Disconnected Read Free

must have been my imagination. She couldn’t have disappeared that quickly. Yet I am haunted by the fact I know I’ve seen her before but I can’t pinpoint where or when.
    ***
    I am wiped out after the long day at the mall with Beth. We walked around so much I thought my legs would collapse. I am beat tired and ready to go to bed. Grandpa George has already been sleeping for a while and I am here alone in my room, by myself—well not really. Amelia thinks back to the time with Beth. She tells me I made a fool of myself when I accidentally missed throwing my plate of food away. She rambles inside my head over all the clumsy steps I took while I was with Beth. Constantly, she is saying in my mind, Watch, Milly, one day you will not have her as a friend anymore. And when that one day comes, you’ll only have me.
    I try to drown out her criticism while undressing and climbing into my pajama bottoms and large t-shirt that I got when Grandpa George and I went to Navy Pier downtown. As I lie down, I remember my parents taking me there.
    My father got us tickets for one of the boat rides and while we waited for the boat to dock, my father ran to one of those little concession stands for another beer. I could tell he was getting buzzed from his flushing red face. He was sweating profusely that day and it wasn’t even that hot out. I remember it was just after my fifth birthday and a cool day in the middle of August, during the Air and Water Show. As jet planes flew by, my mom pointed them out in excitement. I think she felt more excited than I did. She was always like that, happy and positive. I miss that to this day.
    But as the years went on, my father and his drinking wore her positive energy into the ground. She became so sad near the end, before the accident. It’s a shame they had to die.
    I rest my head softly on the pillow and let my eyes slowly close, and then drift into sub-consciousness. Amelia starts to enter my thoughts. She’s standing there in the blackness of my mind, waiting for me to notice, yet I am staring right through her.
    Trees start to form in the background. Then what looks like a small house made of brick. It’s too hard to tell with all the vines and leaves covering it. As I glide closer, the vines pull away and all the lights flick on in an eerie yellow glow. My vision becomes so vivid, I realize it’s my old home, where I used to live. I can’t tell whether I’m dreaming or not. Everything feels so real.
    She appears in the open doorway. She wants me to follow her into the house, waving for me to come. I get to the porch and open the screen door and immediately it smells like stale beer bottles. The place is ruined and I’m scared to go any further. What happened? I don’t remember ever seeing it like this. Amelia steps over the littered trash and the broken glass strewn about on the hardwood floor and proceeds to dance around in circles. I want to tell her to stop, as I can somehow feel the pain of her bleeding feet. When I get closer to her, she stops and holds up her finger to be quiet. Someone’s talking in the back room. And then there are a few more voices. It’s my father saying something to my mom. She’s crying.
    Amelia grabs my hand and walks me down the hall where I see a trail of blood. I’m not sure if it’s coming from her bleeding feet or from something else.
    We get to the room. There’s another person standing with them—a man. But I can’t see his face. Something’s wrapped around it, like a dark towel or sheet. They are all standing in a circle mumbling, yet it sounds like yelling. It just seems odd to me. Why would this man wear such a thing? Who is he? What does he want?
    Amelia and I quietly tiptoe, trying not to make any sounds. Yet as I step in, the floor creaks. Immediately the man covered with cloth turns around and walks briskly toward me.
    My heart races like a galloping horse. The