With nothing better to do, I spend my days trying to solve the mystery behind the "R3D" note and the weird scribbles accompanying it. By now, I'm already convinced that they have their own meaning too. Since I couldn't figure it out, I read 1984 again, trying to see if there are any hints that I might've missed, but there are none.
I sigh, looking at my bookshelf, as if it's going to give me an answer. In the past few days, I didn't have the chance to examine the house more carefully and look for any other clues, so I'm still stuck in a status quo.
Before I put the book back, I decide to reorganize the entire bookshelf. It looks like a mess with the books placed anywhere, without a rule or order. That's been bothering me for a while, but now I finally decide to do it and distract myself from the clues.
I sit on the floor, examining the books. After I think of multiple options, I decide to organize them by colors. I carefully split them all into different piles, and then start placing them back on the bookshelf. If only I could sort out my thoughts as easily as I sorted out these books.
But then, when I get to the red pile, something catches my eye. I look at the books and read all the descriptions on the back. Then, as if the floor beneath me became scorching hot, I jump up and run to my desk. It doesn't take me too long to find the red note that I hid inside the drawer. I go back to the other side of the room with it and analyze the scribbles.
Some of them match the books.
I flip through each one, trying to see if there are any clues in them, but I only find numbers at the back, written with a red pen. That's it.
I put them next to each other, starting with the book number one, and finishing the row with book number seven. I compare them one by one, trying to find the connections.
Scythe. A little scythe is on the paper, standing out as the most obvious connection. Dracula. What I thought might be a tear is probably supposed to represent a drop of blood. The Battle of the Labyrinth. A trident matches the one on the cover. Sisters Red. This one is harder to figure out, but the description mentions werewolves, so I connect it with the crescent moon. An Anonymous Girl. A question mark. Vicious. It takes me a while, but I realize that one's connected with the skull drawing. Evernight. There's only one scribble left, the one of the dove. At first, I can't find the connection, but all the other books fit, and this one also bears a number on the back, so I realize they must have a connection.
When I'm done with the scribbles, I think about the last clue, the last piece of the puzzle. R3D. If it's on the same side of the note as the pictures, then it must be connected to these books somehow.
My mind races, fueled by the newest discovery. If the letter E is replaced with a number, then are the letters from the books supposed to be replaced with numbers too? Since E looks similar to 3, I try that method, searching for the lookalike numbers, but I don't get too far.
"Alright, if it's not that, then what?" I mutter to myself as my eyes dance back and forth between the books in front of me. A letter replaced with a number...
After thinking it through for a while, I come up with only two options, but none of them seem related to the way R3D is written. I take out the first letter of every book's name, then replace every second letter with the number on the back of that book, until I get something that resembles a code.
S2T4A6E
Still hesitant, I start the same process again, but this time I replace those letters with their numbers in the alphabet.
S4T19A22E
When I look at the codes, both seem... correct to me, but I have no idea if they'll actually work. Work for what? It looks like a random mix of letters and numbers, but it's chosen carefully, so it must have its purpose. And that purpose is probably a password for something.
I quickly get on my feet again and rush to my desk, where the only thing requiring a password now collects dust. When I tried to use my laptop before, it needed a password to be unlocked, and just like everything else, I didn't know what it was.
Luckily for me, its battery is still working properly, and I watch in anticipation as the screen lights up. Soon enough, the little password box pops up, and I type in the first code.
WRONG PASSWORD
"Okay, please be the second one," I whisper as I anxiously type the second code, although a part of me expects me to be wrong again.
But the display changes, and I see the desktop.
I stare in disbelief, blinking slowly to make sure that what I'm seeing is not an illusion. The approach I took was completely unrelated to the note, but it actually worked.
After I snap back out of it, I quickly go through the files, looking for anything that could help, but there's nothing on it. Taking a deep breath, I try once again, but the laptop barely has anything on it. On a second thought, I notice that even the desktop background shows a green field with a clear blue sky. Nothing personal. Nothing that could help me.
I blink twice, completely dumbfounded. This was something that belonged to me. I can see some traces in there, a couple of documents for school assignments and some basic things here and there, but it doesn't feel mine. In fact, it feels like I've reached a dead end. If the password fit, that must mean the laptop is part of the solution as well, but how can it be so if there's nothing on it now?
Or was there even anything to begin with?
The thought strikes me out of nowhere. Of course. After all, what I ultimately need is a flash drive. But even if I find it, I need to plug it into another device to see whatever it is that it contains. If the flash drive has everything I need, then I probably didn't even need any other personal files here.
Breathe, Elainne. Just breathe. Maybe there's still some hope for this. But if I don't find the flash drive, then this discovery is completely in vain, so I turn off my laptop, finish reorganizing the bookshelf, and then go back to thinking.
***
Aaaand the big brained Elainne makes her return! Hopefully, she'll stay this big brained from now on... right? >.>
See you tomorrow!
Nina <3
YOU ARE READING
If You Forget | ✓
Mystery / Thriller"r. p. if you forget" When she wakes up in the hospital with no memories of who she is, Elainne has no idea what to expect from her life. Fortunately for her, everything seems just perfect: her parents care about her a lot, and all of her classmates...
