#codename m.o.m.

Maia: Is that your grandmother in that picture?

Janae: Yes, this picture is from last summer. Although the funeral was last week, it feels like it was yesterday that I took this picture of her

Maia: You really do miss her, don’t you?

Janae: Yes I do, but in a good way. This house brings back a lot of memories

Maia: Talking about memories, how about we go to this local bar down the street and make some new memories after we finish painting this wall?

Maia: Look at this house, it is amazing that your grandmother wanted you to have it after she passed away...

Maia: ...and that she wanted you to have her cat. Honestly, I have never felt this intimidated by a cat before

Janae: Don’t worry, Musti is actually a really sweet cat. I am happy my grandmother left him to me

Maia: I am really glad about that. Now, let’s get this cat and our stuff inside and see what we need to do about this house to make it officially yours

Janae: I am happy that you want to stay with me for the next months Maia

Maia: Of course! I am glad to finally get away from my parents and start living on my own. I will stay with you until I find a place for myself

Maia: Well… I wasn’t expecting this

Maia: The entire bar is filled with military personnel!

Darrell: That is because a military base was set up just outside of town a couple of weeks ago. Since then they have practically taken over this bar

Darrell: I’m Darrell by the way, and this is my friend Mark. I assume you are new in town because I have never seen you here before

Janae: You’re right, I’m Janae and this is Maia. Nice to meet you

Janae: We moved here a few days ago. We live in a house down the street that I inherited from my grandmother

Mark: I think I know which house you mean, I live nearby in a house that I share with two others

Janae: With two others you mean Darrell, you and someone else?

Darrell: No, I have my own trailer at the trailer park. Mark lives with our other friends Alice and Erwin

Mark: But Erwin isn’t often at home. He owns a little curio shop on the side of the road when you enter Strangerville. You’ve probably seen it already. That shop is everything to him, I believe he sometimes even sleeps there

Alice: Guys! I did it! I got the job as a recruit in the military! Now I don’t have to worry about scraping together my money for the rent every month

Dear Janae,

I can’t explain to you how proud I am seeing you grow up and taking your first steps into adulthood. That is why I wanted to leave you my house to help you start building your own future. I remember when you were little how happy you were all the times you visited me and stayed with me during the summers. I hope this place will bring you more of this happiness even when I am not around anymore. 

You might be wondering why I never showed you the basement you are currently standing in before. In order to understand this I have to tell you something about your grandfather. You know that not long after you were born your grandfather passed away because his body simply got too old. I once told you that it was hard for me to let him go, because spending my life with him was all I ever wished for. He made me so happy and I never stopped loving him. But what you don’t know about him has to do with a strange thing that happened in this town.

A couple of years after your grandfather and I moved in together we saw a blinding purple light in the sky followed by a massive explosion. No one knew what was going on but a couple of hours after it happened the place where the explosion happened was crowded with government agents and scientists. We were informed by the local government that manual laborers were needed to build a science lab as soon as possible. Your grandfather, being one of these manual laborers, told me that when he arrived to start the building he saw a large box covering the center of the crater. He asked everyone who he thought knew something about it what the box was covering, but no one told him anything. They said it was something the government would deal with and that there is nothing to worry about.

In the weeks following the science lab was built and everything went back to normal. As the years went on everyone forgot about it, but not your grandfather. He was determined to find out what they were hiding in the science lab and he started his own investigation. He spent years collecting information and building a little research station in this basement. I spent a lot of dinners listening to him talking about new things he had discovered, but most of the time these things turned out to be nothing. Eventually he slowly gave up because it seemed that whatever it was in that science lab, it was under control or did not exist anymore. 

However, a few weeks ago I heard rumors going around about an explosion in the science lab. Since then some strange things have been happening in this town. It reminded me of the suspicion your grandfather had towards the science lab. I am starting to believe that maybe he was right after all when he told me that it is never a good sign when things are kept secret like this, even when everyone tells you that you have nothing to worry about. Together with the house I also want to leave you your grandfather’s belongings you find in this basement. Maybe it will come in handy someday. Who knows. 

To end this letter I want you to know that you should try not to miss me too much. You have a beautiful life ahead of you and you should make the best of it. If you ever have a day where you feel a little down you can always talk to Musti. He is a great listener. He knows probably more about me than I do myself. Alway remember that I love you very much.

Love,

Grandma

Janae: Have you seen Musti? I can’t find him anywhere

Maia: No, I haven’t seen him in a while. Have you searched outside yet? Maybe he is there

Janae: Not yet. I didn’t think he would be there because it is way too hot outside

Maia: It can’t hurt to take a look. I’ll help you find him

Janae: There you are! Musti, what are you doing out here? Your food is ready for you inside

Maia: Janae take a look at this, do you know this house has a basement?

Janae: I didn’t know this, my grandmother had this space always covered with garden stuff

Maia: Let’s go find out what is downstairs, shall we?

Janae: What is all of this stuff?

Maia: Weird, normally I would expect old people to fill their basement with canned food or something

Janae: Hey look at this, it is a letter from my grandmother