The Adopted Voight

Lost & Found

Adeline Rae

“Trauma comes back as a reaction, not a memory”

It was dark now and the weather had become harsher.

I had been walking aimlessly around the streets of Chicago for hours, and the realisation of what I'd done had just started to sink in.

I had nowhere to go, no one to go to, and no money or clothes.

The hopeless chain of thoughts only made my mood worsen and I found myself walking towards the direction of my old house that I lived in with Greg, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of the small duplex house.

The memories of the past still haunted me and I wasn't sure it would ever stop.

From the outside, the duplex looked like a normal run down shack that you would expect to find in this part of the city, but only I knew the horrors that happened inside.

Before I knew it, I was walking past the duplex, towards the graveyard where mom and Talia had been buried.

It was only a 10 minute walk from Greg's house to the graveyard.

Sometimes when I had a bad day at school or home, I would stop by at the cemetery to see mom and it was the only place that ever made me feel at peace.

I hadn't visited ever since I came to live with Hank.

I opened the wrought iron gates and walked inside.

The graveyard was shrouded in fog and looked sinister and creepy in the pitch black darkness.

I turned on the flashlight on my phone, carefully navigating my way around the graves.

I came to a stop as I saw the tomb that had Catherine Carson written on it.

The tomb next to it read 'Talia Rose Carson', my sister.

I kneeled down before my mother's grave.

The memories of her smiling face as we made chocolate cupcakes, her proud smiles when Talia showed her her drawings, us snuggling together on the couch drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows in it when we had a bad day, and mostly her light floral scent all filled my head, overwhelming me with their intensity.

I laid down on the ground, my head resting on my mom's grave, curling my knees up to my chest to protect myself from the harsh cold.

I lost all track of time as I disassociated from reality, just laying there on the ground, not feeling anything but the looming cloud of numbness, waiting to consume me.
--------------------------------------------------
Hank Voight

Al pulled up the car outside the wrought iron gates of the cemetery.

The cemetery was shrouded in darkness.

I wasted no time in getting out of the car, grabbing the flashlight from the glove box.

Al did the same, moving in front of me to open the gates and I led the way, searching through the darkness.

"Split up. You go right, I'll take left", I said to Al realising that it would take too long to locate Addie if we didnt split up.

Al obeyed and we split up.

I carefully navigated my way through the graves, carefully scanning for any signs of Addie.

"Hank!", Al shouts, causing goosebumps to appear on my neck.

I followed Al's voice.

I could hear Al's voice and soft sobs.

Was that Addie?