Ella

The scent of freshly baked bread enters my nose and fills me with joy. I point at the loaf I want and smile.

“That one?” the baker asks.

I nod, and he grabs it from the shelf and wraps it in paper then puts it on the counter. I already have the money ready to pay, so I place it next to the loaf. He swipes it off and stuffs it into the cash register.

“Thank you very much,” he says. “Enjoy!”

I smile again while picking up the loaf and tucking it into my bag. Waving, I leave the store and face the sunlight again. I love how the warmth radiates over my skin, how it makes me want to close my eyes and take a deep breath. Summer is the time I come alive.

On my way back home, I take a detour through the park and pick up all the flowers I like. Red, pink, yellow—as many of the crazy colors as I can gather. Their aromas waft through the air with every summery breeze, and I love to just take it all in. Like a moment frozen in time, where everything is exactly the way it should be.

Untouched.

Perfect.

Unlike me.

* * *

Twelve Years Ago

I pick up two rocks and stuff one into Suzie’s hand. “You go first.”

“No. Why do I have to go first? You know I’m not good at this,” she whines, putting out a pouty lip. “Why can’t we just do it my way?”

“Because we already did that yesterday. Now, we do it my way,” I say, frowning. “Now c’mon. Throw it.”

She sighs, so I rub her back. “You can do this. Just throw it like this.” I bend my arm and chuck the stone at the pond, and it skips across the water like a bug until it sinks.

“Wow, that’s far!” Suzie yells, her face full of amazement. “But wait ... I was supposed to go first, right?”

I shrug. “We weren’t playing for real yet. But now we are. C’mon. Throw the stone.”

Her face lifts with a smile. “Okay, I’ll try.”

I nod a few times, which only makes her smile bigger. I cheer her on. “Go!”

She aims and then throws as hard as she can, but the stone immediately sinks to the bottom just a few feet from where we stand.

“Aw …” she mumbles with chagrin.

I clap my hands. “My turn.”

I snatch another stone from the ground and do it just as I did before, and it pitter-patters across the water farther than Suzie’s stone did.

She puts her hands on her side. “Fine, you won.”

“Yay!” I jump up and down. “I get to be the princess now.”

“But we do it my way tomorrow,” she says, grimacing. “Rock, paper, scissors.”

“But that’s just boring,” I reply.

“No, it’s not!” she quips. “I do it all the time with Bobby. He says it’s much better too.”

“I don’t care about Bobby. Bobby’s a boy; I’m your sister. Big difference.”

“So?”

“So I get to say what’s much better. And this is much better.” I pick up another rock and hold it out to her. “If you want to get better, I can teach you.”

“Really?” she asks, taking it and tucking it into her pocket.

“Yeah, of course. That’s what sisters are for, right?” I grin, and she hugs me. “All right. Now, let’s play,” I say, wrenching away from her arms.

As I run for the tree, Suzie chases after me, and I glance over my shoulder and giggle. “You won’t catch me!”

“Yes, I will!”

“No!” I pat the tree just before she does. “I win!”

“Fine,” she snaps as I climb up the shoddy ladder to the makeshift treehouse. It’s just a bunch of wooden planks stuffed between the trunk and some curtains hanging from the branches, but it’s my house now.

“Here!” I say as I pick up the clothes I brought here from home and throw them down to her. “Put this on!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the prince, of course,” I say with a cocky face. “Why else?”

She rolls her eyes but does it anyway while I put on the pink dress I brought. Mom doesn’t exactly know I took them from the dress-up box, but she won’t notice. I’ll bring them home without a scratch, and if they have smudges, I’ll wash them out myself. I’m a big girl.

I pat down my dress and twirl. It looks so pretty.

“Ready yet?” I yell down as I wait for my prince to come rescue me.

Except when I peer over the edge of the treehouse, no one’s there.

Suzie’s gone.

“Suzie?” I yell.

It’s quiet. Too quiet.

I wonder where she went.

I step to the other side of the treehouse and look down there. She’s standing near the road just a few steps away from the trees … and she’s talking with a man.

A man I’ve never seen before.

A tall … no, a big guy with a beard and scary looking scars. His face is dark as he speaks to my sister.

I wonder what they’re saying. I think it’s something I should hear too.

I try to listen to their conversation from where I’m at up high, but I can barely hear anything. Except for a couple of words …

“Will you be my friend?” the stranger asks.

“Sure,” Suzie says.

She keeps talking to him even though Mommy told us not to talk to strangers. Did she forget? Or doesn’t she care? Either way, I’m worried, so I start climbing down the ladder.

“Ella?” It’s Suzie, and she sounds like she’s in trouble.

“Who is that?” I yell, but she doesn’t respond, and I can’t see her anymore as the trees block my view.

But I can clearly hear her scream.

* * *

I immediately jump down the last few steps and run to her. The man has grabbed her hand and is dragging her to a car.

“Ella!” she screams as he pushes her inside and closes the door.

“No!” I scream, my lungs barely able to handle the force of my voice.

The man gets into the car, and before I can get to her, he drives off.

Within a second, I’ve grabbed my bike and jumped on it to race after them. I don’t care that I’m wearing a pink dress or that I’m crying my eyes out. I have to get to her. I promised Mom I’d look after her. I promised Mom I’d take her back home. I have to.

I have to bring Ella home.

The car’s right in front of me, but I can’t seem to catch up, no matter how hard I push the pedals of my bike. I’m out of breath, out of energy, but I won’t give up. However, the longer it takes, the more I’m left behind.

I can’t keep up.

The car disappears, but I keep going. Keep biking. I’ll go on forever if I have to. Because I have to get her back. I’ll get Suzie back. No matter the cost.

It’s almost sundown, and I’m supposed to be home by now, but I can’t go back. Not without my sister. My mom would kill me. I promised. I promised.

Tears run down my cheeks as I follow the only road the car could’ve gone.

And then out of nowhere, it appears.

My heart skips a beat, and a hopeful burst of energy makes me bike harder to get to the car. Parked on the side of the road, it’s near the forest my mom told me not to go near because it was way too big and we could get lost.

But getting my sister back is more important than rules.

So I dump the bike between the fallen leaves on the ground and make a run for it. Through the woods, I follow the trail. Tracks in the earth and leaves show me where they went. It can’t be far.

The salty tears on my face have dried up, and determination has taken their place. I keep going and going without knowing where I am, but as long as I find Suzie, I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.

Thick branches push me back, but I don’t stop wading through the darkness of the forest. I don’t stop for anything. Not for the pain I feel in my legs. Not for the monsters that could lurk in the dark.

Except for a cliff … right in front of my feet.

I barely manage to stop in time before I fall.

That’s when I see it.

A body lying down there on the cold, muddy ground. Hair tangled with twigs, face bloodied and twisted.

It’s Suzie.

I scream, but the sound disappears into a sea of trees echoing my voice.

“I’m sorry.”

A voice makes me turn my head toward the direction its coming from, just behind a tree not far from Suzie.

“I only wanted someone to talk to,” he adds.

It’s him. The man who took Suzie.

He quickly turns and runs, disappearing into the forest.

Without thinking, I slide down the slope of the cliff, careful not to fall as I rush to her. I wrap my arms around her and shake her, but she doesn’t respond.

“Suzie?” I call out her name maybe three, four … fifteen times.

Nothing I say or do reaches her.

No matter how many times I push her, how many tears roll down my cheeks, how many times I scream—nothing will bring her back.

The more I cry, the less my voice is heard. And even though I try, the sound of my voice keeps fading until nothing’s left.

Nothing.

Suzie’s gone and so has my voice.

She screamed my name, and I didn’t get to her in time. She lost her voice because I refused to use mine. And now it’s all gone.

She’s gone.

But I promised Mommy … I promised.

And now I’ll never bring her back home.