#riddlesopen

Days like this, no one seemed to like the precession that followed. Dorcas was forced to return to her homey little sector located in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with dirt built up beneath the tips of her fingernails and bloodstain clinging to her cheeks. Though it was difficult to tell, it wasn’t her own. She exasperatedly tugged open a medium-sized drawer to reveal a dingy-looking towel, which she used to dab away the sweat and grime built up on her face. A large sigh protruded from her lips, and Dorcas traded in the dirty towel for a half-consumed bottle of scotch swirling around the bottom of the same drawer.

Though there was nothing more she wanted than to retreat to the safe barricades that were home for the night, her civic duty could not be ignored. Shuffling to one particular French Mustard yellow colored page of her case files, she poured herself an ample amount of the smoldering amber liquid and sat back in preparation for the long night ahead. Hit Wizard Headquarters was the quietest Dorcas had seen it in months. There wasn’t a semblance of a life echoing through the corridors, with the exception of a single glow emitting just the right amount of light from a fixture floating above her desk. She knew she was the only one left for the night, motivating her to work faster than she would during peak office hours.

As time passed, she finished her drink and began to pour another one. It seemed her brain was falling behind however, her body unable to register the simple muscle reflexes she was trying to send herself. Her mind was weighed down and cluttered by the violence of another long day and, though she knew her own delirium well, could not shake the feeling that something else was wrong. A bizarre siren suddenly flooded the adjacent room—green haze trickling in through the cracks in the ceiling and walls before she sprung to her feet—splattering ink across her desk and nearly toppling out of the chair she occupied in the process. Crippling darkness settled in again after the all too familiar silence was restored, but there was nothing peaceful about it. Dorcas could almost taste the beating of her own heart as nervousness swelled like a lump and took up residency in the back of her throat.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t care.”

There are a lot of people here.

It was a thought that entered Lucinda’s mind, a detached observation. She wasn’t feeling much of anything these days. She had taken one of the calming draughts that the Healer had given her this morning, before her grandfather had arrived with his caregiver. Her father’s father was old and only sometimes aware of what was going on. Lucinda liked him, and had visited him often. But he was in no condition, even before the news of his son’s  death, to be any help to Lucinda. So she had to go it alone. 

The Ministry had sent a car for Lucinda and her grandfather, for which she was grateful. They had arranged the funeral too. It was the least they could do for someone who had worked so tirelessly in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. That’s what one of her father’s bosses had told her when they came to offer her their condolences anyway. Not much mention was made about Lucinda’s mother aside from that the proper Muggle officials had been notified.

Lucinda knew some of her mother’s coworkers, but she hadn’t really cared that they would not be allowed to attend the magical funeral. She hadn’t really cared about anything since finding out. Since the knowledge that her parents were dead and she was alone in the world had her crying the whole night, huddled in her parents’ bed. She hadn’t cried since then. 

She didn’t cry now, either, though her eyes felt red rimmed and dry. Instead, she sat in the front of the chairs rimming the open grave, her back ramrod straight and hands clenching each other in her lap. She watched as people passed her to pay their respects to the two closed caskets. The line was fucking never ending. 

Lucinda wanted nothing more than for this to be over. She just wanted to change out of her elegant, simple black dress and high heels, and into her sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She wanted to cuddle with Tetu in bed and sleep until she absolutely had to wake up again. 

Dear Everyone,

Please check in with me so I know you’re all still alive and breathing. I’ve been trying to track everyone down all day. It would be much appreciated.