Tristan was a bright kid. He recalled being bested in chess by him several times. Some old-fashioned board games and hide-and-go-seek were the best options for play at the Essence House.

Tim was approaching town. Much like the strip mall that his family-owned, the town was hoity-toity, filled with rich snobs. Tristan should stick out like a sore thumb.

Tim pulled the truck into a small parking lot behind the main drag of town and parked. He turned off the ignition and grabbed his cellphone from the dash, sticking it in his pocket as he exited the vehicle. He slammed the door and headed toward the sidewalk.

Upon first inspection, he was not on the main strip of town. Having no idea what was going on with Tristan, there weren’t many ways to distinguish where he may have vanished to.

If he was upset he could have been sucked into a bar. Rick had mentioned he was troubled. Could that mean drugs? Some kind of mental issues? Just a jerk? Who knows. Tim decided to go door to door.

The first shop was a dress shop. This wasn’t a likely option, but what the hell was a likely option anyways? He entered and a bell rang.

“Can I help you?” came a voice from the back.

An older lady stepped out. She was a fairly proper Caucasian lady with perfect posture and a generally elegant look.

“Hi, ma’am. I’m looking for my cousin. We believe he may have been in town recently. Would you mind taking a look at his picture and letting me know if you’ve seen him?”

“Certainly. I do hope he’s alright,” she offered.

“He’ll be fine.” Tim pulled out the drivers license and handed it to her.

“Can’t say I’ve seen him, but if he’s an Edmund boy, no doubt he’s in trouble.” she said in a condescending tone.

“I’m an Edmund boy, lady, I should take some offense to that, but I suspect you’re not wrong.” With that, Tim turned around and exited the store.

He once again took a look down the street both ways. The street was lined with shops, and the town was filled with buildings and alleys and parks. It’s not a big town by any means, but big is very relative when you’re searching building by building. At least, soon enough, Uncle Rick will be there to take over the search, so Tim could get back to his job.

Tim pivoted left and headed toward the next door. It was a tailor. He expected this would result in a similar experience.

As he opened the door he could tell this shop had been around for quite some time. The walls were lined with pictures that showed the generations that had been spent in this town. A shorter elderly gentleman sprang from the back, with measuring tape draping his shoulders like a scarf, and various pins stuck through the sleeve of his brown jacket. Tim held back his surprise as he had been engrossed in the various photos.

“How may I assist you today? Barnabas Crimkey, at your service.” said the old man.

“Hi. I’ll get out of your hair quickly. I’m just hoping you could take a look at a photo and tell me if you’ve seen my cousin. He’s gone missing.”

Tim withdrew the card from his pocket.

“Why, certainly.” The old man plucked the drivers license from Tim’s hand.

“Edmund, eh? I knew his grandfather, Roland.”

“Yeah, Gramps was a popular guy. Most of my family kept to themselves, but Gramps loved to get out and about. We used to travel frequently to fairs and rallies and anywhere he thought he could teach us a lesson. I do miss him quite a bit.”

This was the first time all day Tim had a warm feeling about family. He relished in it for a moment.

“Hogwash! I knew your grandfather quite well before he passed. That was back in '72. You wouldn’t even have been born yet.” Barnabus said with a tone filled with doubt. “Let me get a good look at your cousin and get you on your way.”

He studied the license closely. “Can’t say I’ve seen the boy, but I do wish your family luck.”

Tim stared at the man with narrowed eyes. Barnabus’ words about his grandfather’s passing echoed in his head. As much as Tim didn't remember his Grandfather's passing he did remember his grandfather quite vividly.

“I remember my Grandfather quite well. You must be thinking of someone else.” Tim stated.

“It happened about a decade before you were even born, son.” replied Barnabas.

Tim mentally shook his head. This Barnabas guy didn't even know when he was born. This was the first time they'd met. The crazy old coot wouldn't be helpful finding his cousin if he couldn't even remember the years properly.

Determined to continue on, he ended the conversation with a polite, “Thanks for everything, sir.” and headed on his way. Once again Tim headed toward the street.

“What am I even doing here?” Tim thought. “I could be doing this all night.”

It was then that Tim thought of his sister. He hadn’t heard anything since he got the call the night before that her water had broken and she was entering labor. He wished he had been able to fly out to see her. Who starts a job on New Years Day after all? It’s different when it’s the family business, he supposed.

He pulled out his phone. Flicking and tapping the screen a few times he scrolled to his sister’s name. A familiar voice behind him forced him to lift his head in response.

“Excuse me! Edmund boy!” Barnabas, the old dude who couldn't remember when his own friends had died, was trying to get Tim's attention. Tim rolled his eyes and turned. If there was anything he’d like to be able to do on this day it’d be to complete any single thing he started.

“Barnabas, right? What’s up?” Tim answered.

“You forgot this.” Barnabas handed the drivers license back to Tim.

“Oh, thanks.” Tim slipped it back into his pocket along with his phone.

Barnabas stood there for a moment, then placed his hand on Tim’s right shoulder. “I hope I didn’t upset you earlier. Your grandfather was a wonderful man and if you were able to experience that through stories or whatnot, I am not inclined to discount that. I’ll keep an eye out for your cousin. Best of luck, once again.”

“Hey, thanks Barnabas. He’ll turn up.” Tim told him. 'Poor, dementia-ridden bastard,' he thought to himself.

This whole ordeal was feeling a little fruitless, and quite frankly, it was getting pretty cold, so Tim decided to head back to the car and just get back to work. The kid will show back up when he needs his drivers license.

Tim got to the truck, once again tossed his phone onto the dash and headed back to the property. As Tim drove down the long road back to Essence Corners he felt his eyelids gaining weight. This morning’s events had worn him down pretty well. He saw some movement along the road in his peripheral vision that his mind couldn’t place. He turned and looked but there was nothing.

As he continued, this happened a time or two again. Tim shook his head, dismissing it as the delusions of a man who probably shouldn’t have rung in the new year as hard as he had. It was the closest to a birthday party he would get, though, so it was what it was. As Tim got closer to the property these occurrences seemed stronger. They were less a peripheral glimpse, but more like ghostly illusions.

As he drove past Essence Corners he saw a couple of young ladies standing in front of “Forever Young”, the women's debutante apparel store. They were peering through the window rather suspiciously. Tim drove up to the two and rolled down his window.

“Everything okay, ladies?” he inquired. They both turned, and one, a petite brunette with a penchant for heavy concealer, pointed into the shop.

“We showed up to drop off the dresses we rented for last night, but the store is closed and the lady behind the counter looks like she's having a stroke or something.”

Tim rushed to the door, pressed his face against the tinted glass, and cupped his hands above his eyes so he could see easier. Beneath him hung the Closed sign. He could see the woman who most likely ran the store standing still, shaking slightly, eyes wide open and body stiff. Tim grabbed the door and fished for his keys but found it to be unlocked, to his shock.

“Stay here,” he said to the girls as he dashed in. He approached the woman who stood behind her counter, the cash register closed, her cellphone held up in front of her.

“Ma'am, are you okay?” he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. She was unresponsive, but he could see the glow of her phone lighting her face in the relative darkness of the store. He looked down to see if she had received some sort of shocking message that might have driven her into her catatonic state. She had gotten a message from someone simply known as EG B, that said, “It starts tomorrow. Be on your guard and watch them closely.”

Grasping her hand to try to feel for a pulse, the woman exhaled loudly and Tim felt a rush of wind overtake him. He felt himself paralyzed for a moment until the woman pushed out of his grasp and reached for something under the counter.

“I don't know what kind of New Years shenanigans you're up to, mister, but if you want to see 2020 you'll step away from the register and walk out of my store. Tim could see that she was reaching for a pistol.

He raised his hands and stepped back quickly. “Woah, no! That's not what's happening here, at all. I'm the new property manager here and it looked like you were in a catatonic state or something. Those girls called me over to help because they were worried about you.” He pointed to the young ladies outside who were still watching through the thick, dark panes of glass.

“Timothy Edmund? I thought you don't start until the first?”

Tim was too taken aback by the situation to notice that she knew him without any sort of introduction.

“Why don't you take a seat and I'll call someone to help us out, alright? I think you might have had a stroke or something.” He quickly called 911 and explained what had happened while the woman stammered and tried to recollect what had happened. The ambulance showed up within ten minutes and she was loaded inside, all the while trying to explain that she, was, in fact, just fine.

Taking a key from his huge key ring he locked up “Forever Young” and strode over to his truck, which he had pulled into a nearby parking lot while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. It wasn't even noon yet and look what had happened already.

Tim pulled his truck through the lot and rounded the building. He needed to call a plumber, lock the shed, call his uncle back, and get back to his motel to get some rest.

“What a shitty start to the year.” Tim sighed.

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