Missing

By Tanya Shrivastav

The alarm rang so loudly that it scared me fully awake. My eyes drooped from wide to weary. I quickly turned off the black alarm and covered my head with my unicorn blanket. I smiled. It was my birthday, and every year, when my family hears the alarm, they take the blanket off my head and scoop a little frosting from the vanilla ice cream cake and smear it on my cheek while shouting, "Surprise! Happy birthday!” It’s a family tradition. But it usually takes them two minutes to reach my pastel-pink room since we live in a three-story house. 

I waited, and waited, and waited.

My smile faded. I finally took the cover off my head. I looked around. They weren't there. I wanted to scream, but before I could, a folded-up piece of white-lined paper on my desk caught my eye. I slowly got up from my light-pink, heart-patterned bed with its white frame but then thought, maybe this is a good thing. Maybe...they just went to get my gift and left me a note. That happened once. I smiled and shook with excitement all the way to my white desk across the room. I opened the note and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath. I opened them. Maybe something bad had happened? I jerked my head down to find out what it actually said–good or bad. I felt then like I was ready for anything. 

Dear sweetie,

We wrote this note for you to let you know about last night… when you went to sleep early… 

I  was so confused. Why--why would they want to tell me about last night? I reread the lines, but that didn’t help. So, I then kept reading. 

We told your sister to go to sleep;  she was playing a game. She asked for a few more minutes, but we said no. She didn’t listen.  So we yelled at her …and  other things.

She left a note on the coffee table this morning saying she ran away last night—and, of course,  packed all her clothes. We went after her. We are so sorry about this, Berengette. We would wake you up to tell you this, but we didn't want to disturb your birthday sleep.

Oh, and one more  important  thing  you need to know: DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE!! We don’t want you to get lost either. Please--we’re ordering you. Please listen to us.

Sincerely, your loved ones,

Mom & Dad

I stared at Mom’s handwriting. I stared, and stared, and stared. I couldn’t stop. Melody–the best sister in the world–ran away on her sister’s birthday--MY birthday.

“I have to find Mellie! How would I even take care of a house by myself?” I whispered under my breath, panting. I sprinted to the coffee table, making sure this wasn’t a joke. I wanted to see if she actually ran away. I slid on the wooden floor in my leopard-patterned socks until I reached the black coffee table in the middle of the furry purple living room rug. The white notebook paper in the middle of the black oval was the only thing that made sense in this situation. I picked it up. I read it, trying to hold back my tears. 

I ran away! The only clue of where I went would be the forest. Mom and Dad were mean yesterday. 

Melody (Or for Berengette, Mellie)

A tear dripped down my cheek. I could confirm it. This was Mellie’s handwriting. I knew, even without checking for her around the house, that she had left. She was gone. I had to go find her. She could have been in danger. I wasn’t exactly sure she was safe. My feet felt heavy, even though I wasn’t holding anything except for the folded little notes in my hand. But they alone already felt like a hundred pounds. I stood there, alone, silent, still, simply breathing in the moment where I realized that my little sister ran away. It hurt to know she might be in danger--to know it was my job to protect her, and I hadn’t.

She was four years younger than me, and as the older sister, I had to make sure she was okay. If she was in danger, she might be hurt and everyone would worry about her. I would blame myself for not taking care of her. But mostly, I just needed to know she was okay. I needed to find her. NOW.

I grabbed my glittery, pink heart-shaped bag off the coat rack where it usually hangs. It was my favorite bag, and it had everything I needed, even for emergencies like this. I usually admire the glitter, but there was no time. 

I ran down the stairs, sprinted down the hallway, grabbed my pink coat off the third countertop chair, and raced to the garage where I put on my coat. I grabbed my dull pink helmet that hung off the handles of the bicycle and clipped it under my chin.  I slid on my pink sneakers as I opened the heavy garage door with a click of a button.  I was ready to save my sister. Or, at least, find my sister. I didn’t know if I could save her from the danger she might already be in. She didn’t know what could happen in the forest--or anywhere without a family. I gently put my feet on the pedals, one by one. I turned out of our garage, and sped down the driveway. I was going fast--so fast that I thought I might crash or fall. But I was a skilled rider, and I needed to find Mellie. 

I felt like a cheetah with wheels. I raced against the wind, leaving it stumbling behind me. But I couldn’t slow down. I needed to reach the forest. That’s when I realized...I didn’t know the way. I stopped. It was obvious I had gone too far. My house wasn’t anywhere on the street or anywhere nearby, and I thought I was biking for only two minutes. In my neighborhood, there were not many cars. Here, cars were speeding by me. I started panting. 

Overwhelming thoughts invaded my head. I needed water. Food. Rest. But I was lost. I didn’t deserve this! My sister was gone! I was alone! Where was I? No relatives. No friends. Just me. I was in danger! 

My heart felt like a rock. It was heavy. Really heavy. I tried to calm myself. I stood up and walked around. It will be fine. All fine. But my breathing exercises didn’t work. The 3-3-3 rule I had learned in health class--naming three things I could see, hear, and touch--didn’t work.  The overwhelming thoughts swirled in my head.  That’s when I fainted. 

When I woke up, I sat up and looked around. Where was I? I felt so strange. Two boys were kneeling next to me.

“She’s waking up,”  A kid in a white shirt spoke softly. Next to him was another boy with blue stripes. I was still on the ground, exactly where I had fainted. Thankfully, my helmet was still securely strapped on. 

“Wait,” said the boy in the blue stripes. He turned to the other boy. “We’ve just found a girl on the street. Let’s keep playing ball. We can’t just help this girl immediately. We don’t even know her. We can get my dad to help.” 

“Hey, I know, but let’s at least help her get up. I want to make sure she’s okay. If she’s not, then let’s help her if anything is too urgent.” The boy in the blue stripes rolled his eyes, but showed a thumbs up.

I opened my eyes completely. “Hey, what happened? Are you hurt? When was the last time you ate? Do you need water? My friend and I were looking at you the whole time, even the time you were practically flying,” the boy in the white shirt chuckled. “By the way, I’m Jim and my friend here is Austin. If you want to talk about why you were sprinting on wheels, go ahead. But if you don't, that's fine too.”

“My name is Berengette,” I started. “Hi.” I smiled. I waved. You have to be nice to people who treat you nicely, you know.I stopped waving and smiling. “My sister is gone. She ran away. I left in the morning for the forest, and—” “Hold up,”

Jim interrupted. He held up his hand. “You haven’t had any food since yesterday? Well, you must be hungry and tired.” He shook his head. “Make sure she stays here, Austin.” He knelt beside me and smiled. “Don’t move. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Jim ran inside a green house that shimmered beautifully. The sun gleamed on the house like it was giving warmth. The house looked so beautiful in the light. It gave me hope. He came back balancing a plate and cup that was sloshing its liquid over the sides as he half ran, half walked back to where I was.

“Here, have some food and juice. My mom was just making lunch. Hope ya like it.” He held it out.

“I love cheeseburgers and orange juice, so I thank you very much,” I replied softly. The rock on my heart was getting lighter. I sat up straight, stuffed the burger in my mouth, gulped it down, and finished the glass of juice. Ew. Orange juice does not taste good after mustard. But I didn’t complain. I stood up and took off my helmet. I dusted the dirt off my PJs as the helmet plopped to the ground. I wiped the ketchup off my face with my sleeve. The boys didn’t judge. My rock got even lighter, and I knew I could trust them at that point. I handed back the dish and the glass as I smiled. Jim gladly accepted them and ran inside the garage of the house to put them back. “Now where were we? Oh, right. My sister. Yes, she left me a note.” I pulled out the note from Mellie from inside my glittery bag. I looked down.

Jim read it. He showed Austin. He handed it back. “Then why aren’t you headed to the forest?” he asked. 

“I am lost and I don’t know where the forest is,” I replied. I looked down at my shoes. I closed my eyes. “My sister… She's annoying, but I need her in my life. When we fight, when she’s always butting in my business, when I'm with my friends or doing homework… but I still cannot let anything happen to her as the older sister. I love her. But-”

“But what?” Austin asked. He cocked his head.

“But it might be too late.” I gulped as I looked up. 

Suddenly,  Jim came out with a map of the town. “Here. My dad bought this map of the town for hiking last week. Thought it could help.” He handed the map to me. 

“Thanks,” I  replied as I took the map.

“There is one little forest right here."

“That’s great! Thanks for helping me. But may I ask you, where are we and where do you live?” I asked, lowering my voice.

“Austin lives on Pineapple Pathway Ave, here on our right. The street we are on right now is Cinnamon Circle Dr, where I live. We are in fact right in front of my house right now.” Jim points to the shiny green house on our left. 

They looked away, but I stared. And stared. And stared. It just looked like it was speaking to me. It was warm, sunlight-giving, and it whispered, in its bright light, “Don’t worry, Darling, I promise you, I will share my light with you and let you know now you will find your sister. I believe in you, squirt.”

When I was done staring, the boys were walking out of their house with their bikes in their hands, looking around. 

I stood still, confused. But I then knew. I knew they were coming with me. I knew they wanted to help. I knew they knew what I felt like then. My hope, my very little hope, then shined through my heart. My rock left only a few pieces on the surface of my heart. I looked down shyly. 

“Let’s go,” Jim looked up at me. 

I looked up at him. “Why are you both coming with me? You don’t have to.” I spoke. Although I really appreciated that they were and if they weren't, that would just be sad. 

“Because after what you said,” Austin said, “We understand you are going through some hard things right now.” He looked down and blinked.

I smiled. “Thanks. I am ready. Let’s go.” I started pedaling, slowly and carefully, keeping up with these boys. Suddenly, I had a burst of doubt. Could I really trust them? Why did they help me? Should I trust them? I looked up and the sun danced as if to say, “Everything will be fine. Trust yourself. Find your sister.” So I pedaled on. 

I whipped out the map from my pocket as I started to pedal harder. Faster. I could use one hand while biking, even if that wasn’t exactly the safest option. “Marshmallow Meadow! Is that where she went?” It would take a million hours to find her there. That must be why she chose that place. It’s a big place. And when I say big, I mean big.

“Let’s bike faster, we will have more time to find her by the end of today.” I narrowed my eyes and started pedaling  just a little bit faster. I started looking around and found the ocean. The beautiful blue sea glimmered in the light like Mellie’s sparkling blue eyes. They always seemed so innocent and sweet. I turned my back on the ocean, kept my eyes on the road and pedaled faster. “We have to find Mellie,” I spoke softly. 

“I thought your sister’s name was Melody," Austin replied. 

“It is, but I call her Mellie,” I responded as I turned around and stared at him. I turned my eyes on the road again. 

“Why?” Jim asked me. 

“I really like music, and before Mellie was born, my parents decided to name her Melody if she was a girl. If she was a boy, they would name her Engelbert Humperdinck. That would be her full first name. After she was born as a girl, and my parents said they would name her Melody, that reminded me about my favorite singer- Mellie, who wrote “Chills.” And when she was finally born, I felt chills on my neck. That’s why I call her Mellie—she is more amazing than my favorite singer Mellie. And she is in second grade now, and that nickname still continues.”

After a lot of turns and twists, we passed through Apple Avenue, River Rampway, and Feather Father Fall. I heard a story about how the street got named, after the Feather Father who went down a waterfall for fun, and never came back.

We passed through roads full of stop signs and street lights. It was a long trip until I finally sharply stopped at the start of Marshmallow Meadow, where I noticed some spiky dark green bushes, a cave with caution tape around it, (which I wanted to go in), in front of the rugged pathway into the forest, along with a weird looking wood sign with an arrow that pointed into the forest saying, 

“This way into Marshmallow Meadow Forest.” 

 After I saw the sign, I was still thinking about that cave. Maybe Mellie could have been in it! I got off my bike and put down the kickstand. Austin and Jim did the same. I was about to go in. But Jim pulled me back. 

“Jim,” Austin looked at him. So did I. 

“Why did you do that?” I questioned him. 

“Sorry Berengette, but you look a bit off,” he responded. “I understand you are worried because you haven’t talked this whole time here, but I promise we will find her, dead or alive.” 

“That last part didn’t help!” I cried, wincing. I tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn’t help it. They raced down my cheeks like tiny waterfalls, each one trying to reach my chin first. 

I collapsed into Jim’s arms. He held me so tight, just like Mellie does. Or did. 

After a while, I stood up on my own and sniffled. I closed my eyes and tried to think of the good: my hands that were as warm as the sun, two amazing friends who were the most helpful in the entire world, and we were sure to reach Mellie soon. 

“I’m fine now,” I whispered. “Please, let’s go,” I winced like I was in extreme pain. I actually was though. I couldn’t imagine losing my sister.

“Are you sure?” Austin asked. 

“Yes,” I replied softly. “I am sure.”

I hopped on my cold, dull bike, and started racing into the swampy forest. Beside me, bare trees, rocky trails, sticks, and beautiful flower petals blurred together. I’d never seen anything like it. I stopped my bike and just gazed, admiring it. 

“Wow…” My jaw dropped.

The boys shrugged and followed me onto the sandy floor. When they looked around, they were amazed too. Their jaws dropped, and their legs shook.

“This is wonderful,” Austin continued with awe.

“Yes, but it would be scary to hide here,” Jim replied.

I just continued without a word. I looked around but avoided the ground, the boys following behind. Suddenly, I leapt off the bike and stumbled onto the cold, hard ground. The boys parked their bikes and immediately came to me as they helped me up. 

“How’d you fall?” Austin asked me, rubbing the sand off my heart pajama pants.  

“I don’t know,” I responded.

Jim peeked under my bike when he was approaching me and found a stick. He held it up without speaking a word. 

“O-oh…” Austin and I stuttered at the same time. 

“There are a lot of sticks here,” Austin stomped his feet. 

“There are not just sticks. Look.” Jim pointed to the sandy floor that had been split into three pathway decisions to make. 

“Nooooo! We already made a chance to come here and look for my sister who might not even be here, and now we need to make another decision? We can’t even see which path each leads to!” I circled around Jim and Austin like a mouse missing a chance to eat its cheese. 

“Oh, I agree. I’m sorry, but we might not even be able to find your sister if we go down the wrong path. It’s most likely they all lead to different things, and if that’s true, then… this…. this might be the end for us.” Austin looked down at his shoes. Silence filled the forest for a moment.

“I agree,” Jim finally replied.“I know. You guys didn’t need to help.”

“We know. We just didn’t want you to go alone.”“What? I barely know you! Why would you want to help out some rando?”

“Because we felt it. We could feel the heartbreak in your voice. Please, we know you can’t really trust us right now, but please give us a chance. We can help!”“

Fine, then what now?” 

“We can’t lose hope. We have to try to find her. She might not be here, that’s for sure. But even then, I think we can do this. If we go for it, and take a risk, it's 50-50, and we can’t go back. But I can sense the hope in the air. Trust me. Let’s give it a try.”

I could tell Jim was putting all his heart in that speech. It amazed me that he wanted to help my sister so badly. I sighed, watching my warm breath appear in the freezing air.  

“Oh, fine. I have done enough damage,” I told the boys. “You choose.” 

Jim grabbed his bike and rolled onto the start of path number one; meanwhile, Austin had rolled onto path number three.

“Do rock paper scissors,” I giggled nervously while I got “comfortable” on a horrible, dusty, wooden bench full of sand and holes. I pulled out the smallest book in the world from my pocket and stretched my legs onto the whole bench reading it. It took 10 minutes for one of the boys to win because they know each other’s moves really well. I giggled again. The sun started dipping behind the faint aqua river far, far away from this very forest that was near Feather Father Fall. 

That basically meant we were close to the Feather Father who went “Wheeeeeeeeee!” In a waterfall. Great. 

“It’s getting late guys; it’s sunset. Who won?” I called to them as I got my head out of my book and my legs onto the sand. I stuffed the book back into my pocket and sprinted to the boys so we could find Mellie. 

“Jim did,” Austin pointed at him. “Good game.” They shook hands.

“Really good game!” I chuckled. “That took you both 10 minutes! Hurry up next time, it’s getting late. I didn’t think you both knew each other this well.” I grabbed my bike and rolled onto pathway one. We were biking furiously for about five minutes when suddenly, I stopped my bike. I looked up, and got off. So did the boys.  

“What’s that?” Austin asked.

“It’s a cabin made with wood covered with waxed paper and oil, I think” I replied. 

“Gross!” Jim looked in shock. He stuck out his tongue and moved his arms in a disgusted way. 

I shook my head. “C’mon, let's go inside. There is no lock anyway, and this would be the perfect place to hide from icky parents.” I approached the door. I put my hand on the lock.

“Get over here!” I called to them, waving my hand.

They came closer, and put their sandy hands on the broken knob with me. “Isn’t this breaking and entering?” Jim cautioned.

I pretended not to hear him. “Three, two, one! Now!” I screamed. 

When the old door bolted open, I could see a figure in the dark.

It was Mellie!

She had a German Shepherd taking over every inch of her lap, and Mellie’s hands were wrapped around the dog like it was a giant stuffed animal. After getting over the shock of seeing her, I noticed a small wooden table full of mugs of hot chocolate like she had been expecting company. She was wearing an ugly sweater, the ones you wear during Christmas. There was a fireplace with a microwave on top of it in the corner, and her locked green suitcase on a tiny shelf above it. The dog barked and lunged at us as Mellie’s eyes flickered toward me. As soon as she noticed I was standing behind the door, she jumped up and ran to me for a hug. Once the dog realized we were friendly, it bounded over as it panted, looking happy to see me.“

MELLIE!!” I screamed,  as I kept my arms out until she came to me and jumped in my arms. I hugged her like never before. It was amazing. I cried a bucket of tears. My feet finally felt light on the ground, even with my coat and bag and pockets heavy. 

The rock inside my chest dissolved in the love and happiness that surrounded me.

“I am so, so sorry I left on your birthday Beree,” she told me in her raspy, sick-but-cute voice. She looked up at me. “I was just so mad.” 

“I don’t care, Mellie,” I responded. “As long as you are okay. BUT DON’T DO THAT AGAIN! YOU SCARED ME TO DEATH,” I scolded her. 

She giggled. Softly and quietly. I missed that.

“I love you,” I cried, and kept hugging her.  

Austin and Jim backed away, letting us have our moment. Mellie let go, finally noticing that there were two strange boys there. 

“Who are these fellas?” Mellie asked, nodding in their direction.

“These boys helped me find you,” I said, patting their backs and hugging them both while looking at Mellie.  “And this wouldn’t have happened without them,” I added timidly, looking down. 

“Jim,” Jim pointed towards himself. 

“Austin,” Austin pointed towards himself. 

“Hey,” Mellie waved. 

The large dog trotted over to me, wagging its tail and sticking out its tongue.

“Who’s the dude?” I pointed to the dog. 

“Brandon Miles Charles,” she responded. “He needed a home and I just saw him lying in the front of the forest, so I took him in.” 

“Did you name him or what?” 

“Me. I know. I am amazing.” She chuckled her soft chuckle again.

“Hey,” I called, eyeing her cabin once again. “How did the hot chocolate get there, and the fire?”

The fire was already there because it’s artificial, and I just warmed up this hot cocoa in the microwave over there.” She pointed to the opened brown bags that looked like they were full of tea before, and to the old, rusty microwave. “Anyway, this is a really old house that was used in the 1900’s. Everything still works somehow. It’s old, but still nice,” She explained. 

She smiled. Weirdly, like always, but this time, it felt warm. Really warm.

Suddenly, I saw Mom and Dad sprinting towards us. They plopped down their bags that seemed to have picked up remnants of the forest during their frantic search. They had come from the opposite way Austin, Jim and I had -they had arrived straight out of the bushes.

“Melody and Berengette, oh my darlings!” Mom hugged us while Dad waited for his turn. Mom and Dad were both covered in dirt, leaves in their pockets and twigs sticking out of their hair.

“Hey, how did you get here? I didn’t think you would know Mellie was here.”

“We just did some research to find out where a cabin in the woods might be,” Dad responded, panting. He started squeezing us. “How did you both get here?” He started to speak timidly. He let go of me, and then moved on to Mellie.

“Dad, stop! I can barely breathe,” she cried.

“My friends Jim and Austin gave me this map of their town to find Mellie, and I thought she might be here–mostly because she said she would be in a forest, and also, I know my sister well,” I responded. I pulled out the map, and tucked it right back in my pocket. I smiled. 

“In the morning, I was just planning to walk to a smaller forest called Fox Forest down south from here, when I noticed Brandon. He seemed to be abandoned and started following me. By this time, I was near the forest we are in now, so I decided to change my plans and explore. A few minutes later, we saw this cabin and began to investigate,” Mellie explained.

“Is Brandon the dog?” Mom pointed. 

“Yes,” Mellie answered. “Yes.”

I missed Mom’s usual usual baggy purple, long-sleeved shirt and her confidence and attitude which neither Mellie nor I inherited, and Dad’s plain blue plaid shirt. His smart but basic clothes had always warmed my heart. Everything is better with my family. Even if we are in a dark, sandy forest, having a picnic in the park or stuck in traffic on the freeway, we are always stronger together. 

I pushed and shoved Mellie, Mom, and Dad inside the cabin. “So why don’t you three have a nice chat, apologize, explain, and do that sort of stuff… and come out when you are ready?” I smiled as I stepped back outside and closed the door. I turned to Jim and Austin. I sighed. I smiled softly.

“This…this was really sweet of you guys to do this for me. Like I said, I didn’t think that anyone would be kind enough to meet a rando on the street and help and understand them. Thanks, I can’t thank you enough. I owe you forever. You helped me find my sister.” I looked down. 

“Oh, you don’t have to thank us or owe us, Berengette. We just like to help people in need.” Jim smiled. 

“We just like to be friendly, you know…and let others know we are always here to help.” Austin looked down.

“And letting them know that the world is not always so bad after all.” Jim added.

“Some people are kind and are always here to help, like us.” Austin looked up. “So you basically helped us too. Show people who we really are.” He shrugged. 

“So we owe each other!” Jim laughed and half smiled.

I shyly looked up, and smiled. I giggled a bit.

“Oh, and happy birthday, by the way.” Jim winked. 

“Same,” Austin responded.

I smiled. Bigger than before. “Thanks.”

Suddenly, Mellie flung the strange door open. “We finished our chat!” she sang excitedly.

Dad and Mom followed out the door. “We talked about the importance of setting and abiding by good boundaries. We need to listen more and Mellie should come talk to us next time she’s frustrated or angry instead of just running away first, right Melody?” Mom started. 

“Yes, Mom, you are right. I understand it is wrong to run away because I’m mad. I promise to come to you next time. Now, please tell them the surprise! Tell them!” Mellie shook with excitement.

“And we are adopting the dog because… well, he needs a good home. ” Dad chuckled.

“And…we need to help people and animals in need just like your friends helped you.”

“Yay! Wow!” I clapped. I closed my eyes. Tears rolled down my wet cheeks. I felt happier than ever. I had always wanted a dog…and was so happy my sister was safe. This was happening! What a great ending to a really bad day.

There were only three words to describe how the day was going for me by then: 

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Brandon shook his tail and licked the wind and seemed to look forward to touring his new home soon.  

“We are going to bring him to the veterinarian and take him home afterwards. And when we get home, we will celebrate Beree’s birthday!” Mellie practically danced the excitement off. 

“We’ll get the dog, Beree can bring her friends and arrive on their bikes, and we can meet at the Valuable Pets Vet right across the street.” Mom pointed and smiled. 

We all understood what we had to do. 

I grabbed my bike. 

So did Jim and Austin. 

Mellie took Dad’s hand.

Dad grasped his and Mom’s orange, round bags. 

Mom carried Brandon. 

And we all were on our way–To keep Brandon forever,

To celebrate my sister, and to start a new chapter in this story. 

___________________

About the author:

TANYA SHRIVASTAV is a 6th grade writer who has a passion for stories. She loves to draw, write, learn, sleep, and eat. Tanya Shrivastav’s first story ever published was Spirit. With a little more learning, Tanya hopes to improve much more every time she publishes a new story. One day, she hopes to be a scientist, an author, an actress, or a store owner. Tanya Shrivastav dreams to meet an author one day, and to make a difference in someone’s life using a story in the near future.