2

Summer usually brought warmth, laughter and smiles. There was nothing I liked better than sprawling out on the shady grass beneath the oak tree near my house, licking a lemon-flavoured popsicle.

This time though, it rained.

Lightning lashed the evening sky, and thunder rumbled ominously as I curled up beneath my blankets, shivering from the unusual chill. Rain fell from the heavens like angry tears, forming great puddles on the pavements and pelting against my window ferociously, causing the panes to rattle from the force.

Mom had gone missing last month, and no one knew why.

I heard the door creak open, and I immediately shot up, hope flooding my system like an addictive drug. 

I threw my blankets off me and raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I saw Aunt Carrie standing at the doorway, her eyes mysteriously devoid of any emotion. Heart thudding erratically, I skidded to a halt in front of her and gazed at her hopefully.

“Did the police find mom?” I asked, peering round Aunt Carrie, as if any moment now, mother would emerge from behind her and give me that warm smile that I craved desperately. Aunt Carrie said nothing, but she only pushed past me and headed towards the living room with that same queer dead expression plastered on her face. Confused, I trailed after her and watched as she laid her drenched raincoat on the kitchen table and set down her belongings.

“A-aunt Carrie?” I asked tremulously.

She gave no response, but continued to steadfastly ignore me.

“Where’s mom?”

That question seemed to aggravate her, and she whirled on me angrily, her eyes flashing.

“Stop asking questions! Have you finished your homework or not? Don’t you have better things to do than bother me?” she snarled.

I was taken aback by her sudden anger, and I took a step back uncertainly.

“I-I just-”

“Go to your room.” Aunt Carrie cut me off, her voice softer this time, but laced with a frostiness that I had never heard her use before.

I nodded silently and headed back upstairs without further protest, feeling the life drain out of my limbs. Slumping down onto my bed, I gazed up at the paint peeling on the ceiling and tried to contain the strange throbbing sensation in my stomach.

Eventually though, I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. Followed by another. And another.

I shivered.

It was so cold.