єṅċһѧṅṭяєṡṡ - ṡ.ṡṭıʟıṅṡҡı

119

Faline, Stiles, and Lydia sit in Stiles' room as Lydia stares at the laptop.

"Try Maddy," Stiles says. "It's got to be Maddy"

"Too basic," Faline says. "Like Scott with Allison, Allison"

"Faline's right," Lydia says. "Doesn't Maddy feel a little obvious as a cipher key?"

"I guarantee it's Maddy," Stiles says.

ERROR

"Okay, your name," Stiles says. "She left the code for you right?"

"Also obvious," Faline says. "She'd want something only Lydia knew"

ERROR

"Your mom's name"

ERROR

"Do you have any beloved family pets?" Stiles asks and Lydia places her thumb and forefinger on her nose.

After an hour, Stiles is resting his head on the desk as Faline scribbles down yet another failed password.

"The ashes were left for you," Stiles says. "The code was left for you. You're supposed to be able to figure this out"

"But no one else is," Lydia says. "Which is why she made it hard"

The printer continues beeping so Stiles shoves a wad of paper into the bottom.

"No one else but you," Faline says.

"What are you talking about?" Lydia asks.

"Our guesses are all about Lorraine right?" Faline says.

"We keep trying to guess a word that has something to do with her. So maybe we should be trying to guess one that's about you"

"Me? What about me?" Lydia asks.

Is there something you used to do with your grandmother?" Faline asks. "An activity, a movie, a book? What was your special thing?"

"Did you go to the beach? Did you like ice cream?" Stiles asks.

"We read," Lydia says.

"Okay, what did you read?" Stiles asks.

"The Little Mermaid," Lydia says.

"You read that movie?" Stiles asks.

"It was a book first," Lydia says.

"Hans Christian Andersen?" Faline says to her boyfriend. "Danish author? It's a good book. I think Klaus has a signed copy. If not Klaus, Elijah definitely will"

"Type it in Little Mermaid," Stiles says.

LITTLEMERMAID

ERROR

MERMAID

ERROR

"We read it every night," Lydia says. "I got so obsessed with it for three months I wouldn't respond to anything but Ariel. It drove my parents crazy but- Grandma thought it was adorable"

ARIEL

The list begins to decode itself.

TAMARA JOHANSEN

ALICE DUFFY

PAULA BRASCH

TREY LOCKHART

JOSH MORRIS

ELISA CHIN

PETER MCELROY

TAYLOR FREEMAN

TERRANCE SHUMAN