7 Pieces of 6 - Return to Avani

Part Two

CHAPTER FIVE

LONG SEARCH

Tierra made herself comfortable on the couch. She wanted to know more even though it scared and upset her. Her mind briefly flashed to the dream with the explosion, the fire and the smoke and she could sympathise with Spencer and Gabbi.

Tierra found herself admiring Gabbi's turquoise gaze, almost making her wish she didn't have boring brown eyes.

"Where was I ...?" Gabbi continued after they all had fresh cups of coffee. "Oh yes ... it was a couple of weeks later and I had just about reached the end of my tether. I was tired, miserable and grumpy. We had been at it the whole day again, my back hurt, my eyes hurt and I had a headache from hell. I wasn't counting on me opening old wounds, which is exactly what I did. I managed to knock over one of our stacks of papers and uncovered the letter delivered to Spencer. I remember looking at him sleeping peacefully on his desk and made the decision to follow my gut. I was scared, we both were, this wasn't normal. These kinds of letters didn't just appear and disappear without some kind of special magic. Quickly pulling it out from under the pile of papers before I changed my mind, I was surprised again by the weight of the envelope. Too distracted by the way it was beginning to burn my hand, I felt each finger tingle as if they were being slowly roasted over an open fire. Something in my head kept yelling, don't let go, don't let go. So I held it for as long as I could stand and just before I dropped it, Spencer's name briefly changed to 'Orphan Port.' We have got something. Spence, we have found something to work with, I said excitedly waking him from his slumber." She took a sip of her coffee, appreciating the aroma with every sip she took. Placing the cup back onto the table she continued.

"I told him about the letter, and he surprised me by not questioning it at all. He just agreed that we needed to narrow down our search. I wrote the two words at least a hundred times on sticky notes and had put them all over our dining room slash office. It was the warmest room in the house because we kept a fire burning both day and night. These words had to mean something, but I didn't know what and neither did Spencer. We tried everything, and once again we were coming up short. It was driving me crazy and it was killing Spencer. The time factor started to play a huge role, we were tense all the time and at each other's throats for the smallest things. Spencer called me while staring at the world map we had stuck up on the paint stripped wall ─ What if Port, is not a name of just an orphanage? What if it is a town or, a city? ─ Ok ... but we have tried that ─ I know, I know, but it has been bugging me, actually driving me bloody crazy ─ Sighing, he shook his head as he ran his hand through his hair ─ Anyway, I was looking at the map, and well what about the city of Portland in Oregon? ─ He was right, we were being idiots. If we only had thought of that in the first place, we would have saved ourselves a whole lot of work. Anyways, I sent a message to my old associate in Chicago and while we waited for him to get back to us, we began our own searches. Hey, Spencer, I think I have got something I said. My old associate had found Tierra's name registered as a stockbroker in Portland. It didn't make sense to us because you were supposed to be so young. So we kept digging. Sure enough, you have bank accounts in your name, plus a social security number. We even managed to find out which school you went to. It was like we had broken a seal of some kind, because after years of searching we could find you. There was one problem though. We couldn't find out where you lived, other than the obvious Portland"

"It was exciting and daunting at the same time," Spencer said.

"Oh," Tierra said, unsure what to feel. "Obviously, you found out ..."

"Well, yes we did eventually, but before we get to that, let me fill in a few gaps that I feel I should tell you..." Spencer said. "I was sitting on the uncomfortable couch two days after we received the email saying they would try find the address and I felt like I was going insane. My emotions were all over the place, Gabbi and I were at each other's necks and I needed to get out. I needed to get away from the letter, and not to be nasty, Gabbi as well. She was being so intense that I just couldn't cope with it all anymore. It was like a damn rollercoaster ride that would just never end. Running my hand through my hair, I felt some of it pull out. I remember gazing at the chunk of hair in my hand and panicking. I jumped off the sofa yelling, Gabbi, honey, what do we need from the store? I need to go out ─ Oh, um, just the basics Spence. We are low on milk and bread ─ Gabbi said, a little startled by my impromptu decision. Practically running out the door, I felt numb. I realised I had changed. This part is a little tricky to explain ... but it felt like I was dying, I couldn't decide if it was the letter that was dying, or if in actual fact it was both of us."