THE TWO GILLESPIES: The Story of Alessa and Angela

Going on a Special Trip

When I look up at the big blue sky
I think of how beautiful things are
The birds, the bees and every tree
They seem to call me from afar.
When I see my daddy holding me
I feel safe and loved
I know that god is watching us
So far up above.

Stephen watched and listened as Gabrielle read another poem she wrote and his eyes lit up with admiration and love. His daughter was an avid writer and excelled in every class. They were now under the shade of a beautiful tree after he had picked her up from school.

"That was very nice, Gabs! You might become an novelist someday!" He said.

"You think so?" Gabby's eyes widened with joy.

"Honey, you can be whatever you want to be. All you have to do is put your mind to it." Stephen said.

Gabby nestled her head against her father's chest and giggled.

The sound was so sweet, and now, Stephen knew the question he was going to ask her was serious.

"Say, honey...do you know where we're going?" He asked.

Gabby looked up at her father and shook her head no.

"Well, sometimes when you sleep, you walk, and you talk about a girl named Alessa, in a town called Silent Hill. Do you remember?" He asked her seriously but he knew he didn't want to scare her.

"No. Not really." Gabby thought it over and said honestly.

"That's okay, babe...that's why we're going to go to this place and find this girl, so you can remember." Stephen reassured her.

They sat like that under the tree in silence, and Stephen's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and ignored it. Gabby caught on.

"Mommy isn't coming with us?" She asked.

"No, she's not coming, hon." Stephen said, trying to keep the sorrow, the pain and anger from his voice.

After all, why would Gabby's former adopted mom be interested in what they were doing now? He knew she didn't care and only viewed Gabby as a problem, and that's why when they signed the divorce papers, he won full custody of the girl.

Soon, father and daughter got into their SUV and drove off to Silent Hill. Little did they know that their neighbors Rose and Sharon Da Silva were on their way there as well to stop the sleepwalking episodes.

***
Gabby woke up at night a gas station, her father was reading another poem as he was filling up on gas, and this time he was concerned.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Stephen greeted.

"Long drive, huh?" Gabby yawned.

"Hey honey, I have a question. Why did you change your poem?" Stephen asked.

Gabby took a good look and trembled in fear.

When I look up at the dark black smoky sky
I think of how wretched things are
The school, the teachers, this wretched town
They seem to scream at me from afar.
When I see my daddy dead
I don't feel safe and loved
I know that god is damning us
So far up above.

"Daddy, who wrote this? I didn't!" Gabby squeaked in fear.

"Are you sure?" Stephen asked.

"I don't like this poem, daddy! Who did this?!" Gabby sobbed.

"It's okay, honey. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Stephen hugged his baby, believing her.

He let Gabby sit in the front seat of his SUV while he paid for gas. Soon, Rose Da Silva followed Stephen in, paying for gas as well.

Stephen looked over at Rose while inside the store after his card declined. Hers was denied too.

"You uh...headed to Silent Hill, too?" He asked.

"Yeah. I have a daughter who has sleep walking spells who keeps saying, 'Silent Hill'. But she doesn't remember." Rose said.

Rose was a beautiful slender woman with short blonde hair, blue eyes and she wore a matching top, skirt and black boots.

"Oh yeah? My kid has the same problem. Only she shouts about someone named Alessa." Stephen said.

"Say, since we both are going...why don't you and your kid come with us? We both are looking for the same thing." Rose offered.

"Sure. I'll wait for you outside." Stephen nodded.

Meanwhile still sitting in the front seat, Gabrielle curiously looked over at a little girl in the front seat of her mother's car. This little girl looked just like her, but her eyes were blue. The little girl looked her way, curious herself.

"Hey there."

Gabrielle turned to an unfamiliar feminine voice. From the looks of her form-fitting attire and her biker's helmet, she was a police officer.

"Is everything all right?" The police officer asked.

"Sorry, daddy says I shouldn't be talking to strangers." Gabrielle rolled her window up.

Cybil Bennett smiled. "Good girl," she praised.

Cybil was a woman with a slim athletic build, short blonde hair in a pixie and striking green eyes. This woman was a loner, but she had a soft spot for children.

Stephen came over after having what was a heated discussion on the phone with his divorced wife over Gabrielle, while Rose was having a similar discussion about their daughter, Sharon.

Gabrielle got into the backseat of Rose's SUV at her father's request, Sharon beside her. The two girls looked at each other curiously.

"Do I...?" Gabrielle started to ask.

"Know you?" Sharon finished.

Silence.

"I feel like I know you. I just can't remember where." Sharon said.

"Me too. I'm Gabrielle." Gabrielle smiled and offered her hand.

"Sharon," the little girl answered taking her hand and shaking it.

Flashes of memories of another time and another place came to both girls and they both stopped abruptly in bewilderment.

"What was that?!" Gabrielle squeaked.

"I don't know...did you see what I saw?" Sharon was bewildered.

"Yeah....strange." Gabrielle tucked a strand of hair away from her face.

Not long after this, they noticed that Rose was going fast. Stephen noticed too, and suddenly the radio gave bad feedback and the girls covered their ears and screamed.

Stephen saw two girls on the roadway going across the street.

"ROSE!!" He shouted in panic.

He felt her swerve and the next thing he knew, he banged his head on the dashboard. Then his world went completely black.