Chapter 1: Stranger

"Hahahaha!"

"Faster! Faster!"

"Moooooom~ Ken's bullying me!"

Cuhnmingham State Park, Queens, New York City.

A young man sat alone on a bench under the shade of a tree. His eyes are hollow, staring blankly at the bright image before him.

Young men and women, married couples, kids, grandparents, dogs- 

The sight of a bustling park filled with sunshine and laughter was reflected on his lifeless eyes.

Every chuckle, smile and scream of joy caused his heart to ache. But he endured this all, he endured the pain that enveloped his heart as memories of a joyful past flashed in his mind.

"Young man, are you alright?"

Stuck in the abyss of thoughts, the young man did not notice the approach of an old lady.

She had a head of grey hair but her eyes shone with a bright light filled with life. Beside her is an old man who should be close in age.

They were obviously a couple and it didn't take a genius to understand this as the two old timers were wearing a matching pair of sweats.

From the shape of their body, the young man could tell that the couple was quite well off. Despite the layers of marks left by the passing of time on their faces, they still stood up straight, their steps still filled with power and life.

Their hands did not show any signs of being callused proving that they did not experience the hardships of labor in their youth.

That's probably why they were able to keep a relatively strong body despite reaching such an age.

"Sorry… I just remembered something… thank you for your concern"

The young man spoke with a forced smile, but the deep bags under his eyes did not hide the signs of depression, sorrow and anguish that had battered the young man. 

The old lady opened her mouth, she tried to say something as her hand moved up trying to pat the young man but-

The old man next to her grabbed her shoulder as he shook his head.

Looking at the young man, the old lady showed a bit of struggle in her eyes but she ultimately closed her eyes. Her hand dropped as she turned her gaze away from the young man.

"Well then, take care… I hope you find peace"

After saying those words the old couple left a few words to the young man hoping to uplift him but that was all they could spare as they continued their walk.

The young man looked at the old couple walking away, his eye flashed with an intellectual light that disappeared as quickly as it shone. His appearance returned to the dark gloomy appearance he had but his mind was churning madly.

The lady wanted to try and learn more about my situation, probably thinking that she could maybe help. But her husband or partner had silently told her off. 

Helping others is commendable but there are problems that could not be solved by a kind stranger. They did not know what my problem was, it could be a simple issue of being dumped or an extreme issue related to money, wealth and other complicated problems.

My appearance is good, despite having a gloomy and depressed atmosphere, my clothes are clean and orderly. Everything aside from my face, expression and aura is "Normal" so it is hard to get any clue as to what's bothering me.

To try and help me resolve my issue would be similar to betting on the lottery whose grand prize is… a thank you.

The young man's thoughts contradicted his outer appearance, if anyone could read minds they may call the cops as the man was obviously acting. 

After all, why would a young man just act the way he did?

Why did he do it in the middle of a public park?

Mom, Dad… what kind of inheritance is this?

Unfortunately the young man is not a psycho nor is he mental. 

The young man who was acting is Jonathan Wight. An active young man who loves outdoor sports and history.

He graduated from Empire State University with a Bachelor of Science in History. After graduation he works as a part time lecturer at a small community college in Queens.

Jonathan's life was quite smooth sailing, he was just an average American, struggling with an economy that was going downhill. When he graduated he watched as the Science and Technology majors rushed to graduate due to a massive increase in opportunities in their various fields of study. Economy and business majors pull their hair every day as they watch their field crash and burn and Law majors bite their lips in frustration.

With the various events occurring all over the world the reactions of people differed greatly.

The worst though were the History majors who were either angry or depressed. 

People say that when history majors panic then everyone should worry. 

Unfortunately Jonathan was not the kind of guys who liked looking at the big picture. He would rather spend his time looking for a job to pay bills and live. Any free time he had would be used to either earn a little bit more or to enjoy a few hours of entertainment.

Yes, Jonathan was one of the many faceless in the world. Living in society just wasting away and watching as the main actors play their roles.

Unfortunately this all changed a week ago.

That day he was living his life like normal when he received an email from his family's lawyer.

What happened next was a roller coaster that he did not want to get on again.

But the summary of it all was that his parents disappeared leaving a will. 

Jonathan had received the old family home, a book and a pocket watch.

At first Jonathan was skeptical, after all, his parents were not dead- but apparently they had made something called a "Living Will" or "Advanced Directive". It was usually made for medical purposes related to "end-of-life" care but the family lawyer claimed that there was a provision that was related to disappearances.

Of course Jonathan was not an idiot, he researched about it and did not find the provision.

But when state officials gave him the book, pocket watch and documents for the transfer of ownership he was forced to accept that it was all legal.

Others would be skeptical and try to push for the truth but Jonathan was not like the crowd.

He did not pursue the matter- officially at least.

He was not a law graduate but Jonathan was sure that in the complex legal system of the country. So long as the interests aligned, processes that would have taken months, even years could be done instantly while evading various checks.

Jonathan was just a regular guy, what could he do?

Maybe he could take the matter up to social media but his followers were a paltry 200, just a few of his students who follow him in order to send him DM's about grades, inquiries and the like.

When Jonathan decided to take matters into his own hands though, that was when things started to get weird.

The pocket watch he inherited was weird as it had 13 hours. Marked with roman numerals, the 13 hours gave Jonathan a weird sense of fear but that was not the end of it. No, the pocket watch was in fact the most mundane of it all!

The deed to the house made Jonathan shiver as it led to an address that did not exist on the map!

When he saw the address, Jonathan wanted to curse believing that it was a prank but-

That was the address I used for years…

It was a weird feeling, for years he had used that address. In fact it was even in his college application and various registration documents!

He had never bothered to think about it, only when his name was on the deed did his mind seem to clear up.

An address that led to nowhere, a pocket watch with 13 hours and-

A blank book that randomly writes on itself.

Jonathan took out a small black book and opened it, the book could not open from the front page, it was as if the page was glued to the cover, even the last page had the same trait.

The book could only be opened from the center, moreover no matter how many pages were turned from either direction, the thickness of the two sides would always be equal.

Having the three weird items for a week now, Jonathan had already gotten used to the weirdness of it all.

It's not like I was haunted by a demon…

Of course his current calm was not something natural, in fact, he still lacked sleep as he would scare himself at night.

After all, who would not be freaked out by the experiences he had?

Unfortunately, disposing of the items was impossible as they would always appear in pristine conditions on his bedside table whenever he tried to "lose" the items.

Without having any way to dispose of the items, Jonathan could only use them to try and find out the truth about his parents disappearance.

Onto why he was acting like a madman at the park… 

Jonathan turned to look at the line of words that appeared on the books pages.

Cunningham Park is filled with joy and laughter.

But at night the darkness that envelops it squirms.

Light burns away the shadows but it also creates them.

One who has not experienced true despair will be unable to find her.

One who does not know joy will be unable to see her.

One who has never known silence would hear her.

One who knows not of joy will never taste her.

One who fears can never touch her.

Now who are you?

The text that appeared on the page was written as if they were printed. It was plain black, unlike how horror stories would make out haunted or mysterious items to be.

"At least it's not written with blood-"

Jonathan sighed as he closed the book, he tried to act as someone who was wallowing in despair. He hoped that a few changes would occur if he tried to act out the various ways to find "her".

Unfortunately none of his attempts succeeded as of yet.

"Maybe I need to do it at night…"

Jonathan thought but he shook his head.

"Nah, that's just crazy! What if I meet a murderer?"

He muttered under his breath hiding the shiver he felt as he imagined himself sitting at the same spot in the middle of the night…

"But if I don't…"

Jonathan suddenly felt a pain in his chest, the image of his parents flashed in his mind.

He bit his lip, calming his mind, he closed the book and stood up.

Jonathan scanned the whole park, he saw the kids playing around, the little girl quietly reading a book under a tree, the little boy playing in the swing. The parents talking amongst themselves, the group of kids spinning around a tree, the couples flirting about, the old times playing chess on the tables, families playing around…

It was all normal, nothing unusual, in fact, if anything were unusual in the park it would be-

"Me"

Jonathan sighed as he started to walk, he was gonna leave the park.

At this point he had no reason to be here, recalling the old couple, Jonathan chuckled as he muttered.

"If only I had enough money to live the rest of my life without working then this would have been easy"

Alas, the reports he had to grade, the lesson plans, presentations… he still had quite a few things he had to complete and accomplish. For now he could only give up and take things slow, after all, even his parents had seemed to have predicted that they'd disappear.

"At least they were aware of what was going to happen… if they could leave me such a will then they should have been prepared for whatever it was that happened…"