chapter eleven
512 Words
They spent the next several hours trying to understand the second puzzle.
Nothing worked.
They copied the symbols onto paper.
They arranged the numbers.
They matched every animal with every shape.
They even tried removing the pieces that seemed unnecessary.
Still nothing.
Eventually, the boy leaned against the wall.
“We need to leave.”
She looked at him.
“We just got here.”
“And we've been here for hours.”
“So?”
“So the sun is going down.”
She looked toward the entrance.
He was right.
The light outside had changed.
But something else bothered her.
The puzzle hadn't changed since the message appeared.
It simply waited.
As if it knew they would return.
She carefully took a photograph of it.
Then they left.
Neither of them spoke much on the journey back.
She kept thinking about her grandmother's message.
You cannot find what you have never looked for.
What had she never looked for?
Her past?
Her identity?
Something about herself?
When they reached Willowmere, Meera was waiting.
The moment Meera saw the girl's face, she knew something had happen
“You found it,” Meera said.
The girl stopped.
“You knew?”
Meera's expression changed.
“I suspected.”
“You knew there was another puzzle?”
Meera said nothing.
The girl stepped closer.
“You knew!”
The boy moved between them.
“Let her explain.”
Meera looked at him.
Then at the girl.
“Your grandmother knew this day would come.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew eventually you would start asking the right questions.”
The girl pulled out the photograph.
“Then tell me what this means.”
Meera looked at the image.
Her face became pale.
For the first time, she looked frightened.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the place where my grandmother told me to look.”
Meera closed her eyes.
“That shouldn't have been there.”
“Why?”
“Because she wasn't supposed to leave that clue there.”
The girl felt a chill.
“Who was she afraid of?”
Meera looked toward the windows.
“Everyone.”
Silence.
Then something struck the outside wall.
All three of them turned.
The boy immediately moved toward the window.
“What was that?”
Nobody answered.
Another sound came.
This time from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was inside.
The boy whispered,
“Stay here.”
He moved toward the doorway.
The girl followed.
They stepped into the hallway.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A tiny object.
She picked it up.
It was another symbol.
The same symbol from the puzzle.
Her fingers tightened around it.
And suddenly, the mysterious object in her pocket became warm.
She dropped it.
It hit the floor.
For one second, the symbol on its surface glowed.
Meera stared at it.
Then whispered,
“They found you.”
“Who?”
Meera looked directly at her.
“The people your grandmother spent her entire life hiding you from.”
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