The Buried Past [Previously My Family]

3. The Departure

ISABELLA MITCHELL
Moments before Elle's disappearance

Her empty stomach and draining brain is keeping her up.

Isabella had been studying for five hours now, cramming as much information as possible. She has an exam tomorrow and she had not touched her notebook a week ago. She clicks her pen on the table in frustration and exhaustion. Mental labour has an effect on the physical body, she learns as she rereads her notes since the beginning of the year. She yawns, then sighs deeply. I am going nowhere with this, she thinks to herself. The lampshade on her table is very brilliant and shines almost directly towards her eyes. She lowers it down and then looks up at the clock.

It silently screams the time: 2.20 am. It turns out that her exam is only hours away. So much for studying, she says to herself. She drops her pen on the table and rests her head on her hands. She had been studying - no, more like skimming through the book - for five hours now; she needs a break.

Her empty stomach howls in despair, shrieking for food. Obedient to her stomach, she reluctantly obeys and pushed her chair away from the table. She turns off the lampshade, stands up and walks out of the room. Her silent but semi-squeaky door startles her in the silence of the morning. She notices the emptiness and silence of the house. The lights are still on, which is odd at this time in the morning. Dad always makes sure that the lights were out before ten o'clock at night. 

Isabella descends down the flight of stairs, the friction between her feet and the carpet are audible in the deep quietness of the house. It's been five months since they had moved to Haviland. Dad had found a new job that was going to pay more than his previous salary and it required them to move. I mean, who couldn't resist the offer of a larger salary? 

Within a month, the whole family had packed everything. Leonard had boxed all of his stuff - computers, books, instruments and whatnots - in an organized system; typical Leo. Freya, being the pretty one, was stereotyped to be the glamorous but lazy girl, and she lived up to that stereotype. Her room was littered with beauty products and magazines (who even reads the magazines today?) and her clothes she had bought from whatever branded store were loitering all around the house. Mom had called it a pigsty. But Dad's news had completely changed her: she packed all her things neatly, which was very unusual of her, but expected. The Mitchells were definitely an odd family.

Mom and Dad took the migrating serious, which Isabella understood. They had looked for a house to buy in the area, seemingly confident in the fact that their family were permanently staying in Haviland for good. Sure, the thought of it was wonderful, having to live a more luxurious lifestyle in a new neighbourhood. But all of their children were born and raised in Ingram Heights and to leave seemed like a bad idea. Again, the prospect of earning more salary overwhelmed them. They looked for a house to buy and a job for Mom. They were very careful and strategic in doing everything. They had not missed a single, petty thing that they might come across in their migration.

Isabella had often dreamed of living in Haviland. Hearing this piece of good news was a dream come true. But the funny thing about dreams is that they often hide the reality. For Isabella, it meant that she had to say goodbye to her friends in school. She had been to high school for about three years already, and she had earned her way up to one of the 'popular' kids. She had made friends with all and was very approachable. People liked her for being trustworthy and being a good companion. She had the looks and the smarts, a seemingly rare combination for a high school student. Of course, there were some who completely ignored her. Kathy and her gang would just walk past her, whenever, wherever. Typical in a high school, right? But regardless, she had made many friends and she trusted them.

But when she had learned that she and her family were going to Haviland, she had no choice but to blurt it out. 'I'm going to Haviland!' she exclaims in pure delight.