own voice and grabbed my arm and then she collapsed. That's when you came in, is she ok?" Ethan's worry over Ella has now spread though to me.
"She'll be fine now let me see that paper." I didn't want to give up the paper but I knew I was too focused on it to figure it out myself. "How did you get this paper?" Ethan asked after examining the paper for a min.
I told him about the three legged crow. "So are you Chinese, Japanes or Korean?" Ethan stated it so plainly and I felt very self-concise now because I really didn't know.
"I don't know" I finally told Ethan
"Well it a good thing the stories I know from those cultures are kind of similar." Ethan left the living room and I followed him into the kitchen where he pulled out a large candle and a box of matches. I couldn't for the life of me think of what he might be doing. After Ethan lit the candle he held the paper up to the flame
"Don't burn it" I yelled
But Ethan just put his hand up "chill look" as I looked I could see writing
"How did you know to do that? I have been staring at that paper with no clue."
"Well, when you told me the story I remembered the folklore stories about a three legged crow," Ethan paused and looked closely at the paper, "It's a good thing my dad likes folklore from all over the world, now that I think about it maybe, it was part of training too."
"What about the note?" I interrupt him
"I can't read it it's in another language." Ethan answered back, "Let's go ask Eve I bet she can read all kinds of languages."
As Ethan and I are headed to Eves room Ethan pauses and checks on Ella still asleep on the couch, he covers her up with a blanket and then we head down the hall.
Eve opens her bedroom door before we even have a chance to knock. "She's been waiting very impatiently." Peter says from inside her room
"Let me see." Eve puts her hand out and Ethan hands her the paper that now has writing unknown to me.
"It's a letter for Ken to meet someone; this letter is very formally written." Eve says while writing the translation on another piece of paper.
Eve hands the paper to me and I look at it "I know this place in town. They want me to be there today." My voice raised a little when I realize the date and know I don't have time to think things over.
"Take Peter and Ethan with you." Eve suggests "That letter says nothing about going alone, and a little moral support never hurts."
"Yeah I'll go." Peter says jumping up from the chair he had been sitting in
"Me too, I very interested to know about this letter stuff." Ethan stated
So we filed out of Eve's room grabbed our jackets and loaded up in Peter's truck. Peter drove us and once I told him where we were going he knew it as well. We were headed to the old mayors house it's just up a street off of the down town area and it's been for rent for years.
As we pull up I can see the for rent sign is no longer up. The building it's self is in good condition you can tell it's well maintained. As I walk up the stairs to the front door I can see movement inside. I take a deep breath and knock on the door. A man opens the door he looks like he could be in his twntey or early thirtys. He is dressed in a very sleek navy blue suit. He gestures us inside where there is grand furnicher throughout the space we can see.
"If you would like to take a seat in the foyer, my grandfather will be in shortly." The man in the suit says with a heavy accent, while gesturing towards his right.
"Thank you." Ethan says and starts towards the foyer with Peter close behind him.
"You seem familiar to me." I told the man in the suit as I got uncomfortbly close to his face. We both looked at each other from an unusually close distance without saying anything else.
"What are you two gonna kiss," Peter said and pulled me by my arm, "you gotta see this." He continued to drag me into the foyer and pointed at a large painting hanging on a wall. "See," Peter continued once he knew I could soak in the image. "That dude looks all kinds like you."
"Maybe a little." I said and backed away from the large portrait of an ornately dressed man, that indeed looked just like me.
My eyes wanted to look at anything but the painting so I sat on an adashus chair and glanced around the room. My mind began to wonder how all of this furnicher got here without people talking about it. This town is small and this building has been empty a long time someone whould have noticed. My mind still is unsure and just as I'm about to speak up and ask Ethan and Peter there opinion on the subject, an elderly man enters the room. He is wearing a fancy robe like kimono, it reminds me of what royalty wears in anemia cartoons. Him and I look at each other for a few moments, and it appears that Ethan and Peter are still taling about the painting and don't even notice him.
Behind the old man is the man in the suit, the man in the suit clears his through to get Ethan and Peter's attention, it works and then they both sit down as well with a look on there face ike they were scolded by the teacher. The old man and the man in the suit sit across from us with a delicate coffee table in between us.
The old man nudges the man in the suit, "So," The man in the suit begins, "This is my grandfather Min Tong-hoon, he is the head of our family." The man in the suit speaks English quite well but there is still a strong acsent to his English. Tong-hoon gave the man in the suit another nodge. " My name is Min Nanqi." Nanqi paused and Tong-hoon nodded. "We have come here because you," Nanqi pointed at me "are also our family." The shock must have been all over my face, and I didn't know how to feel. I had just recently been cast out of the only family I have known.
"How do we know your telling the truth?. "Ethan asked
Tong-hoon pointed to the portrait that we had all been looking at.
"You see," Nanqi continued, "you Min-Hyuk, you were taken from Chuncheon South Korea, when you were first born"
"I'm Korean." I said unable to hide my excitement, for so many years I had wondered but with no leads I really had no idea, my adoptive parents either really didn't know or just wouldn't tell me.
"Yes, but you realize I also said you were kidnapped by probably the same people you call Mom and Dad." Nanqi almost sounded like he was trying to scold me.
I straightened my posture to try to mimic Nanqi but as I opened my mouth to speak, "Oh Ken never felt at home with those people anyway and I bet that Goodie Group Church stole you."Peter interrupted and although he said pretty much what I was thinking I still shook my head at him. "What, it's true."
Tong-hoon leaned and whispered into Nanqi's ear, Nanqi nodded and begain to speak, "Grandfather says either way it looks like you were meant to be here in this town, at this time because you have found another like you." Tong-hoon pointed to Peter, so not only is this my family but they know what we are, I can hardly believe it.