Her Green Eyes

It had been 2 years, and she still hadn't seen her daughter's green eyes. It had been 2 years, since Evelyn went missing.

Today would've been her birthday. She let her mind jump back to that day, as it had so many times before as her hands closed over the watch. Evelyn had always loved that green watch, almost as much as she loved being noticed for her eyes. It was something her mum had picked especially for her, and she'd never taken it off since she'd been given it.

"....Happy birthday dear Evelyn... Happy birthday to you!" She hugged her, and Evelyn was smiling. It was her Sweet 16, and she was leaving for school with that usual spark in her eyes. "Thanks, mum. I've got to go, but I'll see you after school. Oh, and remember I'm going out at 8." They said goodbye, and Evelyn walked out of the front door.

A few hours later, her daughter got home again, smiling. But something was wrong with the smile- it didn't seem genuine. But she didn't press it. And Evelyn didn't mention anything. Evelyn's mum gave her the presents, carefully picked out for her daughter's big birthday. The jacket she'd wanted, a new phone, and some other small things.

At 6, Evelyn started to get ready to leave. At 7:40, she went to open the door.

"Wait, wait. Before you go, let me take a picture!" Evelyn rolled her eyes, but sat by the window, grinning. A second before the photo, her daughter’s smile faltered, her eyes locking onto something—or someone—outside. A shadow of fear crossed her face, gone as quickly as it had come. She had shrugged it off then, but now it haunted her every time she thought back to that day.

And then, at 7:45, Evelyn left for the last time.

She sat there, remembering it like it had been yesterday. She wouldn't ever forget it. Evelyn had been popular, known for her distinctive eyes, which were the first thing you'd see when you looked at her. Always full of a bright spark. Next, you'd be amazed by her red hair, which directly contrasted her eyes and pale skin.

The last people to see her alive had been her friends, who were found brutally murdered in the shopping center, each killed a different way. Evelyn hadn't just gone missing, Evelyn had been taken, or worse-

No.

No. She wouldn't let herself think about that.

Her friends’ bodies had been slumped against the glass, throats slit, blood dripping down onto the mall’s gleaming tiles. A scene too horrific for her mind to erase. One held a bloodied 4- leafed clover, the middle one held Evelyn's green watch, stained red and the other held a green jumper, red leaking into it like a river. Nothing else had been left at the scene. Not that she'd understood any of it. The clover felt random, out of place. She hadn't been lucky. And she'd never seen that sweater before. The police had investigated, and found that the jumper had been stolen from inside the mall. But they never found her daughter. Only the watch. Evelyn’s watch… held by someone else. Her heart had twisted at that. The police called it a clue. To her, it was a wound.

Evelyn's mum sat down, and let herself think.

Evelyn Rhube had last been seen in her favorite red sweater, wide blue jeans and her leather boots, her naturally wavy hair down. Her mum had told countless people, but no-one got back to her. It was just pitiful looks. She had a scar that would stay with her forever. A year ago, Evelyn's mum had taken her old job back. For a year after her daughter went missing, she cut herself off from the world and everyone in it. She'd spoken to Evelyn's father once since she went missing, and it hadn't gone well, and she hadn't enjoyed being the one to tell him.

She remembered watching him fall to his knees, his face suddenly as pale as Evelyn's had been long ago. His eyes turned haunted, and then she watched him shut down.

But she'd started to heal again, and she needed to get back on her feet to earn her old life back. The scar inside her would never heal entirely, just like the faint scratch on the watch face, barely noticeable but always there.