As His Heart Hopes...

A Search for Clues

While searching--and straightening up--the Meyers' home, T.K. comes across a news clipping on the coffee table that talked about an Abner Meyer going missing during a storm at sea. The article was labeled with a date a few months before Ephram and he had finally mended things. Staring down at the article, T.K.'s heart broke for Ms. Meyer, but Kari's voice broke him out of his thoughts as she finished loading things into another garbage bag. "What is going on, T.K.?"

He shook his head and placed the article back down before gathering the rest of the dishes littering the coffee table in the living room. He carried the stack of dishes to the sink carefully and met Kari's gaze when entering the kitchen. "I have no idea...but it's weird right?"

"And heartbreaking..." Kari sighed sadly, putting another garbage bag into the can. "Ms. Meyer is clearly beating herself up over whatever happened..."

"We'll figure it out," T.K. spoke resolutely while finishing the dishes in the sink. As he left them to air dry, he looked at Kari with determination, "We're gonna find out what happened to Ephram and Uri. And we're gonna help."

T.K. knew his bravado was hiding his actual fear and panic, but he hoped Kari didn't see right through him. As she stared him down, he quickly realized that she did in fact see past his false confidence, but she just nodded back at him, "Let's do it! Since Ms. Meyer is asleep now, let's check the boys' rooms."

***************************************************

Entering Ephram's room felt strange to T.K. The last time he had been here, Ephram was inside, hiding from the world in his blankets. But somehow, even as the light filled the room when Kari flipped the switch, the eerie stillness was even more heartbreaking.

Kari whistled as light filled the room, heading toward Ephram's closet. "You're boy has some style...I never would've guessed from the sweats I met him in."

T.K. laughed ever-so-slightly, feeling a little relieved that Kari was at his side for all of this. He really had missed her since he'd pulled away. Patamon and Gatomon exit the digital space and T.K. hurries to shut the door to Ephram's room behind them. "What are you two doing?"

Patamon stared T.K. down with a challenge in his eyes and said, "Helping."

T.K. couldn't help but smile at him and nodded slowly, allowing Patamon to fly off toward the desk in one corner of the room while Gatomo joined Kari as she searched the closet. Steeling himself with a deep breath, T.K. headed to the bedside table. Kari glanced at him as he opened the to drawer and spoke softly, "You're sure Ephram didn't just get overwhelmed and leave?"

T.K. laughed dryly, causing Kari to look at him curiously. "No. There's no way. I owed him an explanation and I told him it was time before...before he disappeared. It was one of the last texts I sent to him...I've just been waiting for him to set up a meeting in person so I could tell-"

"T.K! Kari! Over here!" Patamon's yelp captures everyone's attention and all three converge on Ephram's desk. Messy and yet meticulously organized, Ephram's desk looked unassuming at first, but Patamon had landed on a journal and was tapping it with his foot.

T.K.'s voice cracked a little as he looked at Patamon incredulously, "You want me to read his journal?!"

"What's the problem with that?" Gatomon asked, looking at T.K. like he was being unnecessarily weird.

"There could be clues in there, T.K.!" Kari clomped a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

Patamon flapped his ears faster and took to the air with a proud smile, "That's what I was thinking!"

T.K. leveled himself with a deep breath. "Shit. Fine! I'll...just read Ephram's journal."

As he flipped through the journal to a recent entry, he tried to avoid skimming too many pages, hoping to preserve some form of decency by not reading all of Ephram's private journal entries. With Kari and the two Digimon crowded around him, T.K. stopped on a page labeled during Ephram's breakdown. T.K.'s fingers hesitated and he started to read.

Of course, something like this would happen. 

It's me we're talking about. So something was bound to go wrong. 

I'm not allowed to have good things, and Takeru was the best, so of course our relationship was doomed from the start. 

I know he has secrets...The way he had to run out of the restaurant with Sora and his brother., Matt. Or how Matt slipped something about a "digital" something or other into the conversation and then stopped himself. Or how his friend's name sounded fake...who would name their kid Patamon? 

No...I shouldn't judge someone based on a name...

And Takeru lost him...so I should be gentle.

But still...

I don't care that he had secrets. We ALL do. And it's not like I'm asking Takeru to spill all of his to me...I was just trying to help. 

And surprise!

Takeru doesn't trust me.

 T.K. let out his breath sharply, and Kari gently turned the page so he didn't reread Ephram's words. But another entry's first line caught his eye, and T.K. continued reading.

Things have been hard lately...

I don't even have the energy to write a poem about it though. Slam poetry takes passion and I'm...well I've been all out for a while. I'm trying not to think about...him lately, but my mind can't help itself. 

It's a glutton for punishment, I guess...

He called me today...I don't know if he meant it or not...But I didn't answer. I couldn't hear his voice. It would break my heart all over again. 

T.K.'s reading of the journal entry is interrupted by his phone ringing. The sound echoing in the empty room made him jump. He closed Ephram's journal quickly, unsure if he could read any more of it, and stood up from the desk.

T.K. reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. When he saw the name of the caller, he nearly dropped the phone. His voice escaped before he even answered the call, "Ephram?!"

Kari and the Digimon crowded around him again, this time to hear, and T.K. put the phone call on speaker. The same piercing white noise filled the room, but after a few moments, a new sound broke through faintly.

The sound made T.K. tense up. He knew what it was but couldn't make everything out so he listened harder. The white noise continued and, then, was momentarily broken by a small voice full of determination. A voice that T.K. knew right away. 

And that voice was Uri's. 

Uri's words grew louder and clearer as they broke through the unnatural static of the phone and T.K., Kari, Patamon, and Gatomon could finally understand what the youngest Meyer boy was saying. The words Uri had called T.K.'s phone to tell them, knowing T.K. would be worried about Ephram.

Broken by static but clear enough to understand, Uri muttered their first clue. And T.K.'s mind spiraled. 

".........Dig....ital...Wor...ld........."