The Lakehouse

SEVEN | 7

"Mommy, Daddy? What is this place?" I say as we come to a stop in front of a facility, late into the night.

"Why are we going to Japan?" It was late at night and I glance around the car, noticing that all of our bags are packed, labeled with tags, destined for Tokyo. They're quiet and their faces are blank, filled with emotions that I hadn't seen before. A look that tells me they've given up. I peered to the right of me, at our bags once more, seeing that only their bags had labels and the look in my parents' eyes told me everything right then and there. We weren't going anywhere.

They were. Alone and without me.

She gets out of the passenger seat, walking around to my side to open my door and pulls me out gently. I get out, my Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book clenched tightly against my chest. My dad gets out to grab my bags and he meets us on the sidewalk. My little legs wobble as they lead me toward the building slowly. The rain is falling in a drizzle, cold droplets falling against my raincoat. When we get to the doors, she hands me a paper, folded up and they both hug me in a squeezing embrace.

"When someone opens the door, hand them that paper, okay?" She says but I'm still confused. I don't know why we're here.

"Mommy... Daddy?" I whisper as they ring the bell and share a look at me, about to walk away and she stops to raise her hand to wipe a single tear from my pouting face.

"Remember, we'll always love you," my mother tells me. She looks back at my father, who's now waiting for her in the car. She looks back to me, her eyes tearing up. But they don't match her actions as she turns her back and walks away, leaving me by myself, standing there, alone and confused.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I watch them drive off, wondering if they'll ever come back for me and then I open the folded paper to read whatever it says.

"Release of Parental Rights." the ink on it seemed to scream at me and I barely understood what it meant back then.

ಇ.

But that was then and this is now. And right now, my world is spinning, literally. The impact of driving right into that tree caused a carousel of darkness and rain to swirl around me. I could barely see, everything was a blur but I could hear the sound of my passenger door opening and a body, hovering next to me. I could feel a pair of warm hands, lifting my head up, then my body.

Like a feather, I feel weightless, being carried through the forest and the raindrops that are hitting my face and batting eyelashes are heavy as I try to make out the faceless man who's carrying me with such care and tenderness despite the aching pain that plagues my body.

I blink hard, trying to clear my blurred vision, to no avail. The trees swayed back and forth ferociously and the howling winds keep me alert for now, but I feel so tired and just want to rest. "Hey, stay with me." His deep and commanding voice wakes me slightly. I hear a door opening and I'm being put into the backseat of what feels like a truck, my head being carefully placed down onto an article of clothing that was balled up to support my neck.

"Who are you?" I try to lift my arm but it was too heavy.

"Shhh, don't talk. I've got you."

"Wait, who... ar—" That's the last thing I'm able to utter before my words slur and everything goes black again.

ಇ.

My eyes struggle to creak open and that's okay. Because where I'm at feels comfortable. Safe, with the way I'm wrapped up and the position my body is in. It's warm, a little too warm. I try to open my eyes again and with success this time, I notice a low, dim light and a window nearby but I'm not sure how much time has passed because there's no sunlight. So It's either late into the night or early morning, I don't know.