Of Fairies and Noontime

Seeker

Dask stepped off of the bus, arriving back at his house on Monday afternoon. He set his backpack on the floor and ran to the window. There'd been no sign of Hadley since Saturday, and Dask couldn't focus on anything, not even his studies. His best friend was gone, how could he?

His brain began jumping to conclusions when he saw that her backyard was empty. He was starting to believe she'd been kidnapped, or that her parents had finally decided to kill her because she misbehaved so much.

Dask knew he had to do something. He couldn't just stand by anymore.

He ran outside and got in a ready stance. He ran up to the fence that separated his and Hadley's houses, and jumped as high as he could over it. He tried landing in an epic pose, but failed miserably. He landed on his nose instead.

Dask went inside Hadley's house. He had to go right to the source. If Hadley had been stricken with a serious illness, you'd think her best friend would be one of the first ones to know.

He busted through the door. Hadley's mom, Rae Marble, was sitting at their kitchen table, flipping mindlessly through a magazine. She was slightly startled by the arrival of Dask Ashton.

"Um... can I help you, young man?" She asked him, standing up and pushing her chair in.

"Hi, I'm Dask. Your daughter's best friend?"

"Ohh... Are you the boy that lives next door to us?" She asked.

Dask scratched the back of his head. Hadley's parents really were clueless. "Yes... that's me. I was just wondering where Hadley is?"

Rae looked around the room. "Wasn't she at school with you today?" She asked, her face riddled with confusion.

"You're telling me you have no idea where your own daughter is?" Dask inquired. He could feel his insides heating up with anger.

"She could be in her room, I-"

Dask cut her off, running up the stairs. He burst into Hadley's room, which was full of little knick-knacks and large stacks of books. He looked in Bartholomew's tank. Empty.

Wherever Bartholomew was, Hadley was. That meant that she wasn't there.

"Did you find her?" Her mother asked once Dask made it back downstairs. He scowled.

"Maybe if you paid more attention to your kid, you'd know where she was." He raged, sighing. Rae covered her mouth with her hand, and Dask realized how disrespectful he made himself sound. He grabbed the doorknob. "I'm sorry. But I'm going to find Hadley, even if it kills me." He told her with a firm nod.

Without waiting for a response, Dask zipped out the door, hopping over the fence to his side once again. He had to gather some materials. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he was going to need resources. 

Dask ran up to his bedroom and grabbed a brown satchel. He put his trusty pocket knife and a stick he'd whittled inside of it, then scanned his room a little further. His eyes landed on the witch and wizard book he planned on letting Hadley borrow. His head pounded with memories as he pushed that into the satchel as well. Then, he grabbed his red plaid ear-flap hat and his dark brown jacket, putting them on. He shoved his brown work boots over his jeans and tied them sloppily. He put his satchel around his torso and looked at himself in the mirror proudly.

Afterwards, Dask ran into his backyard and gathered up a few throwing stones. Then, he leapt back over the fence and stole a single daisy, which he placed in the breast pocket of his bulky brown coat.

Then he began looking around her backyard for clues. Where would she run off to besides her backyard? It was her favorite place on the entire planet.

Dask then turned his head to see a ginormous gash in the side of the huge oak tree that stood in the corner of her backyard.