Chapter Three: Time for the Truth

Several hours later Sage was in the middle of reading a journal entry from a girl whose mother had been drowned in a lake to prove she was a witch when Lila finally called her back. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed and was shocked to discover it was past five o’clock. The two made plans to meet at a cafe a couple blocks away. She returned the stack of uninteresting books to their shelf and gathered up her belongings. Sage made her way to the front of the store and hoped Emma was still working. She wanted to purchase the book on witches and thank her for letting her read through it in the back for so long.

“Leaving already?” Emma asked as she popped up behind Sage.

Startled, Sage dropped the book. “Oh you scared me!”

“I just knew you’d find something back there to pique your interest.” Emma winked at Sage as she picked the book up. “Shall I ring this up for you then?”

“Definitely! I’m really enjoying it. The journal entries are especially fascinating,” Sage replied as the two made their way to the register at the front of the store. “Thanks again for letting me sit in the back and check it out.”

“You are more than welcome my dear. Feel free to come back and browse our selection any time. I’m sure we have a few more books similar to this one. I’ll keep an eye out for them if you’d like so they’ll be ready for you on your next visit.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Sage swiped her debit card as Emma wrapped the book in tissue paper and tied the package closed with twine. Sage was impressed with the extra effort, not many stores would take the time for such things.

Emma offered her a warm smile as she handed the wrapped book to her. “Take care dear, and please be sure to visit us again.”

Sage thanked the woman again and headed for the cafe to meet Lila.

Sage arrived at the cafe before Lila so she took the liberty of ordering coffee for the both of them. When the waitress asked if she wanted any creamer she made a face and shook her head. She never could understand how someone could ruin the wonderful taste of coffee with all that extra nonsense. No thank you, she would take hers black, strong and hot. Thankfully, Lila agreed.

Just as she was about to pull the book out and start reading again, Sage noticed Lila come through the cafe door and motioned her over. She was desperate to find out if Lila had made any sense of the documents in the packet. Lila flashed her a dimpled smile and bounced over to their table.

“You are not going to believe what I found out,” she gushed as Sage stood to hug her. “It’s true! All of it is true!”

“Wait…what? Are you sure? All of it?”

“As far as I can tell everything is legit. The deed, the will, all the legal papers in that file are originals and they aren’t forgeries. As for the adoption I wasn’t able to completely verify it because adoption records are sealed, but there was a couple murdered up at Hannah’s Lake around that time. I found an article on their deaths, but there wasn’t a mention of any children. Maybe they were worried about the killers coming after them in case they witnessed something?” Lila took a swig of her coffee and let Sage process the information.

“This is crazy. Why would my parents not tell me they adopted me? Especially if they knew I’d find out eventually as the letter said?” Sage’s mind was spinning with all the questions from earlier coming back.

“Maybe they planned to but the accident happened before they could.”

“I guess that’s possible, but something about it just doesn’t add up for me.” Sage downed the rest of the coffee in her cup and signaled the waitress for a refill.

Lila pulled the documents out of the folder and laid them on the table before replying, “Well the paperwork on the land shows it went from Justin and Jasmine Evans, the couple who were murdered, to Angela and Lyle Foster. From there it was passed to you and a Sapphire Wakely, which I’m guessing is the other girl in the photo.” She waited until the waitress refilled their cups before continuing, “the only way for you to know for sure is to either petition the court to get the adoption record unsealed or go out to the land and talk to these people. They may be able to explain what really happened.”

“I know but I just can’t help feeling that this is some kind of trick or something. But I guess you’re right, the only way to find out is to go.”

“Are you going to be able to take time off of work to go up there and figure all this out?”

“Oh God! I totally forgot to tell you!” Sage exclaimed, a bit too loud causing some of the other customers to turn and stare. Sage lowered her voice a bit, “I was fired this morning, and can you believe that rat tried to get me to work today anyway?!?”

“Are you freaking kidding me? What a douche!” Lila exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Look, I’m sorry you lost your job, but you were too good to be working there anyway. Now you can find something much better suited to you.”

“You’re right. I hated working there and dreaded going in every morning. But what if I can’t find another job? You know how hard they are to come by these days. I’ve got enough in savings to last a month or so but not much after that. Maybe I should have worked the shift, maybe he would have changed his mind about firing me by the end of the day.”

Lila reached across the table to lay a comforting hand on Sage’s arm. “Hey, you can’t think like that. No paycheck is worth putting up with that prick. Worst case scenario you can come stay with me for a while. I’ve got a spare room and we can stay up late like when we were teens.”

Sage smiled, letting her fears melt away. “And this is exactly why you’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember. You always know what to say to cheer me up. Up for a road trip?”

“Oh hon, I so wish I could go with you, but there is no way I can get the time off of work. The firm is handling a huge case and I’m gonna be working overtime for the next few weeks.” Lila glanced down at her watch before adding, “in fact, I have to head back to the office. I just wanted to make sure to get these back to you and let you know they are real. But I’m only a phone call away if you need moral support while you’re out there.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to pull you away from work. Thank you though for checking these out for me. You can be sure I’ll definitely be calling you with updates once I get out there and find out what this whole mess is about.”

“Any time. You know I’ve got your back.” Lila tossed a ten on the table to cover their drinks plus tip and stood to leave. “Quit stressing yourself out. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Sage stood and gave Lila a hug goodbye. “Stay awesome. Good luck with your case! Now go before I kidnap you and drag you out there with me.” And with that the girls headed their separate ways.

Once she got home from the cafe Sage went for another run. She needed to blow off some steam and nothing soothed her like a hard, long run. Some referred to it as a ‘runner’s high’ but to her it was just a calming peace she felt where she could forget about her worries and stop thinking for a while. Sometimes she’d work out issues in her head while she ran, but not today. Today the run was just about letting go. Once she hit her stride, she just concentrated on the sound of her feet against the pavement, the beating of her heart and breathing in and out. She was in a world of her own where nothing else mattered.

She ran until the inkling of exhaustion started to hit her. That was her clue she needed to head back to the house before her body gave out. She’d learned from the past. Not long after her parents’ accident she had ignored that inkling many times and had had to sit on the curb to recover for a while before she could even walk home. Sometimes she’d cave and call Lila to come get her, but mostly she didn’t want her friend to worry about her so she’d sit and wait it out.

Sage slowed her pace down as she turned back to the house, first to a slow run then to a jog and eventually a walk. The cool breeze felt good against her sweat covered skin and she smiled as she felt the goosebumps flash across her body. This was exactly what she had needed.

After her run Sage soaked in a bath for a while, letting the hot water soothe her tired muscles. She replayed the days events several times and decided to head up to the lake the next day so she could get some answers. If she really did have a twin sister she didn’t want to waste any more time getting to know her. They had already lost 22 years. She started to wonder what her sister might be like. Based on the picture she had they weren’t identical since they had different hair colors when they were younger, but would she recognize her if she passed her on the street? Did they have similar features? What is her life like and has she always known Sage was out there somewhere? Did she try to find her?

Soon the water grew cold and Sage’s skin had begun to resemble raisins so she climbed out of the bath and headed to bed. Though sleep didn’t come easily for her she eventually drifted off. Dreams of fire, demons and the lake drifted through her as she dozed causing her to toss and turn for most of the night.