Chapter Text
(Royal Woods, August 4th, 2013—Leni’s POV)
Three months. Three whole months since Lincoln disappeared. The park—once buzzing with the chaos of our family outings—now felt like a ghost town, frozen in time. The swings creaked in the breeze, their lonely rhythm matching the hollow ache in our house.
Everything was… quiet. Too quiet. No more shouting matches, no crashing instruments, no wild experiments from Lisa. Her gadgets collected dust, forgotten. Luna’s music box stayed shut, like even its melodies were too painful without Lincoln around to hear them.
And the guilt? It was everywhere. After that whole "bad luck Lincoln" mess, we’d all turned on him—me included. We hurled words sharper than Lisa’s lab equipment, and with every jab, Lincoln just… shrank. His usual grin faded, his eyes dulled.
Then, one afternoon at the park—gone. One second, he was skipping ahead, the next—poof!. Like some cruel magic trick. Except the only trick was how we’d managed to push away the brother we used to tease (and secretly adore).
The police gave up weeks ago. "Missing child," the news called it, but the words felt empty. Meanwhile, the rest of us? We were drowning in regret, each of us clutching our own piece of guilt like a lifeline.
Today was worse than usual. Lori—normally so put-together—slammed the fridge door hard enough to rattle the kitchen. Luan’s jokes fell flat, swallowed by the suffocating silence. Even Lola, our resident diva, looked haunted instead of dramatic.
I couldn’t take it. Burying my face in my pillow, I choked back a sob. The fabric was soft, familiar—but it didn’t feel right. Not without Lincoln groaning from the top bunk, pretending to be annoyed by my late-night chatter.
A sudden surge of anger hit me—sharp, raw, and totally unexpected. It wasn’t fair. We were all hurting, sure, but Lincoln didn’t deserve this. None of it. And it was our fault. Every last one of us.
Tears blurred my vision as I shoved myself off the bed and stormed down the hall. The others were huddled around the living room TV, their faces drawn and hollow as they watched one of Lincoln’s favorite cartoons on repeat.
"That’s enough!" My voice broke as I shouted, but I didn’t care. "We can’t just sit here like this!"
Lori’s head snapped toward me, her eyes puffy and red. "Leni, sweetie," she murmured, voice thick with tears. "We know."
"No, you don’t!" I shot back, my words gaining strength. "You all turned on him first! Blamed him for everything!"
Silence crashed over the room. Lisa, who always had a comeback ready, just stared at the floor, arms wrapped tight around herself. Even Luan’s usual grin was gone, replaced by something like shame.
"You made him feel like he didn’t belong," I said, my voice dropping to something low and rough. "And now… he’s gone."
Luna let out a choked sob, and Lucy—always so stone-faced—finally let a tear slip. Lisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Their silence said everything.
Then—movement. Just a flicker at the corner of the window. A flash of white, there and gone in an instant. But it stuck in my mind. Was that… a feather?
Frowning, I marched over and yanked the window open. A gust of wind rushed in, carrying the faintest scent of… lilies? Feathers and flowers—not exactly Royal Woods’ usual aroma.
But what really sent a chill down my spine was the single feather that drifted into my palm. It wasn’t just white—it shimmered, shifting colors in the light like something out of a dream.
And then I remembered—Lincoln’s stories about Elyos, that magical world he used to talk about. A place full of wonders… and feathers just like this.
Could there be a connection? Was Lincoln trapped in some strange, otherworldly place—lost and alone? The idea lit a tiny spark of hope inside me, fragile but stubborn, fighting against the crushing weight of despair. Maybe Lincoln wasn’t truly gone. Maybe he was just… somewhere else.
I glanced at my sisters, their faces hollow with grief, and I knew what I had to do. We were falling apart without him.
Please, Lincoln… come back to us.
(End of Chapter 1)
Author’s Note:
Ever wondered what happens when an autistic fanfic writer decides to mash up two of their favorite things?
Well… this happened!