summerscaptions: Delia had first noticed it in the newspaper. She was fetching Mr. Harrison’s
summerscaptions: Delia had first noticed it in the newspaper. She was fetching Mr. Harrison’s mail, just like every morning, and she happened to glance at the front page of the paper as she picked it up from the driveway. “Superheroine Sapphire Star Still Missing,” the headline proclaimed. Something in Delia’s mind kind of caught on that. She didn’t follow the news - that wasn’t an appropriate thing for silly girls like her to worry about, after all. Still, there was an odd feeling of familiarity to that name. She tried not to worry about it, but she couldn’t get it out of her mind. Something was on the tip of her tongue. The harder she thought about it, though, the more it receded. A day later, Delia was happily humming to herself as she dusted Mr. Harrison’s sitting room. The television was on, some boring news program showing. Delia ignored it. None of that stuff made sense to her anyway. Mr. Harrison said it was because the female brain wasn’t built for serious levels of analytical comprehension. Delia didn’t know what that mean, but Mr. Harrison was so smart, she was sure he was right. “…makes it a full week since Sapphire Star has been seen,” the news guy on the TV was saying. “Her associates urge citizens not to worry, but sources indicate that none of her fellow supers have any idea what has happened to her.” Delia stared at the TV. There was something compelling about this story. She got that odd feeling in her mind again, like there was something important going on that she just couldn’t quite turn over. She looked at the image on the screen - a woman in a tight, pale blue leotard, leaping from the window of a building, her fists wreathed in balls of blue energy. She looked so familiar.She actually looked a little like Delia… Delia had a sudden flood of images in her mind. Looking over shipment manifests. Researching the blueprints of the Harrison Pharmaceutical Exports Headquarters. Sneaking through a darkened corridor. Walking into a bright room, and smelling some kind of odd chemical. Feeling dizzy, weak, tired… The TV snapped off. Delia turned around to find Mr. Harrison smiling at her, remote in hand. “Slacking off on the job, are we?” Delia giggled and curtsied. “Hello, Sir,” she said sweetly. “Anything interesting on the television today, doll?” “Well, Sir,” Delia said, feeling an odd reluctance to answer Mr. Harrison, “I keep seeing things about that Sapphire Star girl. It’s just… interesting, I guess.” Mr. Harrison nodded. “I’m sure it is,” he said, “but you don’t need to worry about that. I’m sure the silly girl just got confused and wandered off somewhere. Sounds like something that’d happen to a foolish little girl, doesn’t it?” Delia giggled. That made a lot of sense. Girls were so silly! “Yes, Sir,” she nodded. “Good. So no more thinking about that Sapphire Star girl, alright?” “No more thinking about her,” Delia promised. And she was true to her word. -- source link