Graveyard Encounters

Luther recognized the shabby box. It had once been one of the few possessions he and his sister owned when they were poor. After becoming a Nighthawk and earning quite a bit of money, he had stopped paying attention to it. He had never expected to see it again today.

He bent down, picked up the box, placed it on the table, and opened it.

The box contained some odds and ends.

At the top lay many sewing tools, along with two strips of leather and sturdy white cloth. They were probably what Cecilia had used to mend Luther's straitjacket back then. Luther noticed that one spool of thread looked rather special. It was a vivid purple and appeared completely unused.

This was...

Luther looked up toward the coat rack.

He saw the purple formal dress he had bought for his sister hanging there. She had only worn it once, when she went to the theater. There was an obvious tear in its hem, one she had deliberately ripped open in order to save him from Ms. M.

Cecilia had probably bought a spool of purple thread afterward to sew the dress back together. She had still treasured the dress he bought for her.

Only, she had never managed to mend it.

Luther silently picked up the scattered items and set them aside. Beneath the sturdy white cloth and leather straps, he found a notebook. When he opened it, he found several 1-pound and 2-pound notes tucked inside. This had been the spending money Luther left Cecilia back then, while the notebook itself meticulously recorded the Rondal family's daily income and expenses.

Cecilia seemed to have been consciously saving money. She had carefully managed the household, planning for a bright future.

Luther's fingers brushed over the neat handwriting one line