We All Remembered Her Smile

t h r e e

She never showed up to school, never texted, never called. No ones seen her all day, including her family, but I just thought she'd went off day dreaming in her tree house for longer than anticipated.
         Most of the school day was filled with anxiety. Everywhere I went, everywhere I looked, I felt like eyes were on me. Not everyone, just someone. Two kids I haven't seen very often throughout the year kept happening to cross paths and it seemed their eyes followed me to where ever I was heading. I considered myself paranoid and brushed it off.
         After school, I went home and called Harmonys phone. No answer, straight to voicemail. Her voicemail was sweet and simple, her voice was soft and it sounded as if she was confused about what she was doing, she's never been great with technology. But a voicemail, that's never happened in the past. Harmony is known to answer quick, and never let her phone die. But this day, she did. The day she didn't go to school, and it worried me. It terrified me actually, that's when I realized something was truly wrong. At the time I just thought she'd passed out somewhere or gotten lost.
        I walked through the forest, yelling her name, not loudly, but just enough to be heard a bit away.
        I kept walking until I reached her treehouse. I graced my hand over one of the handles, and hesitantly looked up. I took a deep breath and climbed. She wasn't there, I couldn't find any sign of her being there. I was getting ready to head back down, then a note caught my eye. Towards the end of the note, it looked as if something spilled on it, some sort of tea. I couldn't make out all of the words.

Dear Natalie,
I knew you'd come here looking. I'm sorry I had to go so soon. You'll know soon enough what has happened. I promise I'll tell you when I'm home. Don't worry about me, and don't go looking. It's dangerous. Tell my family that I'll be home soon. Don't be worried, and don't worry anyone. Don't show anyone this note. I j st ne  you  t

And it ended. I tried to figure out what the last bit was, all I could get from it was 'I just need you to' then the rest is blurred. I folded it small enough to fit into my pocket and left. I was extremely worried at this point, the fact she told me not to be is what sparked it. I was beginning to think she just ran away, maybe because of her dad the day before.
         I didn't know where she was, where she went, where she was going, who she was with, nothing. It was all a mystery to me, and everyone else in the town.

         She went to stay with a friend for the weekend. At least, that's what I told her family. I should have known to show them the note, I shouldn't of lied. That lie made it so much worse. That lie cost us all so much more than we'd even begin to imagine.

         I trailed through the forest after school the next day. It was cold, fall was coming to an end. The winter breeze was rolling in.
        I had my hair up in a bun with disobedient hairs lining my face. I enjoyed nature, I enjoyed the breeze, the escape from problems and reality. Although having the calming feeling of the outdoors and the peace of the world, it wasn't the same without her.
          Eventually I got to a cliff and dangled my legs side. I looked out, the sky, the view, it was beautiful. But, the breeze wasn't as nice anymore, with each blow of wind the smell was horrible. Rats infested the area and the beautiful nature aura was dead.
            I used to come here all the time. It was my escape. My home away from home. Now, it's different, it's dying, it's awful. I looked around, hoping to find the cause. I searched for a few seconds but the stench was so bad it felt like hours.
               I found the cause and felt a piece of me sick. A dear, just lying there, dead. It was shot. I made my way over to it and just saw flies and other insects infesting the helpless animal. Yes I was upset, but there was nothing I could do. I put my hands in my pockets and walked away, I couldn't bare to see it. It was horrible. Little did I know I was going to see worse. Much, much worse. I started walking home, then I saw it. Blood, trails of blood, leading to something. I didn't follow it at first, seeing if I could see the end from where I was.
         I contemplated following it for a few minutes after I knew I can't see the end from where I am. I didn't know how to feel. I started walking a bit. The trail was thin, except some parts there'd be a pool, then it would drag out again. I followed it, and followed, and followed, until I reached the end. At that point, I wish I would've just went home.