I'm cruising at 130km/h and I'm almost outside the city, when a thought crosses my mind. I do a 180 degree turn back to Shine mall. A saleslady meets me at the door to a boutique and I ask her to take me where I could find lady suits.
I pick a black, jacket and slacks suit and a white button down shirt. I visit the shoes corner and pick glass black loafers to complete the look. I cross the street into a salon where I purchase a bleach white wig and over the counter contact lenses.
I'm driving down the road I'd come five minutes later. It's the quickest shopping I've done in ages. I usually sip on a martini while the sales consultants display an array of clothes for me to choose from. My usual minimum is 2 hours but today is different, principles had to be put aside.
An hour later, I'm driving down a gravel road leading to the Blue grass countyside. I bend a turn ten minutes later and a red brick, grass thatched cottage built a floor over the ground comes into view. Potted flowers of different kinds and colors are dotted around the yard. Tall trees cover the whole backyard making the house appear even more dwarf.
I'm walking up the few stairs to the door when an eerie sound that sends goosebumps down my spine echoes around me. I frantically look around to find the source but it's futile. I gather my raw nerves and make it up the last two steps. I ring the door bell and wait impatiently for a response.
A few breaths away, which felt like an eternity, the door screeches open to revel a middle aged woman. She has sky blue eyes, thin lips and blonde hair littered with a few auburn strands. Her figure is huggard, she would be a beautiful woman though, if she took better care of herself.
"Hello ma'am, how may I help you." She says looking at me intently as if searching for something. " Hello,I'm Kim." I reply her question with a fake identity introduction, extending my hand for a handshake. She extends hers hesitantly, and I see it, a blue vein around her right hand middle fingure like a ring. I manage to hide my shock, shake her hand and continue, "I'm your state assigned detective, can I come in?" She opens the door wider and gestures for me to come in. I go in after her and take a sit in a brown worn out couch. As soon as she's sitted in front me I say, "We have received your complaint about a daughter you missed 18 years ago. According to the state law, the case can't be continued but..." She intercepts me and says, " I've seen her, she's alive." " I understand ma'am, but we need tangible evidence to open a new case for you." I try to give her hope but crushing it at the same time. She lifts her tear glazed eyes to mine and say, " She's mine, I just know it, I felt it." " I'm sorry ma'am, but we can't work on intuition, I'll try to push through to get it opened though." I say fishing a napkin from my purse and handing it to her. "Thank you," she says accepting the napkin and wiping her eyes, " I'll try to talk to her the next time i see her, I know where she learns." she continues, smiling. I'm dumbfounded, I take a few quick breaths to compose myself before replying, "That could get you arrested, you can't stalk her." I can't let her see my daughter. Only God knows what spell she'll cast on her. She just smiles in defeat and says, "All my hope is on you now."
I just smile and bid her goodbye.
I'm driving back home when I start unraveling what had transpired. I suspected she was my sister when I saw the aurburn strands on her hair,a color unique to our family, she may have dyed it blonde to hide it's natural color and didn't bother renewing it since she may have not been expecting any visitors. The blue vein had confirmed my suspicion. She's my sister, Kira. I hit the steering wheel and the horn honks. How did she end up in such a place and state. She seemed lost, it was evident in her hollow blue eyes. They have lost their spark and she carries herself around like someone without a purpose.The most confusing thing is how Lynn could be her daughter....
It was on my fifth birthday, Kira had turned turned seven a few months back. We were playing hide and seek in our pine tree plantation just behind our cottage during dask. " Kira!!" "Come find me." I scream giggling from a tree house I had scampered into the moment she started counting. "I'll find you, little mouse." Kira replies passing below the tree I'm perched in looking around. She goes a few trees past mine and comes back, hands raised in surrender and said," I give up, come on out, you win." I giggle scrambling down enjoying my victory. " You'll give me your teddy bear like you promised, right?" I ask with puppy eyes on. Flickers start emerging from the plantation edge. Screams and shouts follow, "Burn those witches, burn those witches" the riot says, I cover my ears and start screaming. My sister holds my hand and we start running towards the house. We are received by my mom who tell us to run in different directions. I run towards the main gravel road and hide in the thicket close to a lake on the Eastern side of our home. I hear footsteps approaching and see light from a flame torch. "Find her." A deep voice commands, I recognize the voice but I'm too shaken to process whose it is. " We need to make sure that non of them survives, two more to go." The voice continues. I curl myself tighter and try not to make a sound. I'm shaking vigorously and my teeth keep chattering despite my efforts to stop them. The footsteps finally receed. I try to move but I'm frozen in place. My muscles are stiff from staying curled up for too long. When I finally manage to coax my muscles to move I head back towards the house. My face is stained with dried tears and snort.
Our house is in heartbreaking shambles when I finally get there. The once beautifully designed cottage now lies in ruins. A hope that any one of my family members could still be alive had given me the strength to walk back home but, the sight in front of me has shattered it. I crumble to the grime stained ground and weep my eyes out. I weep until I fall asleep...
That was the last time I saw Kira and my parents. The memory is still unbearable despite the time that has passed since the incident.
As soon as I get home, I scrub myself under the shower streaming with hot water. I'm trying to scrub off the heartbreak from the fact that my own sister could not recognize me. Maybe it was because of the wig I was wearing to hide my hair and the contact lenses I'd worn to change my eye color. I'm trying to explain all this to myself but the five year old Kirst in me is refusing to be reasoned with.
The idea of losing Lynn is even worse, the thought of it dissolved all the pity I was feeling towards my sister. I close turn off the shower, wrap a towel around myself and head for my dresser. I grab my phone and sit on my bed.
"Hello, she lives in the first house on First groove, take care of her." I dictate into my mouth piece and end the call.
I ease myself into bed, telling myself that this is for my daughter's good. She will be suffocated if she were to live in such a small cottage.
A feeling of uneasiness settles into my chest despite all the reassurances I give myself. When I finally sleep I dream about her, wearing the same outfit I had on today. She was holding a table knife in her left hand and handcuffs in her right,her ring vein popping. Her hair was fiery flames raging in the wind. She was riding on a black horse galloping at full speed towards me, I was tied up on a tree trunk besides our old cottage and I was trying frantically to escape.
I'm drenched in sweat when I awake with a scream. I'm clenching fistfuls of my bed sheets tugging at them.
Lynn comes in rushing through my door wrapped in her robe. I must have awoken her with my scream. "Mom are you ok." She enquires touching my forehead. I flutter my eyes open and I finally see it.
My sister, standing in front of me in form of my daughter.
Their resemblance is uncanny!!