A Mystery At Ravenscroft

No More Procrastination

Parker

September 19th, 2021

I go downstairs to get something for breakfast. 'Eat now, sleuthing later,' I say to myself. I'm trotting down the steps by twos, making my way into the kitchen. I see my mom with a bowl of cereal, wiping her eyes. This isn't an unfamiliar scene, I say to myself. I walk over to her, all craziness aside, and hug her from behind her chair. She lays her head against me, her tears soaking through my shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. I know how much this hurts you. It hurts me just as much," I say, caressing her long brown hair. She sniffs and nods her head slowly. I wasn't expecting her to say anything; she rarely does during these episodes. Even with the move to Nighbury Falls, she was still crying most of the time—even when she thought I couldn't hear.

"You know, there is something I have been meaning to tell you, Parker," my mom says, wiping her tears on her sleeve. I hesitate to answer and let her finish.

"I am not at my strongest right now."

"I know," I interrupted.

"Let me finish, please," Mom said. She wasn't mad; she just wasn't saying it with any emotion at this point.

"I have been trying to be the strongest I can for you," she says through sniffles. "I like to put on the best version of myself for you because it's not fair for you to not have someone you can depend on. I have to now play both parental roles, which is something I never thought I'd have to do in a million years." She paused and wiped away another tear, letting go out of my embrace. She sat up and looked at me eye to eye. "I love you, Parker. Don't you ever forget that. I know I have been kind of distant lately, and that's the last thing I ever want to be from you. I just want you to know that... that I'll always be here for you no matter what. What I'm going through, whatever you might be going through, we can do it together. Okay?"

Tears start to well up in my eyes. I'm now shaking, afraid of saying the wrong thing or not being able to console her.

"You could never upset me, Mom," I say to her apologetically. "You have been the best mom anyone could've asked for a thousand times over. You are one of the only things getting me out of bed each day. It's because of you." I say with emphasis and nudge her arm. "And yes, I know I can tell you anything; I never doubted that for a second."

She looks at me, with a smile forming on her face. We stare at each other for a few longing seconds, and she nods, walking back upstairs into her room. I just couldn't do it, I thought to myself. There was no way that I would've been able to console her and then say, "Oh yeah, by the way, I think I might have to solve the mysterious disappearance of the girl's diary I found in my wall, Mom." She cannot handle any more stress right now. I have grieved and said my peace, so I feel at ease with the whole situation. I do still miss him a whole lot, but I've been better recently. I can do this; I can solve whatever is going on with Ken Taylor, her diary, Viridian... They just aren't clicking with me right now. It feels like I have all of these puzzle pieces, but for the wrong puzzle.

I grab my rain jacket from the closet, slip on some running shoes, and decide to get familiar with the neighborhood. We've only been here for about a week, and I still don't know my way around yet. I quickly leave a note for my mom just in case she was wondering where I was, and go out the door. I jog down my driveway and turn to the right since on the left, it was a dead end.

It's time to clear my head for once; then, you will find your answers. No more procrastinating; it's up to me to find out what happened to Ken Taylor.