N Y G N D C A N R O A
Those were the letters her father had written. They looked familiar, a set of letters that take root at the edge of the brain and don't let go until you figure them out. Really, it was more frustrating than anything.
Cassie went to her classes, and the letters stuck in her mind, so much so she barely focused on what her teachers were saying. She went to work, despite her boss telling her she could take as much time off after the funeral, and the letters wouldn't let go of her there either. If anyone noticed how far away she seemed, though, they didn't say anything.
As she sat in her apartment six nights later, she finally allowed her full attention to drift back to the code.
N Y G N D C A N R O A. At first, she was the NY in the beginning, but that made no sense because neither she nor her parents had ever been to New York, and it would have been odd to hide something in a completely unknown place. She tried thinking about other places instead.
She fished the tape recorder out of her backpack, rewound to the beginning of the tape and clicked play again. She anticipated that would be merely the first of many times she would do so on this quest.
Cassie. I don't know if you remember this, but when you were little, your mother and I used to take you out to the desert to look at the stars.
The thought hit her like a ton of bricks, a sudden collision that caused her to slam down the pause button and look over the letters again. She found a pencil, crossing out the letters with maddening intensity as she reordered them to fit her message, and there it was.
Grand Canyon.
But what did it mean?
The Grand Canyon was large, impossible to search on this whim alone, and why would the first clue lead right to the end goal anyways?
She found her brain thinking of the painting her parents had on their wall instead. It was small, the frame thick, and showed the edge of the Grand Canyon spilling over into its dangerous and dark abyss. She had to go to their house to clean out their belongings sooner or later, and she figured that would be a good time to check out the painting.
It was several days before she could make herself go, but the ache in her grew with each day.
YOU ARE READING
threads
Science Fictionit all starts on the day of the funeral. it has been a year since the mysterious deaths of Cassie's parents - or rather, the mysterious disappearances. now, Cassie is left with the trail her parents left behind for her to follow, threads she must c...
