Five years later...

James Moore; Chicago IL

     My name is James Moore, and I'm a construction worker. I have a son named Daniel, and he is the light of my life. I got divorced from my ex-wife Ashley 6 months before the blip. She was my girlfriend from high school, and we got married right after she graduated from college. Things were pretty great from the start, but our relationship started to go downhill when we moved in together. I thought all would be better when she told me that she was pregnant with our son, and for a while, it seemed to be. I was so nervous to have a small child to raise and take care of, but Ashley was confident in us. Nine months later he came into my life, and I've never felt as much joy as I did that day.

     Four years later, Daniel started to have trouble breathing, so we took him to a doctor. We were told that he had a sickness that would come and go, but only with the proper treatment. Me and Ashley worked as much as we could to cover the medical bills, but this meant that I left early and got home late. Once we put Daniel to bed, that's usually when the fighting started. It got worse over time and after a year when Daniel was out of the hospital, Ashley filed for a divorce. It took a year to go through, and by this time Daniel was going into first grade. The court gave me and Ashley equal custody of Daniel, so he went back and forth between me and Ashley every two weeks.

     Daniel was with Ashley when the blip went down. I was still at a construction site working when I watched some of my best friends disappear in front of me. Once I gathered myself to consider what was going on, I called Ashley. She didn't pick up. I immediately left the construction site and drove to Ashley's house. I got out my keys and unlocked her door, but when I opened it, nobody was home. I had no idea where they were, and that terrified me. I looked around the surrounding neighborhoods in the hope of finding them. I was at the nearby park that Daniel liked to play at when I got a call from an unknown number. I answered it, desperate to find my son.

     "Hello?" I asked the unknown caller.

     "Hi, is this James Moore?" The voice on the other side sounded female.

     "Yes, this is James." I confirmed.

     "Well James, I have your son Daniel with me. We're at the Whole Foods over on East Grand Avenue."

     At this point, I was beating myself up over not thinking to look at the grocery store.

     "Hello? Sir, are you still there?" Asked the woman.

     "Yes, yes, I'm headed there now." I quickly got back in my car and went straight for Ashley's favorite grocery store.

     Along the way, I took note of the amount of ash on the ground, the number of people that disappeared. The streets seemed so empty. What happened?

     I poorly parked my car in one of the empty spaces and ran inside. The automatic doors opened for me, and I looked around for Daniel. I spotted him on a bench with a woman presumably the woman I spoke on the phone with. While I was walking over, Daniel spotted me. He pushed himself off the bench and ran towards me. I crouched down and pulled him into a hug.

     While he was in my arms he asked me "Where did mommy go?"

     I pulled away and looked him in eyes. "I don't know buddy." I said with despair in my voice. I pulled him back into the hug and looked at the woman who was still sitting on the bench. She looked to have tears in her eyes. We made eye contact and I mouthed the words "Thank you." She smiled back at me.

     I picked up Daniel and held him. I walked closer to the woman and she stood up off the bench.

     "James." I said putting out my hand for her to shake.