Image by alsterkoralle from Pixabay
The tall bookshelves that mostly comprised the Director's Office stood like silent sentinels who guarded me as I made myself comfortable in my reading nook. It's been years since I had last been here—a lonely child, longing for the warmth only a mother could provide.
I ended up finding contentment in her written words instead, memoirs of her own adventures as a young girl, a curious love found as she turned into a lovely lady, and maybe... a life longer than that had she not given birth to me...
Pulling myself to the present, I stared at the worn cover of the journal I placed before me, lifting a hesitant finger along the name up front— Elliot Entale— Given the same privilege as anyone who married into the Gatsburg family, they were more than welcomed to leave something of theirs to the family legacy.
“The shortest key will lead you to answers long lost, Child of Gatsburg.”
There was some truth behind Mr. Cross' cryptic words after all, for one of the set of keys, the shortest of them led me to my father's memoirs but... for all the times I craved for a mother that would never be, my father made no attempts to break out of his shell—Detective Entale remained a private man until his last battle with leukemia. So was it truly right for me to go snooping into my father's past affairs?
Breathing in the smell of books that would usually calm me, I took in my surroundings— the light streaming in through the one window that was artfully made into a stained-glass of the Gatsburg Family Crest painting the small room an earthy-green hue. I might as well look into a random page to see what I will find...
With my mind made up, I slowly opened the journal to a bulky page, surprised to see a candid picture of me smiling. Was this from the last time we had spent my birthday together?
Wanting to distract myself from the sudden catch in my throat, I started to read the entry he had written near my photo...
13th of April
I feel that Death refuses to release me from his grasp this time around...
I have trained him well until now, so it must be time to entrust Cole's safety to the Emperor...
Curiosity now had me in her hooks, Who was this Emperor my father seemed to trust enough with me? Backtracking several pages in the journal, I came across a newspaper clipping dated almost two decades ago...
Couple found dead amidst house fire!
Investigators have ruled out arson and are keen to believe it as a homicide-suicide case. Authorities are still on the lookout for the couple's 13-year old missing son, Napoleon Jourdain...
He would at least have been in his 30s now if he was still alive somewhere... I murmured to myself, finding a sort of semblance to Lee's case back when he went missing at 15. Turning to the next page, my eyes automatically focused on the picture of a young boy, the grainy quality of the photo had me angling towards the sunlight but then my breath caught—
There, as the green hues from the stained-glass highlighted the child's eyes, a familiar face with friendly jade-green eyes came to mind—It couldn't be... Noel..?
Links:
The Ink Well Weekly Fiction Prompt #11 - World Building
Author's note: Where it all began... My InkWell Story Map. It all began in The Ink Well Fast and Furious Festival and continues on The Ink Well Weekly Fiction Prompt. Three more chapters to go to reach the final conclusion of this journey. Stay tuned. On a side note, I do struggle with writing motivation these days. Our lockdown has not been lifted, and we could only guess how long this situation will last. I do dream of travel and getaways. I pray it will be possible soon.