"Maaaaappllle!!!" I heard my mother's voice ring through the trees probably calling me for dinner, instantly pushing me out of my thoughts.
"Coming!" I yelled back.
I climbed out of the tree and sprinted towards the farmhouse. As I arrived at the door, my mother's grim yet sympathetic look stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Mooom?" I said slowly.
"Over dinner we need to talk." She replied.
We went in and approached the dining room table. I closed my eyes and drew in the sharp scent of tangy spices and the sweet fragrance of homemade apple juice. As I sat down my mother cleared her throat loud and clear.
"Ahem" she said briskly.
" Yes?" I inquired slowly and carefully as not to anger her.
" They may have found a lead on Olive's case this morning" she said bluntly.
I nearly choked on my spicy barbecue chicken when she said this.
"Wha-"
I broke off and took a moment to recollect myself and then simultaneously blurted out the thought that's been running through my head since she went missing.
" She's not dead is she!"
"No,no she's not." My mother replied quietly.
" Someone thinks that they saw her outside of a mini-mart just inside of Illinois."
"So they brought her in right?"
"No" My mother paused for a moment choosing her words carefully.
"She was with a man and he forced her into a car. Witnesses say she was delirious and snapped everybody. "
I instantly dropped my fork. It clattered on the ground a rung with a chilling emptiness almost mirroring the way I inwardly felt. So she's been taken. I thought. My inner confidence that she was free collapsed. I felt numb. Is this a dream,or even a cruel joke? At this point, I don't remember much of what happened.
Of the little I do remember, I can tell it wasn't pretty. I remember screaming bloody murder and throwing things and finally just sinking to the floor as the weight of the situation dawned on me.
But soon after, a wave of eerie calmness washed over me and I soon slipped into sleep right then and there on the kitchen floor.
YOU ARE READING
Finding Olive
AdventureYoung Maple Bennet would do anything to see her best friend Olive Partridge again. When she finally sees that her whole life is not what it seems, she goes in pursuit of Olive. On this journey, she realizes that she'll be finding more than Olive. Mu...
