Pearl opened the small wall cabinet that you kept toiletries in. She picked up a toothbrush from its pot and noticed how it had polka dots covering it. Pearl inspected it, confused to what it was. She remembered Steven having items like this but didn't know their purpose. She decided it wasn't needed and pocketed it for further examination later.

You were in the kitchen, checking the draws and wooden cabinets for any stolen items. All the food was there and nothing seemed out of place. The oven was slightly warm but it takes a while to cool down so that could've been from midday.

Meanwhile, Amethyst was still spread across the sofa, flicking through the channels on TV, leaving poor Steven to do all the work. He inspected everything he could and made an estimation of how long ago your mum had sat down, to give an estimation of when she left or was taken.

Luckily, Garnet was having a bit more luck in your Mum's bedroom. She found several items that she assumed were in the wrong place and some peculiar documents. One that was on the desk was ripped and scrunched slightly, as if someone had roughly threw it without care. This seemed pretty normal for a middle-aged woman but Garnet unravelled the paper and found something suspicious. At first, she ignored it but as she searched the room, it bugged her more and more.

The letter was written many years ago. It was from your Primary School to all parents, asking that they check for nits in their child's hair. It was just a letter they legally had to send out every term. As you were about 6 at the time, they put the date of when the letter was given out so that parents can also keep track of if their child gives in the letters on the day they receive them.

What stuck out to Garnet the most, however, was why would your Mum keep a simple headlice letter from so many years ago? It didn't add up. The bottom was signed, the box labelled "I have checked and gotten rid of any lice" was ticked in green ink. She called you in to see if you knew why.

You inspected the letter, turning it over a few times. There were random ink marks on the back in various colours: blue, white, a luminous yellow highlighter and a pink that probably got thrown out because the ink wasn't very prominent. This was probably from testing pens. It confused you but you decided it wasn't important. However, Steven had a gut feeling that it was a clue to what happened to your Mum. You weren't sure how it could have been connected but Steven kept on insisting. You didn't want to waste his spare time but let him take the home with him. He promised he'd find some vital information within the crumples and lines. You did ponder on why she would have it on her desk, let alone keep it from almost those years ago.

Garnet asked you to help her look around the bedroom, much to Pearl's hidden disappointment.
"What does your Mum work as?" Garnet asked, still looking around the room.
"She was a worker in a care home but she left a few months ago. Something about it being too far away for her to drive everyday." You replied, looking behind one of her pillows. You put it up to your face and smelt it. The fabric still had her scent on it. This reminded of you of when she went away for a week with the elderly. Occasionally, she had to take them on trips around the country so they felt a bit better and enjoyed their last months on earth.

Of course, being the child that you were, you missed your Mum all the time so she let you use her favourite dress to sniff whenever you got sad. Reflecting back on it, that was a very creepy thing to do but at least it was comforting for you.

You decided to tell Garnet about that time, since it was all you could really think about.

"You must love her very much." Garnet responded in her usual emotionless tone.

"Of course I do. She's my Mum." You replied, sniffing the pillow once more.

Garnet was about to say something but stopped and looked somewhat uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Steven! Have you come here to help us?" Garnet blurted out. You turned your head to the door where - previously mentioned - Steven stood. He was peering in shyly, which is very unlike him. You frowned at this slightly.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong?" You asked, waving him over to sit on the bed with you.

"(Y/N)..." He started, somewhat reluctantly. You smiled down at him with a nod, encouraging him to continue.

"Amethyst broke something." He said quietly, looking down in shame.

Normally, you'd be quite annoyed but you were too tired to be angry so you simply sighed.

"Okay. I'll go clean it up." You stood from the bed, the springs creaking as your weight was shifted.

Steven got you the dustpan and brush from the kitchen before hand and went into the living room with you. Amethyst was staring at the mess she made almost in fright. She stepped further away from it and shut her eyes, as if it was her own corpse staring back at her.

What was the big deal? You inspected what she was disturbed by. A broken vase that contained fake, pink roses. But that wasn't all. There were pictures.

Amongst the broken glass and fabric rose petals, a few printed pictures of different sizes scattered across the floor, too. You picked one up to inspect it, kneeling down next to the rest of them. There were a few people you didn't recognise. In fact, they didn't really look human at all. Some had purple or orange skin with their hair matching that tone. There was a baby, too. A human child, you presumed. You thought you recognised the woman holding the infant. The one face that stood out to you.

Your Mother.