Liam's Messages

I come back to the creek the next day during lunch, ignoring the fact that I have been ditching practice for days now since I first started going here. Olivia might have noticed my absence, but she never asks me about it. I don't ditch when it comes to Savannah's training session in the morning because she'll probably talk to Lucas about it. Mason will probably figure out why I never show up too, but I know he won't even care.

I come back a little early today because I got too excited. I can hear a rumbling sound of the vehicle, and I suddenly get nervous. I don't really know how to react when I finally meet someone who has gone missing for seven years!

Should I probably just ask him, "Hey, what's up? How's life going?" that doesn't sound right. I actually just want to scream at Liam's face for leaving me and slap him so hard. But then I'm going to hug him tight and probably mention how I missed him, and then I'll regret saying that the next second it comes out of my lips.

But you know what... who cares! I'm just glad I can finally see him, touch him, speak to him, and just be with him even for a second.

The car comes to a stop, so I take a few steps back to the tree trunk just for precaution, then I crouch down to hide behind it. I can hear two men talking, but I can't catch Liam's voice in any of them. Do I even remember how Liam sounds like?

I take a little peek to see the source of the voice, and Liam is not there! Where is he? What will happen if I ask them about Liam? They don't look dangerous. They won't attack me, will they? But I can't jeopardize anything right now. Not until I'm sure they're friends with Liam. So I just wait until they're gone and go back to the camp with an empty feeling.

It goes the same the next day, still no signs of Liam anywhere. It's been a week since I've been here wishing that Liam will show up again. I start to lose hope, so I go back to the camp with blotchy eyes from crying in the evening. I accidentally left one of Daisy's shawl in the trunk, hoping no one will take it away tomorrow morning.

"Are you okay, child?" Daisy asks me from the kitchen, there's concern in her face. She's wearing her yellow apron with a small duck in the middle of her chest while holding on to a wooden spatula. Behind her back, there's a huge sizzling pot that gives off the smell of tomato sauce mixed with spices.

"I'm fine, Daisy! Thanks for asking," I approach her, hoping she won't see the nervousness in my face after stealing her clothes these past few days. We don't talk a lot because we both are always outside the cottage, and I always come back at night after she hits the sack.

She turns back to her cooking, "rough day at training?" she grunts as she's stirring up something heavy on the pot.

I hate lying to her because she's been nice to me, but I have. "Yup."

Her small figures looks healthy despite her age. I don't even know how old she is now, but she looks like she's been living a good life. I also don't know anything about her aside from the information Lucas gave me. Did Lucas ever talk about me to her? How we both already knew each other on our supposedly first meeting?

"Come sit down," she says, snapping me from my thoughts. "I'm making Chilis for dinner. I hope you like spicy food," she snickers in an devilish way.

She likes teasing me. I don't know why she thinks it's okay to bully a much younger person almost everyday. I almost want to take back all the nice things I just thought of her.

***

It's Saturday, and there's no practice on weekends. It's pretty much like school, except we're training something useful. After breakfast, I see another opportunity to go back to the creek as soon as Lucas walked out of the door without dragging me along with him. It usually means that he'll be gone for a whole day, long enough for me to disappear without him noticing.

He never tells me where he's going or what he's doing, and I'm not interested to know. I'm just glad that he's not in my way to continue my own adventure... or is it more like a rendezvous?

I put on my hiking gear, and dash out of the cottage before Daisy can ask me where I'm going on a Saturday.

I've become more familiar with the path that I take, and I even found shortcuts that would save me almost half an hour journey the other day. I don't need trails anymore, but I still leave some, and I take a flashlight with me because two days ago I almost lost my way in the dark.

I set down my backpack in the tree trunk after reaching this place hours earlier than usual, and go right away to the stream. I need to test out how deep the water is, and maybe I can explore the forest across.

I have to grit my teeth when the water soaks up my legging. I take one careful step at a time, trying to find rocks for my footing. The depth of the stream is already up to my knees, and I haven't even halfway across.

Apparently, my legs are not as long as a normal human being. I'm too short! I will probably drown, and other people will still be able to cross this stream half wet. So I go back to the tree trunk, feeling a little cold. Ugh, this winter is going to be uglier than last year.

Daisy's shawl is still tied up in one of the branches of the tree trunk. When I take it, a piece of paper falls to the ground next to my feet. What the hell? I don't remember leaving any notes here yesterday. When I open it, I can recognize the handwriting right away.

"Don't leave your shawl here! If someone else found it before me, you'd be in danger. I know it's you, Fumbly. Please be careful next time!"

That's all he wrote, there is no name or anything. But I know it's from Liam. Where is he? Why didn't I see him yesterday when he left me a letter here?

When the sound of a car starts to echo throughout the forest across, I quickly fold the letter into a small piece and carefully put it inside my jacket. I grab my bag and run as fast as I can to the forest behind me.

There is still no sign of Liam.

Once they're gone, I go back to the tree trunk and wait. The sun is already setting, and the sky has turned purple now, that means it's time for me to go back. I'm hesitating to wait a little longer, but I don't want to risk getting lost. So I run back to the forest and go back to the camp.

The next day I don't see any letter in the tree trunk, but I take a notebook and a pen with me today. I wait for the same pickup truck to show up to see if Liam is coming or not. But to no avail, Liam doesn't show up again. I don't understand! How come he was here when I literally stayed until the pick up left, and I couldn't find him?!

I am already used to this disappointment now I guess because I don't feel as sad as days before, so I decided to write him a note.

"Why didn't I see you when you left a note for me? I don't know what to say, but you're real?"

I take several branches from the forest, and I cover the note that I slip in between the gap of the log.

The next day, I find the branches are gone along with the note I left. My heart is racing when I don't see anything. Did someone take it? Someone who is not Liam? Oh my God, did I put him and myself in danger?

But then I see a folded paper in the exact same place that is weighted by a small rock. Relieve rushes into my sweaty palms, and I can finally breathe out the anxiousness. My heart keeps racing every time I find a proof of Liam's existence. This paper is giving me something to hope for.

"I am real."

That's all he wrote. What the hell is this? Is that it? Why would he just write that? I walk around the shore and examine the tree trunk several times until I can finally convince myself that it was what he wrote to me. I take out a piece of paper and write him another note.

"Why won't you show yourself?"

Then I cover it again with a chunk of wood just like yesterday. The next day I find his reply.

"Time is all that matters now. Let the time answers."

Why would he write nonsense? I want him to talk and explain to me where the hell he has been all this time! Or at least tell me when he'll be back to the creek!

So I write him a long letter, but he never replies back to me. It has been going on for almost two weeks, and we still haven't really seen each other face to face, and it's driving me crazy!

Will I ever get to see him again? Because every time I am there waiting for him to get out of the pickup truck, he's never there. I'm starting to lose hope again. He is so close, yet so far away.

Maybe he'll be here next time. I don't know how I can be sure, but something inside my head tells me he will.