The Night They Went Missing

Breonna

As I entered his house, I looked around at the stunning rooms. The walls were all a bright white that sparkled in the sun. Shoes were placed outside the door in neat rows. There were many pairs of women's and men's shoes and one pair of a small boy's shoes.

 "Come this way, please." he asked as he led me down the hallway and into a large room.

 There was a large pastel coloured rug underneath a wooden coffee table in the middle of the room. Two seated grey sofas were at either end of the table with a small grey armchair in the corner. The large TV was turned off, hanging on the white painted walls above a fireplace with a crackling fire burning brightly. There were no paintings or pictures on the walls, only one small clock beside the two large windows that would show the garden.

 The living room would lead onto the kitchen that was also all white and spotless. There was a little island in the middle of the room which had a plate of uneaten food left. Everything was cleaned, spotless and modern, which gave me the impression that this was an incredibly rich man.

 "Would you like anything to drink?" he shouted from the kitchen.

 "No, thank you." I answered as I slowly sat down on one of the grey sofas and moved some cushions out of the way. He soon walked over and sat opposite me with trembling hands. 

 Despite his big figure that would intimidate most people, his eyes told a different story. A story of a man who was terrified.

 "You called me earlier, Mr -" Not knowing his name, I paused and waited for him to answer.

"Mr Clive, but please call me George."

 "OK, well you called me earlier George about matters concerning your wife. What has exactly happened?"

 He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

 "My wife, she didn't come home last night and well, that isn't normal for her. I've tried calling her, but she hasn't answered me. She sent me this text last night."

 He took his phone out of his black trouser pockets and showed me the text message which read, I'll be staying at Aura's for a while. Need some time to think. Love you xx.

"This text may seem normal, but she never ends her text with kisses." he stated. 

 I didn't know what he wanted me to do as this text seemed completely normal to me, but his trembling hands said something different. 

 "The thing is," he explained, "I rang Aura, who is her sister, and she told me that my wife never stayed at her house and in fact the last time they spoke was only a few days ago."

 "Do you have any idea why your wife might lie to you about where she was?"

 "No. I must admit, our marriage recently hasn't been the best, but we loved each other."

 My mind flicked through all the possible reasons as to why his wife would lie to him. Was she having an affair? Or did she just want to get away from him?

 "Tellme about your wife. Where would she normally go in her daily routine?"

 "Well, she would normally go to work around 9:00am. I left before her, but that's what she always told me. She works in a small book store in Nottingham. Whenever she came back home, she would always have a new book in her hands. We met when she was 21, and I was 24, and then two years ago we got married. Everything was perfect."

 As he was talking, I took out my notebook and pen from my coat pocket and began listening to his every word. It wasn't the first time I had been told that a husband or wife has gone missing, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

 "She lost touch with her friends. The only person she would really talk to is her sister, Aura. When I got home from work around 7:30pm, she would be home before me. This time she wasn't. That's how I know something is wrong."

 Standing up, he walked over to the window and looked out into the garden. I could almost hear the gears turning in his mind as if he's trying to piece together the pieces himself.

 "I hope you don't mind me asking, but is there any chance you wife could have been having an affair?"

 "No, there's no way. Our marriage hasn't been the best recently, but she still loved me. However, she did seem different, more distant from me."

 "How was she acting prior to her disappearance? Was she acting in any different way?"

 "No, she was acting perfectly fine. We went to restaurant with her family 4 days ago for her 26th birthday. She was all happy and smiling. Though, on the morning of her birthday, she was acting strange, almost secretive."

 Looking up from my notes, I could see he was staring at me, trying to figure me out. His pleading eyes began to fill with tears. 

 "All I want is my wife back. I can't lose her too."

 "What do you mean by lose her too?" I questioned calmy. He sighed and looked at me with a tear rolling down his cheek.

 "3 years ago... I lost my son." he muttered.

 My eyes widened and my heart ached for him. This man had lost his son and was now losing his wife. He didn't take his eyes off me and his hands trembled more.

 "She had him when she was 23. We named him Elijah. When I saw him for the first time, I knew he was perfect. His green eyes were so innocent and now I'll never see him again. I can remember the day it happened, so vividly, so clear. My wife took Elijah to the shops to buy some food and when they were leaving, a drunk driver had hit them with their car. Both of them went to the hospital with injuries, but only one of them had survived. The police never found out who the drunk driver was. That was the day that our lives, our perfect lives were destroyed."

 Turning away from me, he walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the cupboard, his hands still trembling. Not knowing what to say, I stayed silent and waited for him to recover. This couldn't be easy for him and that's when it clicked. The window that's boarded up must have been Elijah's room. No wonder there was no family photos. He didn't want to remember what he had lost.

 "Now you see, I've already lost my son. I can't lose my wife too. Please find her for me, please." he pleaded and sat back down on the sofa opposite me.

 "I'll do everything I can to bring you your wife back, promise. What's your wife's name?"

 "Tanisha. Her name is Tanisha Clive."