Part One

"Laura! The breakfast is getting cold come down already" Miss Alessa Washington cried for the fourth time.

Silence.

"Lauraaa!?" , she cried louder walking up the flight of stairs that led to her room. The door to Laura's room was open. Inside Laura stood with a paintbrush in her hands fully immersed in her own world of colours.

Gently she mixed the pigments on the palette. Different shades of green mingled with chartreuse yellow . Cautiously like a mother holding her newborn for the first time , she applied the final shade over the canvas. Her sapphire eyes focused as each stroke gave life to the blank stretch of the canvas.

Alessa stood by the door leaning onto the wall , smiling as her daughter let the colours form new worlds.

Laura Washington , the only daughter of Alessa Washington , wasn't an ordinary child. She was , in umpteen aspects quite different from most of girls Alessa knew. Unlike most teens Laura was unusually queit but when she spoke , she revealed an unattainable height of insight .It seemed as if a wise old soul , full of infinite wisdom lied inside her finite body.

All her life Laura was home-schooled by Alessa . She was never sent to a school. Why? She never asked. She was happy and made sure Alessa was aware of her contentment.

They shared an unusually strong bond. Perhaps because Laura was all Alessa had or maybe it was the other way around. They didn't share much , both content in their own shells that none tried to break. They had their own beautiful , comfortable and vast language of silence . Silence that spoke a lot more than words can ever do. Silence that dominated all the dry voices around them and overshadowed all the languages to ever exist in the world.

Laura spent most of her time reading , painting or thinking. Thinking about life and death. Thinking about wars , defeats and conquests. Thinking about the world and love.

One could never tell how high her mind soared while her body stayed on the ground.

Alessa on the other hand spent most of her day working. She taught Political sciences in nearby university and usually came home late aware of the fact that , knowing the art of being delighted in her own company , Laura would not feel companionless.

"Mom! Since when have you been standing here?!" , her astonishment was obvious as she spoke.

"I- I came just now." , said Alessa unaware of how long she's actually been there.

"Breakfast is on the table do take it when you're free. I should go now it's- "

"It's almost 9:15 mom you're already late. Run!"

"Gawwwd!!! See you later my baby , make sure you take the breakfast!" She said almost running.

On her way she took a slice , stuffed it in her mouth and dashed out.

"She's such a kid" Laura thought aloud smiling as she came down for breakfast. It was all cold by now. She held the plate and made her way towards the microwave when she heard a faint noise coming from the lounge.

'How many times do i have to tell her to switch the television off before going.' She went in the lounge.

Holding the remote in her free hand she was about to switch it off when she saw the sight displayed ahead that evoked a sense of familiarity in her. A cold shiver ran through her spine as her pupil dilated with fear.

" A corpse found ditched in 'Great walk' hiking track . The victim is a man in 50's with several bruises on his body. Police claimed it as a mur...."

As Her eyes focused on the screen the plate fell down from her hands that had turned as white and cold as the corpse itself.

She felt her hands and legs trembling but failed to notice tiny droplets of blood emerging from her feet as the shattered pieces of glass pierced through her skin.

"That place," she muttered to herself.

"I- I know that place."

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