Aunt Beth is walking next to Lisbeth ahead of Uncle Seb, Caleb and I. They are talking in hushed voices, so soft that I cannot pick up with full concentration. Uncle Seb keeps me entertained by playing I Spy with me as we walk past long hallways filled with old things and paintings.
Caleb, the strange man, is behind us. I peek at him a few times, catching him staring at me with a dark look. His pitch black eyes scare me. Being near Uncle Seb makes me less scared. Uncle Seb will never let me get hurt by anything.
"Is it the security camera?" Uncle Seb asks when I say that I spied a rectangular white box.
I giggle in response.
"My turn! I spy with my big eyes..."
The sound of laughter makes me stop in my tracks. I have never heard high pitched voices before. My curiosity leads me to the fancy-looking window. I have to stand on my toes to see where the voices are coming from.
There is a group of children playing outside. A mixture of children of different skin colours, hair, and clothes are scattering in different directions. I notice that they are avoiding a blue-shirt boy. Whenever he goes near anyone, that person would run and laugh.
"Linda," Uncle Seb says from behind me. He sees what I'm looking at and he understands instantly.
"Can I please play with them, Uncle Seb? It looks fun," I ask, looking at him and then back outside where the fun is. No one every play with me like how they play together.
He sighs out loud. "Come, Linda. Your father will be here soon."
"Daddy's coming here?" The excitement from seeing daddy made me forget about the children playing.
Uncle Seb gives me a wide smile. He holds out a hand and I take it. We continue walking down the hallway where Lisbeth and Aunt Beth are watching us with a strange look on their faces.
"What do you want to drink? I have tea, coffee, hot chocolate..." Lisbeth asks us when we finally reach the kitchen. I did not realise how big their house is and it would be fun to explore the house as an adventure.
"Hot chocolate please!" I request quickly. Uncle Seb helps me up to sit on one of the high stools and then takes the seat next to me.
Lisbeth cast me a soft smile. "One hot chocolate. What about you, Sebastian?"
"Make that two chocolate. Thanks, Lisbeth."
"I would like some tea please," Aunt Beth adds in.
Lisbeth goes to work on making our drinks while Caleb leans against the doorway of the kitchen, keeping his gaze on me. His dark look has softened a little, but he still scares me.
Uncle Seb taps my shoulder, gaining my full attention before he leans in. "Please behave, Linda. Your dad will be here soon if you be a good girl."
I nod eagerly. I miss Daddy's comforting hug. I want Daddy to protect me from the scary shark. For now, Uncle Seb and Aunt Beth is all I have and trust.
When Lisbeth starts boiling the water, she turns to face us and folds her arms across her chest.
"So, Beth and Sebastian, what happened after the Gurney Battle? Carlisle and Piper?" she asks. I frown at the unfamiliar names.
Aunt Beth lets out a long sigh. "We have decided to go our separate ways when we realized the potential danger we can bring when we are together. Each of us have our own life to lead anyway, so Carlisle made us 'disappear' off the face of earth and have new identities for us. The last I heard from him, he was doing research on parallel universe at a university. Piper is working as a lawyer in Europe. I'm not sure where she is now, but she's constantly on the move.'
YOU ARE READING
Newborough - Book Three
FantasyI knew I was different when I was a curious ten-year-old girl who sneaked out of home just to see the world I have been protected from. I managed to establish that I am different from the other kids in the neighborhood. One: I was never allowed to...
