I’m Linden. The rumbling train beneath my feet, the scent of metal, the quick passing of trees beyond those bright windows, the quiet of passengers whispering to one another- it… it comforts me. I’ve never understood why my dad did it… did she deserve it? They say she was so pretty.
I’ve seen pictures of her. Bright brown eyes just like mine. Brown hair, too. I guess I look a lot like her. She left right after we were born. They say she, miraculously, had 4 children but only took two when she left, leaving me and Wang Lin behind. Even though we were supposed to be the same age, we always looked different. He was tall and thin and when we got older he would disappear a lot. He always treated me like I was his ‘little brother’. I hated that.
The brakes of the train come to a screech. Are we getting off? I look to the lights up top, ‘North Terrace’. Stepping down, I tug my bag along and leave the station to the road. The sidewalk is fairly clear, only some dandelions, grey and floaty, bobble along with the breeze. The grass is greener than I’ve ever seen before- I’m from a desert so hot the sand is white. I cross at the light and come to a corner but something seems to be going on. What is this? A crowd of people?
Several woman stand sobbing near what I assume is the town bulletin board. Names and faces are taped everywhere. Are those pictures… of teenagers?
A camera guy from some local news station made his way to the tables surrounding the board. Flowers, cards, candles, and those sobbing older women crying together.
“Please, whoever you are- give us our daughters back! They never did anything wrong, please- please find it somewhere in your hearts! Please give me back my Amy!”
“Caroline, if you see this, me and your father always love you!”
I stumble away from the crowd and quickly make my way up the street. I guess this place wasn’t as safe as I thought. What is wrong with people… It’s so… disgusting. Kidnapping- I mean. Anything like that is horrible. People who do this sort of thing deserve to be put behind bars.
After a while of walking I make my way to this small house. It’s kind of modern, I guess, and has a grassy front yard, a couple lawn chairs on the porch, and it looks pretty nice even though the other houses are old german-looking ones. Everything about it is cleanly painted. On the porch there are some old lawn supplies piled onto a metal rack, a few blankets hanging in the breeze, a jumble of old toys piled into a corner, covered in brown mud and grass stains.
I press the doorbell, only just to notice that a few clear sticky bandages are taping its wire-cover to the wall. Quick footsteps stumble to the door and with the click-clack of the lock, a tall guy with a bright smile says, “Hey, how’s it going? If you’re here about the noise complaint- I’m sorry, you’re looking for that old fart next door. He uses power tools at like, 3 in the morning.”
“Um, no- I…” his bright smile fades into playful curiosity, “I’m Linden Kim…”
“Wait- Kim? As in, your last name Kim? Are you serious?”
“Um… well, I’m here because I wanted to meet my mom.”
“Oh… well, um,” he looks back into the house, a harsh shout, “Hey, you little brats! Imma need you to shut up and play nice or I swear to god, NO JELLY CUPS.”
With that, I enter his house, wide open and clean except for the mess of toys littering the floor. Three boys rummaged through a toy chest as the guy in flip flops led me into the kitchen. He had a ponytail, that fell all the way down his back. Black hair, blue eyes. He looked… like my dad. We sit at the table and he makes a quick cup of coffee, not bothering to so much as look at me, “So… Linden- that’s an interesting name by the way- why did you come all the way here again? I mean, I know you’re looking to meet mom and all, but like, why? You’ve got a mom and dad, too, right? It’s not like you had it very hard or anything.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, what I mean is- you had it easy. You had a dad and all. So, why bother trying to meet mom anyway? It’s not like you even knew her?”
I try to keep calm, “What do you mean I had it easy? I didn’t. When I was little, my dad was put in jail, and my step mom hated me. They got married but none of my half siblings were nice to me. I didn’t have it easy!” A few thumps and I turn to see the three boys staring at me from the door.
“Oh, okay…” He sat down at the table, stirring his cup and scooting me one, too. He waved the boys away. A small smile and he leaned a little toward me, “You know, if you need to stay here longer, you’re absolutely welcome.” He turned to look through the living room- two doors on either side, “That one,” he says, pointing to the one on the left, “is my room. You can share with me unless Rainy is okay with sharing a room with you. And that one,” he pointed to the door on the right, “is where I put paintings, my kiln, anything really- don’t go in there if I’m not with you. I worked really hard to make that stuff and if you break it I’ll be pissed- Not at you, just the loss or whatever.”
“Oh, um- thank you.” He smiles brightly and grabs a plastic to-go box of pancakes and scoots it my way, “I bet you’re hungry from the trip here. Eat up, we got a ton of food and all kinds of stuff if you want. I’m Langtree, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
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