Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is the right house?” Sophie asked, her voice trembling “Maybe we should check again…”
“Sophie” Jenny’s voice was soft and comforting, but still strict enough “you wanted this yourself. It’s you who is in need of answers. And this is our only link”
“A-alright”
Sophie felt her stomach drop a little when she rang the doorbell. And when the door opened to show a blonde woman somewhere in her late four ties, she wanted to run away. Especially considering how the woman’s face changed every second she looked at Sophie. Like she was looking at a ghost.
“Mrs Thompson?”
“Sophie?”
Sophie felt her heart break. In a good way. The way this woman said her name felt comforting. It was like she heard this soft voice say her name a billion times before. It was like she was right about coming here.
Before she knew it, Sophie was pulled into a hug and immediately taken back.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners! Come on in, girls. I was just about to have some tea”
Sophie and Jenny looked at each other but it didn’t seem like this woman was any kind of a maniac. They walked in, cautiously, as to not look around too much. But even then they noticed two things. First being the amount of books. They were everywhere and just one glance was enough to understand you can find more genres than in a library in this woman’s home.
Second one being endless newspaper clippings, photographs, text written by hand on pieces of paper on the living room wall, all connected by red strings. It felt unreal, almost like a movie.
Mrs Thompson took out two more cups out of the cupboard and put them on the table. She then looked up at Sophie.
“You are… so grown up. I wouldn’t recognize you if I didn’t know your parents that well. You took their best features, you know that, Sophie?”
That was a lot to take in. Sophie barely remembered her parents. But she remembered the feeling of warmth and protection that being with them gave her. And now, suddenly, it was flowing back.
Jenny in the meantime looked at the red-string-wall.
“Hey, that’s the girl that went missing! And this is the guy! And those… Sophie, come here”
Sophie walked up to Jenny, her legs shaking. She looked at where Jenny was pointing. It was two photographs not too far away from each other. One of them featured a smiling man in a suit holding a little girl. The other one was a portrait of a beautiful lady, smiling to someone behind the camera.
“Are those…”
“Those are” Sophie felt her eyes starting to get wet. She inhaled sharply and tried to look away but the smiles on her parents' faces were now burned into her memory and her vision.
Mrs Thompson walked over to them, and took Sophie by her hand and started singing a little song. Not even a song, just a simple tune. Somehow, Sophie knew the tune and it brought her comfort.
“Mrs Thompson…”
“Linda. You both can just call me Linda. I mean, this girl grew up in my arms” Linda said, smiling to Jenny “she was a delight as a kid. And I’m sure is a delight now too”
“She is” Jenny smiled back. She, while not finding anything here familiar, other than some book titles, was pretty sure that she can trust Linda. After all, to her, you couldn’t be a bad person if you obviously love Sophie so much.
Linda led them both to the table and gave them a chocolate candy each to go with tea. For some time they were drinking tea in silence, each contemplating everything that happened and what will happen next.
“So what brings you two here? I don’t suppose you’re just visiting randomly” Mrs Thompson finally spoke.
“Actually… I want to know more about my past. And… about these people. I think I have an idea of what happened to them”
“Well you’re certainly in the right place. But do you mind me asking, why didn’t you visit Mr Kranken? He was your father’s closest friend, you know”
“Well… I think… no, I know that he killed my little brother and sister. And I suspect that those aren’t the only people, who suffered by his hands”
“So you were afraid that if you show him you know anything, you will meet a sad fate? Well…”
Linda took a big sip and put her cup away.
“You were always a smart girl, Sophie. Your parents would be proud of you. You’re right. We have all reason to suspect him of orchestrating the tragedies surrounding Bon’s Burgers”
Sophie sighed in relief. She wasn’t crazy, or at least, wasn’t crazy alone. She found Jenny’s hand under the table and squeezed it.
“So how about we do that, Sophie. I tell you anything and everything you need to know about your past. And you tell me everything and anything you know about that” Linda pointed at the wall.
“I would love to, but won’t it take too long?”
“Well, I can find a place for you and your friend to sleep. You can stay as long as you wish and explore anything and everything in the house. Just try not to make too much of a mess”
It felt like coming back home to a loving mother. The tone, the words, the gestures, even Linda’s face felt so familiar and homelike, that Sophie couldn’t help but trust her.
“Well, alright. I agree”
“I agree too” Jenny added in a rush “I’m not leaving you alone anywhere, Sophie”
Linda looked at them both and sneakily wiped off a tear.
Looks like everything will change.