'Why don't they take you seriously about Fred? he asked her after she switched off the TV.
'They just think it's too ridiculous and besides that, they know how much I've missed Fred so they basically think I'm delusional. And they haven't watched the news yet because they just got back.'
'But you do know that if they do find out about this then they're probably gonna go off the rails?'
'Would it be my fault though?' she defended herself. 'Anyway…what did you think of the movie?' she suddenly changed the subject.
He released his gaze from her and turned it to the blank TV. He sighed, 'I think it was great.'
'I know, right?' she grinned, 'I always cry when I watch it alone.' She began rocking back and forth on her seat.
'Samantha..?' he began after an awkward moment of silence.
'Yes..?'
'Has your father ever mentioned anything…strange to you before?'
'Like what?' She looked puzzled.
'Something like…maybe the biggest mistake he has ever made?'
She fixed her eyebrows into a frown, pondering over this question, 'Not really…my father is always full of jokes and he's hardly serious about anything. Why are you asking me this anyway?'
'There's something he told me after dinner that set me on edge,' he answered her, 'something about a stupid mistake he made when he was young.'
She shrugged unconcernedly, 'I think he was daydreaming.'
'Didn't look that way to me,' he assured her. 'Is the news showing the stuff that happened at school?' he asked her not realizing that he too had changed the subject suddenly.
She turned on the TV and started flipping through all the news channels. She finally rested on one. 'There,' she said, putting the remote on the coffee table.
'Two days ago, a young man who people are calling, "Fred the Flicker", who disappeared two years ago, showed up at Bradwield City shooting fire through his hands, leaving five people with second-degree burns and three people with first degree burns at System Bank; luckily, no one was killed. The Flicker did not demand or take any money from the bank but he did leave the City Bank in disrepair. And in Bradwield High School, the entire school witnessed a brawl between what experts are calling the "Supreme Races of the world". The fight took place at around 10 A.M. One of the suspects was a monster which people have given the name "Anvil" and the other one, possibly a young man wearing the uniform of the school and a black ski mask to conceal his face, was given the name, "The Anonymous". The Anonymous came out victorious in this fight but unfortunately, the monster shrunk back into a student of the school; an eleventh grader by the name Angus Stu who died seconds after talking to the Anonymous. Angus' parents did not want to comment on what had happened to their son and they are totally devastated by his death. Fortunately for them, they were given their sons body after his autopsy review. Doctors, however, believe that Angus was killed by the heavy blows he sustained from the Anonymous. Witchcraft is one of the most serious crimes in Bradwield and the mayor is considering banning all science subjects, that is: Biology, Chemistry and Physics among others. Police have also issued an arrest warrant for a witch whom they believe was involved in this incident. This witch is believed to be residing in Bradwield Forest. The mayor of Bradwield City, Peter Loop, says he will do everything in his power to find the Finch tomorrow and when he does, he will drag her out of her hiding place and have her tried by a court of law. Investigations on the masked so-called Anonymous and the Flicker are ongoing and Bradwield High School has been closed until further notice.
This is Davis Pardon reporting for Bradwield Future News, enjoy the rest of your evening.'
Samantha switched off the TV again. 'They're going to arrest who...!' she said half laughing.
'Have you ever seen the Finch?' he asked her.
'No but I do know that she obviously has these weird kind of powers or tricks up her sleeves.'
'But…what about your brother?'
'I don't know who he is anymore, Brendan. He's not the brother I used to know…the one I grew up with. It's like some demon has taken control of his body.'
'It's not a demon, Sam; it's him. He bumped into the Finch and his mind was easily perverted…to yearn for power.'
She started to sob softly, her face covered in her palms. 'I wish I could just remove him from the trance he's in.'
He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a comforting way, the way a chicken wraps its wings around its young. 'All this time you have been worrying yourself with your brother's issues. It's not good for your health. It's time for you to focus on your life.'
She removed her face from her palms. Her eyes were glowing with tears. A tear rolled down from one of her eyes but Brendan wiped it off with his thumb.
He said, 'All these years you've been tormenting me, Sam I never thought for once that you were the one who was suffering the most. But now I know and I guess what I can say is…I…I forgive you.'