Chapter 134: Devastation
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to find out if the funeral had happened yet. The only option I had was to find Samantha’s number and ask her.
I managed to find her number attached to her social media, so I gave her a call.
Samantha answered, her voice raspy and drenched in despair, "Hello?"
"Hello Samantha, it’s Eli."
"You have some nerve calling me! I don’t want to talk to you!"
"Whoa whoa, what are you talking about?"
"You’re the one responsible for Layla’s death!"
"How do you figure that?"
"Sigh, what are you pretending for? The police said that you had all kinds of solar panels rigged up to a bunch of computers that were responsible for the fire."
"Oh, is that what they said?"
"Are you saying that didn’t happen?"
"We had doorbell cameras that recorded the whole thing. The police or rather the FBI tried to wipe them, but I wasn’t going to just take their word for it. So, I started investigating myself.
I found the video. Now, I’m not sure if you have seen the news lately with people awakening powers lately or not. But, the video shows a Mr. Tyrell DeShawn showing up, breaking in, and using his fire powers to burn the house down."
"What? Tyrell? That bastard... he, he... killed Layla?"
"Yeah. It was pretty horrific to listen to."
"Then we gotta, gotta... they tried to cover it up?"
"Yeah."
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
"Look, I have some ideas. I’m not going to discuss them over the phone, but I’ll be coming back to the Federation. I was calling to see if they have held the funeral yet."
"Sniffle. No, not yet. They were holding her body for the investigation. The funeral is set to be held on Saturday."
"Ok, I’ll be there. I’ll talk to you when I get there."
"Ok."
"I’ll talk to you later."
"Bye."
I hung up the phone with a heavy heart. It just made everything feel real again.
I need to get a train ticket and a plane ticket.
I got one leaving Sendai Wednesday at 10:00 AM, I am expected to arrive back home at 7:00 AM Wednesday.
The time zones will work in my favor.
Tomorrow I will need to get a few things to prepare for my trip back.
Mainly a backpack, I don’t know where mine went. I had it somewhere around here, but I can’t be bothered to look, I’ll just get a new one.
Tonight, I’m going to sleep early.
...
The next morning I got up late. I shuffled around, ate a snack bag for breakfast, and put on some proper clothes.
Then I left the house and went to the store. I bought the backpack along with the train ticket.
On the way back as we approached the old inn that had become my home, I saw smoke billowing out of the small forest that surrounded it.
I had a sinking feeling in my gut.
That feeling was realized when we pulled up and saw the chaos. There were firefighters and fire trucks working to put the fire out.
People were watching, some were yelling, others filming on their phones.
The police were trying their best to keep the people at bay. But, the chaos was overwhelming.
I just stood there, like I was in a different world. A mere outsider looking in on a scene that had nothing to do with me.
I just stood in the light snow that was turning black from the soot, as the driver quickly drove away. Leaving me to face the tragedy alone.
Strangely, I didn’t feel anything.
I felt nothing for the place I had put so much effort into fixing. For the place that held happy memories with my friend Xue Qing. The place that I was planning to spend my future in.
I had planned to open up that magnificent view when Xue Qing returned. I was going to cut back the last shrubbery along the cliff to open the view to the house.
I had planned to have a little party to celebrate.
But, now, as the fire consumed the old inn and burned away the foliage, I felt nothing.
Nothing but a small amount of relief, for I had taken my passport and wallet with me to get the train ticket.
I waited until the fire fighters were done. They said that someone had lit the fire on purpose and that they would be investigating it.
Then, they left. It was just me and the husk of my dreams.
I looked at my empty backpack then back at the old inn. I tossed the backpack into the rubble and walked away.
I walked back to the train station and traded the ticket in for the soonest train to Sendai.
I sat and waited in silence. I didn’t pull out my phone and I didn’t look at anything specific. I just stared ahead not thinking about anything.
...
Once I arrived in Sendai I got a hotel and slept.
I slept for 18 hours and got up in time for the hotel breakfast. I didn’t really taste it but I took a muffin for the road.
Later that day I boarded my flight without issue and flew back to where it all began. With almost nothing just as it had been.
The flight was long, but I didn’t register that. I just zoned out.
Back in my home airport it was chaos. People were running about, the noise was a loud buzz, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Except for me.
I leisurely walked over to the place to get a cab and got one back to the warehouses.
I really had nowhere else to go.
When I got there I found the hidden key we had just in case and opened the door. Inside was different, not overly so, but enough to see that she had been putting in some serious work.
There wasn’t even a fine layer of dust.
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