Sunday, 12/10/2008
As she kept holding on to Lily, Amelia realized she couldn't recall ever seeing her cry as a child. After all, she'd never been one to show much emotion of any kind most of the time. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she also made a mental note of how different Lily felt compared how to she was acting at that moment, or for that matter how she’d felt back then. She felt so... solid. It wasn't something she would've imagined from looking at her, given the baggy clothing, but it definitely felt as though she was hugging a well-trained athlete. Very different from back then – she’d been a skinny one as a child.
And now that she thought about it, the last she had seen of her, Lily had still been noticeably shorter than her. The one in her arms now had been tall enough that despite wearing shoes while Lily did not, Amelia had been looking up to look her in the eye when handing over the plane earlier. Twelve years – it certainly was more than enough time for such things to change, given how young they had been. And yet, she chided herself for not having recognized her friend. After all, the primary reason she had returned to Scotland had been to find Lily. Granted, physical size aside the hair colour had changed, and redheads with green eyes weren’t uncommon in Scotland by any means, but even so... she’d not even though of the possibility it could be Lily.
Amelia both heard and felt as Lily took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Then Lily raised herself to a more upright position, though she remained sitting. Amelia loosened her hold on her somewhat, but that lead to Lily clasping a hand on top of hers. It appeared she didn't want to part just yet. Despite still feeling dazed about the whole situation, Amelia couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. She supposed that Lily still had her needy side. Not that she minded, and so they remained that way for a while longer. It was quiet, and all Amelia could hear was their breathing and her own heart beating. Though she could feel Lily's as well.
“Lia.” Lily's somewhat hoarse whisper finally broke the silence, calling her with her childhood nickname as she had done to her earlier. “You are… not going to disappear, right?” For a moment, this young woman truly was like that little girl again, and the vulnerable uncertainty in her voice broke Amelia’s heart all over again. She shook her head adamantly and squeezed even harder, unable to find her voice.
Eventually, Lily took another deep breath to steady herself. Amelia finally pulled herself back and stood up while keeping a hand on her long-lost friend's shoulder. She squeezed it. Grabbing the box and its lid, Lily also stood up. She looked around, appearing at least as dazed as Amelia herself felt. As though realizing the lack of chairs – Amelia surmised that her friend certainly didn't seem to have a habit of hosting guests at her home – Lily sheepishly motioned for her to follow as she started towards the room opposite the TV, which turned out to be the kitchen. There was only one chair next to the table, but after setting the box and the photo on the table and gesturing for Amelia to sit, Lily disappeared back through the living room doorway, only to soon reappear carrying another chair, though of a different kind. As she entered the room, her guest was eyeing the open box with obvious curiosity. She sat down on the opposite side of the table.
“What little mementoes I got to keep from Saint Cecilia’s.” She pushed it over the table. Nodding mutely, Amelia took the box and took account of the contents. There were a few handicrafts – a pair of what appeared to be animal figurines made out of clay. She was about to move on to the next item when she halted as suddenly a faint memory resurfaced. One of them, a barely recognizable giraffe, was one she had made herself. The other, an equally crude elephant, was her host's handiwork, inspired by Amelia’s plushie. “We made those,” Lily said when she noticed her guest examining them.
“I remember. It was just a short while before I... had to leave, wasn't it?” the latter said with a grimace. She buried her face in her hands for a moment, collecting her thoughts. Then she dropped her hands, and leaned back on her chair, staring at the ceiling instead. Somehow, she suddenly found it hard to look at her childhood friend, but her words still came out with fiery emotion. “Before I was abducted is more like it! I was so mad! I was suddenly told to immediately pack up and pretty much shoved out the door where my aunt who I had never even seen before was waiting to snatch me away. She wouldn't let me see you, even just to say goodbye. I never forgave her for that. And I never will,” she added, before finally looking straight at Lily, who in turn was again staring at the photo.
“They never told me anything other than that you'd left while I was in the hospital. I only heard on the way back. They said they were not allowed to say anything more.”
“You can blame my bloody aunt for that,” Amelia interjected bitterly.
“Yes... It is not like the employees did not know how... close we were, so why would they not tell me anything of their own accord? However, I could not forgive them regardless. They must have been able to tell me something. It is not like your aunt would have heard about it or could have done anything about it. I had no idea where you had gone, so I had no way to try to find or contact you.” Saying this left Lily blinking rapidly, trying to stave off more tears. Amelia reached across the table and squeezed her friend's hand reassuringly.
“It's definitely not your fault. I... went all the way to the United States. I couldn't even find the phone number of the children's home from there, and though my aunt and uncle of course had to know it, they wouldn't tell me. So, I couldn't try anything either.” She sighed. “I came back here a little over two years ago to attend university, to study physiotherapy. I went to visit the children's home hoping to find out something, but of course, it had closed long ago. Seemed to be a regular kindergarten now. The city hall then told me that the records pertaining to anyone but myself were confidential and therefore not available for me to see, so it was a dead end.”
“I tried to visit a few times before it closed to try to get them to tell me something, but it was no use.” Then, Lily realized something. “How about that tea?”
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