The afternoon in the marketplace came to mind again. This had to be the pretty leather book I had picked up.
Carefully, I unwound the paper and set it aside. The book was incredibly lovely and looked high quality as well.
I opened to the first few blank pages and came across the storage space. It occurred to me that I could put my necklace in there, however I hadn’t found it yet. Hopefully, it was still in my suitcase, because I would not forgive myself for losing it.
As I looked at the book, an idea came to me.
I retrieved the mysterious envelope from the French philosophy book and slipped it into the small box.
My eyes lingered on the paper, and it was as if that damn envelope was calling to me. Curiosity was getting the better of me.
Was I supposed to?
Oh, damn it. This was long overdue. And Mum didn’t have to know about it... after all.
Just as I was about to reach for the letter, my window flew open with a clang, and a huge gust of wind rushed through my room. I hurried to the window to close it quickly.
This wretched stormy weather in this bloody small town!
When I returned to the shelf where I had put the book, I froze.
The envelope. It had disappeared.
“No...”
Suddenly, my cell phone rang.
I ran to the bed, overwhelmed, grabbed the black smartphone, and just pressed the side button to answer the call directly. It had to be Larissa.
“Hey, Larissa. I was thinking...”
“Is this Ms. Adams I’m talking to?” It wasn’t Larissa but the voice of a young woman. Maybe someone from the university?
“Yes...” I replied shyly.
“Please come to Moenia next Friday at 10:00 pm. And don’t forget to be on time and...”
“Excuse me, who am I talking to?”
“Diana, it’s important that you...”
Shit.
“There must be some misunderstanding, I’m not Diana, I’m...”
Suddenly, the phone was snatched out of my hand.
I spun around and looked at the horrified face of my mother, who gave me a warning look and then spoke to the person on the other side of the line.
“Yes, yes, it’s me... No, yes... no. I’ll be there. Good... I’ll see you.”
She hung up and looked at me indecisively.
“Sorry, I thought that was mine.” I pointed to the phone in her hand, which was basically mine again. We even had the same case. I had probably grabbed hers when I went upstairs.
“Did she say anything weird to you? Did you say you were my daughter?”
“No, just that you were 10:00...”
I hesitated.
“Who was that?”
“No one special, just Dr. Copeland’s assistant.”
“What are you doing at 10:00 p.m. with Dr. Copeland, for heaven’s sake?”, I cautiously said. At this, images immediately popped into my head that I had not intended to evoke.
Confused, I shook my head.
Was it possible that this Dr. Copeland and my mother...?
No. Impossible. Besides, she had told me to stay away from the Copelands. That had been a woman just now, and this appointment had sounded way too professional. Or was I wrong about everything?
“The hospital also gives out appointments for evenings...” Mum laughed sheepishly. “Not everyone is an early riser.”
“Evening?”, I huffed, and somehow it was getting more and more suspicious. Ten o’clock was almost night...
Mum started spinning the phone in her hands, avoiding my gaze again.
