chapter 9
Isaac’s Disappearance
The cloudy weather continued on Friday night. Rain continuously poured down annoyingly, emphasizing the stressed atmosphere. The streets were deserted except for a few lonely cars passing by quickly. A barely lit fire was burning near Jose's shack, helping him get through the dreary weather. A wide smile of happiness ,and peace was on Isaac's face. He was sleeping with Michelle ,and Abraham lying on both sides of him. Michelle was fast asleep. Abraham lay there with his eyes open. He seemed to be dreaming or hallucinating. Images from the woods, the tent, the ceremony, the shack, the basement,and Joshua's disgusting face fleeted through his mind. Joshua's face suddenly turned into Eve's smug one, which turned into Michelle's, which in turn turned into Isaac's sweet smiling face! Suddenly without warning appeared the devil's frightening face that turned into Eve, Michelle,and Isaac. He heard Joshua's words ringing in his head.
"Eve is Satan, she is the seed of violence the devil planted in heaven. Because of which Adam ,and Eve banished from heaven. You, Abraham, are the emissary of God. He will test your strength ,and faith. The binding of Isaac was not in vain."
That last sentence echoed in his head continuously ,and became a hypnotic constant mantra. The situation worsened,and new photos began burning in his head. Eve was standing at the foot of his bed, smiling in all her glory ,and beauty. She took off her dress,
,and her stunning body was revealed. Abraham was desperately hot
,and reached out a hand to hold her ,and was amazed she didn’t fall into his arms. Despite his outstretched arms waiting to hold her, she passed by him. Abraham's eyes ,and mind couldn't comprehend what he saw. Isaac stood behind him with his outstretched hands as
Eve fell into his embrace. During the act, Isaac's image grew ,and matured ,and became a handsome young man. The more his hatred grew, the more his madness increased.
"You stole my sperm to create Isaac. Isaac stole you from me. You want Isaac instead of me."
Abraham sat in a chair near them as they continued. Sweat drops were rolling down his face,and his shaking fingers that held a cold glass of water furiously tightened around it ,and smashed it to bits. Abraham looked at his hand, covered with his red blood. He recovered for a second,and his gaze roamed around the room until he noticed Isaac ,and Michelle sleeping soundly. Abraham quickly looked at the hand that was supposed to be injured, but was in excellent condition!
"You screwed Michelle too, didn’t you, Isaac? Michelle's baby is yours, not mine! You're used to stealing everything that's mine by now."
Abraham left the room soundlessly. He walked to the yard ,and sat on a chair by his car at the edge of his yard. Like a condemned man asking for a cigarette before his execution, he lit one up ,and stared at the stars above him. His mind ,and consciousness wandered between the stars searching for peace that was always out of reach. The burden of life was more massive than the weight of death lying on his shoulders, suffocating him to death. He watched himself wearing a nice suit, standing by Michelle, who was not pregnant anymore. They both stood in a large conference hall. Around him were all his colleagues. Holding cameras ,and camcorders enthusiastically commemorating their newborn. The director was Abraham, explaining to the stand-ins what they needed to do—even giving directions to the actors ,and professional cameraman. The beautiful, sweet baby lied in his new stroller with the pacifier in his mouth, an energized baby whose lips continuously sucked the pacifier in his babyish hands he held the script, memorizing the words. Abraham turned a page showing him where the next line was
,and affectionately pinched his cheeks.
"Don’t worry man. you're going to be the best! Hollywood adores
you. You're the new Brando."
Suddenly silence fell around the room as Abraham raised his hands in the same manner Joshua did. The mohel appeared. Laid the baby on Abraham's knees, who continued to give directions from his honorary chair. He was sitting, performing a bris, which was the real affinity that emphasized the bond between God ,and his new son. The mohel that looked like Joshua in the priest's outfit prepared the tools. He put on white surgical gloves, held the knife in his hand ,and raised it as everyone froze. Abraham yelled, "Action." All eyes focused on the palm of Joshua, the mohel holding the knife. Suddenly without warning, the knife plunged into the baby's chest! A fog of darkness wrapped around Abraham's brain. Everything disintegrated ,and faded into itself with terrifying sluggishness. Michelle's deep sleep was disturbed. She could only see Isaac sleeping next to her peacefully. She left the bed, put on a thin robe,and went out to the yard. The air was clean, filled with pleasure. He was sensing the beauty ,and strength of the new day coming. She noticed Abraham's figure closing the shed door. Abraham had a fright when she happily called out to him.
"Abraham, hey! What are you doing in the yard so early in the morning?"
Abraham managed to pull himself together ,and sighed in relief.
"What's wrong with you, Michelle? Do you want to give me a heart attack? Why are you screaming at 5 am?" Michelle curiously watched him. For some reason, he seemed nervous ,and agitated. She laughed nervously.
"So what? Did you sleep in the shed? Trying to replace me with mice? Are you into roaches too?" She continued to laugh as he attempted to laugh sadly.
"What? Huh? Listen! I had a hard time falling asleep. All the sheep I counted ran out,and I went into the shed to check how many
sheep ended up there! While I was in there, I straightened out the shed. I'm going back to bed."
To her surprise, he stroked her stomach ,and kissed it gently ,and sweetly.
"Take care of our baby, Michelle! Don’t take after Eve! You must take care of it because the world is a cruel, mean place." Abraham stroked her face ,and hair with tenderness ,and love,and disappeared into the house. Michelle smiled satisfactorily, also stroking her stomach. She felt complete ,and serene like never before
"A miracle! I guess the pregnancy did change you!" Her gaze still focused on the shed door,and she walked in ,and cried out in amazement.
"Wow. . .this is great Abraham! It is the first time I've seen the shed neat ,and organized."
Michelle looked around proudly, but she somehow felt that something was missing. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Lethargy, stress,and frustration showed its signs. She went back to sleep. She yawned, looked towards the bed,and saw Abraham sleeping soundly.
She curiously asked herself, "What's missing? What's bothering me about this scene?" ,and then she discovered Isaac was not in the room. She panicked ,and quickly shook Abrahams's shoulder. Finding the kid in the living room watching cartoons, Abraham seized the opportunity ,and brought Michelle back to the bedroom, locking it.
In the living room, Isaac searched the TV stations for something to watch ,and came across a porn movie where the couple in it start making lustful sighs that join ,and blend with the loud voices made by Abraham ,and Michelle. Isaac, who initially watched curiously, retreated with disgust.
"Yuck! What are they doing? Like animals in a safari, all they need is a cage."
Abraham watched the clock on the wall showing the time at 07:15. Michelle was lying on the bed with a huge smile plastered on her face. Abraham washed up, wore a tracksuit,and left to see Isaac in the living room who changed the channel shamefully.
"Listen, Isaac. Eve wanted you to call her on Saturday morning, at her hotel. She wants to hear from you." Abraham dialed the hotel, holding on to Isaac.
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Finally getting to her after talking to the reception ,and Eve’s friend,
Dana.
Eve's hateful ,and monotonous voice was heard in the background.
"Hello, Abraham! What is so urgent that you had to talk to me at 7 am?
"I'm sorry, Eve, but Isaac wanted me to call the hotel because he wanted to talk to you, the boy missed you." Abraham shoved the phone into Isaac's hand ,and urged him to talk.
"Your mother, Eve, is on the phone, you wanted to speak to her? Go on, talk."
"Hi, mommy! How, how are you? Are you coming home today? Did you buy me a present? I missed you. I want you to come home today. You're coming home today, right, mommy?"
"Hi, Isaac. I heard you were having fun with Abraham ,and Michelle, right?"
"Yes. We went to the amusement park. I had ice cream with whipped cream. It was fun. We went on the merry-go-round ,and the rollercoaster."
"Listen, I'm coming back tomorrow,and I'll bring you presents
,and surprises! Don’t bother me."
Suddenly, Isaac bursts into hysterical weeping that surprised both Abraham ,and Eve.
"But I want you to take me home now, mommy! I'm scared! I have a bad feeling something is going to happen!" It was too much for Eve,and if he were near her at that moment, she would have slapped ,and punched him! Eve screamed, "Enough, Isaac! Stop bothering me! You will not ruin my vacation! I'll pick you up tomorrow morning,and if Abraham tells me, you were causing trouble. You can forget about the presents. Give Abraham the phone now!"
"Everything's okay, Eve. The boy is a little excited, he misses you
,and he's a little angry. But it will blow over, don’t worry, okay?"
"Okay, Abraham, thank you! ,and watch him all the time, make sure he doesn’t create problems" Eve hung up ,and sighed loudly. Abraham placed back the phone on its cradle ,and turned to Isaac while thumping his back.
"Enough with your fears ,and nightmares Isaac, they don’t do any
good! After breakfast, you can go ,and play in the yard. Michelle
,and I will join you later. ,and don’t touch the closed gate of the yard; otherwise, the green monster will come with its friend the blue monster ,and eat you up. Be careful!"
When Michelle woke up. Abraham was still sleeping soundly. She got up ,and went outside to the yard where Isaac was again playing. They played together. Everything seemed reasonable, dull, but she continued to yawn, barely holding herself awake. The doorbell rang. Michelle whispered, "Wait here Isaac, I'm going to see who that is. I'll be right back. "
Michelle walked towards the door; she peeked through the peephole
,and saw a figure with its back to the door. The figure was dressed in black. She hesitated ,and almost turned back when the character rang the doorbell again. Michelle prepared to go wake Abraham but remembered he didn’t want to be disturbed.
Michelle opened the door, annoyed at the disturbance. A man dressed in black with a full beard ,and a salesman's bag in his handstands before her talked in a strange monotonous tone.
"Hello ma'am, I am a salesman of Avalon – perfume importers! You've won a free perfume for yourself, you can choose a perfume."
She smiled while her heartbeat quickened. As she tried the perfumes, her mind turned foggy. Everything turned black,and she fell to the floor ,and lost consciousness.
Rain poured down ceaselessly. José digging through the mountain of trash, looking for valuables, fled into the comfort of his shed under his blankets. Eve ,and her friends were walking by the hotel window shopping in exclusive shops ,and ran back to the hotel dripping with water. Michelle's body was still motionless on the floor. Her face is pale,and blood is trickling from her injury due to her fall when she fell unconscious. It appeared as if she was not breathing. Thankfully, her body moved,and she managed to open her eyes. Everything seemed distorted.
"What happened? What am I doing on the floor?"
Her hand went up to her aching head,and her fingers felt the sticky fluid where she was hit. She screamed in fear at the sight of blood on her hand ,and suddenly remembered everything that had transpired. She screamed out in horror, "Abraham! Help! Someone tried to kill me! Abraham. Help me! Help! Where are you, Abraham?"
Michelle managed to stand up. She could stand on her feet despite the unbearable pain in her head. She curiously looked at the yard beyond the closed living room door ,and didn’t see Isaac. She was momentarily worried but reassured herself, "He is probably with Abraham in the bedroom, unaware of what just happened to me. It's okay."
Michelle's eyes scanned the room, sure it would be messed up the way it should be after a burglary. To her amazement, the place seemed just as organized as it was before the stranger arrived.
For a moment, a terrifying fear took hold of her. She held on tightly to the couch to keep from collapsing again ,and whispered, "If the stranger wasn’t a thief or a burglar, then who was he? Why did he assault me? Maybe he did something to Abraham?" She quickly walked to the bedroom in dread ,and opened the door slowly; sure, the stranger had hurt Abraham ,and maybe even killed him! She prayed ,and begged God. "I hope everything is fine! God don’t let anything happen to Abraham."
Her gaze focused on the bed ,and on Abraham, who was still sleeping ,and snoring like a donkey! Michelle quickly approached him ,and looked at his face ,and body worriedly. There was no sign or clue that Abraham was hurt. She smiled in relief, shook him,and laughed out loud.
"Abraham! Are you okay? Nothing happened to you! I'm so happy. I was sure he assaulted you too" Abraham sat up in bed in an angry face. His hand reached out, held her arm in a vice, screaming at her.
"What's the matter with you, are you crazy? Did I not ask not to be disturbed, right? What are you talking about, someone assaulted me? You should be institutionalized."
He pushed her away ,and dressed up quickly, looking at her angrily.
"Oh, Abraham, you don’t know what happened to me earlier. I was playing in the yard with Isaac, someone rang the doorbell. When I opened the door, this strange man was standing there! The man wore weird black clothes, a big beard ,and sunglasses. Then he hit me on the head! I was afraid something had happened to you too. I was afraid the stranger went looking for you ,and hurt you! I'm okay now that I've seen you're fine. By the way, I didn’t see Isaac in the yard. I thought he was here with you?" Abraham finished getting dressed. Stood in front of her, looked at her like a psychiatrist looks at a person with a mental health condition.
He mocked her in disrespect ,and contempt, "Come on, Michelle! Have you lost it? Someone hit you on the head. Have you been drinking? What are you talking about, Isaac? You said you were
playing with him, right? Don’t worry about it! Remember the last time you said he was missing? Where did we find him? In the living room by the TV. He's probably hiding somewhere in the house." Michelle smiled in embarrassment. ,and Abraham started yelling, "Isaac, where are you?"
They both ran to the yard ,and yelled out his name. As they arrived at the living room door, Abraham opened the door worriedly, both panting ,and breathing hard. Their worried gazes scanned the yard from side to side, hoping to see Isaac. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Isaac in the yard. They both looked at each other ,and continued yelling his name. They went back into the house. Michelle mumbled anxiously.
"Let's look around the house; Isaac is probably hiding somewhere around here! We'll find him, Abraham, don’t worry, trust me! When I look for something, I always find it. I was searching for someone to have a baby with ,and found you, right?" She laughed,and Abraham felt as if he was just slapped.
"I know Michelle. You were looking for a sucker ,and found a good one. Okay, let's forget it now. We must find Isaac."
After searching every nook ,and cranny in the house, the search spilled to the neighborhood. Hearing the commotion, neighbors curiously inquired ,and joined in on the search, but even after searching till late noon, they were unable to find him. Returning to their house, Abraham finally dialed up the Police to report the incident.
"Hello, my name is Abraham Dines. My son Isaac, who was in the yard playing, has been missing since 8 a. m. We searched everywhere ,and so far, have not found him, I understand I need to report his disappearance?"
"Well, Abraham," spoke the voice on the other end of the line, "you need to come down here to the station ,and report his disappearance! Twenty-four hours after the disappearance, the
police will start the investigation. You need to come down here together with the boys' mother."
"I understand, officer. The boy's mother ,and I are divorced! She is on vacation,and he was staying with us. I'll call her right away ,and let her know,and then I'll come down to the station."
"Okay. Call the mother ,and then, if possible, come here together."
Abraham hung up the phone ,and lit a cigarette in silence. Michelle also lit one ,and smoked in silence. It was a time when talking was unnecessary ,and not useful. Michelle held the phone out ,and mumbled, "We need to call Eve. It can't be put off any longer. If it's too difficult for you, I can call for you."
"No, Michelle, I must do it, I must be the one to call her," Abraham's hands were shaking,and his body cringed in terror as he took the phone from her ,and dialed.
"Hello, I need to speak to room 1313, thank you!"
"Hello Eve, it's Abraham. I called to tell you something important."
Abraham couldn't continue ,and burst out crying, Michelle quickly hugged him. On the other end of the line, Eve heard Abraham weeping ,and feared something had happened to him or Michelle.
"You're scaring me, Abraham! Did something happen? Why are you crying? Did something happen to Michelle?"
Abraham tried to speak, but terror had gripped on his throat. He knew he must face the demons in his head ,and tell Eve that her life was about to change.
"It's not Michelle, it's Isaac! He's disappeared,and we can't find him. We must go to the police to report it." Abraham ,and Michelle started crying again! Eve's body was shaking. Her mind felt as if it was on fire. Her friends sensed something was wrong ,and tried to catch her but were frightened by the horrible animal scream coming out of her throat.
"Nooooooooo!"
The blessed welcome darkness descended on her like a sheet covering a corpse,and she collapsed on the floor with a terrifying thud.