Dissociation

Putting the pieces together

It was 16 minutes pass 8 when Arya woke up, the sun was already up but not bright as she would've wanted it to be. She stayed on her bed for some time as if waiting for a reason to wake up and her growling stomach was definitely one to do so. She moved downstairs in search of something to eat, unfortunately for her she'd thrown must of what was left yesterday.
« I guess I'll have to eat out » she sighed. Moving upstairs, she saw Rick through the window, he was all dressed up already and looked like he was in a hurry, he noticed her and stared back. She waved at him but he closed his door, climbed on his bike and took off.
« What a weirdo.. » she said and continued her way to the bathroom. After cleaning herself up, she wore a sweeter dress and a pair of boots, put some perfume on and went out.

She didn't really know where to go, it had been years since she came here and wasn't allowed to go out when she was a kid so she had little to no knowledge of the place. She decided it would be best to ask for directions and so she did. An old woman helped her out and here she was in front of « the brown crunch ». The cafeteria was not really full but not empty either, the decor was cosy and welcoming but the atmosphere was really down for some reason. She sat down and started going through the menu when she then heard a kid's laugh. Arya didn't have any kids nor did she intended to have one now but loved kids, she looked above the menu cart and saw a little boy; he had black curly hair, light brown eyes and freckles. She stared at him for some time, he looked familiar.
« Hey! Don't just run off like that » a woman said, entering the cafeteria few seconds after the boy.
« Mommy, I always beat you at races » the boy said, laughing.
Arya's eyes went to the mom, she seemed tall, had really dark hair cut into a bob, a sundress and a scarf, she was really thin and pale. She quickly realized who it was ; Snow.
« Oh Lord. » Arya sighed hoping she wouldn't be noticed.
Few minutes passed..
« May I take your order ma'm? » said a woman to Arya. She lifted up her head to order pancakes and fruit juice and realized she was talking to Snow who was now dressed like a server. She waited few seconds, thinking she'll have to deal with the « it's been a long time.. » chat but Snow remained silent and impatient.
« Pancakes and pineapple juice please » she said.
« Great! » Snow replied, going back. Well, that went well Arya thought. She kept wondering why the boy looked so familiar until it hit her! « Rick » she whispered.
« He kind of looks like Rick.. wait.. don't tell me.. » she remembered what Rick told her yesterday. So he had a baby with Snow? She guessed. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt like she was being watched, she looked up and saw Snow staring at her while taking orders from another table. Despite being caught staring, Snow didn't break eye contact and her look almost seemed threatening.
« What the.. » Arya said. She then pulled out her phone and ignored her.
Minutes passed and her order finally arrived, she ate, left a tip and got up to leave.
« Arya » Snow said.
« Glad to have you back » she added. Arya just nodded and went out as quickly as possible. She always had a bad feeling about Snow ever since they were kids, being unable to go out and play, she usually stalked John and his friends play in their backyard through her bedroom window. Rick was always loud while John and Snow were kind of quiet but Snow's silence was different, she looked more like she was analyzing their every move and talked when asked.
Arya decided to do a little tour of the village, she had nothing to do home anyways. At the end of her stroll, she stopped at a shop to buy some stuff so she wouldn't have to go out often.
« Will that be all ma'am? » the cashier asked.
« Yeah » she replied. He looked familiar but not in a good way; he looked like John but like a « cheap » version of him.
« I'll start thinking you have a crush on me ma'am » he said, as a small dimple formed on his cheek when he smiled. Arya was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realized she was staring at him blankly.
« No it's not that, it's just you remind me of someone » she said, embarrassed.
« Yeah.. I get that a lot » his smile faded away.
« I'm about to close the shop since there aren't any customers left, mind if I give you a ride home? It's not safe for a pretty girl to walk alone at this time » he added. Arya hesitated.
« I'm not taking no for an answer » he said, handing her the bag full of groceries.
« Well then it's settled » she said. They both went out and entered his car, it was an old fashioned car but had its charm.
« So.. what's your name? » he asked while starting the engine.
« Arya.. » she said, looking out the window.
« Not the type to talk I see, mine is Jonathan. »
She quickly turned her head towards him.
« Jonathan ? »
« Yeah.. any problem ? » he asked, confused.
« No.. it's just.. you really remind me of someone » she said. They had a little chitchat while driving home, when they finally arrived Arya's house, she noticed something in front of her door. She opened the car and went towards it;  there was a box with something written on it « a little welcome back gift » it said.
« Hey! Everything okay? » Jonathan shouted from his car. Arya didn't answer, she opened the box and let it drop as soon as she discovered it's content. Jonathan came out of his car when he noticed her strange behavior.
« Hey, what's wro—» he stopped in shock as he saw a human finger laying in front of him.
« What is this?! » he asked, confused.
« Hey! Say something » he added, but Arya was too shocked to speak.
« We should call the cops » she said at last.

About an hour passed, Jonathan was still with Arya at the police station waiting to give their statement.
« Jonathan ! What happened ?! » a man said, walking towards them, Arya's looked up to the man and recognized him; it was John's dad.
« What on earth is going on here » she mumbled.
« Nothing dad, I was just giving a ride home to my friend and this happened but I'm fine ». Dad?! She thought. Mr Botswon looked at the friend in question and his eyes lit up.
« Arya? »
« Yeah.. »
« Since when are you back? »
« Not long ago » Arya kept looking at Jonathan and Mr Botswon like trying to figure out what was going on. Mr Botswon noticed this and asked Jonathan for something to drink. As Jonathan got up to buy a bottle of water, Mr Botswon sat next to Arya. Looking down he said;
« You must be confused.. » Arya didn't answer and just stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
« You see.. after John's death, my wife became.. deranged.. » he paused then looked at her.
« She was still in denial about our son's death, she kept talking alone claiming she was talking to him and said she saw him everywhere.. I tried bringing her to a psychologist for some help but after a month with no improvement, I decided it was a waste of time.. An idea then came to my mind » he looked up at Jonathan who was nearby.
« I decided to adopt him.. he was the only kid who looked like my little angel so I thought he could fill the hole John's death made in my wife's heart » he said with watery eyes.
« You mean, you thought you could make her think he's John » Arya said.
« I just wanted to see my wife happy again you know? I even named him Jonathan so she could call him 'Jon' as a short name but when I brought him home... » he started crying, covering his face with his hands.
« When i showed her our new boy, she just looked at him with no emotion in her eyes, she didn't say a word and haven't said anything even now years later.. I had to put her in a mental institution a month later »
« But there's a good thing to this.. now I have Jonathan by my side and he's the best thing that ever happened to me, he's a good boy, just like John was » he said, smiling. Arya didn't know what to respond to this, or rather she couldn't say what she had in mind ; « you are as crazy as your wife » was what she thought.
Mr Botswon wiped the tears from his eyes when he noticed Jonathan coming back.
« Anything wrong dad? » Jonathan asked.
« Nothing.. I'm still just worried about what happened » he answered. They both explained what happened to the policemen and went back home.

« Should I really sleep here tonight ? » Arya asked herself as she laid down on her bed. A million questions were rushing in her mind; who could've done this? And why? Who's finger is that ? Is someone trying to scare her off? She finally fell asleep after hours of reflection with no solution.