Something Left Behind
Many disappear every year. Most of them are plucked from their lives without a choice, a voice, or the strength to return. But some choose to disappear. A runaway who is tired of their life or fears for their life. They have no choice but to vanish, ceasing to exist in the present.
Where could they have gone? No one knows, but look to the past.
Sometimes, the past can bring comfort that the present cannot.
August 2020
Somewhere in the port of Malta, Italy
“Alicia, here!”
She caught the bag her father tossed in her direction.
“Aren’t you coming with me?” she asked, looking up at him underneath the full moon.
It was the only thing giving light in the dark harbor.
“No, I can’t go with you just yet. They are looking for traces of us here, and I need to tie up some loose ends.”
“But, Pa?”
“I know you’re worried for me, mija. But this is for the best. And I have connections here in Spain.”
“I know that, but how will you escape him without me? We barely even escape France from him!”
He grimaced but otherwise didn’t show further displeasure at her remark. “I will find a way. We’ve made it this far, didn’t we?”
Alicia lingered for a moment, yet her hand was already on the string to pull the engine of the motorboat to life. “How am I going to contact you once I arrive in Scotland?”
“The address I wrote down. But it would be best if I wrote to you first. Just wait for me there, okay?”
Alicia nodded and peered toward the dark horizon. The endless uncertainty that reflected her future gave her a chill.
What would her life be like now?
Three months ago, she was working in security for a hotel in France. And now, here she was, on the run from one of the most dangerous men in Italy.
“Go, now, Alicia, before someone sees us here.”
Alicia glanced at her father once again. Devoid of words and goodbyes.
But he had words to leave her as a goodbye. “Remember, never get too comfortable, and never let your guard down.”
With a nod, she started the boat’s engine and never looked back again.
Her father knows what’s best, even if she doesn’t want to be apart. This was their best choice for survival.
If only she could have turned back time, gone back to the past, and never once met the man who ruined her life forever.
