Chapter 4

Dante's heart melted as he spent more time with his sister. Whoever F.F. was, he would have to get his mouth ready to meet Dante's knuckles. And now that he and Dabria were in view of their house, his mind became more of a chaotic mess.

"How was school today?" he asked, hoping small talk would put his mind at ease.

"It's okay." Her response came out as almost a whisper, making Dante ponder if she was hiding something.

"Just 'okay?' It wasn't 'good' or 'fun?'" He gave her a moment to answer, but when she didn't, he playfully picked her up like a toddler. She giggled while telling him to stop, but instead of putting her down, he kept holding her. "If something's wrong, you can tell me," he whispered. Despite not having the same soothing tone as their mother, he made a decent imitation.

"Hadley was making fun of me," Dabria said quietly. She wiped a tear and sniffled.

"You told me she did the same thing last week. If it's a problem, I'll go over there and talk to everyone myself."

Immediately, Dabria lifted her head and pleaded with him not to. "No!" she yelled.

"Considering that she's done it before, I don't think she'll stop unless - I or you put an end to it." She gently nodded her head, but Dante knew she only did so to please him. And after seeing her demeanor, he figured it wasn't only Hadley giving her a hard time. "Is anyone else bullying you, or is Hadley being really bad?" This time, when Dabria didn't answer, he made his voice firmer. "I'm not mad, but I need to know what's happening to you at school. I just want to make sure you're treated the way you should be."

Dabria swallowed hard. "Hadley makes fun of me whenever she sees me. I'm just being a crybaby." She pursed her lips shut.

"You're not a crybaby. In fact, telling me something that hurts you so much is extremely brave." After he spoke, he noticed a black feather fall from the sky. "Look, I know you like watching those ravens." He pointed upward and felt a sense of peace after seeing her smile again. Ever since she could talk, Dante noticed her becoming more and more fascinated by the winged animals. Of course, he thought it was odd, but she played with them the same way kids played with their dogs, so he assumed she just had a bizarre pet choice.

"Dante," Dabria said, her voice shifting his focus

"What is it?"

"Can we go out for a walk tomorrow? It's a Saturday."

Dante smiled. "Yes, I'd be glad to. But we'll have to go out after lunch. I have some plans." Dante thought about snatching the postcard and letter back from his mother to find the church and watch it from afar, but he still hadn't created an entire plan of how to do so.

"What are you doing? Can I join?" Dabria's voice rose in pitch, telling him of her excitement, but considering the poor timing, her eagerness became a source of pain.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay home."

Dabria pouted. "But I want to spend time with you!"

Dante gave her a sad look. He racked his brain to come up with a lie. "I'm going on a date," he blurted out.

Dabria gasped. "Do you have a girlfriend? Does Mom know?" she raised her volume with each consecutive question.

"No, let's keep this between us for now. I'll introduce her to Mom later." He patted Dabria's back while she stared upward at the sky. He wondered what was going on in her brain, but decided leaving her to her imagination would provide some much-needed peace.

By now, they arrived at the gate that surrounded their front yard. The neighbor's dog barked as they passed but let out a whimper when one of the Raven's flew by. Dante stopped in front of the mailbox and put Dabria down.

"Go inside. I'll be right there." After he dismissed her, she trotted up the stone path. Dante waited until she entered the house, after which he opened the mailbox. F.F. always delivered mail at odd times. Yesterday, the box was full by the time Dante got out of bed at seven in the morning. Then, the day before that, he saw a silhouette of a stranger stop by while he was listening to the radio at 9 pm. And now, another delivery waited for them.

He guessed F.F. came by after he left to pick up Dabria. He just hoped the man wasn't watching him leave the house. Otherwise, he'd have to consider the possibility that F.F. knew his and Dabria's schedule.

A small gift wrapped in an emerald ribbon was inside the mailbox. Dante carefully removed it, but before he could peek inside, his mom called him.

"Dante!" she screamed from the front door.

He bit his tongue and shrugged his shoulders. Afterward, he shoved the gift into his pocket before heading inside. Its weight was pulling down his pants, forcing him to have to pull them up by the hem. Upon entering, his mom went back to cooking.

"Why were you looking in the mailbox?" she asked sternly.

"There's nothing in there," he lied. He prayed that his mother wouldn't look at him for fear she'd call his bluff. He carefully stayed out of her field of vision, fearing that she might notice something was weighing his trousers down.

But Dabria put a wedge in his plan when she walked back into the kitchen. "What's that for?" she asked, pointing at his pocket. Despite the gift being concealed, the bright wrapping paper stuck out slightly. "Is that for the gi-"

Dante shook his head, reminding his sister to stay quiet. "That wasn't from the mailbox, was it?" their mom asked. This time, the woman didn't hold any of her attention toward preparing the food or cleaning the dishes.

Dante frowned. "No, it's for a girl," he said, defeatedly. His mom's look showed suspicion. "I already told Dabria about this girl." Their mom looked at his sister, and Dabria nodded.

"Is this true?" their mom asked. Immediately, Dabria yelped.

Dante hated lying to his mother, especially if it involved using someone else to do so, but for now, he told himself, it was the right thing to do.

"Dabria, go to your room. Take some time to draw or do homework while I talk to your brother." For the first time, Dante looked to Dabria for help rather than the other way around. But she didn't seem to notice the anguish on his face.

"Okay," Dabria said quickly. She ran up the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder and footsteps that resembled the ticking of a watch. Dante waited, knowing that as soon as his sister disappeared, he would be left with his unnerving mother.

"Have a seat," she said. She pulled out a chair before Dante made a move. He examined his surroundings as though he were a caged animal looking for an escape. "Look at me when we talk."

Dante nodded and sat down. "If it's about my date, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." He bowed his head, and his mother sighed.

"Dante, I already made it clear that I don't want you keeping secrets. With how much you've been obsessing over our mail these past few days, I doubt you had the chance to meet a young lady." She placed her palms down on the table and leaned closer. "That item in your pocket. It was from the mailbox, was it not?"

Dante swallowed hard. He rarely heard his mom's voice turn stern. A vast majority of the time, she maintained an angelic tone, like his sister. "I don't understand why you're so adamant about letting these letters slide," he said through gritted teeth. "Doesn't it worry you someone is sending messages to Dabria? My sister - your own daughter? I mean, we don't know who this man is. He might not even be a part of a church! What if he's a pedophile? A murderer?" Dante dug his fingernails into the tablecloth. "If you don't help me sort this out, I'll go to the Sheriff's office. He'll investigate." Dante angrily scooted his chair away from the table and stood.

But as soon as he turned to face the door, his mother called him. "Wait!" she yelled. Dante froze with one foot in front of the other. He didn't look back, but kept his ears open. "I'll explain everything tonight. Once Dabria is asleep, we'll talk."

Finally, he put his feet back together and turned around. "Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Despite having to beg his mother to help him, the sudden shift in her demeanor seemed too good to be true.

"Yes. Just help me with the dishes for now. You can get Dabria after I finish making dinner.

Dante shut his mouth for fear that anything he said would change his mother's mind. So, he picked up a stack of plates and scrubbed away the filth in silence.