All That Shines and Whispers by Jennifer Craven

Author:Jennifer Craven [Craven, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-24T22:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Normalcy was like a piece of steak tied to the end of a string and held just out of reach. Marlene was the starving animal, jumping with all her might to reach it, and—unsuccessful every time.

She attempted routine for the benefit of the children. She walked the younger ones to school and picked them up, always with a smile. But when she returned home to an empty house—Gerald at work and no little baby toddling around—despair overcame her, and she spent many hours staring into space, wondering how this could have happened.

Was it all her fault? The whole façade had been her idea in the first place. Did her attempt at saving her family actually destroy it?

It had been two days since Lara and Erich vanished. Forty-eight hours—but that was nearly three thousand seconds! Three thousand times she didn’t see Lara’s beautiful face or smell Erich’s sweet hair.

His presence was a fixture in the house, an anchor which held them all together. With Erich gone, Marlene found herself hearing phantom remnants of the little boy who stole her heart: A high-pitched squeal when she walked through the door, babble talk as he played, and even protests when something he wanted was out of reach.

They weren’t real, but she heard them just the same.

In reality, the house was terribly quiet.

When Gerald and Felix had returned from their futile search, it was quickly decided the family must keep up appearances. There were so many unknowns, so many questions that needed answers, but what they could agree on was that unveiling their secret to the public was the last thing they needed.

So they carried on.

Gerald went to work the next morning, albeit in a much more distracted and somber state. Marlene went through the motions of making breakfast. Their daily routine continued, and Gerald instructed the children not to say a word about the previous night’s developments.

That evening, with the youngest children in the other room, Marlene again asked the only question she had left.

“What are we going to do, Gerald?”

It was the only thing on their minds. It consumed them. They never found a clear answer.

“I don’t know that there’s much we can do,” he said, unbuttoning the placket of his shirt. “But we cannot let this get out. We need to stay calm and think rationally.”

“So we’re just going to let them go?”

“What do you want me to do, Marlene?” he snapped at her, frustrated by the hopelessness of the situation.

“I don’t know, but I just can’t accept that they’re gone for good.” She dropped her head into her hands. Gerald placed his tie on the dresser and came to sit next to his wife.

“I know,” he said. For the first time, her words made the unthinkable seem possible.

“We never should have forced her to live a lie. This is our fault.” Marlene leaned her head onto his chest and gave herself over to hot and angry tears. Gerald bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying. Nonetheless, he felt the hot trail of a tear roll down his face.

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