As they drove into the road next to the layered jumping cobblestone, a sight greeted the view of their windows. Loads of people seemed to crowd the area, muttering their prayers and tears. Christopher stopped the car in a parking space, staring for a moment. Even Neo paused as they got out of the vehicle.
There was a hole in the ground, reaching out five metres around in a messy circle. Some hovered over it crying while others simply watched curiously. A memorial sat at the edge of it, showing four pictures - three of women and a man. One of the girls was young, probably at least fourteen or so years of age. Candles gathered around the pictures, roses and other flowers scattered on the ground beside them.
"Nathan," Christopher said, drawing his attention from the square. "What happened here? Specifically. And how many people had died?"
"Apparently a car drove right into the square and detonated on the spot," He answered, looking over the paper in his hands. "They knew it wasn't an accident because they found traces of bombing material. Three died, and four were injured." He looked up at the memorial, narrowing his eyebrows.
"Three died, but…" The prince muttered, glancing at the photos. "There's four pictures. Tell me about the deceased."
Neo stared at the clipping. "Maria Egbere, Stephanie Sharon, and Mariel Karnes. All three females." He paused. "However, there was a male tied up in the car. No name listed." As Christopher stood there thinking, Neo moved past him. "Hold on, I need to check something."
"Oh - alright," He muttered, continuing to watch from afar.
Neo stepped around a few people to reach the memorial, bending down and looking at the pictures one by one until he reached the male. Below his picture a name read, Darek Hearth. That struck some old memories in his mind. His mother's name before she took on his father's was Taila Hearth. The boy in front of him resembled the pictures of his mother so much, but it was impossible. Neo's mother died when giving birth to him.
However…
It was then that his thoughts were interrupted when he saw Christopher walking towards him. Neo stood up as he handed him a small, folded piece of paper. He looked it over - it was a neatly drawn map, showing signs and places to keep them on track. The nice part about it was some written directions on the back in case they got lost.
"What's this?" Neo asked.
"A map," Christopher answered.
"Obviously," He rolled his eyes. "To what?"
"The graveyard the bloke is buried in," He said in annoyance. "Figured out his name, too - Darek Hearth."
"Yeah, I know," Neo glanced over his shoulder. "I saw it on the photo."
They went silent. "We'll find her," Christopher said as they walked back to the car.
"I know," Neo answered.
(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> 🖋 <-.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)
Christopher stepped out of the car, Neo following suit after throwing the directions in the glove box. Glancing over the gate, it was surrounded with green shrubbery, trees towering over the black metal. The singing birds could be a musical masterpiece if one listened correctly, but neither of them had time to be enamoured by such trivial aspects of life. Neo shut the car door, walking around it to the sidewalk and placing his hands in his pockets with a sigh.
"This should be it," Neo said.
"Hm… Too big," Christopher complained. "I'll use magick to find him."
"Do as you will," He answered.
Walking towards the gate, the pit of anxiety grew in his stomach, but he ignored it. He opened it, his eyes travelling from the beautiful green grass to the flourishing emerald vines and wondrous trees. The aura of the place was rather comfortable, for a cemetery, and the graves were a work of art.
Christopher knelt down and placed a hand on the grass, closing his eyes - white energy flowed out of his hand before expanding into the ground throughout the entire area. Neo watched the energy explode from his hand, following it with his gaze until it faded away. Closing the gate behind him, he started walking around as Christopher focused.
After about ten or so minutes, he spotted the energy seeping from a normal, curved gravestone. He called Christopher over, walking towards the glowing grave before crouching down. As it stopped glowing, his eyes scanned the one next to it; Neila Reen Heath. He suspected the person to be a sister of Darek, since it only said below it, Loving Mother and Sister. However, Derek's only said, Caring Son. Which meant Neila was his mother.
Christopher stopped behind him. "Looks like our man. What did you find?"
Neo glanced between the graves. "His mother is dead, and he doesn't have any siblings. I'm not sure what we're supposed to find here."
"What about any other relatives? Do you see anything at all? We could find out where he lived or who tied him up in the car or something." Christopher seemed to be getting annoyed by the dead end.
"Well, his mother had a sister… and…" Neo bit his lower lip.
"And?" He pushed.
He sighed, closing his eyes. "Her name is Erizel Neil Orient."
Christopher looked around. "I don't see her grave. How do you know that?"
Neo stood up. "Because she's my mother."
He paused, then nodded. "I see. Does that help us?"
"Yes," He turned around and started walking away. "Because I know where we have to go."