Stellina

Flecks of Gold

Lina sucked in her breath, meeting those warm, chocolate eyes once again. She felt her fingers about to spill everything, all the words she'd kept inside for so long. For once, perhaps she could learn to trust. "That's why I want to find this necklace," she wrote. "Luka, could you help me find it? Please?"

The sparkle in his eyes shifted to something duller. Perhaps guilt, or sadness. Or maybe something deeper, like some sort of satisfaction. "Of course, Lina. Wherever you need to go, I'll come with you."

Lina hesitated, unsure if she should form the next few words. But it seemed too much of a coincidence to let slide unsaid. They were both looking for lockets, both because of what it contained. And as she looked at the brokenness that was nestled in his eyes, flecked with gentleness and understanding, Lina wanted nothing more than to trust him.

"Luka, did your mother care about that locket so much because it had something to do with Stella?" she dared to write.

For a brief moment, Luka's eyes widened, then fell again as he furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?" he whispered. He cleared his throat, the next words coming out stronger. "I don't recall her ever mentioning a Stella."

Lina's heart fell. "Are you sure? She didn't mention a missing child that she was trying to protect or anything?"

Luka shrugged his shoulders, keeping his gaze glued to the floor. "No. No, I don't think so. Her locket contained something personal, something dear to her heart."

Lina sighed, nodding. So it really was just a coincidence. Two people, both searching for a locket, doing whatever it takes to obtain it. She traced a finger over the freckles on her arm before grasping the pen once again. She held her breath as she poured out the words, detailing everything she'd been afraid to tell him before. She wrote about Stella, about Byron and Birdie, and how she found the letters in the books. The only thing she left out was Madame Riviere. She couldn't tell him that, not now after he'd warned her to stay away from their former employer.

A soft smile formed on his lips as he read her words. Yet it was laced with something else other than contentedness, something more melancholy that Lina couldn't place. Finally, he spoke, his words like a gentle ocean breeze. "You are so brave, Lina. You know that, right?"

Lina smiled, his words lifting her heart. But as another thought flitted through her mind, a wave of bittersweetness struck her. A single tear pooled in her eye as she sunk to the ground, resting her head against the wall. The aroma of chamomile and wool drifted into her nose as he too knelt to the ground, his sweater brushing against her arm.

Lina's heart fluttered. "It's just... Liliane. I love her so much, more than she could ever know, but yet I feel myself drifting further and further apart from her each day. In all this effort to bring my family together, I feel like I'm sending everyone on their own separate paths. Hopefully better paths than what we're experiencing now, but still apart." Tears blurred her vision, but she blinked them away. She'd cried enough.

Luka nodded, brushing away a strand of auburn hair that was glued to her cheeks. His gentle fingers sent chills throughout Lina's body. "You're doing what you have to do. Someday, you and Liliane will be able to live together and be happy. It doesn't have to be one or the other."

"What about you? Do you have family or friends that you take care of? Are you happy?"

Luka sighed. "It's better for me to be alone these days, Lina. I fear things will only get worse, and if that's true, then I fear no one will want to become my friend, lest they get in trouble for befriending a Jew."

Lina nodded, unsure of what to say. "I wish I had a viola right now," she finally wrote. "That's how I speak. Through music." She breathed in the subtle, sweet aroma of dust and chamomile. As she inhaled, she swore she could also smell the faint scent of rosin and old sheet music.