Strange Things

     911 what is your emergency

     The living room gave a different atmosphere. The room wasn’t so lively anymore. It was filled with suspense, worried looks, and disappointment. Everyone was on the edge of their seats listening to the phone call. 

     We kids kept quiet, looking down to avoid any eye contact with the adults. It wasn’t even about getting in trouble for going out in the night and biking without permission, but the guilt of losing our brother. If we couldn’t find him by tonight… There wasn’t any if. We had to find him.

     There was a back and forth conversation between the adults and police. Nothing that I could really understand back then…

     It’s strange though. No noise. No traces left behind. Surely if he got kidnapped, there would be a scream or one of us would notice. 

Strange.

     I saw my dad pacing back and forth after the phone call. My mom looked extremely worried and the wrinkles above her brows became more visible. My cousins were there to help.

     They questioned us all, including our neighbors but there was nothing to be found. No activity was reported inside the neighborhood, but outside was a different story.

Yeah, that’s what it felt like. A murder mystery.

So the Search Begins

     Police Update: 11:19 PM

     Further Investigation: trace left behind

     My dad received an update from a policeman. He said that the police were going to investigate further into it now that they have something to work with. They apparently found one of his shoes.

Strange.

     After the incident, we all pedaled back in fear. Before leaving that area, I felt an urge to look back. They always said not to, but just imagine what you could’ve caught. So I turned my head. But there was nothing.

     The police claimed that they found a red Vans with checkered pattern shoes. That was the exact shoe my brother wore before that incident.

     They also inspected inside the store and there was no one inside. It was claimed that the owner went missing years ago and the store never had been used since then. Just there abandoned.

     My parents received another call 30 minutes later. The police claimed that one of the suspects might be in our neighborhood. My parents’ faces darkened and they both looked at each other. They ended the call and headed out the door.  

Neighbor’s Door

     I followed my parents wondering why they left in such a hurry. Where were they going? One of your neighbors. Judging by the looks on their faces, I feel like they knew something. 

My parents approached the house but stopped before going any further. We followed behind quietly trying not to be a nuisance to our parents than we already were. 

This house was like the other houses in the neighborhood. It had a concrete gable roof, with beige bumpy walls, and two open wooden doors…

My parents reached the front porch, while I stayed back hiding from the neighbors and the hope that my parents won’t yell at me for following. My dad proceeded and rang the doorbell. The house went:

Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong.

A Reverse Universe

     No response. No one was in the house. 

     I felt relieved because I would be totally spooked out if someone rang our door in the middle of the night. Yeah, Mahalo Way looks welcoming and all, but we just moved in. You can’t just show up at someone’s house during midnight hoping they would open. People’s first impression of us would just be that we’re weird or even trouble makers. Besides, this neighbor is probably wandering away in their dreams… far far away–

     But my parents did not move. Not even a bit. They just stood there. 

     Seriously, this is not a joke. Our brother is missing I’m very sleepy, and I still have homework–

     I looked up again, my parents still stood there. Eyes filled with no life, wrinkles weren’t visible anymore, shoulders relaxed, clenched fists turned to rested… No, no. 

     I ran far down our neighborhood. This time I did not look back, this time I was scared, this time I had no one.  

Nothing Here is Real Really

     They’re right there!

     Except, no one was there. My parents that I saw minutes ago were nowhere to be found. I dropped my hand that used to be pointing in the spot I last saw my parents and stepped back. The wind gushed through my hair allowing strands of hair to tingle my ears. The moon became brighter and the clouds faded. The place was eerie and quiet. This feeling… the same feeling that I have felt before. That feeling when my brother went missing.

     I turned around facing my cousins who seemed completely confused. Just by their expressions, I could already tell that they were already witnessing a lot of commotions, especially with our family. First, my brother went missing, and now it’s my parents. Who’s next?

     I explained everything that happened from when I followed my parents to the neighbor’s porch to when they both just froze like something was calling them in. At this point, something that seemed far from reality did not seem so far now. 

     We had to find my parents and my brother before anything happened next to me or my sisters. I reached into my pocket to grab my phone. My pockets were empty, I must have left my phone at our house. I asked my sister for her phone, but when she reached into her pocket, it was empty. My cousins all checked their pockets, but there was nothing. What is this feeling of illusion and phantasm? Nothing felt real but after all, nothing could be called real.

Hope About Hope

If Found: $10,000 Reward!

Please Call: 123-456-7890

     It’s been a day since the incident and we all decided that we needed rest. The problem is I couldn’t rest. Imagine trying to sleep when you know that most of your family is gone, but you have no idea how. My aunt suggested that we post missing signs all over our street. I don’t think it will help, but what else could you do? 

     It was a beautiful morning for us to walk around and spend our time taping over and under. The birds chirped in harmony as I hummed a tune to keep myself company while walking. I posted the signs with my aunt. We walked past a coffee shop as the music from there faded. Yesterday felt so fast, but my aunt told me that things come here and there, but you always have to hope and hope that it all works out in the end. But I don’t think I could hope for my parents and brother to come back. That would be a lot of hope.

This Ill Feeling

Good morning this is the Department of Justice

     It’s been two days since the incident and we still haven’t gotten any progress. I’ve tried my best to look up these strange things online, but there was no use. At this point, I became hopeless, nothing really made sense. My cousins have always tried to comfort me but I don’t know how I feel. After the call, my aunt says that they’re still figuring out what exactly happened. But without any traces or evidence, they couldn’t do much.

     I didn’t feel right. I stood up from my desk. I couldn’t focus on my homework at all. I went downstairs to get a cup of water. I raised the clear cup up to my mouth and gulped the water. Nothing came out of the cup and there wasn’t any water to gulp. I looked at the cup again, but there was water in it. I gripped the counter supporting my weight and slowly knelt down.

     This ill ill ill-feeling.

In the Hospital

     Are you okay? I think she’s waking up.

     I slowly opened my eyes. Scanning the area, I saw a bright light shining down on me with wires coming down on the sides. I slowly tilted my neck and there I saw my cousins, my sisters, and– A doctor! 

     I jolted from what seemed like… like a hospital bed.

     I winced but there wasn’t any pain. The doctor said my body is currently in a severe state where it’s best to keep still. So I did. I kept my hands to the side and neck straight up. I was still confused, why does my body feel weird; not in a way where it’s in pain, but in a way where it’s not in pain. 

     My cousins stayed with me until the doctor suggested that they leave so that I could rest. My uncle told me that they had performed an MRI scan and found out that the nerves of my body were acting strange, but nothing else like my bones are damaged. Is this why it felt weird to move because I didn’t feel pain? Am I in immense pain that I can’t even feel anything?

I grabbed the glass of water that was on the counter and placed it close to my mouth. One more try. Sip. 

But there wasn’t water.

Up In the Clouds

     It’s been seven hours already in this hospital room. The lights dimmed because it was nighttime. There weren’t many footsteps and everyone was probably sleeping. It was going to be my first night sleeping in a hospital bed. It felt really weird sleeping in a room with wires just attached to yourself. The doctor said that they’ll do one more scan on me and possibly have the wires removed the day after. It was going to be a long week until I could get discharged. 

I got bored a lot so I read the book my aunt gave me during my stay. It was a pretty interesting book but I was finished. 

     This was a rollercoaster, but I don’t want to think about what happened nor figure out the truth behind this. It took too much brainpower, and I did not have the strength to think. There are more days to come, more days to worry about what happened to your family. But now was the time for me to sleep.

     My face seeped into the soft pillow with the same position I have been in the past hours: hands by the side, feet pointed up, and neck straightforward. My whole face rested and I closed my eyes.

Dream.