Written by variant
There came a time in my life when my days, months, and years flew by and all I could do was sit and watch as they disappeared.
As I walked across the boardwalk, I noticed it was just as crowded as the carnival rides. This place never changed. It was the same old sleepy town it had been for the past fifty years. In my younger years, I was just the same as these kids today. We would run around and scream, always trying to reach the rides before everyone else. I was more disciplined though. There were days before my hair began to grey, and my skin began to wrinkle that I had the innocence that was inside of all of them. I was just like all of those boys, on their first dates, searching for love. Just when I found it, it faded away.
Carolyn was a busty strawberry blonde with the attention span of a three year old. She was smart as hell, and one of the strongest people I had ever known. She never let anyone talk down to her. Back in the sixties we were just two rowdy teenagers who were out for a good time.
One night we had gotten all dressed up, and agreed to meet each other at the pier. It was our secret meeting place, somewhere no one would ever find us. Not at that time of night. When she came, she had done herself up. Carolyn had braided her hair, worn that silky dress, and put on the strawberry lip-gloss I loved to lick off of her lips.
"I love you," I had told her. We sat there, our feet in the water, and her head on my shoulder. The moon illuminated her face, and made her seem almost... angel like.
"James, I love you too!" She had thrown her arms around me and kissed me.
We made love that evening for the first time. The way she had made me feel, was like nothing I'd ever felt before. As our limbs tangled, I could imagine us being together forever.
And forever is how I intended it to be.
"Meet me at the Ferris wheel tomorrow night," I kissed her lips, and hopped into my Chevy before she could reply.
From that moment on, I never forgave myself. The reason? It was the last I ever saw of Carolyn Summers. I didn't know she was missing until she never showed up. I had waited at the Ferris wheel for her, nervous and scared. The ring had cost me my whole savings (which wasn't much). When she didn't show, I had stormed off to my car, ready to go to her house to give her a piece of my mind. I drove in silence, causing my anger to eat away. I had prepared myself for her tears.
Until I saw the flashing lights.
At first it was chaos.
"Jack, Dana, what is going on?" I asked.
"She's not with you?" Her mother asked.
"No. She was supposed to meet me at the carnival..."
The reason she didn't come, the police, her frazzled parents. It had all been leading up to something I didn't want to admit.
"That means she's missing Jack."
Missing.
"How long?" I had asked. "How long has she been missing?"
"Since last night," her father said.
