5. The First Note.

You know those rare and treasured days when you wake up feeling fabulous right?

 Today just happened to be one of those days for me.

I woke up feeling strong, really really cute and most especially, hopeful.

Maybe dad was right and Lisa is going to be alright.

Today is Saturday, which means no school to quench my flame of fabulousness.

I did my normal morning routine and afterwards allowed my nose to lead me to where the heavenly aroma was being produced.

Just so you know, my mum is an amazing cook, the best if you'll ask me.

"Good morning this bright Saturday." I said in a singsong manner.

But the scene before my eyes shut me up almost immediately.

I was greeted by mum crying profusely in dad's arm. She looked so frail and shattered.

I felt a pang in my chest. Mum hardly cries this hard. 

"So much for waking up on the right side of the bed." I muttered under my breath.

"Mum are you okay?" I said coming closer to where my parents stood.

Mum didn't say anything, she just buried her face deeper into dad's chest.

"The cops came around this morning with the results from the phlebotomist." Dad said, taking in a deep breath afterwards.

"The blood on the note you picked up matches that of Lisa."

As soon as these words left dad's mouth, mum began trembling seriously in his arms.

I couldn't bear seeing her this way, my family has always been a happy one, at least for the past nine years. 

This was too much to take in. 

How is is possible that someone actually cut Lisa or made her bleed without me even noticing.

This is all my fault, I was just very irresponsible that night. If I had listened to her, none of this would have happened. 

I felt my lungs closing up, my vision was becoming a blurry mess.

"Paige no, breathe." Mum said, it looked like she was coming closer to me. 

Mum's broken voice and tear-filled voice was the last thing I heard before passing out.

************************************

My throat felt dry and my head hurt seriously. Those were my first observations as I tried opening my eyes and sitting up. 

"Here, have some water." Mum said smiling sweetly at me as she handed me a glass of water.

I returned her smile and downed the entire glass.

"Mum I'm so sorry, I can't even imagine how hard this is for you." I said with my head low. 

The guilt of all this was eating me up. 

If she was taking this bad, then I can't imagine how terrible things will be when she knows about our neighbor.

"Hey, its fine honey. This is not your fault, your father and I are not mad at you, neither are we holding you responsible. Some things are bound to happen, all we have to do is accept it with good fate." She said with a sad smile. Her voice still sounded broken, but I was happy that she was being strong for me.

We just sat there in silence, each person in their own thoughts. 

It was a comfortable silence though. 

"Are you okay now?" Mum finally said after a while.

"Yeah, it was the shock of the news. I just need a little more rest, I am sure I'll be fine." I said, trying my best to sound cheerful.

If my mum was being strong, then I had to be strong too. 

"Mum, what are we going to do now?" I asked as I sat up straighter.

This may not be the best time to ask, but there is never a best time for anything.

It's better we have a clear idea of the way forward to finding Lisa.

"I sincerely have no idea. The cops think Lisa might have been the one behind the letter." Mum said looking away from me.

"Are you serious?" I said laughing.

The serious look on mum's face answered me. 

"That is ridiculous." I said in utter dismay.

"Why will an eight years old girl run away from home then send such a creepy letter? Lisa can't even stand the sight of blood, so accusing her doesn't make sense. That is a very wrong assumption." I said matter of factly.

It's really annoying that the police officers will make such an assumption. 

"I told them the exact same thing, but we just have to sit back and watch patiently. We can't stop the police from doing their job." She said in between a yawn.

The tiredness in her features was obvious.

She probably hasn't slept since I broke the news to her. 

I can't even imagine how hard this is on her. Losing a child is not exactly the type of news you expect to get after being away for just one night. 

"Hey, what is that?" She asked pointing at the folded note under my lamp stand.

"Oh that?!" I said bringing out the note from under my lamp stand. 

"Apparently, in the midst of all this craziness, I have a secret admirer." I said laughing.

"What are you waiting for? Let's open the letter and get a good laugh, we really need it." Mum said clapping her hands together excitedly. She really looked like a high school fan girl. 

I brought out the letter sharing in my mum's excitement. But as soon as I read what was written in the note, all the excitement in me vanished without leaving a trace.

"So...what does it say?" Mum said, still very excited.

 She wasn't the best at reading facial expressions.

"I think the police needs to pay us another visit." I said with shaky hands.

No sooner had I finished my statement when my mum took the letter away from me.

"No way!" She gasped.

"Everything okay?" My dad said standing at my room door confused.

"Call the cops." Mum said looking critically at the later.

I guess we were in for some real trouble.