Chapter 124
Chapter 124
There was barely any economic development in this town, so most of the young people had relocated to the city to find a job. Hence, only the elders stayed behind.
Margaret and Jodie went around to ask for directions. Soon, they came to Mr. Xenos’ house. However, they were dumbfounded when they saw the shabby two-story house. The door was left ajar, and the grass was growing wild right in front of it. It seemed like nobody had lived in the house for a long time.
Immediately, an ominous feeling arose within Margaret. The letter I received doesn’t seem to be written recently. Could it be that the sender kept the letter with him and only posted it lately?
While Margaret was still deep in her thoughts, an elderly lady with white hair came out of the house next door. Jodie went forward and asked, “Hi, do you know if somebody who has the last name Xenos stays here? By here, I mean this two-story house…”
The lady pursed her lips and said, “I don’t think he’s staying there anymore. There hasn’t been anyone living there for the past three years. I don’t know whether the person there goes by the last name Xenos because he never talks to anyone. I heard from someone that he was diagnosed with an incurable disease, so I assume he must be dead by now. Previously, a couple with a kid stayed there. Sadly, the wife died, and I’m not sure where the child went after that. Thus, I don’t think anyone is staying there.”
At those words, Margaret’s heart sank. “Ma’am, are you sure? Someone recently sent me a letter using this address…”
Frustrated, the elderly woman said, “I don’t know. I don’t know. Anyway, I’ve never seen anyone entering the house for many years.”
The woman’s words were definitely a nightmare to Margaret. Besides the letter in her hand, Margaret did not have any other clues. If she couldn’t find something else, it would be impossible for her to learn the
truth.
However, she was unwilling to give up just yet.
After a moment of hesitation, Margaret decided, “Jo, let’s go in! We might be able to find some clues inside.”
Jodie had never done something so outrageous before. Hence, she said hesitantly,
“Meg, does this count as breaking into private property? Although the door is not locked, I don’t think we should go in without permission.”
Margaret could not care less about that right now. In the next second, she pushed the door open and went in. Immediately, a musty smell permeated the air. The smell had Margaret choking and coughing for a while.
The furniture in the house was old and broken. Besides that, spider webs were everywhere. They were surprised when they found a bowl of unfinished pasta on the table. It was moldy and had clumped together. As for the other things in the house, they were still in place. Although the closet door in the bedroom was wide open, most of the clothes were still in there with a thick layer of dust on them. It seems like the owner of the house left in a hurry.
The two searched the place. However, they could only find a water-stained photo and nothing else.
After getting out of the house, Jodie brought Margaret to a restaurant to have a meal. At the same time, Jodie booked their train tickets back. As they didn’t get what they came here for, naturally, the two had no mood to go for a vacation.
Margaret stared at the photo they took from the house carefully. She could see a man, a woman, and a boy. However, she could not see their faces because water had damaged that area.
Even if I can recover the faces using modern technology, how can I find that person? Moreover, that person might be dead…
However, Margaret didn’t want to believe that Mr. Xenos was dead. How can a dead man mail me a letter? ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
“Meg, you should stop overthinking. Let’s take it easy. How about we go through the whole situation? I passed you the letter immediately after receiving it. The distance between Dellmoor and here is not too far. I’m sure he was still alive when he posted the letter. I think that he decided to use this address because he doesn’t want you to know where he’s currently residing. Ah, I don’t know either! Either way, I’m sure Mr. Xenos is alive. Thus, you should not give up! Since he has sent you a letter, I assume he’ll mail you another one soon. Let’s wait and see! Although he doesn’t want to see us personally, I don’t think he will leave us hanging after telling us the beginning.” Jolie tried her best to comfort Margaret.