> April 2019. 02:22. Two hours before the disappearance.

Kiri stumbled through the grass far out into the plains, much further than just half a mile. The light of the fire pit slowly diminished with distance. The lights of the town that lined the horizon, too, gradually became less pervading as the shallow hills blocked them out one by one. She looked back at the town every once in a while but continued relentlessly forward.

Was this just an excuse to escape?

She walked for about 15 minutes, legs aching from pushing through the dense grass and eyes beginning to water from the dryness. She kept thinking about how she would probably never leave this town. She clenched her teeth. “I just want to leave already,” she seethed. “I’m so tired of waiting!” She scratched her head with both hands in frustration, ruffling her hair into a mess.

She gathered up some of her extra energy and began to run, tripping over tufts of long grass but they didn’t hinder her willful pursuit forward. Everything that had happened today whirled around violently in her mind. The wind picked up its pace parallel to her like it had joined in on her journey. More galvanized than she could ever remember being, she put all her weight forward and screamed into the night.

While she continued to run, the light pollution from the town diminished further. The stars began to show brightly in myriads while the newly waning moon guided her way. At some point, she glanced up and saw the spectacle. Her eyes brightened with the stars’ reflections and the energy that had suddenly bloomed in her. She caught a downslope, slowing to a walk again and just letting her legs carry her.

She traveled for at least another hour and a half and had totally forgotten about the dare. Didn’t bother looking for traces of the carriage. Instead, she let her mind become void of thoughts. The only thing in the forefront of her mind was the immediate surroundings that lay before her, dark and uniform in shape and yet so beautiful with the way the moon and stars painted the canvas of the sky, so vast, empty, and yet full somehow. For the first time, she felt like she really could become that space-wandering dragon she had so desired to become.

As she ascended one of the shallow hills, she stopped as she spotted a strange object a short distance away, barely outlined in the moonlight. She squinted. It blended well with the surroundings, but compared to the organic shape of the grass it was unmistakably a geometric human-made object.

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A coffin? No, it couldn’t be…

She waited for a minute or two. Listened for any unusual sounds. Watched for any movement near the object. But everything was still. Everything was silent except for the small chirps of the nighttime creatures and the rustle of the grass in the slight breeze. She resumed walking toward the object more slowly and cautiously.

When she saw what it was, her eyes widened. It was even more unexpected than a coffin.

“A boat?” she whispered.

What was, indeed, a boat lay there about twice her size. Two oars were attached to clasps screwed on either side of its rim. She stopped at the foot of the boat. Or was it the head? She recalled her childhood hyper-fixation on rowing and other water-faring modes of travel when she once dreamed of moving to a coastal city. She kneeled. Ran her hand along its side. It was slightly damp. Taken aback, she snatched her hand away.

She stumbled as she backed off. “No—what?” she said, panicked. She frantically juggled out her phone and turned on its flashlight, unveiling the boat from its provoking darkness. It didn’t look like an old boat. It seemed a bit used, but not to the point of inutility. It was odd that there were no logos on it.

“H—how?” she asked as if someone would appear before her with an answer. She scanned the area around her. No vehicles could’ve carried it; no tracks indicated they’d ever passed this area. No signs that it could’ve traveled by water, let alone that it had rained in this area. So how, exactly, did a damp rowboat show up in the middle of the plains?

As if fate had decided it was time for her to stop questioning everything, the flashlight on her phone flickered out. She frantically looked at the screen, tapping it several times. It briefly showed the symbol of a depleted battery, then quickly followed the flashlight into death. Crap. She was certain she had 20% battery life only a few minutes ago.

She gave up. Melted into a cross-legged sitting position in the grass. She was beginning to feel the effects of her two-hour trek biting at her leg muscles. She slumped over, resting her head in her hands, defeated by physical exhaustion and the illogical mess in front of her.

“I guess I’ll just stay here for the night. People are camping out anyway, so they won’t notice,” she mumbled.

For several minutes she sat there motionless, staring at the boat with a blank expression. She wondered what time it was. Maybe around 2 in the morning? It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she’d go back home any time soon. She weakly stood up from the ground and climbed into the boat. It would be better than laying on the itchy grass.

She lay flat on her back in the boat propping her legs on the middle bench. Placed her hands behind her head and stared up at the stars. It felt cold now, either from the air itself or her sweat acting like a cold bath. She wrapped her green sweater tighter around her frame and did up most of the buttons.

At last, her eyes began to droop. The stars faded into black in her vision and she soon fell into a deep sleep.