After countless prayers that Jude Ronsonett was only joking, I found myself looking at Quinn with a heavy, vulnerable heart. The next morning, we were both up much earlier than the sun, and we stared at each other with contrasting emotions. Her excited demeanor fell once she saw my restless guilt, and she quickly readied herself to leave my house in time for the night sky to shield our silently agreed upon secret.
Soon, I managed to find something decent to wear as I waited for the sun's gradual ascension over the horizon. As her first few rays of light peaked through my window cracks, I was pouring myself a cup of coffee when a series of aggressive knocks shook my front door.
Slightly dazed, I made my way to the door and was greeted by a tall, muscular man with a wide build and fiery curls growing from his chin and the top of his head. His bronze like skin was tinted a similar red, and on his lower neck, a small ice cream tattoo that set Mr. Jay apart from other blacksmiths in Gyran--just in case his red hair didn't do the job.
"Sir Gyran," his determined voice boomed yet slightly wavered with hints of exhaustion, "has Oddisya passed by here in the past twenty-four hours?" His brown eyes, nearly hidden in under bags and his large scrunched eyebrows, looked me up and down. I hadn't yet cleaned up and my affairs the previous night were probably obvious, since he didn't look too sure of which answer he wanted from me.
"No, mister," I answered, my voice slightly slurring. "I haven't seen Oddie since Tuesday morning, actually." Though it felt like such a long time ago, I had to remind myself that it was only three days and that Oddisya was an adult--she was probably fine.
Mr. Jay crossed his arms and grunted an "I know" under his breath. He then scowled at me, all his lines of aging and exhaustion taking center stage. "Arliss," he nearly growled, "you are the natural born leader of this town and my baby girl--one of your residents--has gone missing. I fully expect you to help me find her."
Putting up a more hostile front, I leaned against the door. "'Your baby girl' is a mature adult. You don't need to send watchdogs after her."
"You don't understand!" he yelled, his face flushing even more. "Any other day of the year, Oddie could disappear for weeks and I wouldn't give a damn. But yesterday was Sundae's anniversary, and the only time she has ever completely skipped our yearly supper with absolutely no prior communication was when tragedy struck." Swallowing, he allowed himself to breathe and calm down. "Something's happened to my daughter. She loves Sundae way too much for that."
I blinked, "Is Sundae a person?"
Mr. Jay looked at me, searching for a sign that I didn't mean what I said. But I did--I knew nothing about this Sundae anniversary. When that registered in Mr. Jay's mind, his face went from confused, to disgusted, to sympathetic in about three seconds. "No," he lied, his voice barely audible. "It's her favorite ice cream."
"Then what's the big deal?" Yes, I was prying, but so far the only reason he'd offered up at to why Oddie could be in danger was this Sundae person. Him choosing to lie about it would not sit well in my book.
"Just...help me find my daughter," he sighed.
For a moment, I looked at him, both of us completely still. I was more than uneasy with the fact that neither Oddie nor her father felt comfortable to tell me about what they considered an important day--especially when Mr. Jay just expects me to know. I gave it one last shot, hoping that if I stared him down, he'd feel guilty and tell me who Sundae is.
Nothing.
"Alright," I gave in. "Meet me in my office in an hour with a search party." With a somewhat satisfied nod, Mr. Jay backed out of my doorway and took his leave. As I closed the door, I realized that I probably should have specified for him to keep Oddie's disappearance quiet. Sighing, I shrugged it off, hoping he'd have enough common sense to do so.
And, to my relief, as I walked through the streets, it was quiet, with only the strong-willed early birds buzzing around. Just around the block, on the road just down south of my home and facing back to back to it, was the office. By the door, Mr. Jay, Jude Ronsonett, one other man, plus two women stood by, anxiously awaiting me to let them in. I did so, with a small polite smile on my face, the most I could muster with the merciless buzz of the past few days.
One of the women, a girl who'd I'd seen working a the blacksmiths every now and then, and Juse Ronsonett sat down in the two chairs facing in towards mine on the opposite side of the desk while the other three people crowded around behind them. The other woman, much older and frailer looking than the girl, leaned on Ronsonett's chair. He noticed and courteously stood and waved toward the seat for her to take it.
I looked at her, suspicious as to why such a weak looking woman would be chosen to search for Oddisya. She noticed my staring and simply stared back. She had hazel eyes with black patches in them, as if something had been taken from her.
"Ma'am," I said slowly, somewhat afraid she wouldn't understand otherwise, "may I have your name?"
For half a second, she quivered, then blinked, "They call me Melonaide, Sir. Melonaide Randis." A wave of realization hit and I nodded, understanding how she could be used.
I looked to the man standing behind the girl, both with shimmering blonde hair and nearly blacked out eyes. "Nice to see you again, Kino," I smiled as he leaned in for a handshake. "Is that your daughter you've brought with you?"
Excited, the girl perked up. "G'day, Sir," she greeted with a certain drawl similar to Oddie's. "I'm Mallory Oearl, I just hit seventeen 'bout two weeks back." Imitating her father, she went in for a handshake as well.
Quickly, I glanced between Jude Ronsonett and Mr. Jay, "And, of course, we have Jeyaprash Zech and Jude Ronsonett." The two nodded and I held my hand up, dismissing their handshakes. While in the room, I found out that the six of them had found nearly no evidence of Oddie anywhere. So I organized a search, straightforward and direct, having us split up into groups of two a search around town. The only thing I really stressed, was the importance of keeping this news quiet from the other townsfolk.
Trusting they'd listen to me, Ms. Randis and I hopped on Hex and took off. We first rode by places where I'd usually find Oddie--the bakery, the park, the hospital, and the blacksmiths'. I even dropped by her home and ran into Kino and Mallory there, plus a few others who'd suspiciously found out somehow. Slowly, I'd started to get worried. Frustrated even, with this motionless woman hitching onto me without assisting the search.
Eventually, I had reached my limit with her and stopped Hex. It jerked Mrs. Randis awake. "Check the bar," she mumbled. Fully convinced she was probably intoxicated herself, I had Hex blindly wander for a few moments, before giving into my curiosity and heading towards the the Migo Tavern.
As we got closer, Ms. Randis suddenly jumped off of Hex. She ran ahead of me and hurried into the tavern. When I found her, the bartender was already knee deep in a description, "I overheard a man planning on taking a young girl to District Thirty-One, Sir. He was with a bunch of infamously known alcoholics so I thought he was too out of it to know what he was saying. However, I did catch a glimpse of a girl with him, she had darker skin and reddish hair."
Breathlessly, I whispered, "Oddie..." and made my way over through the unstable crowd of people.
I heard Ms. Randis ask, "Did the man have white hair?" The bartender, now in my sight, looked up as he poured a drink.
"I think it was more silver, but yes," he nodded. "Yes he did. And, he strangely overtook Caelan as the bar leader and now the other drunks blindly follow him around."
I ran up to the counter and cut in, "Thirty-One, you said?"
Surprised, he blinked and answered, "Yes, Sir, the northernmost parts."
I paused for a moment, thinking about what it would take to get all the way up there. Still, "Ms. Randis, I'll have Kino and Jude come with me while the rest of you continue searching here to ease the worried people." Shakily, I said these words. While I tried to sound sure, I was far from. "Understood?"
"Yes, Sir," she croaked.
Comments (0)
See all