Aria's Quest - Learning More

Welcome to my story Aria's Quest! It's a serial fiction that I try to post every week. I'll be posting the back story soon to Deviant Art for anyone who wants to catch up :)

Section 4

Searching for Molly

Part 3

Learning More

Aria thought for a little bit, trying to figure out where to guide Joey next, and finally asked, "You said the other day that Molly had been here for a little while before she disappeared right?"

"Yah," Joey responded. "About 6 months. I think I told you that we used to hear from her all the time right?" Aria nodded. "Well at first we'd get calls and she'd tell us all about her classes, some really cool assignments she had, the people she was meeting, what she was eating, I mean we'd talk about everything! Everything was new and exciting for her, and she was determined to tell me all about it since I was going to be 'boring and stay at home' as she put it."

"So what changed?"

"I don't know. After awhile she stopped calling as often. At first I just thought she was busy with her new life ya know? I mean she had a lot of classes, and she was making new friends, so why would she need to share everything with me anymore? It hurt a little, but I figured it was all a part of letting my baby sis grow up.

Then I noticed she wasn't really answering my questions any more. When she did call the conversations only seemed to last as long as she was comfortable talking. If I pressed about something she didn't want to answer, she'd find a reason to leave. So I stopped asking questions and just listened to what she wanted to say for the most part, even if it didn't sound like her."

"What kind of questions was she avoiding? Maybe there's a clue there."

Joey shook his head, "I wish there was, but I've spent hours thinking about it and come up with nothing."

"Well, maybe a fresh pair of ears would help?" Aria suggested.

"I guess you're right, I think I'm just discouraged after all this time. I've been here for over a year, and I haven't found any clues." Joey sighed.

"Well, I didn't promise this would be easy, but you did say you wanted to try, and we both know I look at the world differently. Plus I have connections you never could have had. Did I ever tell you I live with a couple of dwarves? Did you know there's a huge magical community here in town? I may not know that many people yet, but my friend Robyn seems to know everyone! Chances are one of them will be able to pull up some sort of clue you couldn't have found on your own. Besides, if we fail (and I really hope we don't!) you'll know that you tried every avenue you could."

"That's true." Joey gave her a half grin, "Just keep talking me through it ok?" He paused for a moment, "You know it'll be nice to have someone else to talk to about all this. I mean, I call home and give reports, but I don't like stressing them out, so these days especially I talk mostly about my life, because it hurts too much for all of us to talk about Molly. I think they've given up."

"We'll that's what I'm here for! You know I'll listen, and hopefully we'll find her too. Then you can call your grandparents with some good news!"

"Now that would be nice! I don't think they'd believe me if I told them about my new fairy friend though..."

Aria laughed, "That's why you won't say anything until we find something worth reporting! And I don't mind if you never mention me to your grandparents."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Joey said, finally giving Aria a full smile for the first time that day. "If we find her, you're going to love Molly! And she'll love you. We'll just keep the more magical aspects of finding Molly hidden from my Grandparents."