"Your photo albums?" Margaret asked, sounding confused.
Arwen humd before adding, "Yes, the photo albums that I have from my previous school. I rember keeping it in Granna's place." She paused, trying to rember sothing, then added, "They must be in the store room. If you ask soone to check the shelves there, they might find it."
Margaret thought for a mont before affirming, "Sure, I will ask soone to look for him. But," she intercepted briefly, asking, "Arwen can I ask you why are you suddenly looking for it? They are the past that you have long moved on from."
There was suspicion in Margaret's tone that sounded odd, but Arwen didn't find it strange for she knew that asking the mory of the past which has long forgotten was worth questioning. And Margaret wasn't an outsider. She had been throughout the span, witnessing it all. Her question to her was right and valid.
"Aunt Margaret," she began. "I might have moved on from the past, but maybe the past still holds sothing that could be important to ."
"What are you referring to, Arwen?" Margaret asked, her tone a little unsettled.
Arwen, herself, didn't know what she was referring to or what she was trying to find out. She just knew that there was sothing that she was confused about. And there was sothing she was looking for. But what that was, she didn't know. And neither could she explain.
Hence, in the reply to Margaret, she simply said, "I just want to make sure that I am not leaving anything or anyone important behind."
On the other end of the call, Margaret's composed expression clearly showed a ripple of concern. But not making it too obvious, she said, "Okay, Arwen. Leave that to then. I will ask soone to look for the albums and once they find it, I will send it over to you."
"Yeah, Aunt Margaret. Take your ti." Although Arwen said that, she didn't agree to the sa internally. She wanted to ask her to make the haste, but at the sa ti, she knew that would be too much to ask. Therefore, she adjusted her words before uttering them.
At East Serenity Residence,
After Margaret hung up the call, a voice from behind asked her, "What's wrong, Margaret?"
Margaret turned to look at Brenda who was walking down the stairs elegantly. "Madam, didn't you go to rest? Why did you co down? If you needed sothing you could have asked upstairs," she asked, her concern looking very evident on her face.
Seeing her getting worried like that was not sothing unusual. Over the years while Margaret had been staying with her, Brenda has co to say that getting anxious has beco her second nature.
But that also ans that Brenda knew exactly how Margaret looked when she was just worried for her health. And right seeing her unsettled like that, she could tell that she just wasn't worried for her. There was sothing else that was keeping her on the edge.
Brenda's gaze darted to look down at her hand that was holding the phone. "Who was on the phone?" she asked, looking back into her eyes.
"T-That …" Margaret hesitated and hearing her fumble like that, the old lady asked again.
"Margaret, I am sure I never stuttered, nor did I teach you. Then why are you today making feel like I am not the ntor who guided you in your journey," Her words might have so soft, but it was sombre.
Margaret shook her head. "You didn't, Madam."
"Great to know that you realize it," the old woman said, nodding. "Now that you have realized it, tell who was on the call. And what did he or she say to make you unsettled like this?"
"It was young miss, Madam," she replied.
And Brenda's expression shifted as she repeated, "Arwen?"
Margaret nodded.
"What did she say?" the old lady asked, his face showing hints of suspicion.
Margaret didn't reply imdiately. Her brows furrowed as she gave a thought again to the conversation she had with Arwen. "She was asking for the photo albums."
"Photo albums?" Brenda didn't understand at first.
"Yes," Margaret said, explaining. "The one she made back in the school with the pictures of all her schoolmates and friends. After she had forgotten everything, she had co across it once. At that ti, she didn't rember anyone at all, but still, she had asked to keep them as a part of her forgotten mory."
As she heard that, the old lady understood which photo album Arwen might have asked about. Her brows wrinkled with so thought as she asked, "Why does she need that now?"
People keep the picture album to cap up the mories they don't want to forget, but Arwen had already forgotten them and there was no way to recover. To her, it should hold nothing apart from the few faces that she no longer rembers. Then why was she asking for it suddenly?
"I don't know, Madam," Margaret said, equally perplexed. "When I asked her, she said sothing in the words that felt like a mystery to . It gave hints that she was trying to recall her past." And that was exactly what was bothering her.
Brenda's face darkened. Arwen shouldn't try to recall what she has forgotten, otherwise that would only damage her further. And seeing her expression shift, Margaret quickly tried to ease the air of suspicion.
"Madam, I might be overthinking," she said. "After all, it's just a picture album. Even in the past, after Arwen has forgotten it all, she has looked through it. Those pictures never triggered her. Even now, they would cause any harm."
"It's not about whether it would trigger sothing or not, Margaret," Brenda said, shaking her head at her. "It's about why she has to suddenly ask about it when her past has long been forgotten and no longer holds any importance in her present life. What had suddenly triggered her to look into it."
Margaret's expression also turned solemn. This was exactly what she was trying to ask Arwen earlier. But she didn't receive an answer.
"I tried asking her, but I didn't understand what she was talking about."
Brenda's gaze narrowed slightly as she asked, "What did she say?"
"She said sothing around the lines which ant," she paused, trying to think about Arwen's words, "like she was searching for sothing or soone from her history. She said she wanted to make sure that she wasn't leaving anything or anyone important behind."
Brenda paused. "Soone important?" Brenda could ignore those two words. "She is looking for soone."
Margaret didn't understand. "She is looking for soone?" she repeated. "But Madam, she was never too attached to anyone back them. We have even reached her classmates back then, but none shared a deep history or rembrance with her."
Brenda didn't speak for a mont. Her expression only seed to be darkening under the effect of the contemplation.
After a while, she asked, "Where is that photo album?"
"I have to check, Madam," Margaret replied. "Young Miss said that she had left it in the store room. I will ask soone to check."
Brenda nodded. "Find it and send it over to Arwen then. Don't delay it for long," she said and her words confused Margaret.
Furrowing her brows, she asked, "You want to send it to them after finding it?"
Brenda looked at her. "Didn't you promise her that?"
Of course, she did. But still, she thought the old lady would want to look through it before sending it to her.
"I thought you would want to investigate it once before sending it to her", Margaret said, and the old lady shook her head.
"Even if we do that, it wouldn't bring us anything. Rember, we already did it once before." Brenda had always been very thorough in her work. Especially the works that have high stakes. "And if Arwen has asked for it, then it ans we could no longer hide what she is looking for. So, to not trigger the worst, it will be better if we give her complete access to whatever she is looking into."
"But Madam, —"
"Margaret," Brenda interrupted. "Don't forget who she is. Stubbornness and determination runs in her blood. You won't be able to keep things away from her even if you want. And second thing, I don't think giving her what she is looking for is a threat. Rather the threat is soone else."
She took her step ahead and walked past Margaret. Keeping her back towards her, she asked, "Did you look into the doctor that Dr. Cred ntioned?"
Margaret's face grew solemn. "I tried looking into his background, but he doesn't seem to be soone simple. His identity although very obvious and well-known, his connections are kept very concealed. And because we can't tell to whom he is associated with, we cannot be sure about his actual intention behind the investigation."
"No matter how concealed it is, we have to find out, Margaret. You know we can risk it," Brenda snapped. And even though that made Margaret flinch, she nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry, madam. We are trying to look into him. I am sure we will be able to find it," she said, and just as she did, her phone rang.
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