An Anonymous Call

Chapter 9- The Past, The Present

29th March, 2014:

I had to find answers. I was desperate for them. I needed to find them quickly. 

. . .

My friend, Channy, had contacted me earlier this morning. It has been a long time since we've spoke. We were childhood friends ten years ago. But then, we got separated.

Our past was one we did not desire to recall. But here, I'll explain it anyway.

. . .

We were best friends. We were childhood buddies. We used to walk around the park together, having fun at the playground, full of laughter, full of joy, full of excitement. 

We played tag. I sometimes fell and she would help me get up. I didn't cry, because I knew that she would always be there for me; there was no point in weeping and getting sad over such little things. Well, it seems I had quite a mature mind for that age. 

While we were happy, screaming and laughing with our squeaky little voices, I saw a man, dressed in black, heading in our direction. I whispered in Channy's ear, telling her about his presence. We glared at him. He wasn't wearing any mask to make him look like a burglar of some sort. 

He wore a black cap. There were no designs on it, just plain black. He also wore a turtleneck, which was not the current fashion at the moment due to the boiling weather. His bottom was a pair of black denim jeans which were cuffed at the ankles. His shoes, however, were undesirably matching to his outfit.

It was a pair of black leather shoes, the kind businessmen wear. It made him look fancy, only for a tiny little bit. 

All this while, the park was extremely quiet. We didn't really pay attention to our surroundings. We only started feeling cautious when this man interfered our little game. 

We backed away slowly from the pavement and onto the neighborhood road. His pace was increasing bit by bit. Surprisingly, the houses were dangerously quiet. It seemed like the tenants were ordered to move out for today; there were no cars in each and every of the parking lots. 

This car that we had discovered was parked beneath an evergreen. It was the only car present in the area. Forgetting about the mysterious man, we approached the car. It was a black Toyota, but I could not identify the car plate as it was blurred out. 

Suddenly, I felt a hand grasping my throat. I looked over at Channy on my left, but she just stared at me, horrified. I inhaled something. Something foul and pungent. And then, just like that, I lost my energy, I lost my vision.

And I collapsed. 

. . .

My vision was blurry as I blinked my eyes. I found myself back at home, in the living room, lying on the sofa. Everything seemed completely normal. 

My parents were beside me. 

"She's awake," I heard my mother whisper. 

"How are you doing, darling?" my father asked.

I took a minute to process what had been going on.

"...H-How did I get home?" I changed the topic.

My father answered, "A man had called 911 claiming that he had found you by the roadside. There was no one around, he was just happening to be passing by... it was the day you and Channy were playing in the park."

Oh my. Channy. Where was Channy?

The last thing I heard before I collapsed into this slumber was Channy's shrieks.

Something has definitely happened.

"How long have I been here?" I questioned, trembling. 

"It's been about two days now," my mother sounded worried. 

"And where's Channy?" I sat up, alerted and panicking. 

There wasn't any answer for a while. I couldn't hold on any longer. 

"WHERE'S CHANNY?" I demanded for an answer. My patience was gone. I could never afford to lose my best friend. 

My father stammered. "Ch-Cha-Channy... she's been gone for two days now... the man only found you."

That man in black clothing. That must be him. He must've done something to Channy. 

"What clothes was the man wearing? Is there any specific color? Trend, perhaps?" I pressed on.

"By the time we reached the hospital to find you laying in the bed, the man was already gone. He left right after he knew you were alright, saying that he had an appointment at noon," my mother explained.

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. This man. What is he? Who could he have been?

Channy had disappeared. I was left alone. She was my only hope in life. 

. . . 

A week had passed. Channy had returned on a Sunday afternoon. 

Her parents were relieved. They were extremely happy about Channy's return. They hugged and kissed her, full of joy and happiness. Her mother had shed tears. 

But Channy had changed. She remained motionless. There was no emotion in her. She was stiff, and her face was pale. 

They did something bad. They did something cruel. They did something ferocious. They commited a crime, I was sure of it.

Her parents had blamed me wrong. They shot me a menacing glare, threatening me to leave her alone and never to talk to her ever again. 

Channy was rich; I was poor. When we had met, her mother and father had doubts about me. They were picky about Channy's friends. She owned pretty dresses. I just had worn-out jeans. I had no money. She had millions. 

. . .

Five years later. 

Channy managed to reach out to me. It seemed like she was her old self again. We always chatted on the Messenger, but her parents had banned her from going outside since the incident. They never knew who Channy was talking to on the web. Here, she was contacting me. I was happy.

But in those five years, I had already gained a best friend. Channy and I weren't that close anymore. 

. . .

Two years had passed, and Channy grew quiet. From my view, her emotions seem to change frequently.  In those two years, we never talked. Not a single message was sent. I had no idea why Channy was changing so persistently. 

. . .

We're teenagers now. She came back to me. She said she was sorry for disregarding me for all those years. She gave an excuse that she was just, 'busy'. I knew that wasn't true. There was something on her mind that she was not willing to share. Whenever I questioned her about our past, and where she had disappeared to, she was never willing to answer. She would always ignore the message and quickly change the topic. I wonder what she could be holding a secret. So much time has passed, and she was never going to share her secret with me. 

And then it struck me. 

Was that man in black, this anonymous caller?