Ephemeral Echoes

The Only Survivor

As we waited here again in this house, days after we were not welcomed by her father, we felt nervous, except for Mary.

If her father didn't allow us to talk to Diana, we didn't know what we would do next. It seemed that Diana was the only lead we had at the moment; we had no other clues.

After he opened the door, his stern gaze showed his annoyance, as I had suspected. "You again. What do you want?!" he asked sharply.

"We want to talk to Diana," I said cautiously, trying to show our good intentions. "I really want to help you find your daughter, Minnie."

"Go away!" he yelled firmly, his expression showing irritation. "I do not care about her, she's too messed up."

Once again, he slammed the door shut abruptly, ending the conversation.

"Mr. Corbyn, she would not be messed up if there was not a reason," I persisted, continuing to speak behind the door. "Have you ever talked to her? Understanding her feelings? Comforted her?"

"No! And I do not care," he yelled from behind the door.

"Then you should, because she needs you, like a father," I said, trying to convey the message I wanted to get across. But he didn't respond to me.

"Listen... I know Minnie has a sister, she was with her when Minnie was kidnapped. You don't let her out because you're afraid of losing your daughter again. I can see you want what's best for her, even if it's in the wrong way," I continued empathetically, hoping these words would resonate with him.

Mr. Corbyn slowly opened the door and asked softly, "How do you know?"

"About what?" I replied to his question with a question.

"Minnie's feelings towards me."

I glanced at George briefly before turning back to Mr. Corbyn and said gently, "I have a friend, he's been through a lot, even when her father didn't care about him, he always waited days, months even years for his father."

Without saying a word, he opened the door wider, indicating that we were allowed to enter his house.

The warm light from the lamps inside welcomed us, and the furniture in his house was neatly arranged, even clean.

"Where's Diana?" I asked because I couldn't see Diana.

"Diana!" Mr. Corbyn shouted loudly, as if shaking his house a bit.

Mary was slightly startled by Mr. Corbyn's sudden strong reaction, perhaps not used to being around such a stern figure? Or maybe... she had trust issues with people.

Diana finally emerged from her room, and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, a young girl.

"Hi, Diana," I greeted her softly with a smile. "Let me introduce, my name is Hiraeth Cordelia, this is George Gregory, and she is Mary Everingham."

"I want to talk to you for a moment," I continued to the point of discussion.

Diana's breath seemed heavier. "Please do not take me, I did not do anything wrong."

For some reason, she pleaded, but instead of asking, I reassured her. "Don't worry, we won't take you, we just want to talk."

As she calmed down, I asked further, "What happened to your sister?"

"That night, in the dark, we just walked back home without talking. Nothing strange, just a normal day for us," she recounted her story with painful memories. "Suddenly, two tall men approached us, I could not see their faces because it happened so fast. They covered our mouths, I tried hard to free myself from the man's grip on my mouth."