Chapter 5: Night Fright

I had already arrived on the front porch before I realised I had forgotten my coat at The Tarven. Something about Granny almost getting run over just seemed to send my brain spiralling.

"Granny?! Granny?!! I'm back l." I announced as I practically bathed into the living room.

She was seated on the couch with two cups of chocolate and a glass of milk on the table in front of her. She had an amused smile on her face as I walked towards her.

"Are you hurt? Did you sprain your ankle? How did it happen?" I asked.

"I am fine. If you had let me finish before hurrying back home, you would have heard me say a young man got me out of the way in time." She replied with a smile.

"Oh, that's good. Did he leave already?" I asked, looking around.

"It happened earlier this evening, another thing I could have told you if you hadn't hung up like that." She replied, motioning me to take my seat.

"Oh, I see. I guess I missed my chance to thank him." I sighed.

"No worries, he's coming over tomorrow." She stated.

"He is? What for?" I asked with a curious gaze.

"He's looking for an affordable place to stay, so I offered to speak to an agent for him. He left his number on the kitchen counter." She replied, gently nudging my cup towards me.

"Oh, that was nice of you." I stated, picking up the cup.

"Hmmm, have you had dinner?" She asked, getting up at the sound of a beep from the kitchen.

"No, I was at a place called The Tarven." I replied, hoping she wouldn't ask about the coat.

"It's nice to hear that place is still standing. It was a lovers' hub back in my days." She chuckled from the kitchen.

Something told me that Granny had quite the adventurous youth before settling down, but I kept that thought to myself.

If she noticed the missing coat, she didn't ask any questions about it. Even during dinner, though I had hurried upstairs for a shower before coming back down to eat.

Well, I knew where Theron worked so I could go ask him for it tomorrow. He was too interested in it to possibly forget it at the Tavern.

As l laid in bed that night, I went through the contents of my bag once again. Hoping something might click, but nothing seemed to help me remember. A picture slipped out of an envelope, flying underneath the bed.

With a tired sigh, I knelt to peek underneath the bed. As I grabbed the photo, my hand bumped against something hard.

Curious, I dragged it out. It was a violin case containing a violin that must have either been well taken care of or not used at all.

"I will ask Granny about it tomorrow." I thought to myself.

Lying back on the bed, I glanced at the picture that had fallen out. It was a picture of teenage me, and whom I presumed to be the rest of my family. I had two older siblings, a brother and a sister, yet I remembered nothing about them.

With a tired sigh, I placed the picture on the bedside counter as I turned off the lights to sleep. My phone suddenly beeped as a message came in.

As I read through, a small smile tugged on my lips. I may not remember a lot of things, but I do know that this is something I have always wanted to do.

My first training session for the detectives program was scheduled for the next morning at 10. With a slightly relieved heart, I closed my eyes to sleep.

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It was really cold, and the air smelled of smoke and iron. I could hear someone calling my name, but I couldn't open my eyes or turn to look at them.

I was trapped in some square-shaped room or closet or whatever. My chest tightened as I coughed, there seemed to be little oxygen left.

The sound of crumbling debris echoed from outside, and soon I was jerked violently as the containment I was in tumbled violently, my head smashing against the sides until all I could taste was the iron in my mouth.

Then a loud boom jolted my entire body.

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I jerked awake, panting and covered in sweat. It was morning already, and I hurriedly jumped out of bed to inspect myself. I wasn't covered in soot and blood, which was a good thing.

With a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair as I walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Granny was already up as well, preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, Eiran. Did you sleep well?" She greeted with a smile.

"Good morning, Granny. Not really, but I will be fine. I have to head out, though, the detectives' training program starts today." I replied.

"That's alright, do you need me to pack you some lunch?" She asked.

"Hmm, I think I will be fine. It will be best if I don't show up like I'm heading for preschool, but thank you." I replied with a smile.

"That's alright, I will put it in the fridge with the visitor's food." She shrugged.

"Right, I really hope I get back in time to see him." I mumbled.

"Even if you don't, he will be a mere few blocks away soon." She smiled.

I grabbed us plates and helped set the table before she was done cooking.

A few minutes later, I was out of the house, hailing a taxi to take me to the Lindin Bureau of Investigation, where the training would begin. I didn't know if I would see Melissa again, but it didn't deter me much. I knew where to find her once I got my badge.

I was surprised by the number of people I encountered at the bureau's training ground. Other than the actual workers who walked in and out of the place, I could count about twenty other individuals who had come for the same training.

Then a man in a grey shirt and black trousers climbed onto a platform with a megaphone in hand.

"Alright, I am going to be brief about this. The direct pathway through the detective's training program is no walk in the park. Some of you will advance faster than others, sine will stay longer than expected, some might not even get in. But the end goal is to make as many of you guys as possible into qualified detectives. That will be all for now. Let the training commence." He announced.

And so I was off, the starting line to achieving one of my life's goals had begun.