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Racheal’s POV
We both bend down and grabbed the handle. “One, two…” I counted.
“… And open.”
As soon as the coffin open, we fell back, gasped, and blinked again and again and again, not believing the sight in front of us.
Colton finally found his voice, shaken and broken. “W-why is the coffin empty?”
I shook her head with disbelief. “Where the hell is my father’s body!?”
I couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t. I mean we did bury my father, at least we think we did but apparently not. Admittedly we didn’t get to see his body but that was because they claimed it was burnt and in tiny pieces which shouldn’t be seen unless you want to vomit and faint. Dad always wanted to be buried so we didn’t do a cremation. But this, this was a shock. Was nothing in my life real anymore?
Fake relationship, fake boyfriend, fake coffin, and now a fake dead dad.
Colton cleared his throat, his eyes still on the empty brown coffin. “Maybe he’s here somewhere, you know?” He tried, but even his voice held skepticism.
I snorted, “Yeah sure.” Not being able to stand up anymore, I gave up and down next to the stupid coffin, not giving a damn about the dirt sticking to my butt, I had bigger things to worry about.
“Maybe we just dug in the wrong coffin.” He tried again and though I wanted to appreciate his way of comforting me and trying to soothe me, I couldn’t. My mind was a mess and I was soon becoming super pissed.
I glared at him, pointing at the gravestone. “Are you blind? It clearly says Ashton Smith and that is my dad, at least I think so. I don’t even know what to believe anymore.”
Colton sighed. “Maybe it got switched.”
I closed my eyes and opened them again, this time not able to control my anger. “No Colton, it didn’t. We never saw my dad’s body because they said it was too charred and we were all so sad that we didn’t even think too much of it. But now the only explanation is either my dead burned dad awoke from the dead, unlocked the coffin from inside, crawled his way out, and walked right outside to get some coffee and forgot all about his family in the chaos or somebody took out his body and ran away with it. Or worse yet? He was never fucking dead. This was a stupid game and he is still alive pretending to be dead to us. Why he would do that I have no bloody clue! It doesn’t make sense, hell nothing makes sense anymore.” I complained, putting my face in my palms.
Colton sighed again, sitting down next to me. He didn’t say anything and I was glad because my brain was too preoccupied to register his words anyways.
Why would my dad do all this? Is my dad even dead? If not, why lie? Why hide for four years? To protect his family? But from what? And he could have lived and protected. Why me? Why my dad? Why did this case go to my mother? Is this fate? I bet those weird three one-eyed goddesses are having a laugh right now.
After a while Colton suddenly moved, his hands jumping to hold mine and his eyes danced with excitement. I furrowed my eyebrows, ignoring the warmth that his skin gave mine. “What?”
“Not all is lost.”
I smiled sarcastically, “Honey, you might be my boyfriend but that doesn’t stop me from saying you are stupid and dumb. There is nobody, not even a skin. Of course, everything is lost. Mom is going to kill me when she knows of this. Well maybe not, when she sees her dead husband’s body has disappeared.”
Colton rolled his eyes. “Honey, you are my girlfriend but that doesn’t stop me from proving you wrong and then doing a victory dance.”
I wanted to fold my arms and give him a glare but then I didn’t want him to stop holding my hands as well, so I settled on just giving him a glare. “You better make a good point Hastings.”
Colton grinned, his eyes twinkling and despite this whole situation I couldn’t help but smile back shyly. “I do Smith.”
He pulled me a step closer to the coffin and pointed at the lilies. “We don’t have the body but your dad said those last words for a reason so at least we have lilies right?”
I blinked in surprise, wondering why I didn’t think of that myself. I was smarter than he was, right? Unconsciously I remembered my father’s parting words to me, “Hey kiddo, remember lollipops and lilies, remember it properly and don’t do anything stupid okay?”
Did he know he was going to die? Or pretend to die? I voiced out my thoughts.
Colton shrugged. “I guess we might have an answer soon.”
I kneeled down, reluctantly taking my hand away from his. I slowly wiped off the sand from the three lilies craved with my fingertips. I gulped, my hand starting to shake a bit. “I am scared.” I finally whispered. “What if this is a dead-end too? What if it all he said was supposed to be just a sentence, not a clue?”
Colton kneeled beside me. “Look I don’t know want we might find out okay. And that scares me too. But your father was a very smart man, if he said that sentence to you right before going to solve a crime it must have meant something. He knows you are smart, he knew you could figure it out and you did. Wherever he is, he’s proud of you.”
I smiled lightly, bumping my shoulder into his. “Thanks. But seriously that last sentence is creepy. Wherever he is? Where is he!”
Colton brushed off the remaining sand. “Guess we might find out soon enough.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay let’s open this.” I pressed on a lily, waiting for something to happen. Nothing.
“Maybe it’s the other lily.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, pressing hard on the next lily, still nothing. Finally, I pressed on the third and waited patiently but nope, no secret compartment popped out or no lilies changed places. Nothing, it was as if I was pressing on a plain old stupid word.
“Maybe we have to press all three together.” Colton suggested, sensing my annoyance.
“Okay.” I replied. Pushing hard on the two lilies with my palms and he pushed on the remaining one. Nope, nothing.
“Maybe a little while longer?”
I shrugged, not like I had anything better to do.
But after two minutes when there was absolutely zero change, I gave up. “What the hell is this? Why won’t it open?”
“Maybe turn it?”
And we tried that too but nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Nil.
I removed my hands from the coffin and let out a small irked scream
Colton let go after me. “It must be something tricky. Something only your father and you could open?”
I frowned, thinking back to all the memories I had tried to bury deep of me and my father. There were so many. I remembered one distinctively.
I was seven and want a big stuffed unicorn for my birthday. Dad said, “Sweetie unicorns don’t live on Earth, they live on the Unicorn Island. And they only come here if you can solve their puzzles and make them happy.”
My naïve self instantly believed in dad and wanted to make unicorns happy so agreed to solve any and all puzzles. I loved quizzes anyways, thanks to my dad’s love for them.
It started four days before my birthday. There was a small pink note next to my pale blue pillow. ‘Hello Racheal, I am King Unicorn. If you want a stuffed version of me go down to the kitchen and find the next clue.’
I mentally screamed, legit believing that the King of Unicorns had himself send me a handwritten note. Through the vast crowded Earth, he had noticed me and contacted me. I was on cloud 9.
I ran down the stairs, the note clutched in my left hand afraid it might disappear.
I saw my father sitting on the dining table reading the newspaper and mother at the stove, making pancakes. I grinned widely at them. “King Unicorn sent me a note!! King Unicorn!”
Dad smiled back cheekily. “Oh yeah? I wonder what he wants. He never sends notes to anyone, you must be special.”
My heart almost busted out of joy. “I am special.” I whispered to myself.
Mom came around and kissed my forehead. “Yes honey, you are.”
Josh who was six and moody then, came in and rolled his eyes. “Just see, on my birthday Lion King Simba will send me a note.”
I twisted my lips not caring about it. “Is there a note? There’s a clue here!” I said excitedly, glancing around the kitchen.
Dad shrugged innocently. “I saw a shadow yesterday night near the cookies cupboard.”
I ran and opened the cupboard. And there was another note, this time in yellow. ‘Just keep swimming.’
I blinked. “Finding Nemo!” I frowned. “What about it?”
No one answered and when I looked at dad for help. He shrugged. “Sweetie you are special. If King Unicorn thinks you can solve his clues, you can. Never doubt yourself.”
I just looked back at the note. The next day I removed the Finding Nemo DVD from our movie shelf and found another note inside, blue this time. ‘Always close this door.’
The next day, I found a note stuck at the bottom of my chocolate milkshake in the refrigerator. ‘She is cute.’
The whole day I kept asking my mom if she had a note because I thought she was cute. And she would just say NO. The next day, I thought my big doll, Dory, is cute too. True enough, she had a note inside her hat, ‘Tomorrow’s the big day. Are you ready? Be beautiful and make heads turn.’
I frowned sullenly at the note. No message, just wishes? The whole day I was sad because I had no clue and nothing else to impress the King of Unicorns. On my birthday, the next day when I woke up there was a big wooden box.
I stared at it, trying to be thrilled but I couldn’t. King Unicorn had stopped believing in me.
I finally got out of the bed and went to the box. There was a lid but as much as I tried opening it, it wouldn’t. As if it was shut by some magical force.
I let out a frustrated whine, kicking the box and making it fall sideways. It was then I noticed the three unicorn heads at the bottom. I blinked at them innocently before running and removing the last note from my drawer. ‘Tomorrow’s the big day. Are you ready? Be beautiful and make heads turn.’
This is what he meant! Turn the heads. All the excitement coming back tenfold now, I quickly turned the three heads to the left, and immediately the lid popped off. With shaking hands, a big fat grin, and my heart pumping in my chest I pulled out a big stuffed pink unicorn with a white fluffy mane and a shiny pink horn on its head. Even its legs had fur at the ankles. It was the best gift ever! Cheesy and girly but the best!
Shaking the happy memory away, I clapped my hands, finally understanding what dad meant by, “Hey kiddo, remember lollipops and lilies, remember it properly and don’t do anything stupid okay?” He wanted me to remember the way to solve the quiz, turn the heads.
Colton raised his eyebrows in question. “Want to share something with the class?”
A tiny smirk formed on my face. “We have to flip the coffin. There’s something at the bottom.”
He blinked with incredulity. “Say what again?”
“Turn it around. The answer would be at the bottom.” I answered, trying to move the wooden coffin but despite being empty, that thing can be heavy. “Help me, would you?”
“No!” He exclaimed in horror. “Take me to the cemetery, dig up a grave, open the coffin, push the lilies and now turn around an empty coffin? You ask me to do all this stuff and I just do it! One might think I am in love with you.”
He froze.
I froze.
Mike came.
“Aren’t you?” Mike questioned.
“What did you say?” I whispered.
“Let’s catch a murderer.” He coughed out.
I blinked, staring at Colton. My heart racing at an illegal and unhealthy rate. His words ringing in my ears and brains as if on repeat. ‘I am in love with you.’ ‘I am in love with you.’ ‘I am in love with you.’ I hated how my brain didn’t remember a single word before that sentence. ‘I am in love with you.’
I swallowed. Hard. “Colton?”
He turned to look at me, a terrified and anxious look on his face. “Racheal? Is that you? Well look at that, haven’t seen you in a long time. Where have you been?”
I pressed my lips together. “Colton Hastings!”
He sighed, pressing his fingertips to his forehead. “I said ‘One might think I am in love with you.’ One might, not that I am. Jeez, can’t a guy catch a break here? One might think one can but one can’t. Didn’t you hear anything I said before? ‘One might think I am in love with you.’ One might think.”
I raised my hands in surrender at his in-one-breath-speech. “Okay fine. One might think.”
“I certainly think.” Mike quipped, looking at both of us.
“Shut up!” Colton hissed.
Mike shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, I think even she’s in love with you.”
“Shut up!” This time I hissed.
Mike rolled his eyes. “Is this supposed to be some secret? Anyone can figure out that you two love each other and have kinky bedroom sex.”
“Shut up!” We both screamed.
Mike took a step back at the volume. “Fine, stay in denial.” He leaned forward and opened the coffin, only to let out a girly scream and take five steps back. “Where the bloody hell is the body? What did you guys do with it? I’m going to get fired!”
“The body wasn’t there!” Colton exclaimed.
Mike looked at us in shock. “Wa-wasn’t there? What do you mean?” he seemed awfully petrified.
“Whoa there, scared?” Colton teased.
Mike glared at him. “I work in a freaking cemetery. I am surrounded by dead bodies all day long. Some of which are probably crazy ghosts. So yes, if there’s an empty coffin and a missing dead body I will be scared. Don’t judge me, you stupid lover boy.”
I stifled a laugh at Colton’s horrified face.
Mike turned his face to me. “And what are you chuckling about, denial girl.”
That quickly shut me up.
“So what now? Should we call the cops! Oh manh, I am gonna get fired!” Mike complained.
I cleared my throat. “Well, we were just going to turn the coffin around.”
“For what?” Mike’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Is the body there? Well, I am not getting fired?” His tone turned hopeful.
Colton shrugged. “Just turn it around and find out.”
I gulped, Mike’s words ringing in my ears. ‘Is the body there?’ Is the body underneath the coffin? Or is there another coffin underneath this one where my dad is? None of it made sense. Coffin under the coffin, why?
The boys bent down, ready to move the coffin. I joined them, hoping to not find a burned dead body.
After a few pushes, grunts, complaints, and cuss words we finally managed to flip the coffin. And luckily there was just sand beneath but the bottom of the coffin sure had three lilies on it. Staring at us, calling to us.
I gulped looking at the pale white design with sand granules and ants on it. “This is it.” I whispered.
“This is it.” Colton replied back in a murmur.
Mike blinked, looking at us and then at the coffin. “I had heard love makes people crazy. But now that I’m seeing it I don’t like it.”
Ignoring him I neared the coffin. Mike shouted at me to stop but Colton held him back, saying something to him. But Mike’s protests were the least of my worries.
Kneeling down I laid a hand on the lilies, the childhood memory flashing back. Turn it to the left. I started with the lily on right, turning it was difficult because, after 4 years, it was familiar to friction. But after a few tries and creaks, it did turn and I wanted to fist pump in the air while saying ‘hooyah’.
The middle lily was also quickly rotated to its left. And then finally the remaining left lily turned.
I don’t know what I was hoping for. Maybe something to pop out like the unicorn had come out. Or the coffin to shudder and tear into half. Or maybe the bottom comes off completely. Something Harry Potter-ish.
Instead, all that happened was the lilies moved back barely enough to form a hole that could fit in barely three fingers.
“That it?” Colton asked, joining me in my shock and surprise.
“I think.” I muttered in disappointment.
“Whoa! A secret compartment in a coffin. Cool!” Mike on the other hand seemed excited and thrilled.
We looked at him with a flat look but he didn’t seem to deter. Instead clapped like a three-year-old. “Stick your fingers in that hole and find what treasures it holds.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the ‘hopefully’ unintentional double innuendo while Colton just rolled his eyes and said, “I wish.”
I slapped his back and turned to the empty space in the coffin. “You go first.”
Colton immediately shook his head. “Hell no, what if there are spiders inside!”
I gave him a flat look, “It was locked.”
He smirked. “So why don’t you go first.”
I twisted my lips, frankly even I was afraid there might some insects or spiders inside.
“I’ll go.” Mike shouted, jumping ahead of us and without caring for a reply put his fingers in.
We watched him in anticipation. His face brightened up when he said he felt something, make me and Colton excited but it was just wood.
After another minute he finally pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He looked at us with innocent eyes. “What do you think it has? Proof that aliens exist? Nuclear codes? The Illuminati list?”
I gave him a flat look, snitching the paper from him. “How about my father’s murderer’s name?” I paused, muttering to myself. “If he really is dead.”
Colton and Mike breathed down both sides of the neck, trying to read the paper and I opened the paper, making it even be able to read its contents.
It was barely a sentence. No name. No address. No drawings. Just some alphabets and numbers.
Sect. 7. 4. 19. 45. 1. 94. 3. 14. 9. 75. 11. 37. 41. 18. 15
“The bloody f does that mean?” Mike snorted, staring at the numbers.
I frowned, remembering all the memories again but I couldn’t remember any game with such numbers. “I don’t know.” I reluctantly admitted.
“Your father was sure a mystery.” Colton said, taking the paper and lifting it up towards the sun.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He shrugged, giving me the paperback. “Was looking if there were hidden words or rubbed ones. But none.”
“It’s been there since 4 years. Really rubbed numbers or names that shine under the sun?” I replied sarcastically.
He glared at me. “If you have any ideas feel free to share.”
I twisted my lips, looking back at the paper. “Okay sect could be a part of the city. Sector 7, um house number 4.”
“Yes, and those numbers could be the ages of people living in there who are all criminals.” Mike added excitedly.
I rolled my eyes at him, sending him an unimpressed look. “Really? A 2-year-old kid is a criminal and a 94-year-old man?”
“Fine then what else could it be?”
“Ugh. This is so frustrating. We find the clue but we can’t solve it.” I groaned, rubbing my head as it started to ache.
“Maybe we should find your father.” Colton said, sitting on the bottom of the coffin.
“Yes let’s hunt for someone we don’t even know is alive or dead.” Mike retorted joining him.
“Oh shut up you-” Colton never got to complete his sentence because our worlds came crashing down at that very second.
“What the hell is happening here!?” The voice was demanding, extremely pissed off, authoritative, and oh so familiar.
I turned slowly, my headache increasing along with my heartbeat. I gulped as my lips whispered with shock, surprise, and terror. “Mom.”
Behind me, I could hear Colton standing up, equally terrified. “And Liam.”
Mike joined us too but his attention was on something else. His voice cracked. “And a g-gun.”
~~~