Snippet #2229413

It was a quiet morning that found Adelaide alone in the dead doctor's study. When the men who were to own the place had come, Adelaide had been overcome with grief and somehow a flurry of paper had appeared to drive them off. But they were practical men, not believing in the power of a broken girl. They considered it as an outburst due to the unstable state of her mind. Not knowing what to do with her, they had confined her to institution grounds and Adelaide spent a sleepless night wandering around her former caretaker's quarters.

Warm sunlight fell across her open hands as she was resting at the doctor's desk. There was a letter there in a brown envelope addressed to her. She had found it last night and suddenly felt hope, thinking that the doctor had managed to leave her something after all.
But the letter was anonymous, just a list of instructions and a couple of bus tickets. There was a certain bookstore she was to go to where someone will be waiting for her. When she read this, Adelaide had refolded the letter and placed it back in its brown envelope on the desk. She was not sure if she was ready to leave yet.

Suddenly, a Mister Edinborough entered the room. He circled the desk twice while admiring the room before he even realised Adelaide sitting there. His beady eyes blinked in surprise. "Good grief, girl ! If you had half a wit, you would have at least announced your presence here."
Now disgruntled, the rotund man smoothed out his wrinkled coat. "My colleagues and I have already signed the official documents, this institution is now under our name. I will give you until noon to gather your things. Go to your aunt, or grandparents, whatever relative you have. You were not officially admitted here, so I am afraid you cannot stay."
This man did not understand that Adelaide had none of those. She was a found child, and only the good heart of the doctor had saved her from dying out in the cold. She knew nothing of her blood family. Adelaide picked up the letter and silently swept past Mister Edinborough.

As promised, the men let her to collect what belonged to her. Which is to say, nothing. Everything in the institution was institution property. They even had the gall to present her with the inventory list. Still, she managed to nick a pair of yellow scissors from the crafts area. Only the other patients saw her do this and they smiled at her, saying goodbye with their eyes. Most of them gathered at the entrance when she was ready to make her final exit. She mustered all the volume that she could, and squeaked out, "thank you !"
It was quiet, but they all heard it. Several of them burst into raucous laughter, which set off the other patients. The new owners came down on this mad goodbye party and shooed Adelaide out the door.

Outside in the gardens Adelaide waited for the bus to arrive. Situated in the countryside, the mental institution was treated to a great view and lots of fresh air. She sat amongst swaying flowers and watched the bees flit about her and took in a deep breath. The smell of her home.
The bus arrived shortly and Adelaide presented her tickets to the driver. He looked at her oddly, but it was to be expected considering which stop she was getting on at.
The journey took a couple hours. The outside scenery slowly changed from countryside to city buildings. Eventually her stop came up and she exited the vehicle. The smell of coffee was like a solid wall outside the confines of the bus. There were many people seated outside the coffee house directly across from the bus stop, and right next to it was her destination. She checked the letter again to make sure it was the right bookstore, then cautiously entered its musty interior.

Shelves of new books faced her with proudly shining covers. As Adelaide walked towards the back, she found older and older books with yellowed pages and faded print. The smell and texture of them seemed to calm her down as she was nervous to meet, as the letter had said, what was to be her guardian. She was not even sure if this person was dangerous or not, but there was nowhere else to go.
She rounded the corner of a row of shelves and found a small alcove furnished with a few plush armchairs. One of them was occupied. When she approached, her eyes met the person sitting there. Adelaide froze, unsure what to do. She tried speaking up, but as usual her voice was failing her.
Then she remembered the letter in her pocket. With shaking hands she took it out and presented him with it. If this person was to be her guardian, then surely he would know what the letter was.