From the sight of her expression alone, it was clear the situation that was unfolding right in front of Adori was baffling her.
The bad one, Rebek? The grieving mother? She don't even know whether her son is alive or not!
And here they were, accusing her of such crimes Adori was sure Rebek did not commit.
One by one, the families of Seren and Finn pointed their fingers at Rebek. Their eyes almost bulging out of their heads as they rained down their accusations on her.
"Don't you find it odd how her son miraculously survived the Whispering Forest and on the next day," the old man, who Adori thought was Finn's grandfather, looked around the station like a mad man, obviously wanting the people inside to see his reason as he continued. "Three kids suddenly disappeared without a trace!"
The members of the two families nodded their heads in unison at the old man's words.
Another woman, who Adori remembered as Seren's mother, continued in fervor as she pointed fingers at Rebek. "Obviously we thought it was some kind of divine intervention that her son not only came out of the forest alive but somehow retained all his memories, when everyone else who came out of there did not remember a shred of their lives. But now, we know it was all that witch's doing!"
When Seren's mother finished her piece, a man of bulky stature made his way towards Rebek and tried grabbing her. Thankfully, as Adori was standing right besides Rebek, she had enough time and the presence of mind to grab Rebek out of the man's hands.
"Are you okay?" Adori asked Rebek, wanting more than anything to take the woman out of this place. They were both on the ground but when Adori tried to help Rebek into standing up, the woman stubbornly glued herself to the ground.
Adori questioningly looked at Rebek but when she saw Rebek gawking at the families as sweat trickled down her temples, she knew she had to do something about the situation.
And one thing about Adori was that she will let her mouth run loose when she felt frustrated enough.
"You pieces of shit!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Maybe the families did not considered one of them to talk back at them or that they were completely taken by surprise when Adori suddenly raised her voice at them—it was unclear why the families were looking at her like one would toward an anomaly.
"Yeah, we all know about the situation with Cale and the forest. Yes, it was a miracle that he was unharmed. Yes, it is definitely strange that on the very next day, three kids disappeared from this island—two of which were Cale's friends by the way. But what reason do you have to point your fingers at Rebek? Don't you think she's suffering enough right now? This poor woman don't even know whether her son is alive or not!"
"Isn't that all the more reason we should suspect this witch?" Seren's mother said accusingly.
"That's right! We don't even know where this bitch came from before she seduced Tobias!" A woman who Adori recalled was Finn's mother shouted.
Rebek's not from this island? That's the first time I've heard of this.
Adori could not believe Rebek was keeping such information from her. Not that Adori felt she was entitled to know every and all that had happened and was happening on Rebek's life, but she felt that at least she could have known such a thing. Maybe, just maybe, then the bond of their friendship could have been so much deeper.
Though they had not known each other for long, Adori felt a bit hurt to know such information about Rebek only now. However, that did not made her falter in taking her friend's side, not a single bit.
"Even if she's not from this island, you all can't blame her for the disappearance simply because she's a foreigner. Heck! I'm a foreigner too. Does that mean every single thing that goes wrong on this island is my fault as well?" Adori barked.
"That's the thing right there," Finn's grandfather interjected as he regarded Adori. "With you, we all know you came from the Land of Verdant, all the way from the Western Continent. But her?" He said as he pointed his finger at Rebek, "We know nothing. Just blank. Nothing. Tobias wouldn't say a word and if anyone tried to question him about his wife, he would get angry, every single time."
Adori did not know what to do with the new information she was bestowed with. So to these people, Rebek was someone who just appeared out of thin air with no background, and married someone of their own.
Is this why Rebek seemed so desperate to befriend me back then? Because she's lonely?
Adori squinted toward Rebek. It was clear from her expression alone that there were many questions Adori wanted to ask the woman she called her friend.
But even so...
This is still ridiculous, Adori thought.
Because in her mind, there was something which was an undeniable fact about all of the mess that was unfolding in front of her.
"You all are so desperate," Adori said as she locked eyes with the members of the two families one by one. "How...how can you even think for one second that a mother could have the heart to throw her own son into danger? And then again put her own son and his two friends into another danger? For what purpose? If you all keep insistin—"
She could not finish her sentence as she, along with Rebek, got pulled on their arms by someone who wore a police uniform. Adori quickly looked up at the man who pulled them away from the mess. He seemed to be an old policeman, as was evident from his greying hair and the slight wrinkled skin of his hands.
Not a minute passed when they were both brought inside what looked to be an office. Adori did not even looked around to satiate her ever present curiosity and instead promptly questioned the old man.
"Why did you bring us here?" She asked.
The old man stared both Adori and Rebek for a moment before he gave them his answer. "Well, I just want to get this over with," he answered as he waved his hand around, probably indicating the mess inside the station.
For all intents and purposes, Adori got what he meant—although she happened to be one of the core reason of what was supposedly irritating the old man.
"Yeah, you're right. We were supposed to file a report of the missing kids but instead we got into a situation," Adori politely remarked.
The old man sighed. "Situation? My men looked like they're ready to give up even before the investigation begins."
When Adori thought back on the faces of his men back there, she knew the old man was not even exaggerating. She remembered how their faces were all grim, as if they got dragged to work by force. She also remembered how none of them bothered to take charge or intervened when things got heated.
"Um...yeah, it got a bit out of hand there," Adori said.
"That's one way to put it. From the moment I entered the station..." He gawked at Adori, "I was ambushed. That's three hours ago. Do you know what time it is now?"
Adori quickly took a peek at her wristwatch. "It-it's ten in the morning."
"Do you get what I'm trying to say, young miss? Even if we tried to ask them, they will shout in front of our faces about witches and what not."
Adori did not missed how at the mention of witches, Rebek suddenly flinched beside her. She also kept note of how Rebek had been strangely quiet ever since they came face to face with the families of both Seren and Finn.
It was a bit strange to Adori that Rebek would not even defend herself in front of those families.
Was this a normal thing for them? Their kids are friends, so probably Rebek interact with them on the daily.
The implication of her thought made Adori suddenly pissed. Of course she was, as she heard all the things they said to Rebek back there. Even if she had her own questions, in her mind, no one should be treating others like they were treating Rebek, especially since their children were good friends.
Although she wanted to go back and deliver to them a piece of her mind, she knew she had to remain calm at the moment, for both her and her friend.
"Well then, how do we file a missing person's report?" Adori asked the policeman.
"Don't worry about the report right now as you need to do that at the front desk, and I don't think you want to go back at the moment," he knowingly looked at both Rebek and Adori.
"I suppose you're right," Adori said as she sighed.
The old man was staring right into Rebek's eyes when he said his next words. "If you get what I mean, then I want to ask some questions right now. And by that I mean seperately. Young miss, if you don't mind, I want a moment with Mrs. Varn right here. You will be questioned by my new man, Elias. Of course, that too, if you don't mind."
Adori felt bamboozled. "What?"
"Our new detective, Elias Witfield. He's in a room down the corridor," the old man said as he waved his hand around, prompting Adori to quickly get out of the room.
Adori felt a bit odd about all that had happened in the station but still, she obliged. To her, the faster they convinced the police, the better the chances of the kids coming back alive.