The Unsolved Riddle.

A Letter in the Post.

The bell had long since rung and students left the gates but the impatient tapping of feet could be heard as one class remained inside, well past the rest of the school. It was the class that was always out late, the sound of a raised voice could be heard as the teacher lectured the ten and eleven-year-olds. Her brown hair had greyed far earlier than it should have, though, many argued that she was running herself into an early grave with her rage and ill-humoured attitude that she always wore. Students never enjoyed their time with her and parents rarely spoke well of her. That seemed to escape some of the students' attention though as they eagerly waited to be let out. Finally, the door was opened and parents closely watched to see who was leaving as they hoped to see their child soon.

"Daddy!" exclaimed a merry tone as a few of the children parted and soon a short, pale girl ran from the room and latched onto one of the men that was stood in the playground. Her arms entwined behind his back and he held the girl close to him.

"Eliana Amour Abaza, you are the prettiest, smartest girl I know. How was your day today?" A smile was all she mustered as she wriggled from his grasp and then returned to her friends that weren't far behind.

"Daddy, this is Matthew, Lisa, Toni, Olivia, Fiona, Daisy and Tony." The kids all smiled and waved as she introduced them to him and his smile was quickly returned as Hamid tried to quickly leave the school.

Oak Park Primary School, or OPPS to all those who attended, was not a particularly small school but gossip spread quickly and everyone had an opinion on everything. Children were not immune to the politics that their parents spoke about as they would regularly repeat the words that their parents would say. Teachers had wasted many days trying to correct rude remarks and stop the spread of gossip. The situation that the Abaza family had found themselves in was no exception. Eliana was, to all those who knew her, adopted, and parents rarely refrained from their malicious gossip and on occasion, teachers would be forced to step in and prevent another word from being spoken. By the age of 8, Eliana was well trained at avoiding the rude remarks of ignorant parents and she had an answer for every slant that she would hear. Eliana's rumours were made worse by her short height, accusations of a difficult childhood and home life were often blamed and had she not been so pretty, parents may have actually felt bad for her. Eliana's beauty was something of note and the children around her were often teased for being infatuated with her. Despite her looks, Eliana spent more of her life in books than the moment she found herself in and unless she found herself inside a Jane Austen novel, she would be completely unaware of what was going on. The polite society of the Regency Era was one that she often escaped to in her imagination, so much so that she had little knowledge of the decade that she found herself in. A fact that only added to the rumours about her adoption and home life.

"Come on then, let's get home." The children were quick to follow the order as they anticipated the fun events that would unfold in the evening. Gift bags were heavy in Eliana's arms but she was too caught up in trying to keep up with her friends to notice. Hamid was quick to lighten the burden as they escaped the school grounds and the children ran to the edge of the road, waiting to be told when they could safely cross to the centre of town.

Hurried steps and giggles erupted from the pavement as a chorus of children hurdled themselves down the street and up to 64 Outercross Road. The house was pretty, it had aged a fair bit and patches on the outside matched that of new bricks as the walls had crumbled and had to be replaced. The small patch of garden that sat outside the house was just big enough for the flowers that were planted. The path was swept, as it always was, and the door to the house was deep red, just like the rest of the houses in the street. The windows that fit onto the front were all recently replaced and yet they looked like they had always been there, a little grimy and natural for the greenish building that was made of stone.