And She Was Gone (Short Story)

She was so different from the rest of us. Therefore, we did not accept her into our group. It sounded like a reasonable explanation. Like a complicated Math equation, you did not question the logic. You simply accepted the answer.

If there really was an equation for it, it would have looked something like this.

Topic: Lunatic Girl
Equation:
Different from the norm + the rest of us = do not mix well.
Explanation:
Refer to Page 1 on Life’s theory of logic.

"Hey, is she going to come too?" I asked Brenda, sounding decidedly reluctant for her to tag along with us. I certainly did not want an irritating loony following us all around.

"I don’t know," Brenda whispered back. "I’ll ask the others."

But all of them shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads. They had no idea whether she was coming with us or not.

"Hey Tina," one of them called out. "You coming with us?"

"No!" she said, smiling to herself as she doodled something onto that notebook of hers she was always carrying around. Then she looked up and grinned at us, "Why? You mean you guys want me to come along too?"

She said this in a joking manner, but I could see the flicker of hope in her eyes before it faded away.

"Er, no … actually, we’d much rather you didn't," Brenda muttered, narrowing her eyes in disgust. I could literally read the thoughts running through her mind.

How dare she even suggest that we'd want her to come along!

"Oh. Okay then, bye," she said.

In that extra high-pitched, cheery voice of hers that sounded strangely out of place in the gloomy school atmosphere.

She laughed to herself as though this was one big joke. Even her wide grin did not seem to belong here.

But as she turned her back and walked away, it suddenly struck me that she looked very lonely.

Like an odd piece of jigsaw puzzle placed in the wrong box, unable to fit in with the rest of the puzzle.

The florescent lights flickered. I blinked. And she was gone.

Deep down inside, I felt slightly guilty for not wanting her to come along with us to go out for New Year’s countdown. But I kept quiet.

The fireworks were spectacular. Everyone was laughing and wishing each other a Happy New Year when the clock struck midnight. I joined in the general hugging and ushering in of the New Year. Yet somehow, I was beginning to feel uneasy.

Perhaps it was because I’d seen Tina in a different light. Perhaps it was the way she’d walked away from us.

Whatever the case was, I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen and it was proven true on the first day of school.

As I hitched my bag up and walked into the school gates, the first person who rushed up to me was Brenda. I was about to greet her cheerfully, but stopped short when I saw the terrified expression on her face.

"Tina's disappeared," she said, trembling as she grasped my hands tightly.

"Gosh, what happened?" was all I could manage to say. I was in shock.

"She ... she visited me last night," Brenda said, before completely breaking down. I tried comforting her, but my heart was racing with fear. Something really bad must have happened for Brenda to cry like this.

"Okay Bren," I said soothingly. "You must have been very tired. It was probably just a dream or a silhouette."

"No ... no it wasn’t just a dream. She was there," she protested. "I saw her with my own eyes!"

"All right ... so tell me what happened," I said, thinking that it'd be better for her if she got it out of her system.

"She ... she was just sitting there on my chair, singing and laughing to herself. And you know how freaky I find her laughter sometimes," Brenda sobbed. "So I quickly sat up on my bed and demanded to know what she was doing in my room in the middle of the night."

I nodded encouragingly for my best friend was showing signs of inability to continue with her story.

"When Tina heard my voice, she slowly turned around and smiled at me. But she never said a word. She simply sat there and stared at me with those insane eyes of hers. Even without the lights turned on, I could see that she’d totally lost it.

And that’s when I totally lost it. I started screaming and yelling at her to get out. But when my parents came into the room and switched on the lights ... she was gone."

I couldn’t help but shiver at the last statement. She was gone.

The florescent lights flickered. I blinked. And she was gone.

"And now, I read the newspapers in the morning and find out that Tina's disappeared because her parents put her photo up under the Missing People section. She was missing since New Year's Eve. Which means she never went home. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? I ... I'm scared ... I'm really scared."

"Look Brenda, you were probably just tired," I said firmly, steering her to a nearby seat. “You just need to relax, okay?"

She nodded silently, her face pale and tear-stained. I had never seen her so scared before. And this made me feel frightened too. For Brenda had always been the brave one. The outspoken one.

If she was scared, then where did that leave me?

I tried my best to be brave, even when I went home late that night. Brenda had refused to go home until I reasoned with her that this would only make Tina happy in achieving her goal.

"But I can always call you if there’s anything wrong, right?" she sniffled.

"Yes, I’ll be there if you need me," I said reassuringly, even though I knew that if Tina wanted to try anything funny, a phone call would be the last thing on Brenda’s mind.

The house was empty and quiet as I pushed the door open. My parents had gone out for a wedding dinner and would not be back until midnight.

Normally I did not mind being alone in the house, but after what Brenda had just told me earlier during school, every single sound seemed to be amplified ten times its normal volume.

I started imagining things and shadows that were not there and my heart gave a start at the slightest bit of noise. Telling myself that I was just too overwrought with nerves, I decided to turn in early. So I bathed, changed and got into bed.

As I switched off the lights, I almost screamed in fright when I saw Tina standing at the foot of my bed, her head bowed and hands clasped together.

I had no idea how she’d manage to get into the house, for I’d locked both the gate and the door. Nonetheless, I forced myself to calm down and looked her in the eye. I tried my best to be brave even though I was literally shaking.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, in the loudest voice that I dared to use.

At first, she did not reply. But she did not laugh or smile to herself either.

"I just wanted to say good-bye," she finally said in a forlorn, little-girl voice.

"Good-bye?" now I was puzzled. What did she mean?

"Good-bye," she repeated the last word softly.

And with a sudden, bright smile, she was gone, leaving behind no trace of her.

Or so, I thought.

I discovered her notebook the next morning, lying innocently at the foot of my bed.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I flipped it open. To my amazement, instead of the mindless doodles and undecipherable nonsense that I’d expected to find, it was filled with sketches of all our faces.

She’d drawn with an unbelievable accuracy and it was obvious that she was a talented artist. But what gripped my heart the most was the heading she had written above all of our faces. Friends.

Up to this very day, no one knows whether Tina killed herself or ran away from home. She’d simply vanished into thin air.

The florescent lights flickered. I blinked. And just like that ...

She was gone.