Coincidentally But Eternally Connected

The Only One

"I think that since...well, since I said we would stay together no matter what, and then we spent that very intimate afternoon, things have changed for me. I know we were together before that, but now I feel it is deeper. There is nothing standing between us any longer."

"The only thing between us before was your self-doubt," she told me gently, stroking my cheek with the palm of her hand. "I'm glad that's gone now. And should that falter, just remember that not everyone is out to separate us, and even if they are, the only ones who can decide that they will be a problem are the two of us." Her words made sense to me, and I vowed to keep them in mind should my insecurities rise to the surface again.

In the morning, we made one final retrieval of a shelter van. Hope stood next to Richy, and I saw the expression on his face as he looked down at her. There were a lot of apprehensions. She asked her questions, and he stared off for a few moments, then turned back and replied. She gave him a smile and he gathered her in for a hug, his eyes shut tightly. Then he let her go and nodded with a small smile at me. I nodded back pensively.

I pondered what Hope said the day before. I still believed Richy was in love with Hope, but he wasn't trying to steal her away. He just needed a friend. Somehow, my emotional intelligence was growing in leaps and bounds with her. Having her in my life made me a better man.

I followed Hope to the shelter to drop the van there, and then she got into the car with me and we went home. She had no meetings today and we had things to discuss privately.

"Richy said when Hannah first showed up asking for a ride, it was just before dinner, which his mom would serve at 6:30 pm."

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "We still have missing time."

Hope nodded. "It seems Hannah may have gone straight from Dan and Lilly to Richy's house, but then we have a few hours between that and her meeting with Phil. So what did she do in the interim?"

"Hannah did not own a mobile phone at that age, so we have only witness accounts to rely on. We need to ask the others."

Hope agreed and opened the group chat.

Hope: Guys, can you come online, please?

Richy is online

Jessy is online

Thomas is online

Cleo is online

Dan is online

Lilly is online

Hope: We're trying to reconstruct a timeline from the Pine Glade Festival ten years ago. We know that Hannah left Lilly with Dan in the late afternoon. Did anyone see her later in the day?

Hope quickly also went to the private chat with Richy. 

Hope: Don't worry, I'm not going to mention you. Just act normally and tell them when you went home.

Richy: Thank you, Hope. 🤗

Back in the group chat, answers were filtering in.

Thomas: I didn't even live in Duskwood ten years ago. I only met everyone at the Aurora around three years ago.

Cleo: I spend every festival volunteering with mom at the Gates of Hope booth, so they all run together. Hannah might have stopped by, but I don't know what time.

Richy: I think I went home around 5:00 and stayed there for the rest of the night.

Jessy: I was sick for one year...I can't remember which. But--