You were stuck in your spot, trembling as you clutched onto the teddy bear. All you wanted to do was cry and run from the closet but instead, you stayed out until morning, just as Natalia had said.
Where are you now?
Are you lost?
You jolted upright in your bed, gasping to catch your breath. Closing your eyes, you leaned back against your cold headboard, letting yourself regain your breath. That nightmare memory was becoming all too frequent. This was the fourth night in a row you were forced to relive that night.
Opening your eyes, you reached over to the nightstand and picked up the clock. You were pleasantly surprised to see it read 6:45. At least this time you were woken up about 15 minutes before you had initially planned on it. Setting the clock back on the table you went to get out of bed but paused.
You reached just beyond the alarm clock and picked up the plush toy bedside it. Leaning back against the headboard, you examined the bear that looked to be far beyond its prime.
Will I find you again?
Are you alone?
Are you afraid?
You ran your hands over the bear that was nowhere near as soft as he was when you were a child. It was to be expected, after being the recipient of 21 years worth of your tears, it was to be expected. You paused for a moment, had it truly been 21 years since the night where you lost everything? God, you had been searching for so long.
The men who had taken Natalia that night had killed your mother in the process. You can remember staying with her dead body for hours in the morning, crying and pleading for her to wake up. A neighbor came and found you a few hours later after nothing the tire tracks in the snow that led to and from your house.
Upon discovering that you had no family outside of your mother and older sister, the gracious old man who found you took it upon himself to raise you. He thought it best to move away from the area just in case the men came back for you.
Are you searching for me?
Why did you go?
Truly you would have been lost if it hadn't been for Timur. If not for him you would have been thrown into some orphanage in the middle of nowhere, he truly saved your life.
You reached for the small chain around your neck and took hold of the ring that was attached to it. Timur wore this ring until his last days when he gave it to you. His dying wish was for you to find Natalia, and to never stop looking until she was found. He had always kept the hope that your sister was still out there somewhere alive in you. He passed away soon after your 20th birthday.
You let the ring fall back against your chest before standing up and placing the bear back on your bedside table. You had work to do today. A lead to follow. The woman you were seeking out today wouldn't be easy to get to but you were determined. She fit the description of this "Black Widow" to the letter and if you could find her, then you could find the people who ripped Natalia away from you. Better yet, you would be able to find Natalia herself.
I had to stay
Now I'm reaching for you
Will you wait?
Will you wait?
Will I see you again?
Once you got yourself ready for the day you walked over to the small desk in the corner of your apartment and picked up the file before opening it and pulling out a small slip of paper. You read over the sheet, committing the address on it to memory.
Today was going to be anything but easy, infiltrating the Avenger's tower would be an impressive feat for a group of people let alone one person, but you had no choice. This Black Widow character was seemingly your last hope at getting the information on your sister so if you had to take on a slew of security personnel and the Avengers themselves, so be it.
Hymn for the missing
Start from the beginning
