The Sun and the Moon

Chapter 14

Neil's POV

Let's play hide and seek

"Great. He's stuck in traffic downtown." Dennis tapped his phone impatiently. "He'll take about 5 mins."

"We'll just wait here then. Maybe get some ice cream nearby." I said, munching loudly on the peanuts.

Though my eyes were on the road, I could feel Dennis' gaze digging into me – more particularly my precious peanuts.

Can one get an allergic reaction by smelling or touching peanuts?

A sharp yell cut in. "Guys!" We turned to see Maya a few feet behind us, tense and alarmed.

"What happened?" Dennis asked. "Jamie's not here." She waved her arms in despair. "He's not on the bench. He's not here."

"What?" Dennis inhaled sharply. We darted to the bench where we left Jamie, and sure enough it was empty except his bag on the floor.

"He must be somewhere around here." I reasoned but my gut instincts told me: Nope, he won't. "Let's just spread out and look for him." Maya opened her mouth, but closed it before mumbling something like "Already did."

We split up and covered the entire park area. We searched in every possible place: from the park patios to the cozy nooks in the trees Jamie preferred.

No sign of him. My stomach knotted in apprehension. "What about other people?" I suggested hastily, upon seeing their distressed faces. "Could they have seen him?"

Maya shook her head in dismay. "I asked that lady with the pram – she said she didn't. The place we stood-the angle was such that the bench seemed covered by branches."

"And we were at the gate." Dennis fumed, clenching his fists.

Just where did Jamie go in such short time?

"How about we look around the park and enquire people?" I ignored the dread sliding in my gut.

Dennis and Maya nodded. Some time later, we stood again in the same place.

"None." Maya said in a hollow voice. "None of them saw him! It's broad daylight and the streets are bustling-yet no one saw him!"

"There are some streets, you know, which leads to pretty isolated little neighborhoods on the hill above." Dennis huffed.

"But that's not the point!" Maya cried out. "Why would he even go there?!"

We heard a muffled buzzing sound. Dennis fished out his phone, cursing under his breath as he glanced at the screen. "It's the driver. I'll tell him to come maybe-a little later."

I crossed my arms, ignoring the itchiness in my palms. First, the entire drama about Nezuko and now this. Where could he be?

Maya ran her hand through her hair shakily before glancing in every direction – as if she could spot Jamie through all the bushes and traffic beyond.

The fresh wind didn't help cheer our mood. All it did was bring in the scent of flowers. Fresh and juicy – jasmine was it?

Wait. I concentrated. I took in a lungful of air. No, this wasn't ordinary jasmine. It felt more like...oh, how do I describe it – a body odor?

The only thing I was sure about is that it's coming strongest from the bench. I strode towards the bench. Maya followed me.

I was right. The scent of jasmine was almost overpowering. My senses felt overloaded. I bent down and picked Jamie's bag and it smelled like jasmine too.