When the mystery is too impressive, it is impossible to disobey.
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, 1943
In a lonely house far from the city, Eduarda and Miguel live; they are the owners, but it is no longer a home.
Carlos Miguel, their 13-year-old son, has been missing for almost two winters; the police have searched for him, but without any success. Almost always, in a case like this, the kidnappers ask for money or something like that, but in so long they have not even called. This has made the authorities think that it is not a kidnapping but rather a disappearance. Everything is in the child's room the same way he left it; his parents come in and remember every shared moment: the bed unmade, as if it were still there.
-We have to let him go - says Miguel, trying to stifle his pain to show a weak firmness.
-Let him go? Don't ask me something like that, it is too much suffering for a mother...
Two years have passed and we have not found out anything.
-And a thousand more will pass until I stop giving up.
-It is not an easy situation for anyone.
-It's very easy for you, isn't it? - she answers. He left the house, there are not even traces of a struggle on the door.
But while she is arranging the sheets, they suddenly see it... a book... on the cover was the word "Diary".
-Did you know that Carlos Miguel had a diary? - he asks his wife while showing it. And they sit next to each other, on the bed, with the book between them and begin to read: the first entry is from three years ago.
Tuesday, February 5:
Dear diary... Should I try like this? In movies people usually start like this, although it seems a bit presumptuous to me, I'm already 10 years old. It doesn't matter how I start, the important thing is what I'm going to tell: Today was Alicia's birthday, the girl I have feelings for...
-It seems the little one was already thinking about young people, we should have pinched his ears.
-But... Alicia? -asks Eduarda.
They persist:
Today was Alicia's birthday, the girl I like, but I haven't told her, I'm scared. Dad always says that women feel doubt in a man and that's why they reject them, but if you're scared and want to be brave for them, then it's like throwing water into the void dying of thirst... I don't know what that phrase means; dad sometimes talks nonsense when he's with his friends, watching baseball and drinking that yellow water, which he has already refused to let me try on more than one occasion... selfish.
“I gave Alicia a silver pendant, decorated with a butterfly... because that's what she is in my eyes, a butterfly.” She liked the gift and thanked me with a hug... I bet my face turned as red as a ripe tomato. Tomorrow I'm going to confess how I feel. -Fool! - said Miguel, of course I wasn't going to let you drink beer. -So that's what the money she asked me for and the questions were for, I was suspecting something.
Thursday, February 7:
My dear diary, starting tomorrow I'm going to stop calling you dear, it sounds like a couple in a movie, the woman said dear to her boyfriend and you're not my boyfriend. Today I went to play with Alicia, we played with the new ball that José Carlos gave her (I hate that boy, he also likes Alicia, I'm not going to let him be her boyfriend, that's my place) and, once we were in the mood, I told her I had something important to tell her. I took a deep breath to puff out my chest, I cleared my throat and said to her in a confident and firm voice (at least pretending to be), "You're very pretty, I like you and I want you to be my girlfriend."
I started to sweat as if someone had thrown a bucket of water on me, she kept quiet... I was so nervous that I had the impulse to run away, but I fought, I wasn't going to let her see me so weak. She waited a moment longer and... SHE SAID YES, and wow, that made me so happy. Of course, we kissed each other on the cheek to seal our newly started relationship, only on the cheek, first of all I'm a gentleman and she's a lady (HA! Swallow that José Carlos).
We agreed to protect this secret for a while, to see if we got along, I have to admit that I was surprised that she told me that and the maturity she showed in doing so (I thought she would run out into the street shouting Alicia is my girlfriend! But no; I had to show reasoning on her level), so I accepted.
Sunday, February 10:
Diary, today was a pretty normal day, I went to school and almost told the idiot José Carlos that Alicia is my girlfriend, but I held back and preferred to make fun of it silently. During class I couldn't concentrate well because I kept thinking that I officially have a girlfriend... I feel like one of those heartthrobs in the movies.
Friday, March 2:
God, I haven't slept well for days, I think there's something wrong with my bed because it makes strange noises... it's kind of annoying, you know? I don't like it, I'll tell my parents about the problem. Anyway, it's time for a new bed: mine is too childish. By the way, Alicia and I have spent a lot of time reading lately, my favorite book is "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and hers is "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
Saturday, March 10:
My parents say there's nothing wrong with the bed, they even laid down on it and started moving around to see if it made any sound and nope, nothing. They say I imagined it because I spend a lot of time awake at night. Anyway, I'm going to sleep because tomorrow we're going to the park to play.
Thursday, June 15:
I heard it, I've heard it, I still have that voice in my head. Last night a voice came from under the bed, calling my name... it sounded like a murmur and it sounded like two stones touching each other, I tell you, I'm scared to death. I told my parents and they told me it was because he had seen a horror movie that night.
I remember that day, the poor guy was terrified -says Eduarda caressing the page of the book, -he almost didn't let us sleep.
... At school I told Alicia about what happened, to my surprise she believed me and comforted me. The problem is that José Carlos heard me telling it and started laughing at me... I couldn't react because of the shame, but Alicia defended me and said something that even made my blood run cold: "Maybe you'll die before him." It threw me off balance and José Carlos too, that's why she left without saying a word.
-Why didn't we know this? -the mother asks, somewhat upset.
-Not this... that boy, José Carlos, he...
-Yes... -she didn't let him finish.
-Alicia, again...
Sunday, June 25:
Oh my God!... I heard it again... the same voice called me again and this time it touched my foot. I'm not going to lie, I screamed quite loudly and ended up waking my parents up. Mom and Dad checked under the bed and said there was nothing... I think Dad got a little upset.
-I told him... that... that men aren't afraid of anything.
-We should have let him sleep with us.
They continue their reading in great distress.
Wednesday, June 28:
What a nuisance! Last night I acted like a girl and almost kept Mom and Dad awake. That thing really scared me... I wonder what it is, maybe I'm a little disturbed, but I think there was something... even though my parents insist on denying it. It's been a good day, Alicia and I give each other knowing glances at sports time and we always walk hand in hand, it feels wonderful, it's soft and warm; but the best of all is imagining José Carlos's face, if he saw us... which is strange because he's not here, he's never missing, he's probably sick.
Tuesday, July 3:
I don't know how to... say (write in any case) what I'm about to tell, to tell the truth, I'm still quite shocked. José Carlos... he's... dead, his parents found him yesterday in his room. They say it happened while he was sleeping.
What has taken me out of my orbit the most is what Alicia told me: "Now he's in Wonderland, and it's not as nice as in the book," of course that disturbed me, even after remembering what she told him.
Wednesday, July 4:
These last few days have been pretty... boring, I have nothing to say except that I feel better about José Carlos. I've had a good amount of sleep since the last incident, but I can't look my parents in the eyes... I'm embarrassed. For Alicia, it's as if what happened with José Carlos never happened... I think I should keep a little distance from her, just for a while... I don't know if she'll like it.
And so we get to the last entry, the night it happened...
Friday, July 6:
He's there... he just called me. Why now? Everything was going so well... things were stable... I've been ignoring his calls for the last few months and avoiding writing them down, but I can't take it anymore. I'm writing this wrapped in my sheets and using the light of a flashlight to write. I don't want to show that I'm a coward, I'm going to look under the bed, whatever it is, I'm not going to let it disturb my sleep again. The parents finish reading and a doubt begins to creep into their tormented minds: Who is Alicia? At a slow pace, perhaps unsure, they support their hands on the floor to support their weight and peek fearfully under the bed.
Read me so you don't miss out on your nightly dreams!
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Profe, eso está, esto bastante inquietante..no puedo negar que me atrapó desde el primer momento...pero, no ha sido usted justa, me ha dejado con toda la piel erizada y con miedo a lo que pueda aparecer está noche bajo mi cama...
!¿Qué sucedió con el joven Dios mío!?
Este cuento está muy bueno....
Eso queda a la imaginación, pero Alicia se lo llevó con ella a vivir en el país de las maravillas!!
Entendí...🥺
Tengo que releerlo, usted tiene muy buena mano para estás historias, no se detenga.
Bonito día.
The suspense you weave throughout the plot of the story is very interesting. You keep the reader curious and read to the end to find out what happens. Very good story.
Good Thursday.
Thanks for your reading.
This story is nicely paced and maintains an undercurrent of terror that is barely palpable but that grows as the story progresses. Although there is no concrete 'resolution', the open conclusion works because it leaves the reader and the parents in suspense.
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Thank you very much for your comments, I will take these ideas into account.
Alice seems to be a character from his imaginary world and one of those terrifying ones... I got chills in this story. Maybe what the boy writes in his diary is too elaborate for his age. Maybe this character's voice would gain a lot more if written in simpler words.
It's true, thanks for the advice, sometimes it gets out of hand when we adults write.