Solving the Puzzle (Kevin)

Sitting on her bed, Lia flipped through one of the books she found on the table. Nothing exciting about her father¡¦s old notes except the fact that they were his old notes. And there was nothing scholarly about these papers put together with a thick binding. They were quick scribbles on her mother, written in the style Lia was beginning to grow accustomed to. Her father¡¦s notes were always cryptic and these were no exception. Lia knew her father had a thing for shorthand but these just proved to be difficult. It was so difficult, the girl kept several sheets of paper next to her, writing down ¡§translations¡¨ whenever she figured out another piece to the puzzle. Granted, asking her father to read the monstrous journal to her would have been easier for Lia, but as she had stolen it from under her father¡¦s nose, she knew better than to make any mention of it. A part of her hoped that her father had long forgotten about the journal for Lia to read through it completely; another part hoped that her father would still keep her mother in mind, even 10 years later. Seeing as how her father had not inquired her about the journal, Lia knew that the former was much more likely.

The sheets of paper around her had once only been a solitary sheet. Then the number grew and grew as Lia found another interest to preoccupy her during the day. Nighttime was still reserved for her secret trip to the library, a sacred time for the fifteen year old girl. However, being the only girl in the family, Lia was blessed with her own room and with her own room, a place of quiet and peace. It was due to common sense that no one would barge into her room. Her father never dared to enter, her stepmother probably could not care less as she doted on her biological sons, and her younger brothers probably thought she had cooties. Whatever those are, Lia thought to herself. Pursing her lips, Lia stared intently into the book as if everything would click in an instant. It had already been one month, and all she could figure out was that her mother¡¦s maiden name was Inago, her mother had green eyes, and the two met sometime in school. Real descriptive, Father. It¡¦ll take me my lifetime to even know what my mother was like. The least you could have done was left a little key or something. But no, you choose to be all cryptic about her.

Frustrated with the book, Lia¡¦s blue eyes stared even deeper into the book, her mind working on an overdrive. Why isn¡¦t this providing me answers? Why won¡¦t this tell me anything? One month and I am stuck with all these codes, incomprehensible writings on my mother! Finally giving up, Lia threw the book onto her bed, disregarding the age of the book. She needed answers, something that would tell her more about the distant memory of a mother. With a faceplant on her pillow, Lia closed her eyes. Why was it the whole world continued moving while no one seemed to remember her mother? No one was around to tell her anything; all that her mother had left were clues and puzzles. Whatever happened to getting straight answers just by asking?

A soft knock on Lia¡¦s door brought her back to reality. With wide eyes, Lia scrambled to grab the loose papers on her bed. Realising that she had no place to hide them, she stuffed them all into the journal and crammed the journal under her bed. ¡§Just a minute!¡¨ Frantic thoughts kept racing through Lia¡¦s mind as she made sure that there was no evidence of what she had been doing in her room. With a last minute pat-down and straightening of clothes, Lia took her time to sit down on her bed. Everything¡¦s stored¡Kall good¡Koh! Lia grabbed a stray book that was sitting by her bed and flipped to a random page, not noticing that the words were upside down. ¡§Come in!¡¨