The house didn't feel its usual welcoming self when I stepped into the kitchen. Mamma was nowhere to be seen and there was no food adding a freshly cooked aroma to the house. I couldn't remember the last time I had been home in the day and she wasn't in the kitchen cooking away. "Mamma?" The whole house felt too eerie and silent with everyone out. Too tidy, too.
Even after such a short time, I was used to seeing Isabella's things lying around. With it all pack away, it was like she had never even been here. There was no sign of her as I ambled idly around the house and no sign of Mamma either. Reluctantly I headed for the stairs, but the idea of dragging myself up them had me reconsidering my mission. The fainting spell had zapped all my energy from me, not that I had much to start with.
