LITTLE GIRL LOST - SARAH BETH LEE (tharntype novel english .TXT) 📗

today sir?”

“Well not today but I have a proposition for you, sort of a long term contract.”

The man looked at Nick with wonder and nodded for him to continue.

“You see I am not really familiar with the Roberts’. I made a promise that I would look out for Hannah the daughter of the late Davis William Roberts. I was wondering if I bring you several items wrapped and dated if you would be willing to deliver them on the date specified on each box.”

“Ok course sir. We will be closed tomorrow but if you return next week we will work out the details.”

“That sounds marvelous you have no idea how much help you have been. Thank you so much.”

“Ok I will see you next week Mr.??”

“Just call me Nick and please this must be confidential.”

“Yes sir, absolutely sir.”

Nick thanked the man and turned to leave. He walked outside and tuned his face up to the now dark sky as the snow began to fall dusting the ground with perfect crystals all the same but no two exactly alike. He began to walk along the sidewalk and hum jingle bells. He hadn’t celebrated Christmas in years but for some reason he felt the warmth and the magic of the season as the snow blanketed the ground under his feet. He watched as children stuck their tongues out to catch the flakes and throw snowballs at one another in the crisp cold winter night. He continued his walk and saw teenagers running and sliding across the slick pavement trying to impress the young girls watching their theatrics. He wondered how long it had been since he had embraced life and really enjoyed the wonders that surrounded him every day, day in and day out.

Nick walked along the sidewalk and carefully made his way back to the exact spot he had arrived an hour ago. He knew that any minute he would fade into the night as if he had never existed at all. He waited for the vortex of speed and adrenaline to hit and take him back home.
**********************************************************************************

Zach parked his truck on the curb before climbing out and heading inside. He still wasn't sure what to say to Nick. He knew that more than likely Nick was already mad at him but his only concern had been Nick's well being. He jiggled his key in the knob to make his arrival known and finally walked into the apartment.

He searched the room and finally saw the lump on the couch. He knew Nick was buried under the fleece blanket in exactly the same place he had found him hours ago.

Zach walked around the couch and tried to shake Nick's shoulder but all he heard was a groan followed by a growl. Zach plopped down in the recliner and grabbed the remote for the entertainment center and hit the volume arrow up as In the End filled the room. Nick jolted awake and looked frantically around the room. Zach laughed as Nick lost control and fell in the floor. Zach leaned over and looked into Nick's semi conscious eyes, "Funny we keep meeting like this."

"Ha-ha it's oh not so funny"

"Dude did you really sleep the whole day away?"

"What if I did?"

"Seriously Nick, who does that? Besides crack heads and people too drunk to know its daylight?"

"That would be me, the guy who works all hours of the night. And I did move once or twice today."

"Really? Remember going to piss doesn't count."

"Actually I got up and I got dressed." Nick threw the blanket off and stood to model his clothes, "Then I even took a little trip all by myself but you want to hear the funny thing about my trip?"

Zach was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He was pretty sure he knew what Nick was getting ready to say. He shrugged his shoulders in a feeble attempt to look stumped.

"Well I went to Fillmore St and guess what?"

"There's a nice deli on the corner?"

"Well yes there is, in exactly the spot that a certain bookstore was supposed to be."

Zach looked at his feet to avoid Nick's penetrating stare, "Man that's crazy, wonder how that happened?"

Nick continued to shoot daggers at his best friend willing him to admit that he had lied about the address or the store or maybe both. Zach however had no intention of looking up anytime soon.

"I was kind of hoping you could tell me."

"Nick I guess I may have given you the wrong address.”

Zach braced himself for a list of insults but was surprised by the silence that filled the room. He opened one eye and looked around the room just as a couch cushion hit him in the face.

“You might have given me the wrong address, seriously?”

Zach finally looked Nick in the eye, “Ok fine I gave you the wrong address, her store was down the block and around the corner. Sorry dude.”

Nick ran his fingers threw his hair in frustration, why would Zach lie to him on purpose? He had thought maybe he had read the address wrong or hoped that it had been an honest mistake. He raised a questioning eye in Zach’s direction.

“So why exactly did you give me the wrong address?”

“Look Nick, I’m sorry but I didn’t want you rushing in head first trying to fix something that may or may not have been broken. I know you dude and you wouldn’t have thought before you stuck that big foot in your mouth. I just wanted a little time to research the situation.”

Nick leaned on the coffee table as he rose to his feet. He never took his eyes off of Zach, “Research? Gees you make her sound like a lab rat.”

Zach held his hands up as he furiously shook his head no, “No not at all, I just wanted some time to see exactly who she grew up to be and if she had any recollection of you at all.”

Nick suddenly stopped pacing and faced Zach, “You went to see her?”

Zach sheepishly nodded his head, afraid of what Nick would say next. He watched as he resumed his steady walk around the room, “Yes and no.”

Nick laughed sarcastically, “Yes and no? Oh please enlighten me on how that works.”

Nick sat on the coffee table and waited for Zach to explain what he had done. Nick knew Zach well enough to know that he would stoop to any level to find out what he wanted to know. However he also knew that Zach would never do it out of meanness, only if it was necessary to protect someone he loved.

Zach finally took a deep breath before telling Nick about his afternoon and evening.

“So I went to Hannah’s Corner Shelf around 2:15 and she wasn’t there. It was a really nice store with a coffee bar so I ordered a caramel hot chocolate with whip cream. I then sat back to see what happened. It wasn’t long after that a young woman came out of the back stock room wearing an employee vest. I looked at the name stitched on the front it read, Peyton. I watched her as she walked the perimeter of the store picking up trash, straightening shelves and returning magazines to their proper rack she seemed so sad and she never spoke. I could see so much pain hiding in the depths of her eyes as she looked at the thousands of books that surrounded her, she would walk down the aisle running her finger over the edges, lost in deep thoughts. Then she sat down with this little girl and started reading to her. I don’t mean like a short one sentence per page story but a real story. I was so amazed that I found myself listening to the soft tremor of her voice as it rose and fell according to what was happening in the hundred acre woods. Her eyes were shining and it was as if someone had flipped a switch on her soul, she literally transformed right in front of me. She was enjoying herself and you could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes as the story came to life as she read to the little girl. I found her voice enchanting and I was hanging on her next word.”

Nick was wondering what some employee named Peyton had to do with Hannah. He listened but was quickly losing patience. This was a wonderful story but it had nothing to do with him, so what was the point?

“Hold up Zach, this is too much information what exactly does Peyton have to do with me? Is she related to Hannah or was the little girl Hannah’s daughter? Just get to the point.”

Zach looked at his brother’s face twisted with pain, questions and frustration. He picked up the cushion that was still lying on the floor at his feet and tossed it at Nick.

“Chill dude, there is a point to this little story so sit down and shut up, trust me you need to hear this.”

Nick growled at Zach as he took his seat on the couch. It was at times like this that he wondered why he put up with Zach’s crazy oddities. Oh yeah he was his brother he had to take the good with the bad.

“Ok continue.”

“Ok so I had been standing on the aisle adjacent to where she was reading to the little girl. I slowly made my way back to the coffee bar to see if I could hear anything about our Hannah.”

“Our Hannah? You don’t even know her.”

Zach raised his eyes in a seductive manner, “Oh but I do, but first on with the story.”

Nick was more confused now than he had been when he had arrived home with Hannah stuck in his head. How the hell did Zach know his Hannah?

“So she walked with the little girl and her mother to the counter to ring up their purchases. She was smiling and telling the mother that she wanted Molly to have the book, that every little girl needed a Pooh book. The mother was afraid that Peyton would get in trouble but she finally took the book.”

“Ok still not getting the relevance of this but please continue.”

“Well after Molly and her mother left, the manager walked over to Peyton. I just knew he was going to fire her. She looked at him and she had that haunted faraway look in her eyes again. By this time I was straining to hear what was said. It seems that our girl Peyton is actually our girl Hannah.”

Nick sat up straighter and looked doubtfully at his friend, “What? That makes no sense at all.”

“Well when she goes to the store she pretends to be Peyton so no one knows who she really is. She hides from the world and everyone in it, but as Peyton she opens up a little bit and you can see