Shadows of Midnight

Chapter 2

Everyone was in shock when they got the paper. Rob was listed as 'missing'. Eliza couldn't take her eyes off the poster. She had questions. When did Rob go missing? Since when? Why? How? Eliza then felt regret and sadness. Rob's family were certainly worried about him. Often missing persons were unfortunately found dead or even ... never. There was little chance of them being found alive. Eliza was not only a classmate of Rob's, but also a regular friend of his. Not romantically, but as an ordinary friend.

The class could not go on. Everyone talked and had questions about Rob. Eliza always felt a lot of sadness. She desperately wanted to discover what had happened and where Rob was now. But how? She kept looking at the poster and seeing more details that the police had left on the poster. It said what clothes Rob wore that day and where he was last seen. As Eliza continued to read, a detail caught her attention:

'LAST SEEN NEAR SJANS'

Eliza began to think. Rob once told her that he loved shopping at Sjans for books and movies he could find, especially of genres and themes that interested him. Sjans was big where Eliza lived. Several people worked there. They could do textiles like clothes, decorations, books, and stuff. Eliza once worked for 3 months in Sjans for her father to earn some pennies for herself. She actually didn't like it very much but she was still young and had yet to find what she liked to do and where she could work.

"The police are asking the whole school to be careful wherever you go. Should you have seen anything strange near Sjans, contact the police," the teacher said.

That was just as the bell rang. It was time for the next lesson. Everyone got up and packed their things. Eliza put the poster away in her shoulder bag and went outside. Sara and Kiara followed her and so did the rest of the class. After they were in the hallway, Sara and Kiara took quick steps to walk next to Eliza. "What do you guys think happened to Rob?" asked Kiara curiously but also somewhat with sadness and concern.

"No idea. But I fear he is dead," Sara replied. Then she looked at Eliza and Kiara did the same. "What about you, Eliza?"

Eliza looked down but she paid attention to where she was going, the same went to her friends. When she got that poster, she started thinking nonstop to go investigate. She may not have been a police or a detective, but she wanted to help. "I want us to go investigate that," Eliza said in a flat tone.

"What?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

Eliza knew girls could say or show reactions like that. Sara and Kiara were good friends and helped her when she needed it. Eliza was happy to help them back, but this was serious, investigating exactly what and how Rob disappeared. It could be dangerous. "I understand if you guys don't want to get involved. But Sjans has cameras outside and this happened nearby when Rob disappeared."

Eliza stopped at the news board and there was the poster about Rob. She looked at it sadly. Sara and Kiara looked sad, too. Eliza let out a small sigh and wanted to continue and that was when Kiara stopped her by putting her hand on Eliza's shoulder. When Eliza looked at her friends, she saw brave smiles on their faces. "We'll help you investigate," she said.

"Do you have an idea?" Sara asked Eliza.

Eliza was happy to hug her friends. After their hugging moment, they let go of each other. Eliza decided to be honest about what was wrong with her this morning during the decoys.

"Hey, girls? Is it weird that I was daydreaming about my favorite plush?"

Sara and Kiara looked at each other for a moment and then back at Eliza. It was Kiara who spoke. "No. I miss my favorite stuffed toy too. Mine is a cat. His name is Pepper."

"Mine is a rabbit. Owen. And yours?"

"A bear named Fred."

The girls giggled. Eliza felt good now after she said what was wrong with her. Yes, she still missed Fred but she couldn't forget about him. She also wished even now that he was a ... real person. A furry one. But that was impossible. Yeah, right? What if I told you that this world, where Eliza lived, was also furry? Indeed it was. Half the population were humans and the other half were furries.

Eliza continued with her friends to the follow-the-lesson. They passed students, humans, and furries. Had I already told you that or not about Eliza? The girl felt she was different. She was rarely in love with humans, but she was in love with furries. She fell for male furries. If she had to choose which kind she liked most, it would be a bear. So far, she was not friends with a bear nor did she know any, except Fred, who was sadly a plush. Eliza read stories about stuffed animals coming to life or turning into something handsome or beautiful. Why couldn't she experience that?