Gone

Part 11

Chapter 11

August 2019

"Daddy, Daddy can I ask something?" Camilla said running towards her father and jumping up for Alex to catch her

"Yes you can" he answered and then kissed her on her cheek.

"Are the clouds made of cotton or paper?" the little girl asked with the most serious look on her face.

"Cotton. Fluffy cotton." He said not knowing how to answer his daughter.

"So why the clouds are white if the cotton candy is not?" Alex looked at Jo, who was recording their scene at the park, for help. Jo giggled and shook her head at him "I think they are made of paper."

"Oh really?" Alex asked "Why is that?"

"Because the paper is white too." She said and took off running to the playground where she had come from.

"Oh stop laughing at me..." Alex told Jo giggling, "What should I tell her? That clouds are made of water?"

"Yes. I would have loved to know what her next question would be."

"She would probably ask if we drink clouds then." Alex said and then turned to look at their daughter "Who is that woman she is talking to?"

"I don't know." Jo answered, "Camilla, come here." She called for their daughter; the child did as she was told to, she ran to her parents and then sat in front of them.

"What are the rules for the park?" Her father asked her pulling her onto is lap

"I can't talk to strangers and I can't go far away from your sight." She answered after gulping from her pink drinking bottle.

"Why were you talking to that woman over there?" Jo asked her

"I thinked she-"

"Thought." Alex interrupted her to correct her spelling mistake.

"I thought she was you when I was at the playground but then she wasn't you, Mommy."

"Oh... You don't know your silly head Mommy anymore?" Jo asked ruffling the child's hair and then tickling her causing their daughter to laugh.

"Daddy who painted the clouds?"

"Okay... it's time to go home." Alex said to his girls and they both nodded their head at him.

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Present day

Alex was left alone, with no Camilla nor Jo, pondering what to and never finding answers to that, his life was spiraling down endlessly. All of the control he had was slipping away. All of his emotions had drained out and turned into a desperate rage, he found himself constantly breaking down and breaking stuff. He realized he was becoming helpless with each passing day without his daughter. Friday had come and Camilla had been gone for a week now. His life was great; it was perfect, everything was right until a week ago. Everything, every little detail of his life had drastically changed in a course of a week. Camilla was gone and Jo was slowly fading away too. One week had passed since he last saw his daughter, the day after would be a week since he last heard her voice, even if was not in person, he knew she was okay at that point but what about now? He had no idea if she was still okay. He dread every single day the thought of her daughter possibly be dead. Jo had left him on Monday night and returned the next afternoon only to leave again. She told him she was staying at their second house because she needed to be away from their home for a little or she would break down to the point of no return and that their home was making her lose control little by little, she didn't feel right in there, she needed a bit of space. They hardly ever went to that house; it was more like a house for a getaway when one of them needed a little bit of space from the other. Alex had placed a box of homemade videos in their living room and was watching them over and over again for the need to be reconnected with his daughter, until he would eventually fall asleep.