“Come on, what’s wrong? ” I asked as gently as possible.
“You won’t believe it,” the girl whispered softly, covering her face with her hands.
“Maybe just start, and we’ll take it from there? Trust me, I believe in a lot of things,” I encouraged her.
She pondered for a few seconds, then looked at me fearfully.
“And you won’t tell anyone? ”
I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“I mean, you won’t tell anyone that I’ve lost it and won’t start teasing me about it?”
“Are you kidding? Watching you in pain doesn’t bring me any pleasure, even remotely, ” and that was the absolute truth. “And I don’t believe you survive solely on expired food, ” I muttered. To my immense relief, she smiled.
“Okay, I’ll try. ”
Sabrina settled comfortably on the couch, contemplating where to begin her story.
“It all started on January twenty-fourth. Exactly a year after my grandfather’s passing.”
“Yeah, I remember,” my voice betrayed me slightly, but Sabrina didn’t seem to notice.
“That night, I…” she suddenly fell silent and took a deep breath. “That night, I heard his voice for the first time. In my sleep.”
I furrowed my brow but didn’t say anything. Instead, I cleared my throat, indicating to Sabrina that she should continue her story.
“I didn’t think much of it then, dismissing it as just a weird dream. But soon the dream recurred, becoming clearer. And another voice joined Alex’s. A woman’s voice. Then images appeared, becoming clearer and more distinct with each new dream. They argued about something, and… sometimes Grandpa yelled at her. And then the voices disappeared, for about a month, maybe more. But then they returned again,” Sabrina explained. I approached Sabrina and sat down beside her.
“Maybe my request will sound strange, but could you describe the woman?” I asked calmly, trying not to reveal my excitement, while mentally running through all the women of the De Manshand family that I knew.
“Yes, I can. She looks about twenty-seven. She’s not tall, with dark, almost black hair, light blue eyes. A very good figure, and also…” Sabrina suddenly fell silent and lowered her gaze.
“What’s that? ” I inquired.
“I swear to God, she looks very much like me! Almost identical!” Sabrina exclaimed.
I couldn’t believe it. Could Sabrina have seen her own mother? I frantically recalled everything I had ever read or heard about the De Manshand family. After Michelle and Alex had hidden the girl, Michelle decided to return home to France.