My sister Mary snored.

She had the biggest one in the world. It shook the trees, the mountains, the rocks. And it woke me up. Her blonde hair looked a squirrel’s nest, piled up over her head like one of the yellow things that the angels wore in my storybooks. A dried line of spit crossed her chin, making a dark mark on the pillow, and her arm dangled off the side of the tangled blanket. One of her legs hung over the bed, which had sunk down due to her weight.

And today was her sixteenth birthday.

I clasped both hands over my mouth to stifle a giggle as she jolted, then released another earth shattering snore. Her mouth was slightly open. The gas lamp she had set down on the stool between us had a lingering smell. My fingers felt around in the dark until they met one of the plastic arms of my glasses. I made sure to wipe the crust out my eyes good before I put them on, then immediately sat up.

Security!

Frantically, I began to look around for my stuffed elephant. Why was he hiding so much these days? Scrambling to my feet, I raised the thin sheets up over myself, prying them free from the sides of my sleeping pallet. It was still kind of dark, so I pulled a little bit of the tapestry to the side with my hand to partially let the morning light in. I felt under my pillow, disappointed by its flat surface. While checking the blanket again, I flung it above my head and yelped as it landed upon my shoulders and covered me head to toe. I struggled to get out of it for a moment, nearly tripping over my ankles.

“Security?” I whispered. “Where are you?”

Mary mumbled something in her sleep and turned away. After moving as quietly as I could through our bamboo hut in order to not wake her, I rushed outside, the fresh mud splattering against my pajama pants. The scent of damp soil reached my nostrils.

The sky was orange, but the heat was already starting to set in. I pushed my glasses higher upon my sweaty nose, running through the tall grass and slapping away at the ants starting to crawl up on my bare feet. To my right, the dark blue ocean loomed over me, still and calm under the sun that was breaking over the horizon. I paused to stare at it for a while, though I knew I shouldn’t. I wasn’t allowed to. Papa always said that if a person avoided looking at certain things, their image would gradually fall away from their mind so that they wouldn’t have to think about it.

But I thought about it every day—it was quite large, impossible to ignore. I imagined swimming in those large, crashing waves that repeatedly beat up the rocks below.

Not a lot of people were awake yet, but some had already went to the crops to gather food. A group of women scrubbed clothes against washing bats, their hands raw and pink against the thick white suds that floated to the surface and spilled over the metal tubs they were using.

As I ran up the hill, I passed by a few men working in a vegetable garden, tossing piles of uprooted weeds to the ground. After saying good morning to them, nearly out of breath, I peeked into Papa’s hut, pushing aside the thick tapestry hanging over the entrance. It was empty, to my dismay. His bed was neatly made, water basin empty, and all of his papers were organized on his desk, next to a crooked candle that was still burning but left a gooey mess of melted white wax on the table.

Up ahead on the looming mountains, people walked and chatted loudly amongst themselves, preparing for the day’s harvest. I ducked behind the maze of clotheslines, making my way through the herds of goats and pigs that some men were bringing out to the fields. The bleating of the animals filled my ears. Smiling, I patted a few of them on top of their heads, waving again at one of the owners. He tipped his straw hat at me; a thick cigar rested between his lips.

There weren’t a whole lot of kids outside yet.

I spotted a large white tent in the middle of the clearing in the dull morning light, which was covered in patches. Immediately charging through the flaps that blew through the gentle wind, I stood in its entrance, breathing heavily.

Seven very tall men gathered around a table, a colorful but faded map outstretched on its surface. They all wore the same dark blue uniforms, were smoking cigarettes and had very thick big mustaches and beards that covered the lower half of their faces. Soon they turned to look down at me. A few smiled and chuckled.

I shrank back and partially hid behind the left tent flap; suddenly quite shy under their gazes.

Papa quietly set down his coffee. He was the slimmest of them all, with coarse blonde hair like Mary’s, but with gray streaks. He often shaved, yet a few whiskers were settling on his cheeks. Wrinkles gathered on his forehead. As he stood up, he sighed and made his way around the table. Disappointment was visible in his blue eyes.

“Rehan, I’m in the middle of a meeting.”

“Security’s missing,” I blurted out.

Papa glanced at the men. “Excuse me.” As he reached me, he gently scooped me up into his big, strong arms. His boots crunched against the dry soil as he carried me out under the shade of the tree. I secured my right arm behind his neck as he leaned his back against the tree trunk. The salt air from the ocean burned my nose, and I sneezed.

“It’s not nice to interrupt,” he softly said.

”But Security’s run away. He was with me last night. I don’t know where he went.”

Papa thoughtfully smiled. “He couldn’t have gone far. I think he’s off on a remarkable journey again. He’ll show up somehow. He always does.”

“Why does he hide from me?”

”I wouldn’t say hide. He must have a mind of his own.”

“How so?” I whispered.

“When you are asleep at night or gone during the day, his world exists outside of ours,” he whispered back. “He might go off to meet other beings like himself to go on all sorts of adventures. Then once he completes them, he comes back to you. You think he wants to sit up in your room all day with nothing to do?”

”But what if he doesn’t come back?”

“He always will. You are his best friend, yes?”

After pondering this, I nodded.

“Then you must be patient.”

I sighed. “Alright.”

The branches hung over our heads, and a sharp wind caused the leaves to break off. “Did you wish your sister a happy birthday?”

“Not yet,” I answered. “But I will when she wakes up. I’m going to get her a present.”

“Very good,” he answered, setting me down on the thick grass. He rubbed the top of my head and slowly knelt in front of me. “Don’t be late for breakfast, okay? And you have chores. Miss Stephanie would most definitely appreciate your help.”

”But I need to find Security.” I looked up at him, playing with the ends of my pajama shirt. The grass blades poked my bare feet. “If I don’t, then he’ll be lost forever. And I can’t sleep without him. Will you help me?”

“He won’t be lost. But we can perhaps look for clues, once I’ve finished this meeting. It’s just that I’m a little busy right now.” He cleared his throat. “And we can play a game together later too. How does that sound?”

I grinned. “Really?” Then I began to jump up and down. “Let’s play freeze tag.”

Papa quietly laughed. “I can’t run fast. But I’ll do my best.”

”How about soccer?”

“Hold on, let me take off your glasses. I need to get a better look at your right eye.” As Papa’s cold hands removed them, his face and the world around me became an empty blur of colors. “Look up for me.”

Once I did, he gently pushed down on my lower lid with his fingers. Concern spread across his face, and he pursed his lips.

“Can you see anything out of it?”

“A little,” I said. “Mostly shadows.”

“But you aren’t having trouble seeing with your glasses overall, aren’t you?”

“No, Papa.”

“Figures,” he murmured. “I’m going to try to get William to find a way to get a new pair with a better prescription. You’ve had them for three years. I think it’s time for an update.” Loudly clearing his throat, he handed them back to me and patted my arm. He winced in pain as he stood up. “My knees aren’t what they used to be. Okay. Off you go, little man. They’re waiting for me.”

“But can’t they wait a bit longer?”

“No, that isn’t an option.”

I rolled my eyes. ”I don’t understand why you like boring things. You go to too many meetings. Why can’t you do more exciting stuff? Like swimming or diving. Or skateboarding.”

”Diving, eh?”

Papa suddenly scooped me up and held me upside down, and I exploded into a fit of giggles, squealing as he spun me around.

”Do you want to do a body flop or a somersault? Hmm? Which one is it?”

”Papa.” I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt.

“A somersault it is, then. Everybody better look out. You’re about to break the world record!”

My arms dangled below me, as I laughed out loud again. He flipped me over three, four, five times. Once he set me down I quickly pulled at his hand. “Again!”

“Rehan, we had an agreement. I’ll see you later.”

As he headed back to the tent, I adjusted my lopsided glasses. The hairs on the back of my neck slightly stood up a bit, and I looked around, expecting someone to be behind me. But there was no one but people mostly far away, either working or engaged in a deep conversation with others. And suddenly, there was a cold wind—a foreign one, that caused a few more leaves to fall off the branches of the tree I was underneath. When they landed on the ground, I bent down and picked one up.

It was tinged with a white substance. Very cold, powdery to the touch. Like sugar. But it melted on my fingertips like ice cream.

Giggling, I tucked it into my pocket and ran down the hill at full speed, blowing raspberries, my arms extended outwards as far as I could.

* * * * * * *

”Don’t add too much flour. You trying to send someone to the grave?” Stephanie scolded, snatching the paper bag out of my hands. She was a big woman, with a round face and thick gray hair that came in wisps down her face. Her large hands gently guided mine around the handle of the wooden spoon as I started to mix. “You know how expensive that stuff is nowadays? And the cake will have cracks in it and collapse.” With a damp cloth, she began to wipe at my face, causing me to squirm. “Good gracious child, you have it all over you.”

The sound of footsteps made us look up. Mary stepped through the threshold, yawning and wiping her eyes. She had the same dark blue ones as Papa. Her messy hair was pulled up into a bun, and she wore a faded gray dress, slippers on her feet. As she stretched again, I rushed into her arms, causing her to stumble back with surprise. My chair fell over on the ground.

“Happy birthday!” I exclaimed.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Mary warmly smiled and pulled me into a hug. Stephanie chuckled and went over to us, nearly squeezing me to death as she held my sister. Her eyes were a bit wet, and she placed both hands on Mary’s shoulders. She sniffed and shook her head.

“You were just a little thing yesterday—with so much sass.” Then she laughed. “You nearly gave me a heart attack every single day, you know. Excuse me, ma’am, have you seen a little girl with pigtails around? She’s about this high, with a terrible temper. She was planning to bring me a dead possum she got from the woods to prepare for our supper.”

“Oh, please,” Mary said, but she threw her arms around Stephanie. She then whispered in her ear. “You both are the best presents that I could ever ask for.”

“You came down too early,” I said. “You weren’t supposed to see the cake yet.”

My sister laughed and placed her hands on her hips. “I probably wasn’t supposed to see anything. What’s going on here? You look like you’ve been stuck in a scientific experiment gone wrong, Rehan. How’d you get all that flour on you?” Then she sniffed. “Is that lemon I smell?”

“Lemon pound cake,” Stephanie said. My mouth watered as I imagined having a slice. “Why don’t you sit down and have breakfast, dear? An omelette, perhaps?” She began to make her way across to the stove, her shoes dragging against the dirt floor.

Since her back was turned, I reached for the spoon and took a giant lick of the yellow batter. It was sweet, tangy. Before I could get to the bowl again, Stephanie immediately grabbed it from the table, glaring at me. I gave her a faint smile.

Mary took a deep breath and drummed her fingers against the surface of the table. “Not yet. I promised I’d meet up with—”

”Your boyfriend?” I said in a high pitched voice my nose as I climbed up on the wooden stool, my knee digging into the surface and causing it to creak. Stephanie swatted my shoulder, but I kept talking. “He’s so boring. All he does is bring you books and love poems. He looks like a crow.” I batted my eyelashes and made a loud smooching sound. “Oh, Thomas. It’s been ages. I write to you every day.”

“Shut up, you four-eyed baby,” Mary snapped, her face turning a dark shade of red. “God, you don’t know anything.”

”You shut up.” I banged my fist against the table, causing the items to rattle. “And I am not a baby. I’m five and a half.”

Stephanie slapped her hand against her forehead. “Can’t you two get along?”

An annoyed look crossed my sister’s face. “He’s a good friend of mine. We just like to read together. And mind your business.” Then she glanced at Stephanie. “I’ll be only be gone for a couple of hours. I’ll be careful. I swear.”

“You know your father doesn’t like you leaving the village without his permission, especially with that Clancy boy,” Stephanie firmly said. “Even around the outskirts you risk running into a soldier.” She sighed and shook her head, mixing the cake batter with a clean spoon. “You both can get into all sorts of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” I asked. “Does that mean she’ll break the law and go to jail?”

“Excuse me, sir.” She set down the spoon with a loud clang. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing chores? Get cleaned up. And this time, you’re washing your own clothes. You threw them all over the floor yesterday. It’s not proper to be poking into grown folks’ business or ask too many questions.”

“But why can’t I ask questions?”

”Cuz’ babies aren’t allowed to,” my sister replied, loudly biting into an apple. I hoped a worm had made its way into it. “They only need their nap time and snacks.”

My cheeks flushed. “You snore like an old person on steroids. You’ll need to get dentures soon and go to a nursing home.”

”Your face looks like you fell down the stairs a couple of times.”

”You’re so old that the world was black and white when you were little.”

My sister smirked. “At least I don’t look like something I drew with my left hand.”

I gave her a dirty look. “Shut up.”

”Enough!” Stephanie exploded. “Please.”

Mary leaned sideways against the table, still chewing. I stuck my tongue out at her, and she crossed her eyes at me.

“Go,” Stephanie ordered, pointing to the door. “I’ll let you know when the cake is done.”

I sighed and shuffled back to my room. After washing my face and hands, I made sure to peek under my sleeping pallet again, but Security was nowhere to be found. So I made up my bed, folding the sheets as neatly as I could with my hands and placing my straw pillow on top, smoothing out wrinkles. The tapestry hanging over our hut blew outwards, causing me to look up. I stared at the entrance for a long time.

Once again, the hairs behind my neck began to rise. And I wasn’t sure why.

* * * * * * *

The sky had become more cloudy when I headed out to draw water from the well. Normally, I could only carry one bucket at a time and went with either Stephanie or Mary, but I decided to go by myself, just so I could be finished by the time Papa came back so we could play our game. They rattled in my hands as I rushed down the winding dirt path as fast as I could.

A large yellow butterfly landed on my finger. Immediately I came to a stop, staring at its detailed wings, that slowly moved. I held it up to my face, realizing how unique its pattern looked. When it flew off in the distance, I ran after it in the tall grass.

”Bye,” I softly called out, waving.

The well was at the edge of the woods, and I set down one bucket at the stone cut edge, wielding the crank on the side with both of my hands. A mark appeared in the middle of my palms. Grunting in pain, with all of my might, I began to wind it, my bare feet getting stuck in the soft mud in an attempt to haul the bucket up. The rope creaked and groaned underneath the bucket’s weight. It seemed a lot heavier than usual.

Using all of my strength, I used my arms to push myself up over the wet stone wall of the well, my muddy toes pressed against the surface. It took me three tries, but on the fourth one I managed to hoist myself from the ground and lay down on my stomach over the ledge. A cool wind blew in my direction, providing relief to my sweaty face.

I looked downwards, catching my reflection.

The boy staring at me had bright red hair, which appeared orange in the sunlight breaking through the gray sky. His right eye was clouded over. He had a lot of freckles like me, and when he smiled, one of his front teeth were missing. Making a silly face, I pulled the sides of my mouth with both of my thumbs, exposing my gums and sticking out my tongue. He did the exact same.

As I waved, so did he.

I picked up a small pebble and threw it down the well. I counted to ten before I heard a faint, distant plop. Ripples spread outwards on the calm, still water.

”Hello,” I shouted.

Hello, came the echoed reply.

“I said, hello!”

I said, hello.

Giggling, I leaned forward some more, the bottom soles of my bare feet black with dirt. My glasses suddenly slipped down and fell before I could catch them. They began to float on the surface, before sinking down. The water looked more like ink.

I remained frozen for a moment, thinking what to do next. Slowly, I reached out with my hand in an attempt to grab them, using my other one to wrap around the ledge. Straining my left arm, I leaned out as far as I could. Almost there. I could just about make them out and moved further. Only a little bit more. There was a gurgling sound below, like another world existed down there.

My hand suddenly slipped from the ledge.

A panicked scream came from my throat as I plunged headfirst into the murky, cold water. The loud splash echoed in my ears, and I thrashed heavily with my arms and legs. My fingers clawed against the slippery stones of the well, and there was nothing but darkness, with only a white dot above, too far for me to reach. I screamed again, fighting to stay afloat the surface.

My lungs burned. Bubbles rose from my mouth and nose as I sank down below, attempting to kick upwards with my legs through the tight space. The water seemed to push me down further, as if there was no bottom.

* * * * * *

It was cold.

There was a shadow.

Gravel and small rocks pressed against my back. Two hands were pumping heavily into my chest. As I began to vomit water, they immediately stopped. A large palm gingerly patted my back as I continued to bend over, hacking out my insides. The action made my body jerk and convulse, left my throat raw and sticky. Once I was able to breathe properly, dizziness settled over me.

The hands gradually helped me sit up.

”Papa!”

I couldn’t see a thing. I was drenched head to toe, shivering uncontrollably and gasping for air. The large hand began to rub circles of comfort on my back. Suddenly, I was being gently raised up into what felt like two arms—very strong ones. They seemed to shield me from the world, wrapping me up in a tight embrace. My breaths slowed, became much more stable. I reached out to touch the face both hands and lightly felt around with my fingers. They let me do so.

My father’s cheeks, chin, and nose. His lips.

“Papa,” I said, “I lost my glasses.”

He didn’t reply, just continued to hold me.

My teeth were chattering so much I could barely get out the words. “We can’t play freeze tag yet because I can’t find my glasses. But I did do a somersault.”

The air was so still that I could only hear his very faint breathing. As I snuggled closer in his arms, fatigue washed over me. His heart was beating steadily against my own.

”I dropped them. I think I broke them.”

A bird landed on a nearby branch and began to burst into song.

“Papa?”

Silence.

Exhausted, I leaned my head against his chest and quickly grabbed his hand, still shaken up. His chin rested on top of my head as he held me for a long time, his fingers slowly clearing the damp hair from my face. I coughed again. The stillness around made me look up again, but I couldn’t make out a thing at all, not even with my good eye.

Only very blurry colors.

I felt his fingertips carefully caress my left cheek. Perhaps he was shocked, too. The embrace was so warm and comforting that I would have fallen asleep right there. That was how peaceful it was. And when his palm gently rested on the back of my head, my eyes slowly closed for a moment.

Someone called my name.

I then scrambled to my feet, listening from the direction that the noise came from. Slowly, his hand let go of mine once I pulled away, the deep warmth leaving my fingers.

Turning my head to the side, I blindly stumbled forward in the grass to the sound of my sister’s voice, still feeling around with my hands. I could hear her footsteps striking against the ground as she gathered me in her arms. One of her shoes were missing, and her breathing was out of control. Her blue eyes were wide with panic.

“Oh, God! What happened? Where are your glasses?” She made me face her with her sweaty, rough palms. “Why are you all wet?”

“Papa helped me out.” I began to point behind me, but she spun me around again. “He’s over there.”

”Why would you ever come out here alone? You know better!” I could hear her feeling around on the ground, and when the cool frames met my face, I blinked twice, regaining my vision. Mary’s eyes were puffy, and her voice rose. “Don’t you ever do such a thing like that again, you hear me? You tell someone where you’re going before you leave.”

“But I wasn’t—” My voice trailed off as I turned around to stare at the well, confused.

There was nothing but the two overturned buckets and a large puddle on the ground. I scratched my head. Where is Papa?

”You could’ve hit your head.”

“I’m….I’m sorry,” I stuttered.

She drew me in an embrace again, breaking down in tears, and I could see in the distance that Papa and Stephanie were coming down the hill. When they approached us, Papa immediately rushed towards me. He was breathless, his eyes darting around. My teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. Stephanie took off her shawl and draped it around my shoulders, tucking it around my arms.

Mary carried me away in her arms without a word, her skirts brushing against the grass. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I watched both Stephanie and Papa grow smaller, still shivering uncontrollably. A dark red haze had gathered over Stephanie’s nose. She said something to Papa and pointed at the rope. But he didn’t seem to reply. It was like he was in a daze.

He went over to the well, the large puddle of the water still lying on the ground. He glanced at the trees, his graying blond hair blowing upwards in the wind. And suddenly, he swallowed hard, his face growing extremely pale. As he ran his fingers across the stones, he examined the substance that had gathered on top of them. It looked like the white powder I had seen earlier.

Thunder rumbled across the sky.

For the first time in my life, my father looked very stressed. And sick, like he was about to throw up or something. How had he gone home and come back so fast? No wonder his knees hurt so bad. I didn’t think anyone could run to and from so quickly.

* * * * * * *

“It’s my fault.” My sister’s voice was quiet, but I could hear them through the thick bamboo walls of our hut. I pushed my glasses further up my nose and knelt down to listen, now in warm, dry clothes. The mint residue in my mouth remained after I had brushed my teeth and taken a bath. It was slightly drizzling, and more puddles had formed on the lumpy, uneven soil.

I would get no cake tonight.

Stephanie had sent me to bed early after giving me lentil soup and bread for supper, but how could anyone expect me to sleep? Especially without my stuffed elephant. I couldn’t stop shivering, remembering how cold and deep that water was. It wasn’t even very dark in the sky yet. I glanced at my bed, chewing on my thumbnail. Papa hadn’t said a word to me, only that we would talk tomorrow. Grown ups always said that when I was in trouble. They usually called it talking, but it meant scolding.

I knew I was in trouble, because when he got mad, he usually got really quiet. That was how he was with everyone. His eyebrows would be scrunched up all the time, and he made gruff noises with his throat, like something had gotten stuck into his neck. And he would take walks. Lots of walks.

”Easy,” Papa murmured, holding Mary in his arms, rocking her. “It’s alright. It’s alright.”

I leaned sideways against the thick bamboo wall, hesitating, before deciding to crawl on my bed, resting my head onto the pillow. None of this made a lot of sense to me. Why was she so upset when Papa was the one who had helped me? I had ruined her birthday, and I knew she hated me for it. I blinked back my own tears, my face hot.

Not wanting to be around them anymore, I snuck outside, kicking an acorn against the ground, shoving my hands in my pockets. To ease my guilt, I decided to make it up to my sister. Her favorite flowers were by the cornfields. I would ask Stephanie to come with me tomorrow to pick a bunch of them for her. Then, hopefully, we would have lemon pound cake together—with thick white frosting on top.

My stomach rumbled.

I was so lost in these plans that I stumbled over something as I passed the tree and nearly landed on my face. Bending down on my knees, I turned around to take a better look, then took a few steps back in shock.

Security sat upright on the baked dirt, calmly watching me. His floppy ears hung on opposite sides of his head, and his fur, which was usually scuffed up, had been cleaned. Where his stuffing had poked out was now gone over with strong new patches, like they had been ripped from a T-shirt. But each stitch was carefully placed. His long trunk and ears stuck outwards.

I stared back at him for a long time, slowly smiling, wondering how I had missed him there earlier. For sure, I would have definitely noticed. But why was he out here?

One of his button eyes; which had been missing before, was attached back on with a bright red one. Perhaps Mary had found him. I rushed forward and scooped him up in my arms, giving him a tight hug.