Counting

It had been exactly 76 hours and 43 minutes since the mystery boy had shown up on the doorstep of May Manor. Within that 76 hours or 3 days, not one call had come from the police station. Riley had taken to calling the police station every twelve hours but nothing had been accomplished from that besides annoying the operator. So thus, Riley was stuck with that she assumed was seven year old boy that was peculiarity thin and longer than usual black curly hair. The boy had yet to speak but whenever Riley had had looked into the sapphire eyes of this boy, he had seemed to have answers. She had concocted a tale about him being a gypsy run away but Riley knew that was just her over active imagination.

Despite the obvious barrier in lack of language, the pair had fallen into a routine. Riley would wake every morning usually to her odd dreams, dress and prepare breakfast for the dogs and the boy. The pair would then take the spoiled poodles on their walk and return to wait for a phone call. While they waited for a phone call that never came, the pair would go about a normal day, the boy, that Riley had begun to call Buddy , usually would spend it watching the television or in the library.

Today, however, the routine was disrupted by a knocking on the large oak door around mid-afternoon. Riley looked to boy who did not lift his head from the C.S. Lewis book he was currently reading. She rose placing down the magazine she had been reading and went to the door. She peeped through the peephole and spied a very familiar face. It was not a face she had met before but rather one that had been in her dreams. Her heart began to bang against her chest; the face belonged to the toady looking man that appeared so often at night. She knew she was being ridiculous but the panic had arisen so quickly. She took a deep breath and willed her heart to be still before opening the door.

“May I help you sir?” she asked politely putting on her best smile. She let her eyes wander over the toady man standing before. He was dressed normally in a pair of slacks and polo that were ill fitted to his rather robust frame. His wispy brown hair combed over his balding head. He did not look intimidating in the least bit except for the menacing look that was displayed in his beady brown eyes. Riley just did not trust him.

“I’m looking for a young boy” he began but before he could continue Riley quickly cut him off, her mind working quickly.

“Have you checked with the police?” she asked. Buddy had looked so skinny and terrified when he had shown up on the doorstep, she was afraid to hand him over to anybody without the police checking them out first. Besides, she did not trust this man and was not about to reveal any information to him.

“No” he said opening his mouth again to continue but Riley took his slight pause to interrupt again.

“It is about twenty minutes to town by car but I am sure if you went to the police station they will have a list of found children and if not you can report him missing” she said not
taking a pause. The man looked a bit stun before turning from the door and leaving the house. Riley closed the door and stationed herself at the front window making sure the man left the property. There was something very unsettling about the beady eyed man. She could only hope he would not return.