Chapter 74 - Where Are You?
Ten minutes later.
They finally reached a small clearing in the center of the woods.
Several gravestones were sticking above the cemented grave that looks like they have been neglected for ages. Bushes grows taller around them - almost concealing the tombs from the human eyes.
Rebecca brought her companion to a gravestone with Luke's name written on it. "Here it is, the one thing you've been looking for... Luke's grave!" she announced.
Laura stood beside the concrete grave with the tombstone bearing Luke's name. There's no written date or year of his date. It was bare...only his name indicates that he's buried underneath the tomb. She doesn't know how to react upon seeing his grave. She's been wanting to see it since last night, now that she's here, surprisingly, she feels nothing. She can't even cry for him.
She was supposed to feel sad for Luke after seeing his grave, but she can't bring herself to mourn for him. Her heart can't form a bond with this grave. She feels nothing for it at all. C-could it be that this is not Luke's grave at all? That his body is not inside the coffin buried in this grave?
Possible!
Maybe Rebecca was lying all along. She just wants her to shut up and stop pestering her about Luke's whereabouts. This could be a fake grave!
She inspected it closely...the grave has not been cleaned for a long time...wild bushes are growing around it. The grave indeed looks old, a few years old. She looked at the other graves, there's a total of ten tombs in the clearing. They looked old as well. There's no recent burial happening around here because the area is not well kept, more like an abandoned family cemetery of the yesteryears.
Rebecca was studying Laura's reaction towards the grave. She can sense that Laura seems to be not buying the grave's authenticity. "Let's stay here for another five minutes more, then we'll go home afterward," she said.
Laura took a deep breath looking at Rebecca. "So...how did Luke die? What is the reason for his death?" she began another round of question.
"I'm sorry, Laura. Graven prohibited me from talking about Luke's death and the reason why. If you want to know the truth then go ahead... you can ask him yourself, but I warn you, he won't take it lightly," Rebecca said in a foreboding tone.
Laura was silent for a moment staring at the towering trees ahead. It seemed she can no longer get any information from the couple. Whom to ask this time? Why it's hard for them to tell her the reason for his death. Unless... Luke is still alive!
"Was there a third brother who looks exactly like Graven and Luke?" she asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Rebecca's eyes widened with her question.
Laura saw the look of surprise on her companion's face. "Was there an older brother or younger siblings? Or probably a third twin?" she repeated her question.
Rebecca has just recovered from the sudden effect of surprise and erupted into peals of laughter. "My dear, Laura. You asked too many questions about Luke. You adored him so much, eh?"
Laura sighed. "I do! He's the first guy that I fall in love with. Of course, he will always hold the biggest part of my heart and no one else can take those feelings away from me," she confessed.
"Oh... but how about Cooper? You have no feelings for him?"
Laura shook her head. "No. I don't have any feelings for him. It's just a marriage of convenience. In short, it's just an arranged marriage between two families. Our fathers agreed on the deal. Cooper and I just need to obey their commands," she explained.
"I see..." said Rebecca. She scratches her head. "I'm feeling sorry and sad for you. It must be very hard for you in marrying the wrong guy. But if Luke is alive would you be willing to marry him? Even though you don't know him that much?" she said. There was a foreshadowing in her tone.
Laura sighed, she regretted letting go of Luke's offer of marriage. As much as she wants to gain Rebecca's understanding and sympathy she can't tell her the truth that she was destined to marry a vampire and fled from her town to marry Cooper. "Ahh, my life is complicated, indeed!" she groaned in dismay.
"What's wrong, Laura?" Rebecca asked worriedly.
"Nothing..." Laura replied. She looked at Luke's tomb and shook her head. Maybe it's about time to forget him and pretend that he's already dead, even though her heart doesn't believe that she was buried in this tomb. Dead or alive, she and Luke can never be together, because she's destined to marry Cooper. "Let's leave this place now..." she said.
"Okay, let's head back to the house," Rebecca said and lead the way. Laura was following her from behind.
A few minutes later.
They were now approaching the entrance of the wood.
When Rebecca looked behind her, Laura was no longer following her!
Oh, where did she go?
She looked around the surrounding area, she can't find her!
"LAURA!....LAURA!....LAURAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she shouted her name loudly.
But no one responded to her call.
This is not good!
She needs to hurry up and go back to the house to inform Graven about Laura's sudden disappearance.
But then she began hesitating... what if she was just nearby. Maybe something caught her fancy and go after it, or she saw something nearby? What if she went back to the cemetery?
She just can't go home without making a thorough investigation of the place. She retraced her steps going back to the clearing where the cemetery was located.
A few minutes later.
She arrived at the clearing but saw no one there. Where is she?
"LAURA!....LAURA!....LAURAAAAAAAAAAAAA! WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUUUU!?" she shouted her name loudly. Her voice was echoing inside the forest.
She went to the north side of the forest to find Laura, but there's no trace of her there.
She went to the tall bushes nearby, still no sign of her!
She checked the nearest trunk of the trees, still nothing! Maybe she tripped over something and hit her head on a rock and went unconscious.
She will widen her search further.
After a few minutes, her search ended in vain. She finally gives up. She will go back to the house and inform Graven of Laura's sudden disappearance.
She was deeply puzzled and confused why Laura disappeared just like that in the woods without a trace!
She walked hurriedly on the path leading to the entrance of the woods, going back to the house.