Silly Stories with Dairy.

The "Joke" that "Joked" to far.

I laid in my bed filled with the hormones of a teenage high school boy. I thought I had the entire world figured out. I had been dating a girl for a couple of weeks. We were obviously going to get married and be super successful after we graduated. I was laying there fantasizing about a future that would never come, When my mom cried out in horror. The sound shook me to my core and to this day haunts my sleep.

I ran downstairs and my mom was hysterical. She was desperately trying to ask me questions about where my little brother could have gone. This was around 2007 so the housing market was stalled and construction on homes were left half finished. We would often go mess around in the homes and use discarded materials to build forts out in the woods. I told her that maybe he could have gone there, but I was panicking. I was terrified to see my mom like this. My dad was trying to stay calm and translate my moms questions but I could see he was shaken up also.

I was finally able to get the story pieced together between the two of them. They had gotten my brother a set of walkie talkies so he could check in while playing, if he was leaving alone. My parents were relaxing in the living room when a chilling mans voice came over the walkie.

"How much for the boy?" It asked them.

My dad was on his way out the door to race over to the construction sites. I raced after him at full speed. It was the slowest slow motion that has ever been in motion. My heart was beating out of my chest. My eyes were dilated. I saw and noticed every tiny detail around me. Our dog was barking and running in circles in the confusion and chaos. My mom was still bawling behind me. I reached for the door handle and it felt cool to the touch. My dad got into his truck and was about to take off when he noticed something.

I caught up with him and joined him in looking across the street. Our neighbor was standing in the front yard with my brother laughing. He thought that was a perfectly acceptable joke to pull on my parents.