- One -

He should have known something was wrong when he hadn't received any mail in three weeks. Daniel and his sister wrote near constantly. She'd been devastated when he moved to Arkham to attend school, had near begged him not to go. He had smiled, tried to crack jokes to reassure her, though none of those had landed (they never did). It had hurt, of course, pulling away from her grip and snapping shut his traveling trunk, but Daniel knew he belonged at Miskatonic. Knew he needed to attend, to become a doctor. So, he promised he would write her near daily, and see her over the winter holidays, and that was that. Daniel got on the train and made the near hour trip with a smile on his face. This was to be his future! The culmination of his dreams, and he was so close he could taste it. Could physically taste it, when he disembarked, the river smell permeating his nose and landing heady on his tongue. It was lovely, the same salt-sea smell he grew up with in Providence, and yet entirely new.

Daniel had written his first letter to Helena that very evening. Telling her of his dorm, his schedule, and all that he was excited to learn. Thus began their constant flurry of post, only ever a day or two behind each other in writing. There had been only four days since he moved that Daniel recalled ever not having post ready for pickup. Until now, that is.

Now, he sat by the mail room each day as a dejected dog would, waiting miserably for a letter, any letter. None came. Nothing came, from Helena or anyone else.

Trudging back to his dorm, through muck and the ever present puddles that formed in the streets, Daniel turned over all the possible explanations. Had something gone wrong? The post gotten lost? No, it wasn't nearly a long enough trip for this much mail to have been misplaced. Had she just decided he wasn't worth the effort? No, Daniel thought, shaking his head. They had been inseparable for years, there was no way only a few months apart would make Helena find him unworthy of her time.

Maybe she had taken ill? But then that wouldn't explain a lack of correspondence. Even when so sick he could barely think, Daniel had managed to return her letters. Riddled with mis-spellings and strangely slanted lines, but returned them nonetheless. There was no reason to believe Helena wouldn't do the same.

There was nothing else for it, Daniel would have to return home. Earlier than he intended to depart school for the holidays, but not unheard of. Not now that exams had been completed. Daniel had none of those pesky term papers with late submission deadlines, he was free until the spring.