Dad, I’m worried.”
“Why would you be worried?”
“Because I’m alone now, and that scares me.”
“You’ve never been alone.”
“Well I am now.”
“I love you, son.”
“Dad, where are you going?
“Dad?
“Dad!”
Daniel jolted awake. His body was damp from sweat, and his chest was pounding painfully. The cold night air seemed to cling to his body and the warm sweat seemed to chill within seconds. The small electric alarm clock that stood on his nightstand read 4:32 AM, so he laid back down and tried to go to sleep. Thoughts kept streaking through his mind, and he soon realized that sleep was something that he would not accomplish any more of that night.
He got up, showered, dressed, and instinctively went down into the kitchen. Most of the conversations between the Straight family took place at the kitchen table, and it was a well-known fact that if you spontaneously felt the need to talk, at any given time, you could always find someone to talk to in the kitchen. This strange phenomenon has become such a commonality with the Straight family, that it has not been questioned for ages. This particular morning was no exception. When Daniel walked in the kitchen, Erik sat on the granite countertop, drinking a glass of milk.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” Erik said, sipping his milk.
“Nope; I don’t think I’ll be sleeping for a while.” Daniel said, taking a seat at the table.
“I know, me either,” He said, “I still have a hard time believing that he’s gone; I always thought him to be… to be…”
“Invincible? Yeah, me too,” Daniel said, trying to keep from choking up. “I mean, I knew he would eventually die, but I think my brain subconsciously told me that it would be in the distant future, and so it was impossible for him to die this early.”
Erik finished his milk, “Took the words right out of my mouth.”
Erik jumped down from the counter top and washed out his cup in the sink. Silence sat in the room like a dead weight as he sat down at the table across from Daniel.
“How do you think mom is taking it?” Erik asked after a while.
“I don’t think she’s alive, Erik.” Daniel said with gravity. “They found Dad buried in a pit, I just don’t think they found her yet.
“I don’t believe you!” Erik suddenly blasted, standing. “Mom is still alive! She must have heard about his death somehow and so she needed a breather. She’s probably just sitting in a motel somewhere!”
“Without leaving any contact information or any notice as to where she is? Not likely!” Daniel said, almost as loud as Erik. “Mark my words; she is either dead or soon to be.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“What makes you so certain!?” Daniel stood up.
“Because I am! I’m not ready to let go of mom. Not like you anyways!”
“Oh, and what is that supposed to mean? Like I am ready to let go?”
“You and mom never liked each other. You always got in fights and argued.”
“I loved Mom!”
“I love Mom!”
Uncle George walked in the kitchen, “Woah, guys, settle down. What’s going on? It’s five in the morning!”
Both boys sat down simultaneously, “Sorry, Uncle George. I think we’re still dealing with the hard news. That’s all,” Daniel said solemnly.
“Yeah, Sorry,” Added Erik.
Uncle George sighed and sat down at the table. He was a stubby bald man with big round glasses. He wore green plaid pajama bottoms, and a large shirt with “Come to the Dork side, we have Pi” sprawled across the front. Grade A geek.
“I’m sorry you guys have to go through this. I’m taking your parents death hard t--”
Daniel perked up, “HA! He thinks mom is dead too!”
Erik turned toward Uncle George, “Mom is just missing! They can’t find her! You don’t really think she’s dead right? Right!?”
Uncle George kicked himself, “I don’t know, Erik. People don’t usually murder one person and kidnap the next…I’m sorry.”
Just then, a knock came from the front door.
“I’ll get it,” said Daniel, glad to get out of the conflict.
Uncle George started to think; back when he was around eight, a pair of men terrorized a few apartment buildings in his section of town. The men had a scheme in which the men stood outside and knocked on the door of unsuspecting single women or single moms, usually at ungodly hours, and would barge in when the victim opened the door. One man would viciously attack and often rape the women, while the other man ransacked the apartment, looking for anything that could be sold for a quick dollar.
After the fourth successful crime, the city put an early curfew on all the children in that part of town, and placed a police officer in front of every apartment building that was a suspected target. Any suspicious individuals traveling in pairs were immediately pulled aside for questioning, and fear was evident in almost every individual that was unfortunate enough to live in that section of town.
One particular evening, George’s single mother was cooking yet another dinner of Top Ramen and microwaveable peas, when a knock came at the door. George, being a responsible young lad, checked the peephole before opening the door. Two men wearing business suits stood in plain sight. It wasn’t uncommon for solicitors to visit the apartment building, but he knew his mom was generally annoyed by their “leech-like tactics”.
“Hey Ma! There’s two guys trying to sell us somthin’ at the door, should I open it?”
“George Wilber Straight!” she screamed at him from the kitchen, catching George off guard by her surprisingly fearful tone, “Don’t open that door!”
The men must have heard the shout, because they suddenly ran off. George’s mom called the 911, and the police came and questioned George about what the men might have looked like, among other questions that might help them in their investigation. George answered best he could, but after about ten minutes the officers realized that they weren’t going to get much more than a string of idunno’s, and they left George’s apartment with a few words of reassuring safety.
Uncle George mulled over this semi-traumatizing experience in his mind as Daniel left the room. Realizing the eminent danger, Uncle George flew out of his seat and raced after Daniel.
“DANIEL! DON’T OPEN THA…!”
Before he could process that his uncle was yelling for him, Daniel opened the door, and found a single envelope sitting on the porch.
George put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, “Daniel, don’t do that to me. Someone could have just barged right in and murdered us all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Uncle George, It’s just a letter.”
Daniel looked at the envelope; it was completely blank on the outside, no return address, no stamp, no name. He opened it and pulled out a white piece of paper, which had the same four words hand written over and over:
Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange. Beware of the orange.
