Every day when Joshua arrived home from school, he would
play hide and seek with his little sister Sophie. Even though, she was four years younger than
he, they always seemed inseparable.
1..2…3…4…. OK Sophie here I come! Where could you be? Are you
in the closet? No, not there! Okay I’ll
check the bathroom. Sophie! Sophie!
2 hours later……….
OK Sophie, you can come out now; mom says it’s time for
dinner. Sophie, this isn't funny! Mom
says if you don’t come out for dinner you’ll be grounded for a month.
Later that evening…….
“What do you mean you can’t find your sister? I don’t know
what tricks you have up your sleeves, but if you and your sister aren't in bed
within the next hour, consider yourself grounded until next Christmas,” said
the mother with a vexed
expression on her face.
“Yes M’am,” said Josh swallowing really hard.
He decided to check in the backyard even though that wasn't
one of Sophie’s usual hiding places. He opened the shed to see if Sophie’s
bicycle was still there.
“Sophie!”
Sophie would have to make serious amends if she ever wanted to
play this game with her brother again. While scouring the backyard, Joshua
noticed everything arranged scrupulously
in perfect alignment, but one thing he did notice out of place, was his
sister’s sneaker.
Untied and lying in
a pile of leaves was the exact same shoe his sister had been wearing earlier. Later
that night while Joshua was sleeping, he tossed and turned at the idea of not
knowing his sister’s whereabouts.
He used every clue in the book to ascertain the meaning of his
situation, but scowled at the
idea of uncertainty. Right before he shut his eyes, he noticed his sister’s
voice coming from a distant place.
“Sophie!” “Where have you been?”
“We've been
looking everywhere for you.”
“You have to come find me!” “I’m in the last place you
thought to look.”
“Sophie where are you?” Joshua looked up at the mirror
hanging on his wall and noticed Sophie’s reflection staring back at him.
“She said we've been playing with her for too long.”
“Who’s her?” asked Josh. Joshua
tried to understand what Sophie was saying, but all he could do was hopelessly conjecture that things would go
downhill from here.
“Mary……“Bloody
Mary…..”“She says I have to stay here now.”
“Remember
that time we called her name last week, instead of playing hide and seek.”
“Please come get me.”
Just as
Joshua peeled back the covers to get out of bed, he felt a hand reach for his
ankles.
