[Eerie music]

Jordan: Welcome to "Where is Araminta Green?" where I, Jordan Thompson, investigate the disappearance of my classmate and neighbor. Two years ago, I was the last person to see Araminta, and the mystery of her whereabouts just won't leave my mind. This episode, the fifth installment of the series, will allow us to learn more about who Araminta was before she vanished on that faithful morning as I've had the opportunity to sit down with her older sister Christine for a chat.

***

[Low chatter and clanking porcelain]

Jordan (narrating): I agreed to meet Christine in a local coffee shop. Being late morning on a weekday, the place isn't crowded, so I'm hoping we will be able to talk without disruptions. I do apologize for any background noise present in the recording though.

Woman: Are you Jordan Thompson?

Jordan (narrating): Christine arrives right on time. She's a put-together woman with blonde hair dancing right above her shoulders and sensible sneakers on her feet. After having introduced myself to her and explained my project, I start my recorder—after getting her consent of course—and ask her to introduce herself.

Christine: My name is Christine Etheridge Green. Green is my maiden name but I've been married to Mike for almost 14 years. I'm 38 years old and I have two children, twins who are twelve years old. So they keep my life busy. Driving to practices, helping with homework, breaking up petty squabbles, all that fun stuff!

Jordan (narrating): Having siblings who are eleven and thirteen years old, I think I can imagine.

Christine: I'm working as a nurse at a radiology practice in Mistwood. That's why I figured I could meet up with you on my way to work. We live about thirty minutes outside of town.

Jordan: And what is your relation to Araminta?

Christine: I'm Mindy's—that's what we called her—older sister. Or half-sister, I guess. We have the same father, Ronald. He and my mom divorced when I was about ten, and he married Joan a few years later. That's why we are so far apart in age. Our dad was almost fifty when she was born.

Jordan: Are there more siblings?

Christine: I have two sisters who I share both parents with. Amy and Julie. Then Joan has... two kids from previous marriages as well. Patrick and Rachel. I haven't seen them in a long time though. We were mostly connected through our common sister, I guess.

Jordan: All siblings are significantly older than her then?

Christine: Yeah, we were all almost adults when my youngest sister was born. I was in college myself. I think Rachel may have still lived at home, but she was around fifteen or so. So despite having so many siblings, I think Mindy may have felt like an only child. I'm not sure my father and Joan actually planned to have children together. They were thrilled about her being born of course but when she got older I sometimes sensed that they didn't have the mental energy for another small child. Like they were done with that stage of life and were ready for golfing and grandkids. So Mindy was left to her own devices a lot. She played in the woods behind the house for hours on end. We used to call her a wild child as she always had leaves in her hair and dirt on her cheeks.

[Leaves rustle]

Jordan (narrating): Somehow, everything seems to lead to those woods. I may have to go back there again.

[Wind howls]

Christine: When she was little, Mindy didn't talk much, at least not before she started school. But she read a lot. Books way above her grade level. Joan was a librarian and had shelves upon shelves of classic books at home. I think my sister read them all before she was out of middle school. During every family gathering, her nose was deep in a book, barely answering if someone addressed her. I did find it a bit strange but it's not like you can tell a kid not to read books.

Jordan: Were you close to Araminta? Like how often did you see your younger sister, since you didn't live under the same roof?

Christine: The relationship was very different than with my sisters who are around my own age. I'd say Mindy felt more like a niece than a sister. When she was young, I used to babysit her quite often. We built treehouses in the backyard and looked for frogs in the creek. Then, when I had kids myself—Mindy was only eight when my twins were born—I often had her come over to play with them. She didn't seem to have many friends so I figured it was good for her to hang out with other kids, even if they were a bit younger.

Jordan: You didn't ever see her play with any neighbor kids or classmates?

Christine: There was a blonde girl with a foreign name who came over sometimes but that was the only peer I saw her interact with. Now that I think about it, I didn't see that kid after middle school either.

Jordan: Do you know how Araminta did in school? Like did she get good grades?

Christine: From what I heard from Joan and my father, the teachers were puzzled by her. Some of them seemed to think she was a slow learner since she never put her hand up in class, but I think the opposite was true: she was a quicker learner and read ahead in the textbooks, which meant that she had already grasped most concepts way before the classroom instruction. So she saw no reason to put her hand up to answer trite questions that held no interest to her. I remember asking her when she was maybe eight or nine about why she didn't put her hand up when she knew the answers and she just looked at me with big eyes, saying "But then I would always hold my hand up, and I know the teacher will call on me immediately if I do put it up, because they are not used to me doing so." I think that situation scared her: to suddenly have everyone's eyes turned at her because it was finally time for the shy girl in the back to speak. She worried that her voice wouldn't carry, or that she would speak too quietly or too quickly, or that she would pronounce something wrong. To her, those were all things far more difficult than knowing the answers.

Jordan (narrating): I can definitely relate to that. Presenting answers, which I'm trying to do here, can be so much more difficult than knowing the answers. In this podcast format, I'm able to edit and re-edit though, to present a perfected product, which is perhaps why the journalistic process appeals to me.

Jordan: I had classes with Araminta in high school and I think she did rather well there... although I don't recall her speaking in class often. Or at all, really.

Christine: My sister did get better grades in high school when the focus became more on tests and papers. Remembering what she'd read never seemed to be a problem and she enjoyed researching topics that interested her. I remember her having a phase where she was really into the occult, like witches, magic, and all that stuff. I saw a bunch of old books about such subjects in her room.

Jordan: Speaking of witches... did Araminta ever speak of an old lady called Esme?

Christine: Not that I recall... why?

Jordan (narrating): I take a brief moment here to tell Christine about my findings in the woods.

Christine: Huh... it's not something I've heard about before. And the older sister was called Araminta, you say?

Jordan: Yeah, I wondered about the name as well. Do you know why Araminta changed her name, because her birth name was Amanda, wasn't it?

Jordan (narrating): This hasn't been mentioned previously on the podcast but I actually received intel from someone who knew Araminta growing up that she changed her name the summer before high school. So I figured her sister would have more information on this name change.

Christine: She was named Amanda. Although the name never really seemed to suit her though. It was too mundane and common. So I wasn't really surprised when she changed it. We never really called her Amanda anyway. Mandy was the name she went by in the family when she was little. So when she changed her name, we basically just went from Mandy to Minty, which turned into Mindy because my toddlers struggled with the letter T.

Jordan: But you don't know where she got the name Araminta from?

Christine: She said it was from an old gravestone she'd stumbled upon. She always liked to walk around graveyards and such places. Places that give me the creeps. [laughs]

Jordan: And a graveyard was where she was last seen... So how did you find out that she was missing?

Christine: My dad called. But I didn't think it was a big deal at first. Araminta was very independent so I figured she had just gone out somewhere and forgot to tell her parents. They were out of town that week and had left her by herself, which wasn't unusual since Araminta was very self-sufficient. It wasn't until the police realized that she had been gone overnight that I started to get really worried. That's when I dropped everything and came here to look for her. I remember people looking everywhere. All over those woods where she so often played. But no one found anything. Not even a hairpin.

Jordan: What do you think happened to her?

Christine: [sighs] My dad and Joan have convinced themselves that she left of her own volition, chasing dreams they couldn't understand and that she will be back once she realizes that dreams are not reality. Their theory is that she colored her hair blonde and just disappeared into a city somewhere.

Jordan: But you don't believe that?

Christine: I know such vanishing acts aren't as simple as movies make them seem. You can't get anywhere without some kind of ID. She wouldn't be able to work without a bank account or enroll in college without a social security number. So if my sister managed to create a new life for herself without leaving a trace... then she is smarter than even I gave her credit for. Still, I also can't help but feel that she did choose to walk away. But the city doesn't seem like a place for her, so I prefer to think that she walked into the woods and is living in harmony with it somewhere. Even if I know that's illogical.

Jordan (narrating): It may be illogical but I can't help but feel the same. Araminta is out there somewhere in the woods. That's where she belongs.

Jordan: Her parents don't live in the house anymore but they also haven't sold it. Do you know why they kept it?

Christine: They live in their summer house up the coast because the old house reminded them of her absence. But since they believe Araminta may come back, they also didn't want to give it up. I think everything is left as it was when she disappeared. There is a PIN code to the garage entrance that they haven't changed, so even if Araminta doesn't have a key she would be able to get in. Araminta had her own code for it and if it's used, my dad will immediately get a notification.

Jordan: That's handy.

Jordan (narrating): Imagine receiving such a notification... It would be like getting a message from a ghost, telling you they've entered the world of the living again.

Christine: Oh my, I need to head to work now. But it was nice talking to you and if there is anything else you wonder about, don't hesitate to message me! And... if you find my sister, even if she doesn't want any contact with her family for whatever reason, please tell her that we still think of her and that we always will. Even if she never felt like she belonged, we do feel like she belongs with us.

Jordan: I will, I promise. Although I can't promise I'll find her, of course.

Christine: I know. But I'm glad you're trying. It makes me happy to know someone else but us still thinks of Araminta.

Jordan: Before you go... there's one more thing I wanted to tell you. It may seem a bit weird that I'm telling you this now and not two years ago. But if you talk to your dad and Joan, tell them I have their cat. Kiki meowed outside the house on the night when Araminta went missing so I went over and offered her some food, and she kind of just... moved in. But I should have told her parents. They must have wondered what happened to Kiki.

Christine: Their cat? They didn't have a cat. My dad is dreadfully allergic actually. And you said the cat was called Kiki?

Jordan: Yes, the name was on her collar. And I sometimes saw Araminta feeding the cat in the backyard from my window.

Christine: I do remember Araminta talking about Kiki when she was younger... She used to say she played with Kiki in the woods. But we all just figured it was her imaginary friend. Because no one ever saw Kiki.

[Eerie music]

***

Jordan: After dropping that last tidbit on me, Christine has to rush to work, so we say our goodbyes. I do feel like I know Araminta a bit better now and I hope you listeners feel the same. My understanding is that Araminta always felt like an outsider, in school, among her peers, and even in her family. But perhaps, she found a sense of belonging with the sisters in the woods. Unfortunately, that doesn't lead us any closer to her though and I don't have many weeks left to complete this project. So for the coming episodes, I will attempt to tie things together. Is her parents' theory correct, is there perhaps a more otherworldly solution, or did she somehow meet with foul play?

So stay tuned for episode six whenever it drops!

[Eerie music starts]

Jordan: Subscribe to follow along as new episodes drop.

[Crow caws]