Episode 5 - None to say

"What?" Julia got up from the bed as she put on her shoes. "Where have you last seen her?"

"She said she wanted to play by herself earlier 4:00 A.M. At the yard but when I checked, she's not there anymore!"

"Okay, okay, come on, let's find her."

Meanwhile, Eleanor was in a vacant land playing all by herself with a ball. After a bit of playtime, it started to rain so she felt the need to go home but her ball slipped out of her hands and rolled all the way, only to bump onto a person's foot.

"I'm so sorry!" Eleanor apologized as she ran to her ball and picked it up, not even looking at the person's face.

"It's alright, child, are you lost? Where is your Mother?" The woman asked in a concerned voice as she knelt down in front of Eleanor.

Eleanor then looked at the woman for a few seconds before smiling. "I'm fine, I'm not lost! My Mom's at home with my Brother and Sister!"

"Oh." The woman smiled. "What's your name, child?"

"Me? My name is Eleanor Myers!"

"Eleanor..." The woman mumbled. "What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl like you." The woman reached her hand out with a soft, innocent smile. "My name is Margaret Collins."

Eleanor smiled back at Margaret and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Margaret! I really have to go home now so-"

"No need to go alone, I'll take you somewhere."

"But I'm supposed to."

"Trust me, it's gonna be fun. We'll leave and I'll take you back here in no time, I promise."

With a shattered scream, Eleanor tried her best to call for help as Margaret grabbed her by the arm. "Let go of me! Help!"

"Calm down" Margaret covered Eleanor's mouth. "Trust me, I am trying to save your life!"

Eleanor bit Margaret's arm and yelled, in an angry tone, "Save my life!? You seem to be the one to end it!"

"Shh, shh! Don't scream! You won't understand right now because you're only 9 years old but I have to help you."

"How did you know my age!? Who are you!?"

Margaret figured that this conversation was going nowhere so she just took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, I'll let you go, but you have to secretly come here at this place to meet up with me at least once a week and I will teach you how to defend yourself. I strictly prohibit you from telling anyone, not even your Brother, your Sister, or your Mother. Understood?"

"What's the catch?"

"The catch is that if you tell someone about this, you will die."

"... Fine, but only because you said I will die."

"Good." Margaret smiled as she let go of Eleanor's hand. The poor girl ended up running the fastest way she could. Margaret, on the other hand, put on her hoodie and started walking away.

"She should know better than this... But she's way too young to understand. I have to save her before she turns 13." She mumbled to herself.

...

...

...

Eleanor slammed the door open and Julia rushed to her, sobbing. "Lea! Where have you been!?"

"I'm fine, Mom, I just played with my ball in the vacant land."

"You should've told me first! What were you thinking!? I was worried sick for you!"

"Mom, it's okay! I'm alright and don't worry, I won't go out anymore without your permission."

After a heartfelt hug, Eleanor went to her bedroom to have some alone time while Julia wiped her tears, rolling her eyes. "I hate pretending to care for her and cry when she's not in a good condition." She muttered.

...

...

...

Eleanor sat on her bed, tracing her fingertips on the picture of Celine. Her eyes softened. "Who are you? And why do you look like? Why do we have the same surname? Are you... Someone I'm related to?"

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