0.3 Gone

All hell broke loose. Paul was gone. Vanished like a fart in the wind.

His parents were crying. Steve felt guilty that he didn't hear anything, after all... he was awake all night 'playing video games'.

Fear could be read on their faces. The fear of losing their youngest family member.

The police sent an investigation crew, but not a single trace was found of little Paul. All day the investigators were looking for tracks around the domain. But not a single clue was found, it was as if Paul had just... vanished into thin air.

"The janitor said he saw both brothers arrive after the festival and let them in, but he saw them outside again an hour later. On the other hand, Steve said he didn't leave the house after they arrived. Something smells fishy here, Frank!" said one cop while smoking a cigarette.

"Yeah, one of them has to be lying. But I can't see a motive why either of them would be lying," the other cop said.

"No motive? Come on Frank, these people obviously have a lot of money. Kidnapping the little kid and asking for a ransom would be a great way for the janitor to get some extra cash. Still, it doesn't add up why the janitor would say he saw them entering twice."

"Maybe he's nervous because he fears getting caught... Still, he's our main suspect for now," they concluded.

---------

"Last night, between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., Paul Monroe has disappeared from his home. It is still unclear if the boy has run away, or if he was kidnapped. No signs of a struggle were found. Paul is an 11 years old boy, wearing blue shorts & a red..." ZAP

Steve turned the TV off as he started pondering.

'How could they still think Paul ran away? He wouldn't dare do something like that. I know that little rascal best. Something happened to him and I know it! What am I even doing at home? I should be looking for him!'

The usually calm and conceited Steve lost his cool. He started searching like a madman, day and night... But Paul wasn't found that day, nor was he found the next week.

---------

A month later, the Monroe family was in very low spirits. Not a single piece of news had arrived. Nobody had seen or heard from Paul, nor had they seen anything suspicious in the neighborhood. The investigation was on a dead trail.

Because Steve had been searching so much, Anna barely saw him in the last month. She wanted to be there for Steve, but he didn't accept her help. He completely lost his mind and closed himself off, leading to a break-up.

A similar situation was happening with his parents. They were having fights every day, the family seemed to be on the brink of collapsing. The smallest clue would give them the hope they needed, but alas... Nothing happened for a month.

---------

The months became years, the years became a decade.

For over a decade, not a single clue was found about little Paul. 'Is he dead? Is he locked up in some pervert's cellar? Would I still recognize him?', Steve thought.

Steve turned 31 this year. It's been 10 years since losing his brother and his girlfriend. A year after the disappearance, his parents had lost their hope and practically became mad, leading to a divorce. In that same year filled with trouble, he decided to move out of the castle, away from everything. His destination of choice was a different country, culture... and different people. He was absolutely sick of everybody staring at him.

'Is he that lost kid's brother? Would he know more about it? Do you think he had something to do with it?' These were questions he was hearing every day. At least this didn't happen in France anymore. At first, he couldn't even understand these Frenchmen. The only French he knew was from watching Dexter's episode 'Omelette du fromage'. Living somewhere really allows you to learn the language though. Steve quickly became a fluent French speaker.

He had been living in Paris for the last 9 years now. He bought his own apartment, took some French classes, studied economics and became a successful businessman like his grandfather. Steve quickly found his new 'amour' after getting his life back on track. Being quite handsome and rich surely helped him in this case.

He had received a call yesterday from his mother, wanting to meet up with him after not seeing each other for 9 years. She wanted to commemorate the 10th year of his brother's disappearance. At first, he thought it'd be too painful to return to the place, but after thinking about it he decided to meet with his mother. She was the person who had raised him for 22 years after all.

---------

A sigh could be heard at the airport. It was Steve. He finally returned to Rockville.

"Would the people here still recognize me?" he thought as he carried his luggage out of the taxi. After tipping the driver, he figured he still had some time and went for a coffee in a local bar before meeting up with his mom.

"Oh my god, Steve?!"

"Oh here we go..." thought Steve after hearing the surprised female's voice. This was the exact reason he left this godforsaken place, he can't even read his newspaper in peace. However, after looking up he was just as surprised, "Anna?" he questioned.

"What a coincidence! What have you been up to? Nobody's seen or heard from you since... since... well... Gosh... I'm sorry Steve..." Anna embarrassingly finished.

"It's fine Anna, I've learned to live with it. I Moved over to Paris since I was tired of all the looks I was getting here. It's been 10 years you know, that's why I decided to return for a couple of days."

"Right... Still no news eh?" she asked as they started catching up to each others' lives. They really were deserving to be a couple back in the days. It was as if they met a long lost soulmate.

After chatting for 10 minutes, a carriage passed in front of the window.

"They still ride around with that carriage? Last time I saw it, I saw you and Paul getting out of it the night he disappeared," she absentmindedly said.

"What did you say?" Steve asked, "Don't joke with me Anna, I can't handle this again, but I can tell you I've never been in a carriage in my life. Certainly not this one!"

"Wait, that wasn't you?!" Anna was surprised, "I remember you and Paul getting out of the carriage, but your faces were... strange... It looked like they were transforming?" she hesitatingly said.

"Strange faces... Carriage... Anna, why didn't you mention this before? It could have been the breakthrough we were looking for!"

"Well, I tr--" she tried saying as she got interrupted by Steve.

"Wait a second! Strange faces, strange face... I saw a man with a strange face at the festival that day! Now that I think about, he did look towards Paul with that big grin of his... With all the chaos I never thought about that weird incident again!" he said while quickly finishing his coffee and putting on his coat.

"You've been a great help Anna! Sorry to run out on you, but I've got to check something!" he hurriedly said while rushing out.