A mystery swallowed by the fire

By Helen

"Well," Hannah whispers as she gets into her car, "am I gonna get a goodbye kiss?" Brad watches her with a wistful smile, taking a drag from his pipe. "You make me feel young, Hannah," he says, eyes filled with warmth.

Suddenly, a loud knock on the door pulls me back to reality. I get up and open it to find my mom standing there, frustration etched on her face.

-"Didn't I tell you not to lock the door? What are you doing?"

she demands.

-"I'm just reading,"

I reply, trying to mask my unease as I hide the book behind my back.

Without warning, she grabs the book from me.

-"How many times have I told you not to read this kind of stuff?"

-"But Mom..."

I plead, but it's too late. She rips the book apart, sending its pages fluttering like wounded birds across the room.

-"No, Mom, please! I haven't finished it!"

I cry, dropping to the floor, desperately gathering the scattered remnants of the story I was so engrossed in.

-"Didn't you see what happened to your sister after she got into these books?" she shouts, her voice a mix of fear and anger.

-"These are evil books! I warned you not to read them, and yet you keep disobeying,"

my mom says, her voice sharp with frustration.

She snatches the remaining pages I managed to collect from the floor and walks out of the room quickly.

I rush after her, desperation in my voice.

-"I just want to know what happens to Hannah, Mom—just one page, please!"

-"You'll know when I put these pages in flames," she replies, a determined edge in her tone.

-"Mom, please!" I beg, trailing her as she heads to the kitchen.

With a swift motion, she grabs a match and tosses the crumpled pages onto the stove, lighting them in an instant.

I scramble to grab the burning pages, but it’s too late. The flames consume the book, and the fate of Hannah is lost forever—a mystery swallowed by the fire.