The Curiosities Concerning Fate

∷ Chapter 45 ∷

IT WAS RAINING again. A drizzle that started sometime in the morning and hadn't let up since. The town of Queen Island was always cold and damp, with the sun hidden behind darkened clouds; the wind and the rain dominating the coastal town. A common sight depicted the townsfolk clinging to their windbreakers, shoving their hands in pockets, taking refuge under their umbrellas, or simply shielding themselves with the hood of their jackets.

Adine was ten years old at the point of recollection, sitting by the windowsill in their dingy apartment. To the passersby on the street below, she looked like a bored child yearning to venture forth into the world yet kept indoors by the torrential rain pelting down upon the earth.

But in reality, Adine wasn't paying attention to the goings on outside. She was watching the tiny droplets of rain on the surface of the window, her eyes following the specks as they raced each other: drop after drop after drop. What fun it must be to be able to move so fast and disappear right after a collision.

She shifted her gaze to the sky, staring aimlessly at it before turning to survey the apartment. The house was shrouded in darkness, the gloomy weather doing little to help. It was depressing. But her father's mood hadn't been too good lately and she didn't want to risk angering him further. She was lucky he even permitted her to sit by the window just so she could look outside.

Her stomach grumbled and she instinctively placed a hand over it to silence her hunger. Everything seemed too loud in the quiet of the house. She jumped off the windowsill and plodded to the kitchen, noticing yet again that no food had been left for her.

She glanced at the clock above the refrigerator. Her mother was supposed to be home an hour ago with groceries.

She was late.

Adine bit her lip and looked around the kitchen a second time, her gaze landing on the loaf of bread by the side of the sink. She reached for it and took a slice. She wasn't sure if it was good to eat, but she was hungry and she had to fill her stomach somehow.

She made her way back to the window, nibbling on the slice of bread as she peered outside once more. The street was empty now, save for the lone figure struggling under the weight of the bags they were carrying, identity concealed by the hood of their jacket. But the longer Adine stared, the more familiar their gait appeared to be.

She was about to turn away, forget her suspicions, when the figure turned, revealing someone she knew: her mother.

Adine scrambled to her feet, shoving the rest of the bread in her mouth before rushing to the front door. The only thought in her head was the need to stop her mother from doing anything stupid. Her father would be home soon and if they weren't where they were expected to be . . . The consequences would no doubt end with them getting hurt, an occurrence Adine was desperate to avoid.

She raced to the streets, wincing when she felt the cold patters of rain against her cheek. It was bothersome, but not enough to stop her from following through with her intentions. She crossed the road, walking in the direction she'd last seen her mother, her sudden disappearance igniting the gnawing ache of fear in her chest.

But she refused to believe her mother had disappeared into thin air, telling herself that if she kept to the sidewalk, she was bound to catch up to her sooner or later.

Adine had been walking for a while now, coming to an abrupt halt when the sidewalk ended at the entrance leading into the forest. She stared at the dark abyss before her, the little sunlight swallowed by the thick overgrowth beyond. She contemplated turning back, tricking herself into believing her mother had not willingly ventured into the forest, that she might perhaps have turned away at some point during her walk.