In this area, the lights never come on, there are no visitors, and it's always dead silent. The houses stand empty without residents, and no one wants to buy a home here.
Twelve-year-old Luke Campbell suffers from loneliness - he has no friends, an...
Luke Campbell was the most typical introverted boy, a target for the extroverted kids, well, pretty much all the kids. He found his classmates particularly repugnant—it seemed like school acted as a factory, turning teenagers into real monsters. Luke couldn't spot anything related to acquiring knowledge there.
And that day, he had to get up early again to attend the dreaded classes with detestable teachers and endure the company of detestable peers. Total slavery, right? In the small town where Luke lived, there was only one school, so the boy didn't have much choice. If you didn't find friends in your school, you wouldn't find them anywhere else.
And it was only September! The school year had just begun, and there were still a long way to go before the holidays. In the midst of this early stage of the academic journey, the weight of time stretched out seemingly endless. September, with its crisp air and the scent of new beginnings, carried the promise of months ahead filled with lessons, challenges, and, for Luke, the persistent struggles of navigating social landscapes.
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As the academic calendar unfolded, each day seemed to drag its feet, making the prospect of reaching the cherished vacation period a distant destination. The promise of extended breaks and relief from the daily classroom ordeals felt like a distant mirage on the horizon, teasing with the hope of reprieve.
"Luke, are you okay?" Mom asked suspiciously—she could clearly see that something was off with her child.
"Oh, yeah, everything's fine," Luke replied, forcing a smile as he tried to brush off any concerns.
Mom squinted her eyes, not fully convinced. "You sure? You seem a bit... off today."
Luke chuckled nervously, attempting to downplay his true feelings. "Nah, just a little tired, you know, from all the excitement at school."
Mom raised an eyebrow, her motherly instincts on high alert. "Excitement at school? Since when has school become exciting for you?"
Luke shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "You know, new subjects, new friends... it's all good."
Mom sighed, realizing her attempts to pry further might be futile. "Alright, but if there's anything bothering you, you can always talk to me, okay?"
"Sure thing, Mom," Luke replied, his smile more convincing this time. As he walked away, he couldn't shake off the heaviness inside, knowing that his attempts to conceal the truth were only a temporary solution.
***
Luke timidly entered the classroom, his eyes fixed on the floor. The moment he stepped in, a hushed laughter rippled through the room. A group of peers, led by the notorious class troublemaker, Jack, noticed Luke's vulnerability.
"Hey, look who decided to grace us with his presence! The invisible boy!" Jack exclaimed.
Laughter erupted among the students as Luke tried to ignore the comments and find his seat. The teasing, however, intensified.
"I heard he has a superpower. He can vanish whenever he wants!" The other boy said loudly.
More laughter filled the room, and Luke's anxiety grew. He desperately wished he could disappear.
"What's the matter, Campbell? Cat got your tongue? Or is it that no one cares enough to talk to you?" Jack exclaimed one more time.
Luke's attempts to ignore them failed, and a few tears welled up in his eyes. The students continued their mockery until the teacher, Ms. Thompson, entered the room.
She deliberately avoided acknowledging Luke's distress, choosing to overlook the obvious signs of his emotional turmoil. The classmates quickly shifted their attention to the lesson, leaving Luke to quietly wipe away his tears, unnoticed and ignored.
***
But all bad things eventually come to an end— the same can be said for classes. That day, they were let out a bit earlier; the math teacher fell ill, and the last lesson got canceled. Luke decided to spend this extra time on a walk because the walls of his familiar home were gradually becoming suffocating. However, he wanted to choose a place where there were no people, where he could completely enjoy solitude.
No sane person had ever ventured down Dark Lanterns Lane – it was just too peculiar place where even the lights refused to cooperate, and no electrician could remedy the situation. The lanterns here seemed more like props than functional lights, their purpose lost in the eerie ambiance of the lane. They never lit up, serving as mere decorations shrouded in perpetual darkness.
It always feels like time itself had frozen within its mysterious confines. It wasn't just the lack of light; it was the unsettling feeling that the lane existed in a dimension detached from the regular flow of life. In this forsaken stretch of darkness, even the bravest souls hesitated to tread. The absence of light was not just a physical void but a manifestation of something much deeper and enigmatic.
Luke's parents forbade him from setting foot in that area. That's precisely why he decided to go there that day.
