Chapter Twelve

Suddenly the black turned white. I was standing up. I spun around. Was this heaven? Was I dead? I pinched my thigh. It wasn’t a dream. The white stretched as far as the eye could see. It was empty. I looked down. There was no ground but I was standing. The white stretched equally down as it did up. I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I squealed and shut my eyes.

“It’s me,” said a man’s voice. Daddy’s voice. I turned around. My dad stood behind me. He looked angelic and younger than he did before. He smelled like roses instead of beer.

“I know you may be confused.” His voice echoed through the void.

I nodded breathlessly.

“I am not actually your father because I am not actually dead… or alive for that matter” he chuckled. “This whole thing was a plan. A test,” he said wisely. I nodded again, slightly confused now.

“This whole thing happened in an… alternate universe. It’s not real, but it is,” he said, trying to explain what had happened.

“You have actually been missing for around a week but your dad didn’t die and your friends didn’t go crazy. Your dad didn’t even send you here actually. You were sent here by… it’s hard to explain what it was. I guess you could say the universe sent you here” he paused.

“Then what was this? What are you?” asked Sierra, getting more and more confused.

“Like I said, this was a test… kind of, and I am…” he stopped, thinking of an answer. “I am… I can’t really say a fragment of your imagination but kind of like that. I’m here but I’m not really here. Does that make sense?” he asked.

I nodded to make the time pass by.

“I’m going to let you back to your normal life… as long as you understand your wrong doings.” he said. I nodded quickly. I definitelydefinetly knew what I did. He smiled. After that he explained what my story would be to my family and friends. About why I could’ve left and it made sense.

“Thank you,” I whispered. I shut my eyes for a second too long. He was gone. I tried the same thing again. Colour washed over the void. I knew those colours. I smiled and tried again. Objects all around the room. I was in my bedroom, home again. I let tears of joy sprinkle out of my eyes. A shock hit my chest. I had to start the plan. I turned around and opened the balcony door. I slid down the pole to the bottom and waited at the door. I took a deep breath. I laughed in between. I could breathe again. My hand shook as I brought it up to the doorbell. DING DONG! I rang. I waited at the door for a few moments. Through the window I saw a figure slide across the hallway. The door unlocked and slowly opened. I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. I opened them and a shocked face stood at the door. My mother’s mouth was wide open and her eyes were full of tears.

“Hi mom,” I whispered. She brought a hand to my face.

“Oh my gosh,” she murmured. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She grabbed me in a tight hug. It felt good to hug someone again. She backed away. Her face was red. I could tell she was angry and was trying to stay positive.

“Where did you go?” she asked angrily. I inched into the house and sat on the stairs. She shut the door. Follow the plan, I told myself.

“So… daddy left us a few years ago. My whole life I had to live with that. I didn’t know where he was so… I decided to go looking for him,” I said shamefully. Mom frowned.

“I understand,” she mouthed. “But don’t EVER do that again. If you ever want to see your dad I will take you.” She forced a smile. “Get ready for bed. You have school tomorrow.”

I smiled. School. Real school where I could talk to Sara. And Leila and Kelli.

I climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep.