The Curse

The Missing Children

Arnold's ( Filip's dad ) POV:-

"That was a quick trip, wasn't it honey?" said a tired Jenny as she rested her head on my shoulders. " And a more successful one . That deal's gonna make us rich, you see if it doesn't. In fact, we will buy a new car once I get the money," I chuckled.

"You'll keep this one, won't you?" said an anxious Jenny.

" Course I will," I replied, amused. I knew how much Jenny was attached to this car. She will probably keep this one until it starts falling apart ( literally!)

"Did you tell the kids we are coming home early?"

"Nah, this is gonna be a surprise for them," I grinned.

"I hope they haven't been up to mischief. This is the first time we have left them alone at home."

"C'mon! Filip is old enough to look after them . He is matured enough to know not to play the fool."

The car raced through town to the outskirts of the city . The weather was delightful . I hummed a tune as I drove . Homecoming is always so sweet! I pulled over in front of the house . Someone had even watered Jenny's garden . That's thoughtful of them!

Jenny went up and rang the doorbell . No answer . She rang again and knocked . Still no answer. She looked at me worriedly.

"Maybe they went to town, or to a friend's house," I suggested.

"They went somewhere and left the door unlocked?" she said, as she tried the door, which surprisingly opened up."I don't have a good feeling about this, honey." The house did not look ransacked. However, the TV was on and the couch looked as if it had been sat on very recently. A recipe book lay open on the kitchen table. The children's bedrooms were not very tidy, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Where were they?

I called them. But all I got was an electronic voice saying that there phones were not reachable. Jenny was growing paler by the minute.

"Do.....do you think they might have been kidnapped?" she asked me in a trembling voice.

"I can't really imagine someone kidnapping three teenagers with no signs of a scuffle."

"Wha....What if they had been.....drugged?" Jenny asked , starting to sniff.

"Let's go to the police," I said, trying to keep her steady . But I was out of my head with worry. As I helped Jenny into the car, I spotted Mr Smith, our neighbour. "Mr Smith," I called out.

"Yes?"

"Did you see or hear anything from our house last night? Any stranger or any commotion?"

"No.But I heard the kids. They sounded like they were enjoying themselves. I reckon you were not home?"

"No I had to go on some urgent business. See you later Mr Smith."

I sighed. What had happened then? They can't have vanished into thin air! I am sure this is not a trick . Jillian might be the joker in our family, but she wouldn't pull off a stunt like this. And her brothers would never allow her to pull off such a prank. I leaned against the car door, lost in my thoughts. Then my eyes fell on two bicycles parked by the house . As I went closer, I recognized one of then - It was Anthony's! Hold on - I had better call up his parents . But just as I pulled out my phone, I got a call . It was Mr Jefferson - Anthony's dad.

"Mr Williamson have you seen Anthony? Is he over at your house?"

"No . I am searching for the children myself and I saw Anthony's bike here. Did you know he was coming over?"

"Yeah he had told me that he was going over to your house for a sleepover. Were you not home?"

"No I had to go.... Listen Mr Jefferson, from the looks of the house, it seems the children went off somewhere in a hurry. I can't reach anyone by phone. I think it's best if we go to the police."

I met Mr Jefferson along with five others at the police station. They were Sophie's and John's parents. The second bike I had seen must have been Sophie's. All of them were pale and worried to death , which was pretty natural. " Mr Williamson, when did you hear from them last?"

"I called up Filip at 5 in the evening . Everything seemed fine then. Did Sophie or Anthony...."

"Sophie called us at 6 . Something must have happened after that."

We filed a complaint . The officer was a plump, good natured man. He assured us that they would visit the house soon. All we could do until then was to wait. The Jeffersons and the Trottevilles came with us. All of us sat in silence . All that could be heard was Jenny's and Mrs Trottevilles's sniffs. Within ten minutes, someone rang the doorbell. It was Officer Hobbes.

"OK let's get straight to business," he said," Jillian, Jackson, Sophie, John, Filip and Anthony have been missing since probably after 6 in the evening. Am I right?"

We nodded.

Officer Hobbes looked around the house. " It doesn't look like there has been any robbery or anything . It doesn't seem like there has been any disturbance in the house. But we are not ruling out kidnapping . I will search for clues in the house . My team will search the forest, in case there's something out there . Well, we'll hope for the best." He gave a smile and left .

Everyone left soon . We told each other not to worry, but deep down in our hearts we knew we were fretting . Dinner was a silent affair . I had to coax Jenny to have something - she was so distressed that she refused to eat . Well, I can't really blame her - I couldn't seem to swallow my food as well . I couldn't bear to think of eating when I wasn't sure if my children had eaten . Heck I don't even know where they are and how they are. "Don't be stupid. They are fine," I said to myself firmly," Wherever they are...." These last words made me feel even worse . I don't have the slightest clue as to where they are. As I got off the table I noticed Jenny holding something . " What's this?" she asked holding it up to me . It was a box . " It's just an old box. It probably belongs to.."

"...our kids," she completed the sentence. Her voice had gone shaky again.

"Probably," I replied," Let's just go to bed." We went to bed at 11 but none of us slept. I could tell Jenny was still awake although we did not speak to each other. I turned and tossed, thinking about them . I hope the police find them soon.