Chasing Sapphire

4. HOMETOWN

SAPPHIRE

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Theo asked me as we heard the announcement about my flight.

"It's not like I have a choice." I smiled and waited for him to reciprocate the smile but he didn't. Worry etched on his face as he hugged me once again and drew comforting circles on my back.

The announcement boomed once again in all the speakers that forced us to part away. "Tell me as soon as you reach there and don't get in trouble, kiddo." he instructed and then ruffled my hair like he used to do.

"I won't," I said and gave one last look to Zac who was standing at a corner, smiling at us. Theo was the brother I never have. He was the one person in my life I was closest to. At such moments, I felt really thankful for the fact that Theo was gay otherwise his wife would have skinned me alive in doubt.

Making sure I didn't look sad or nervous although I was dying due to anxiety, I said goodbye to them and rushed towards my destination.

I boarded the plane and looked for my seat which happened to be the last one in the row. Passing a friendly smile to the old man sitting beside me, I settled on my seat and turned off my phone.

I was going to my hometown after so many years. This town may answer all the questions I had, all the mysteries of my life. But it will also bring me back to my past, to the people who abandoned me when I needed them the most. The feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that my life was going to be changed and nothing would be same after today.

°°°°°

"Sapphire." The voice whispered again, so close to my ears but the owner of the voice still invisible. I don't know where I was, neither could I see anything. It felt like I've been stripped off all other senses except the sense to hear.

I tried to move my tongue and struggle with my hands but my body felt paralyzed. The helplessness frustrated me to my core and I attempted to scream but nothing left my mouth.

"Sapphire!" There it was again, creating a deep sense of paranoia in the pit of my stomach.

"Ma'am." A hand shook me this time and I woke up with a jerk. The air hostess who was trying to wake me up looked worried all of sudden as she observed the fear written on my face. "We are going to land soon," she told me and I nodded, wiping the sweat off my face and forcing a fake smile on my lips.

After coming out of the plane, the first thing I did was called Theo and told him that I had reached Raven Hills safe and sound. Cutting the call, I exited the airport building and looked for a cab. Fortunately, I found one right away so after telling the driver the address to the hotel, I seated myself inside the car.

I observed my surroundings through the window, the long line of tall trees covering both sides of the road. Although this place was heavenly beautiful and serene, there was something about the silence prevailed all around that creeped me out.

Reaching the hotel that looked more like an old, scary guest house, I entered my booked room which was not as bad as I expected, if we ignore the stench coming from the bathroom.

Without taking a shower in that hideous bathroom, I changed into some comfortable clothes and called Sheriff Parker to inform him that I have reached the town. He told me to come meet him at the police station early in the morning.

After answering the call, I wrapped a shawl around my arms and walked towards the window. The night was cold and silent, no noise whatsoever. Stars filled the clear sky as if salt sprinkled over black marble, glistening, sparkling. I smiled as the wind blew my hair into a tousled mess, probably tangling some of my silver blonde locks.

Just when I closed the eyes to relish in the freshness of the night, a deafening howl of an animal pierced my ears. My face contorted as I lifted my eyelids and looked around in panic. There was no sight of any living soul wherever my eyes went. I heard the voice; I was sure of that but I didn't know if it was a dog or a wolf. There were no wolves in London but I couldn't be so sure about this town.

I gulped hard to swallow the saliva down my throat and closed the window, sliding the curtains in front of them. Without ordering anything to eat, I lay down on the bed and pulled the duvet upto my neck.

°°°°°

The cab stopped in front of the police station and I got out. After paying the driver, I walked inside the charcoal colored building and asked around for the Sheriff. An inspector guided me to the Sheriff's office. Entering inside, my eyes landed on the man engrossed in the files. He looked like he was in his late forties, his facial strong features and his tall built made him look intimidating.

He assessed me from head to toe when he saw me. "Sapphire Carson?" he asked and I nodded.

"You wanted to meet me, Sheriff." I said as he offered me a seat.

"Yes Miss. Carson. Like I told you on the phone, you were the last person Miss. Edwards talked to on phone. So I hope you can give me some lead." he said but something in his voice told me that he didn't think of me as just an innocent bystander.

"I haven't talked to her in almost fifteen years so I don't think I can tell you anything," I said casually, keeping my tone normal.

The Sheriff smiled as he pulled his coffee mug to his lips. His eyes were calculative, assessing my each and every movement. "Fifteen years! Isn't it weird that you called her after fifteen years and she ended up dead that night?"

"Um..." I tried to find an answer, anything but my mind gave up and I ended up lowering my head. "I don't know."

"What do you do for living?" he asked, passing me a glass of water.

The water calmed my racing heartbeat and I coughed to clear my throat. "I am a junior editor in a publishing house."

"And how did you know Miss. Edwards?" he asked, opening some file with the name of my aunt on it.

"She is... was my aunt, my mother's sister." I said casually as I waited for him to ask more. A frown appeared on his forehead as he looked into the files. After few moment, he closed the file and stood up, supporting her arms on the table and staring deep into my eyes.

"So you believe she was your aunt. Do you know anything about Anastasia Denver?" he asked and my eyes widened at the name. I tried to mantain my composure but my furrowed brows must have gave away my confusion.

It has been years since I last heard this name but it was still engraved in my memory. How could I forget someone that was a part of my soul?

"Yes, she was my twin sister. But she... she..."

"She died when she was eight." he completed the sentence for me. My heart ached as the day of that incident revolved in front of my eyes; the day I lost my family.

"Yes." I said and licked my lips to wet them.

"If you don't mind me telling, what was the name of your mother, Miss... Carson, was it?"

"Isobel Denver." I told him and he raised an eyebrow. "Carson is my adoptive parents' surname. But what does this have to do with anything?" I asked in a firm voice that gave away my displeasure at the tone of the Sheriff.

"There is no record of you, Miss. Carson. Jason and Isobel Denver only had one daughter, Anastasia Denver. She never had any twin, according to the hospital and these files." he stated in an icy cold tone and my jaw opened up in surprise.

"There must have been some mistake. How's that possible? I was adopted so there might have been some mix up." I said, growing anxious by the second.

"I checked all the record. There was never any twins of Denver family." He said and showed me the hospital files. "The police records, town records, nothing showed your name."

"But...." I began to say something but my head had started to spin. I might be a child back then but I remember living here with my parents and my sister. The memory was very faint but it wasn't a lie.

"For all I know, Miss. Sapphire, you never existed." He said and I sucked a sharp breath.

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