Wells Penn

Louise Callahan never intended to return to her childhood village. When she left, she promised herself she would never look back. The world beyond Duran was vast and full of dangers, but none as intense as those she had left behind. She believed that if she travelled far enough and changed her name and identity, the ghosts of her past would never find her. But they had finally caught up.

The letter arrived at dawn, thin and creased from many hands, handed to her by a courier. Her sister, Mara, was missing. There were no explanations or details, just her mother’s shaky handwriting, telling her Mara missing. Come quickly.

Louise had stared at the words until the ink blurred. She had not seen her sister Mara in almost a decade, but their sisterly bond and close connection never left her heart. She remembered their childhood, laughter and dancing in the meadows, weaving crowns of wildflowers and pretending they ruled their own small kingdom. She recalled the promises they made to always protect each other; promises she had failed to keep.

Now, here she was, finally going back, with her heart heavy and her eyes and mind set. Her horse’s ears flicked forward as they crested the hill overlooking the valley. “Easy, Quill,” Louise said softly, patting the mare’s neck. Quill had been her only constant through everything. She raised the mare from a timid filly, teaching her to trust, to ride, to endure. When Louise fled Duran all those years ago, it was Quill’s steady heartbeat that carried her toward freedom.

Now, that same ride brought her back into her troubled past.

The village of Duran appeared smaller than she remembered, almost shrunken beneath the orange autumn sky. Smoke rose lazily from a few chimneys; the season was changing and the weather was getting` cooler. Some of the thatched rooftops sagged with age, and the cobbled streets were worn from years of neglect. To anyone else, it may have looked peaceful. It was a sleepy farming town nestled in the hills, but Louise knew better. Secrets lingered here hidden just beneath the surface.

Her fingers tightened around the reins as she passed the weathered sign that still displayed the village’s name. Her shadow was the only human shape she saw. 

She ignored the chills she felt at the ghostly feel of the town, and rode on until she reached the Callahan house. The paint had long since peeled, and the shutters hung crooked. The garden her mother once tended had become overgrown and wild, with roses tangled in thorny knots. She dismounted in a swift motion, her boots hitting the earth and sinking in to the wetness slightly.

For a long moment, she stood there, breathing deeply, remembering why she left. She stood still staring at the door she had once slammed shut for the last time. Every instinct called out for her to turn and run. But she had come for one reason, and she wouldn’t leave without finding Mara.

She pushed open the door. The hinges scraped, and the smell of old fireplace and pine filled her nose. Inside, everything was just as she remembered, except for one thing. On the kitchen table sat a single candle, its wax pooled and hardened, and next to it lay Mara’s yarn doll

Louise picked it up and turned it in her hand. The sight of the doll brought a memory to her mind. Her throat tightened, as she remembered the last time she had seen this doll. 

It was a cold night twelve years ago. Louise and Mara were hiding under the bed in their shared room. Outside the door in the living room, they could hear yelling and the sound of plates breaking. “Ignore it. It’ll be over soon. Just focus on Daisy,” Louise said to Mara, who was clutching the doll she had affectionately named.

“One day Louise. One day I’m leaving this horrible place and going to a city where there are people and dancing and art and music. And we won’t have to be near them. I’m going and you’ll come too. A place like the City of Southern Isle where we can be new people,” Mara said, weeping into her doll.

Louise just held her close, knowing it was too far, and they would never afford to make it there. They would be stuck in this town where everyone knew them and everyone knew their father as the town drunk.

Louise blinked the memory away. Was the doll a clue, she wondered? It was all she had to go on. She would leave this town and ride as fast as she could to find her. If Mara had made it to the City, she would have gotten word to her.

Louise steeled her thoughts and emotions, grabbed the doll, and barged out the door before she could be seen. She would find Mara in the City, or help her if she got stuck along the way.