Serene

4

He sighs. "Fine. I need to tell mom that you'll know everything, though. I'll be right back." He says again.

I wait for a while before he and Hannah sit across from me.

Odeo takes a deep breath before explaining.

"I-I was a rising celebrity. I had fans and also haters. One particular hater decided to take things to another level. He was part of a big organization and got help to-" He trails off and a blank look crosses his face. "Uh, they kidnapped someone mom and I were very close to. Loved really."

He looks at his mom and she smiles sadly.

"We never saw her again. I was mad at the time and I sort of got mad at God. In short, I was a mess. I followed the trail as long as I could, which wasn't much. I looked up people in the company and after a month, I moved here with mom. I also went back to God and my faith's stronger than ever. I-I just wanna find her. Or find out what happened to her."

He looks at me sadly and I stare back. What am I supposed to do? Smile? Say that everything'll be alright? Ask who this mystery girl is? Maybe it's his sister...

"So you'll help me right?" He asks, suddenly hopeful.

"Odeo. We talked about this." Hannah says sternly.

He turns to her. "Mom. Please. You know me. I wouldn't do this just for the sake of it. I want to know what happened and I know you do too. You-"

Hannah holds up a hand for him to stop. "I know."

She sighs. "I give you permission to go. I'll need some help around the house though. But you have three months max. Please come back, and take care of yourselves. I can't lose you too."

She stands up and kisses her son's forehead. I hear her whisper, "take care of her."

He nods and Hannah comes to my side and kisses my forehead as well. "Be careful."

She leaves and Odeo looks at me with happiness. "We leave tomorrow!"

I raise a hand as if in class. "Where are we going and what do we do?"

He smiles excitedly, says goodnight and heads to his room.

I'm excited to go an adventure. Though I'm not sure if I've been on one before. I'm also nervous about what we'll find. But mostly, I just got here, just felt welcomed and loved, and now I leave and go off to a judgmental and harsh world.

***
The next morning, Hannah waits for us in the dining room with a big breakfast.

"You need a lot of nutrients for your trip. It'll be a while till you reach your first stop." She says.

"How do you know where we're going?" I ask, Hannah, sitting down.

"When Odeo leaves Dapple, there's only one house near here that's good for a first stop." She explains. "The house of one of his old friends. It's out of Dapple, but not as far as the first hotels you'd need to reach." She explains.

Odeo sits across from me and we pray then eat. I'm starting to get the hang of this.

Hannah's quiet for a first. And Odeo keeps talking.

"I can't wait to see them all again." He says excitedly.

Hannah sighs. "Just be careful, Odeo. You don't know who else may remember you."

He looks down. "Yes mother."

We finish breakfast, and head out to saddle our horses.

"So no cars right?" I ask, making sure.