I Found You
The mansion swallowed her almost immediately.
Everything inside was too big.
Too wide.
Too quiet.
The hallways stretched endlessly in every direction, lined with expensive furniture and paintings that watched her from the walls.
Meri moved quickly.
Trying not to make noise.
Trying not to get caught.
Most of all, trying not to lose her courage.
---
Mommy.
The thought repeated itself with every step.
Like a heartbeat.
Like a prayer.
---
She checked room after room.
A sitting room.
Empty.
A dining room.
Empty.
A study filled with books she couldn't read.
Empty.
Every door she opened led to disappointment.
---
At first, she told herself she just hadn't looked hard enough.
That her mother was somewhere nearby.
Just around the next corner.
Just behind the next door.
But as the minutes passed, hope started to fray around the edges.
---
The estate was enormous.
Far larger than she had imagined.
Too large for a six-year-old girl to search alone.
Panic slowly began creeping into her chest.
What if she'd been wrong?
What if her mother wasn't here?
What if she'd hidden in the trunk for nothing?
---
She stopped in the middle of a hallway.
Breathing hard.
Trying not to cry.
Because crying wouldn't help.
Nothing would help except finding Regina.
---
Then she heard voices.
Two women.
Somewhere nearby.
Meri immediately ducked behind a decorative table.
The women didn't notice her.
Adults rarely looked down.
---
"The family still visits her?"
one woman asked.
The other sighed.
"Not often."
A pause.
Then:
"She's in the boys' quarters behind the main house."
---
Meri's heart jumped.
The boys' quarters.
Behind the main house.
Finally.
A direction.
---
The women continued talking.
But Meri was already moving.
She slipped away before they could see her.
Her pulse racing.
Hope returning so quickly it almost hurt.
---
Outside, she ran.
Across a courtyard.
Past a fountain.
Around a garden.
Toward a smaller building standing behind the main estate.
Unlike the mansion, this building wasn't beautiful.
It wasn't impressive.
It was practical.
Simple.
Built to serve a purpose rather than display wealth.
---
Meri pushed through the door.
The hallway inside felt different.
Quieter.
Colder somehow.
The walls were plain.
The rooms small.
There were no paintings.
No decorations.
No luxury.
---
She began opening doors.
One after another.
Empty room.
Empty room.
Storage room.
Laundry room.
Office.
Nothing.
---
Then she reached a door near the end of the corridor.
Something made her stop.
Maybe instinct.
Maybe hope.
Maybe desperation.
Whatever it was, her hand trembled as she pushed it open.
---
The room beyond was small.
Simple.
Almost bare.
And in the middle of it sat a bed.
---
Meri froze.
The world seemed to stop moving.
Stop breathing.
Stop existing.
Because lying on that bed was her mother.
---
For one horrible second, terror seized her.
Regina wasn't moving.
Not at all.
Her skin looked pale.
Her eyes were closed.
She seemed so still.
Too still.
---
Then Meri saw it.
The faint rise and fall of her chest.
A breath.
Then another.
Then another.
---
Relief hit so hard her knees nearly gave out.
She's alive.
The thought echoed through her entire body.
Alive.
---
Slowly, she crossed the room.
As though moving too fast might somehow break the moment.
As though her mother might disappear if approached too quickly.
---
When she finally reached the bed, she stared.
Memorizing every detail.
The familiar shape of Regina's face.
The curve of her eyebrows.
The small scar near her chin.
The features she'd known her entire life.
---
Her eyes filled with tears.
Not from sadness this time.
From relief.
From gratitude.
From finally finding the person she'd been searching for.
---
Meri reached out carefully.
Then took her mother's hand.
---
It felt cold.
Not frighteningly cold.
Just different.
The kind of cold that comes from lying still for too long.
The kind of cold hospitals seem to create.
---
She pressed Regina's hand against her cheek.
Closed her eyes.
And held it there.
---
I'm here, Mommy.
The words existed only inside her mind.
Her voice still refused to work.
But somehow she believed her mother would understand anyway.
---
Tears slipped quietly down her face.
One after another.
She didn't bother wiping them away.
There was nobody here to see them.
Nobody except Regina.
And Regina was sleeping.
---
Minutes passed.
Maybe longer.
Meri stopped keeping track.
Time felt strange in the room.
Slower.
Gentler.
Almost peaceful.
---
Eventually, exhaustion caught up with her.
The past weeks.
The fear.
The searching.
The grief.
Everything she'd been carrying suddenly became too heavy.
---
She climbed carefully onto the edge of the bed.
Still holding her mother's hand.
Still refusing to let go.
---
Her eyelids grew heavier.
The room blurred.
The sounds around her faded.
---
The last thing she felt before sleep claimed her was Regina's hand resting against her cheek.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn't feel completely alone.
Then darkness came softly.
And she fell asleep beside her mother
A sound woke Meri.
At first, she wasn't sure what it was.
Her mind was still tangled in sleep.
For a few seconds, she forgot where she was.
Then she felt her mother's hand in hers.
And remembered everything.
---
The room was darker now.
The sunlight that had filled the window earlier had faded into evening shadows.
For a moment, everything seemed quiet.
Then she heard it again.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Getting closer.
---
Meri sat up immediately.
Every instinct she had screamed that something was wrong.
The footsteps weren't hurried.
They weren't uncertain.
Whoever was approaching knew exactly where they were going.
---
The bedroom door opened.
Meri's heart jumped into her throat.
Without thinking, she slid off the bed.
Her bare feet hit the floor silently.
She darted behind a large wardrobe standing against the wall.
Then pressed herself flat against it.
Trying to disappear.
---
The door closed softly.
A woman entered.
Meri could only see part of her through the narrow gap beside the wardrobe.
Blue dress.
Elegant shoes.
Perfect posture.
Everything about her looked calm.
Controlled.
---
She moved toward Regina's bed.
Slowly.
Without hesitation.
As though she'd done this before.
---
Then she spoke.
"You really don't know when to die, do you?"
The words froze the blood in Meri's veins.
---
The woman sounded annoyed.
Not emotional.
Not angry.
Just irritated.
Like Regina's survival was an inconvenience.
---
Meri stopped breathing.
Every muscle in her body locked.
---
The woman stepped closer.
"I honestly thought the hospital would finish the job."
A pause.
Then a small laugh.
Cold.
Humorless.
---
"But somehow you survived."
She folded her arms.
Looking down at Regina's sleeping form.
---
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then the woman spoke again.
More quietly this time.
Which somehow made her even more frightening.
---
"You survived the fire."
Another pause.
"You survived the accident."
Her voice lowered further.
"So stubborn."
---
Meri's stomach twisted painfully.
Fire?
What fire?
Nobody had ever mentioned a fire.
---
The woman sighed.
As though exhausted by Regina's refusal to die.
---
"I've been patient."
She tilted her head slightly.
Studying the unconscious woman on the bed.
"Very patient."
---
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too hot.
Too dangerous.
---
Meri wanted to run.
Wanted to scream.
Wanted to throw something.
Do anything.
But fear nailed her feet to the floor.
---
The woman leaned closer to Regina.
And spoke the words that would stay with Meri for years.
---
"This time, I'll make sure."
---
The sentence landed like a knife.
Simple.
Quiet.
Certain.
---
Not a threat.
Not a possibility.
A promise.
---
Terror rushed through Meri so hard she nearly made a sound.
Her hands flew to her mouth.
Covering it instinctively.
Even though no voice would come out anyway.
---
The woman stood there for another moment.
Watching Regina.
Waiting.
Thinking.
---
Then a voice called from somewhere outside.
Distant.
Muffled.
A name Meri couldn't quite hear.
---
The woman straightened immediately.
The cold expression vanished.
Replaced by something calm.
Pleasant.
Respectable.
As though she'd simply been visiting an old friend.
---
Without another word, she turned.
Walked to the door.
And left.
---
The room fell silent again.
---
Meri remained frozen behind the wardrobe.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
Unable to process what she'd just heard.
---
Someone wanted her mother dead.
Not in the past.
Not years ago.
Now.
Today.
---
The realization made her whole body shake.
Her knees trembled.
Her hands trembled.
Even her teeth chattered slightly.
---
Eventually, she forced herself to move.
Slowly.
Carefully.
She stepped out from behind the wardrobe.
---
Regina still lay peacefully on the bed.
Unaware.
Breathing softly.
Completely defenseless.
---
Meri looked at her mother.
Then at the door.
Then back at her mother again.
---
The answer came immediately.
She couldn't leave.
Not now.
Not after hearing that.
---
If she left, the woman might come back.
If she left, nobody would know.
If she left, something terrible might happen.
---
Meri was only six.
She had no voice.
No plan.
No way to fight grown-ups.
---
But she had one thing.
She could stay.
---
Her eyes landed on the wardrobe.
Large enough to hide inside.
Close enough to watch the room.
---
Without hesitation, she opened it.
Climbed inside.
And carefully pulled the door closed.
Leaving only the smallest gap.
Just enough to see through.
---
The space was cramped.
Dark.
Uncomfortable.
But none of that mattered.
---
Through the narrow opening, she could see Regina sleeping.
Could see the door.
Could see anyone who entered.
---
Outside, the estate continued as normal.
Guests laughed.
Tea was served.
Conversations drifted through open windows.
Life moved on.
---
Nobody knew a woman had just threatened Regina.
Nobody knew danger had walked into this room.
Nobody knew a little girl was hiding inside a wardrobe keeping watch.
---
Meri wrapped her arms around her knees.
And settled deeper into the darkness.
---
She was frightened.
Exhausted.
Hungry.
And completely out of her depth.
---
But she wasn't leaving.
Not again.
Not this time.
---
Outside the wardrobe, her mother slept peacefully.
And inside it, a six-year-old girl stood guard.
Waiting.
Watching.
Protecting the only person she had left.