The Quagmires

Chapter 26: The Lost Longing

You've made it this far into the story and I don't understand why. I don't understand why you would like to read about the miserable lives of the Quagmires, or why you want read about their sufferings. I've issued warning after warning, but you haven't listened. Yet, I will warn you again, dear reader, that this story's got nothing but sorrows and woes. Your dreams of justice and peace winning the day won't come true, not in this sad story, so I suggest you put this book away, and find something else to do, before this truly grim tale ends.

It's been a year, an entire year, since the Quagmires had last seen their sister. They've given up all hope of finding her, and believed her dead. Even after reporting it to the police, no signs of her were found. Duncan and Quigley only ever found two couplets that she wrote, and were not able to crack her code. Their high hopes were shattered into pieces and the light in their dark days, was nowhere to be found.

Duncan and Quigley spent most of their hours sleeping. They believed they had nothing to do, nothing to worry about, and certainly no sister to keep them on track. They woke up one day, just like everyday, during the afternoon. They were still living with Justice Strauss, who spent her time reading and cooking. She was really no longer a justice, because the judges on the high court turned out to be the most evil of villains; a man with a beard but no hair and a woman with hair but no beard. 

The two triplets walked to the kitchen like zombies, like the life was sucked out of them. Justice Strauss gloomily poured some soup into their bowls. Hector remained slightly positive. He, too, was upset, but he tried to remain positive, not only for himself, but for his friends. 

"How are you two feeling today?" he asked hopefully.

"Fine," Duncan answered coldly.

"How's the soup?" Justice Strauss questioned.

"Hot," Quigley whined.

Most of their days went just like this one; lifeless and unproductive. The triplets followed the same schedule; eat and sleep. Duncan's hair had grown almost as long as Quigley's, and Quigley's hair only became messier by day.

Quigley finished his soup first, and went back to his bed. He laid there, staring at the plain ceiling, wondering if he'd ever do anything productive in his life again. Duncan soon followed his brother, and did the same.

"You know," began Duncan, and Quigley was surprised that he actually spoke to him in a tone that wasn't so cold, "I did like Violet, and I thought she liked me too. I guess not." Duncan was still staring at the ceiling. 

When Quigley heard those words, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time; an emotion. He felt his heartache for his brother, knowing that he and Violet, well, shared a special moment.

"You lied to me?"

"I had to. I cared about you. I still do," replied Duncan.

Quigley felt his eyes welling up with tears. It had been a long time since he let his emotions show, but it was different this time; he was vulnerable. He ran to his brother, who was now sitting up, and hugged him. He silently cried, embraced by his triplet brother, and soon enough, he knew that Duncan was crying too. 

"I miss her," he sobbed.

"Me too," Quigley sniffled. "Do you really believe that she's dead?"

"I mean," Duncan began, but before he continued, he pulled away from his brother and looked at him. "We thought you were dead for quite a while. A really long while-"

"But I was alive."

"Exactly. Do you still have those couplets she sent?"

"Never got rid of them. Why?"

"We need to crack the code."

Quigley read the two couplets aloud, 

"Some couplets may contain clues

In the end, they'll lead me to you.

-

Downwards, you must climb 

Forgetting the 'e' in time."

"Alright, place them over each other, in the order that we received them."

Quigley did as told, and he quickly noticed something.

"Duncan, look at the last letters of the couplets. They form something, although it's not a complete word."

"SUBE?"

"It doesn't make sense, does it?" but Duncan wasn't listening to his brother's question.

"Look, she says here," he pointed at the last line of the poem. "Forgetting the 'e' in time. What if she meant that literally. If you ignore the 'e' in the word 'time' and you look at the last letters of each word, you get..."

"SUBM."

"Which could mean-"

"Submarine. How did she end up in a submarine?"

"I mean, we did land on Briny Beach, it's not much of a surprise that she landed nearby."

"Do you think she's still in a submarine?"

"I don't know. She sent those an entire year ago."

"But we didn't even bother to crack those couplets' code."

"Our heads were blinded with confusion and sadness, Quigley. That's the least that could've happened."

"I guess, but now what?"

"We take a trip to the beach."

"Why?"

"To ask for directions to a submarine."

"You know we can't afford to rent a submarine."

"Maybe Justice Strauss will help us?"

Quigley nodded his head and they ran towards the library, where Justice Strauss was seated. Although the startled the woman, they quickly got to explaining.

"We cracked the code," Quigley said quickly.

"We think Isadora could be in a submarine."

"But she sent you those couplets a year ago," the justice explained.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Duncan suggested.

"Please, Justice Strauss, she's our sister and we need to find her. We know we've already asked much of you, but we need to rent a submarine," Quigley elaborated, embarrassed to ask for what he did.

"What are you waiting for?" Justice Strauss asked. "Let's go!"

They brought Hector along and explained all that had happened. They stopped at Briny Beach, hoping to find someone that knows where they can rent a submarine, but no one was around.

"No one's around," sighed Duncan.

"Except that boat," Justice Strauss mentioned, pointing to a small, wooden boat in the distance. The boat grew closer, and the figures on it grew clearer.

Duncan squinted his eyes to see who was on the boat. "Is that-?"

Quigley's eyes widened when he realized who one of the people on the boat was. "Violet?"