Page 31 of The First Lost Boy (The Shadows of Neverland Duet #2)

Ava

Another long month later

I click a button on the remote to silence the local news broadcast. The 1914 Babe Ruth card I have no idea how I came to own sold at auction this morning for a whopping $10.2 million dollars. It’s been on every news station all morning. I’m just glad the seller was kept anonymous, per the contract.

Devin left for work ecstatic, telling me I was a multi-millionaire and promising to bring ice cream home when his shift ended.

It’s hard to fathom that amount of money, but I should have it in mere days. I’m going to give Devin enough that he can live comfortably – hopefully for the rest of his life. I wouldn’t have known what to do with the card or that it was worth anything. If it wasn’t for him, I probably would’ve tossed it in the trash thinking it was worthless. Beyond that, he’s been my saving grace these past few months. My dearest friend.

The mail carrier is outside. She adds our bounty to the small box outside the apartment door and closes the lid, then drops a rectangular box on the landing, heading back down the stairs in step with the music blaring from her ear buds.

I lean out the door and grab what she delivered, wishing that one of the envelopes was from him…

The mail consists of one bill and a bundle of junk mail. I toss all of it on the side table and peer at the box. I don’t remember ordering anything, but it’s addressed to me.

There’s no return address on the thermal label.

I peel the clear tape and fold open the cardboard flaps to see another cream envelope sealed with sapphire wax, pressed into the shape of a ship with billowing sails. This seal is a little different than the ones that have come before. There’s a mermaid figurehead on its prow.

A smile graces my lips as I gently open the envelope’s flap and pull his letter out.

Just the sight of his slanted writing makes my heart race faster. I wish I could send him a reply this time, but there’s no return information on the envelope.

Maybe he doesn’t want to hear from me.

Or maybe he just wants someone to listen and hear him . To sit at his side and not speak.

I can be that for him.

Lifeguard,

Do you ever feel lost even when you’re surrounded by thousands upon thousands of people? I wonder if that’s how the stars feel when they see the light cast from all the rest but never feel their warmth.

There are few things I am certain about in this strange existence that is my life, but the one thing I know to my soul is that without you I am adrift, with no stars to see me home.

It makes no sense.

Two strangers whose lives crossed for a handful of days, mere whispers of moments, but those times were among the most impactful in their lives.

I hope you’ve carved out a place where you feel safe and happy and you no longer feel lost and out of place, but if you do, I hope you find your way to me. Maybe we can finally find the peace we crave – together.

32°00’16”N 80°50’46”W

1°57’34”N 80°15’42”W

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