A Place Called Home

Chapter 10

     It was nightfall, everyone was asleep, the night was silent. I stared at my already packed backpack, I was dressed and ready to leave. I swung my bag over my shoulders and opened the doors, the cold breeze brushed my skin causing goosebumps to appear. As I took a step forward Anna's words kept ringing in my brain.

"Promise that you'll never leave "

My heart battled with my mind, I stared at the floor trying to make up my mind, my hands still on the door knob.
" I can't,  I just can't!" I said and walked back inside, then I shut the door. I sank into the couch and placed a hand on my forehead, I let out a deep sigh. I carried my bag and walked back to my room, I switched on the lights, I noticed an envelope on the bed, I shut the door behind me and slowly walked to the bed, I picked up the envelope and examined it, it was plane white and written in bold letters were " TO: MJ ". I opened it, there was a tiny piece of paper inside, it read....
" I thought you were dead. I'm so glad that  you lived and I'm extremely happy that I found you. There are alot of things you need to know, meet me by the lake at sunset tomorrow . Come alone.
                                                                                            Love Dad "
My heart skipped a beat as I read the last words of the letter.

It can't be.

I stared at the piece of paper in my hands, I was too stunned to move or talk or do anything, I just stared, my eyes crossing the word "Dad". I  tucked the paper into my back pocket and blinked back a few tears.  I layed on my bed and sank my face into my pillow, I was trying so hard not to cry but my emotions wee getting the best of me.
He knew I was alive, and he found me.
I had so many questions to ask him, all these years he had been alive and he never tried to reach out to me, why?, why now?, why did he wait ten years?, All these I was about to find out, tomorrow, by  the lake, at sunset. I pulled out the paper from my pocket and read the letter again and again until I fell asleep.

  My limbs were moving against my will, I was running as fast as I could, the wind howled in my ears, I looked ahead, the lake was in a shade of orange, reflecting the setting sun. He sat on a bench and watched me as I ran towards him, he stood up and smiled, then he caught me in his arms, I felt his warm embrace and for that moment all my worries were gone, he was here, he was with me.
"Daddy......." I said with tears in my eyes
" oh JJ.....I thought you were dead" He said smiling
"Who's JJ, it's me MJ...... Dad?"
"JJ....." He said again, he wasn't looking at me anymore,he was staring behind me, I turned slowly to see a blonde girl dressed in white slacks smiling at him.
" JJ" He said again

What the hell was going on

Daddy hugged this "JJ" girl and completely ignored me, they were whispering something, JJ nodded in my direction, she started walking towards me, I tried to move back but I was stiff, I looked down and saw that I was sinking into the sand, I heard growling, I looked up and saw that JJ had turned into a pit bull terrier, it pounced on me, I screamed and opened my eyes.
I jerkerd back to reality.

I was dreaming

I placed my hand on my forehead and wiped off the cold sweat, a knock came on my door.
"MJ are you in there?"
I rolled over and checked the time on my phone "9:45am"

How long have I been dreaming

I rubbed my eyes and walked towards the door, imtiltedntge knob and pulled it open. Lucas was standing there, a wide grin spread across his face as I opened the door.
"What?!" I asked rubbing my eyes
He bit his lower lip as if to stop himself from bursting into laughter.
" what?!" I said again
" you look angelic in the morning " He said grinning stupidly
" I mean what do you want?, why did you knock on the door this early in the morning?"
" it's actually not that early........"
" just tell me what you want"
He cleared his throat and said " officer Joe is downstairs, he asked some questions to ask you"
" officer Joe?!" I exclaimed a little too loudly
"Yeah, any problem? "
"No, no problem.........isn't it just a little too early?"
"It isn't that early, I mean it's almost 9am and I think you might have overslept " Lucas giggled.
I rolled my eyes and muttered the words "I'll be down in a minute", I shut the door. I walked over to my dressing table and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my hair was a total mess, I was in my PJ'S, drool marks were at the side of my face, I shook my head and went into the bathroom. I took a quick shower, got dressed and sluggishly went down the stairs.
    The air in the living room was tense, something happened and from the look on officer Joe's face, it wasn't good, everyone was seated in silence. Anna was wearing a black dress and a sad look was plastered across her face. Shawn was seated right next to Anna, he looked disturbed rather than confused or sad, he stared at me as I slumped next to Lucas on the sofa.
" Morning " I muttered, the response was okay.
" once again, my condolence to all of you, it was a tragic incident, a dreadful sight, no one deserves to see" officer Joe started, he cleared his throat and continued " well, I think you should have heard the news, two other men died the night Fred died, and they died in similar ways, heads taken from the body, body burnt to ashes " He stopped
"We didn't hear the news, this is serious, who were those men?" Shawn asked
" Steve Harrington was killed in Washington, 8:45PM, he was celebrating the success of his business. Rick Robert was killed in Georgia, 8:46 PM, he was celebrating his daughters 18th birthday and Fred Andrews was killed here in New York, 8:47 Pm, he was celebrating his 50th birthday........
And all these men were killed in similar ways but something bothers me the most " officer Joe paused to stare at me, then he continued " we've carried out our investigations, they've left no clues behind, nothing for us to trace, but they did leave one thing and it bothers me" He dipped his hands into his left pocket and pulled out a piece of wood, he handed it to me and I took it. I studied it closely, there were two words carved on the wood in fine calligraphy, my heart skipped a beat as I saw the two words

                                        "MJ"

  " there are two others of this same wood, each have the same words carved on them, each one of them was found at each murder scene, this bothers me alot"
"It could mean something else" Lucas said
Officer Joe faced me, he had a look of regret on his face like he was about to do something wrong, something really wrong.
" MJ, I'm afraid you'll have to come with us to the station "