Dead and Departed

Chapter Twelve

Miya poked at her spaghetti. Really, when would her dad ever learn that she hated tomatoes? Actually, he probably already knew about that, but was still convinced that tomatoes were the best for Miya's health.

He also probably knew that she didn't like to meet strangers. Considering her dad hadn't warned her they were having a guest over, Miya guessed that he hadn't wanted her to argue with him.

Miya didn't blame Lucy, she was actually pretty nice. But with the constant questions about school and friends, Miya was almost ready to shove some really tomato-y spaghetti into her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer.

True to her word, Lucy hadn't mentioned anything about their Mumbai trip. As much as Miya's eyes glazed over when her dad was talking about his translation stuff— or when he started sprouting words in Arabic, Spanish, or Hindi-- she was grateful for Lucy's silence over the trip. Whenever her dad met up with a fellow translator, trading notes was always just talking to each other in gibberish. At least, that's what it sounded like to Miya.

"Well, Miya," Lucy said. "What have you been doing in your free time?"

Miya bit her lip, trying not to feel too guilty-- or look too guilty. "I've been pretty busy with school, but I read sometimes."

"Yes," Miya's dad said. "She's particularly fond of fantasy."

Miya shrugged. "I get bored when I read non-fiction."

"That's understandable." Lucy sipped from her water. "Well, we'd better get working on that translation."

"Yes," Miya's dad agreed. "Miya, do you mind going upstairs and finishing your homework?"

"Sure." Miya sighed. She'd already finished her little amount of homework, but of course, she'd just told her dad that she had a ton of homework so she could work on the notebook without getting interrupted. Or discovered.

And of course, the time when Miya was actually going to give the notebook back to her dad, they had a visitor.

Speaking of which, they had wanted to be alone an awful lot. Maybe it was just Miya being paranoid, but Lucy and her dad...

She probably was just paranoid. Besides, her dad never mentioned anything about wanting to date or fall in love again. It still felt like her mom had just died. At least, that was what it was like for Miya.

But, questionable things aside, Miya decided to focus on the things she knew. Like the notebook. Leaving her dad and Lucy, she went up to her room to read some more of it. Before giving it to her father, of course.

She flipped through the book and copied another paragraph into her own notes.

.os od ot ksir gib a s'ti hguoht ,gnidnib eht ni yek eht dih I nosaer eht si ehS .oot ,efiw ym tub ,meht ylno ton tuB .siht gnitirw m'I nosaer eht era yeht ,tcaf nI .adnicuL si sa ,enif gniod si lehctiM

There it was, her dad's name again. Only this time, Lucy was mentioned too. Miya's eyes narrowed with suspicion. It didn't seem like this notebook was all about a translation trip to Mumbai. Besides, it wasn't even written in Arabic.

Obviously, Miya had stumbled upon something that no one else was supposed to read.