The Disappearing Read Free Page A

beyond the mountains north and to the west of Briny Deep. It was a week in the woods: fishing, hiking, swimming in the lake, and telling stories by the bonfire. It was by the light of one of those bonfires that he saw her eyes for the first time—really saw them—and how impossibly green and beautiful they were.
    Underneath the starry sky, they had shared their dreams of the future. He aspired to be a doctor, and her a scientist like her parents. They had laughed and talked for hours, brushing each other’s hands as they spoke. She had gently pushed his shoulder and tugged his sleeve when he would say something particularly funny.
    Since that night, their relationship had changed. There was a tender undercurrent of attraction. But through the years that followed, and as they got older, he had been unable to express to her what he felt. Every day that he remained silent made it tougher and more impossible to ever approach the subject with her. He was sure he would carry this agony to his grave.
    â€œLet’s play hide and seek!” someone yelled from across the yard, rousing Tim from the fog his mind had suddenly gotten lost in.
    â€œInside!” called Luke pointing a long finger toward the imposing house.
    About ten of them ran inside . . . and the game began.

Chapter 5
Hide and Seek
    They hadn’t played for a long time. Not inside.
    Everyone scurried off in a different direction.
    Luke was “it” and he began the countdown.
    â€œ1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .”
    Tim took to the stairs and ascended quickly to the third floor. He spotted Emily running into a room down the hall and a brief glimpse of Nina’s foot as she climbed the last set of stairs leading to the attic.
    . . . Nina . . .
    No time for that now, he thought, and ran to the end of the hall. He turned the corner and sprinted up the second hallway to an area that was rarely visited. It was used mostly to store big pieces of furniture and other knickknacks Rusty had collected in his travels.
    Large armoires; oversized canopied beds; huge, exotic looking trunks and wardrobes—there were just so many places to hide.
    It had been awhile since he was last here. Tim wandered down the vast hallway, peering into the rooms with open doors as he passed. He walked slowly, almost forgetting he was in the middle of a game.
    It was just so odd to be here again.
    From somewhere far away, he barely heard Luke’s call.
    â€œReady or not, here I come!”
    Tim picked up the pace.
    As he neared the end of the hallway, he noticed something he hadn’t before.
    A door . . .
    . . . and it was closed.
    Curious, he put his hand on the knob and turned. It was locked.
    Strange.
    He looked up at the wall to the right of the door. A framed photograph hung there. It was of two small children—two boys.
    It was grainy and faded. Tim squinted and tried to make out the other two people beside the boys in the image.
    Wait . . . isn’t that . . . Rusty?
    Yeah, it was Rusty . . . and his wife Lenore. They were much younger in this photo, but Tim was sure now that it was them.
    He looked closely at the two boys.
    With an unmistakable black mop of hair, one was clearly Luke, but who was the other?
    Footsteps . . . he heard footsteps . . . Luke.
    Tim spun around, retraced his steps up the hallway, and slipped into a familiar room. He climbed into the giant wardrobe and quietly closed the door, leaving it open just a hair so he could hear if Luke approached. He certainly did not want to be the first one found. He had a reputation and a record to uphold.
    After what had to be thirty minutes, Tim’s foot was asleep and his back hurt from crouching over.
    This was not as much fun as he remembered.
    He cracked open the door a bit and peered out . . . no one there.
    Tim climbed out of the wardrobe—he couldn’t breathe in there anymore—too musty.
    â€œGotcha!” Luke screamed at the top of his lungs.
    Tim shrieked in