Salvage

 

MARCH 28TH

She just vanished, my best friend, along with her family and the house. I am so sure about this although everyone around me, including my parents, are acting like they’ve never existed. These days memory is not reliable, sometimes my mind tells me I’m being chased as someone is eager to hunt me down as a criminal. Those police can’t be trusted, so here I am, deciding to investigate her disappearance myself and figure out what truly happened, because deep in my heart, I know that’s what she would have done for me. Being forgettable, this journal is to record details of the investigation. I am supposed to start today, but now is too late. I am worn out and it’s already passing midnight.

 

MARCH 29TH

Water is pouring heavily outside, raindrops streaming down the window, clouds whipping. Those clouds congregate for a reason, they are discussing something, something evil, something that cannot be told. Grass seems so green and dewy like they weren’t belong in this world.

Yesterday didn’t make much progress. Being woken up early this morning, I intended to get to the scene and do some research. Dad tossed me some strange vitamins and forced me to take them. He’s barely home from the day that I know. Usually is mom who tends and comforts me when it’s time to eat. I shoved the pills into my mouth so he would let me go. My legs are trembling but I know I can not give this up. I’ve got to see for myself. Anyway, I found the place where her house used to be counting on my poor poor memory.

We used to hang out a lot around her house, nobody would ever interrupt us and nothing got in the way. Light shone right through our eyes and hearts. She was a sister to me. I tried so hard to remember her face but I can’t. All I can do is rotting inside this pale white room and let my memory fade away like they’ve never existed.

 

Afternoon I saw a shoe a few inches away from the location her home used to be. It was in the woods, deep down in the woods and perfectly intact while dangling on the tip of a branch. Diving into the woods to get the shoe, I discovered something more: a sinkhole. it was about 12 inches in width and quite deep, so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom. The water was green, emerald green.

I stood quietly in front of the sinkhole. Gazing into the reflection, I see it tries to tear me up and engulf me. It was laughing at me. Constant bubbles were emerging from the water. There must be something under the water.

I shivered, started searching for the shoe again, except it was gone. God took away the last evidence of her existence and I was on my knees.

Time went so fast. It was already dark, so I left.

 

MARCH 30TH 

Headache headache headache. Thousands of bees are dancing inside my brain. The humid air is slowly cutting my throat. World turns shady and everything feels so unreal. Everything was a blur. Time is corroding my memory with her. I can’t remember her face right now. Sometimes I doubt she ever existed. That scares me cause I feel like I am becoming one of them.

My dear neighbors, they kept staring at me. Those sided eyes, a bunch of greedy rats. Herds and herds of them gather together every day, greeting each other, whispering while giving me glimpse from time to time. They are talking about me. I know. I am only a poor kid.

Huge discovery today though.

I found the shoe on the center of the sinkhole. It was not here yesterday, I think, I must have been wrong. Trying to use a branch to reach it but missed. The shoe was slowly sinking deeper and deeper until I couldn’t see it. The surface of the water was extremely calm, as if the shoe was swallowed, instead of sinkng down.

I tried to figure out the depth of the hole. I tied a heavy rock to a 50-meter-rope ( I didn’t expecting it to be deeper) and sank it. It was about forty meters when the rope stop moving. So, forty meters deep. I thought. Thinking about draining the sinkhole, something happened. While I was holding the rope, it starts pulling me back, into the water. Though, rather than pulling, the dragging force was sometimes strong sometimes weak. Almost like sending a signal. I couldn’t believe this. After feeling the pull for a while, some fragment of memory flashes over my head. Ouch, my head is Aching again.

 

MARCH 31ST

I wake up in bed. I don’t know what had happened last night, only the stupid headache stuck with me. Birds chirping outside, the sun went missing. I searched through my room trying to found something that proves the precious time I had with her. I went through everything.

There is a note under my bed.

HELP ME.

That’s her handwriting. I can’t be more familiar with it. It’s feels so familiar that it’s like I wrote it. Those shattered, debris of memory suddenly hits me like they are trying to devour me.

It feels like I was struck by lightning. There was a moment that I realize it was the code we created together. The rope code. There is no second person in the world know that code. It must be her, begging me to save her. But this is impossible. How could she still be alive?

I want her to be alive so bad, but now I cannot believe or rather dare to believe.

Rushing into saving her is dangerous. My stupid parents caged me inside the room. maybe it’s for the best. So here I am at bed thinking about a way to save her.

 

APRIL 1ST

Mom woke me up and fed me something. Clouds congregated outside.

I am guilty. Why didn’t I save her yesterday? How could I be so indifferent? I guess that is why I don’t have friend. I should be the one to die.

Mom and dad yelled at me this morning. Their face twisted speaking language I do not understand. They look like beast with sharp teeth biting me secretly. They tried to     convince me not to go back to the scene and tie me onto my bed. All I have now is her,   my only friend and family. I was so close. Everything was so smooth.

I took the vitamin again and managed to escape and get to the sinkhole and send a signal using the code through the rope tried to tell her I am here now, don’t worry, I am gonna save you. Slowly start pulling the rope, the force dragging me got bigger and bigger. Nearly pulling her out, exhaustion and tense swallowed me. Suddenly, my eyes went all black. I think I might passed out.

I do not know how I get home but now I am here. in bed. This is all I remembered.