43. Farren
Farren
I don’t know why, out of all the buildings left standing here, I was drawn to this one in particular. But the sense of rightness I felt as I entered this house just barely surpassed the feeling of despair.
Roan stayed at my side as I made my way through the house, stopping only once we reached a door with a hawk motif embossed on the knob.
“Does that mean anything to you?” he asked as I just stared at it, dumbfounded.
“You know that ancestor I asked you about when we first met?”
He probably nodded before realizing that I wasn’t looking at him and confirmed verbally.
“Her surname was Hawkins and reliefs of hawks were all over my oldest heirlooms.”
“So perhaps that means more of what you were told is real than we thought. Maybe she fled from wherever this is, but since the name was forgotten, someone just picked a more famous lost town?”
His guess was as good as anything I could have come up with and I knew I would not get any answers just standing in a hallway of a long abandoned house. I swallowed hard, reached to open the door, and stepped through.
The instant I made contact with the worn bronze door knob, a shot of magic jolted up my arm and I gasped softly at the sensation. The rightness that I first felt when I entered the house amplified as soon as I made contact with the bronze and I felt pulled to enter the room.
The room before us looked like it once served as a study and the hawk motif was everywhere. Bookcases lined the bulk of two walls, with a space left for a large fireplace. The third wall held a massive window and an equally massive desk placed directly in the center. Sitting on the desk, waiting for its owner to return, was an old piece of parchment.
Curiosity flooded me as I made my way across the room to slide into the dusty chair in front of the desk. With shaky hands, I picked up the parchment that looked like a letter now that I was close enough to see the writing.
My dearest Desi,
I’m afraid that I have made a great mistake, one that you might have to pay for in my stead. Something is coming and although your aunt tries to assure me that everything will work out just fine, doubt fills me.
I pray that someday you will find it in your heart to forgive my cowardice. I know that we all had hoped that this would be the home we longed for, but some things were just never meant to be.
Just know that you will always be in my heart, my precious niece, even if I am not around. Even if my fear forces me to do something regretful.
Love always,
Your uncle,
Peregrin.
I read and reread the words several times before I dropped the letter back on the desk and slumped in the chair. Roan waited until I was done before he looked over to read the letter for himself.
“Ro?” my voice was shaky.
“Yes?”
“That ancestor who ran? Her name was Destiny ‘Desi’ Hawkins.”