The night had draped Misty's neighbourhood in a suffocating silence. The streets were deserted. No children could be heard laughing, no headlights pierced through the darkness, and even the stray dogs that usually wandered around seemed to have disappeared. Inside Misty's home, the silence felt even heavier. It settled into every corner of the house, almost as though the walls themselves were holding their breath.
Misty lay awake in her bed, unable to fall asleep. The warmth of her blanket offered her no comfort. Her mind was overwhelmed with worry and sorrow, while her heart beat in an irregular, restless rhythm. She couldn't decide what frightened her more: the strange stories spreading throughout the city about children vanishing in flashes of light or the unbearable thought of being separated from everything and everyone she had ever known.
She turned onto her side and stared out of the window. Nothing moved outside. Not even a gentle breeze disturbed the stillness. The moon remained hidden behind thick clouds, and the stars had disappeared from the night sky days ago, almost as though they, too, had fled from whatever was coming.
Unable to bear the weight of her thoughts any longer, Misty quietly got out of bed and made her way towards her parents' room. She didn't want to disturb them. She simply needed the reassurance of knowing they were nearby, that they were safe, and that everything was still real.
However, as she approached their bedroom door, she heard voices coming from inside.
She stopped in her tracks, her hand hovering just above the doorknob.
Inside, her father was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers tangled in his hair. He looked exhausted, as though he hadn't slept properly in days.
"It's a difficult time," he said quietly, "but we can't give up. We have to keep our girls safe."
Her mother's voice was soft, yet it trembled with anxiety.
"But how? You saw it yourself. Children being swallowed by beams of light! We don't even know what those things are or where they're coming from."
Mr. Singhania let out a tired sigh before responding.
"I spoke to Sanjay this afternoon. He told me there's still a region south of the city where no children have disappeared. Families are staying together there. No one has reported seeing those strange lights, and there haven't been any missing children."
Mrs. Singhania leaned forward and folded her arms tightly across her chest.
"And you believe him?"
"He's my friend. He wouldn't make something like this up. Besides, people have already started moving there. If we don't act quickly…"
He left the sentence unfinished.
A brief silence followed before Misty's mother finally spoke again.
"Then we'll go…?"
Mr. Singhania nodded.
"I'll take care of the arrangements. Just pack everything tomorrow. Only the essentials. We don't need anything unnecessary."
Outside the door, Misty felt her knees grow weak.
Her father, the person she had always looked up to and considered her pillar of strength, was planning to leave their home. The word escape echoed in her mind.
They weren't simply moving somewhere else. They were running away.
And yet, all she could feel was grief.
This house, with its peeling wallpaper and uneven floorboards, held years of memories. Late-night puzzle games with May, sharing cups of tea with her mother on rainy mornings, and the rooftop where she and her father used to spend hours gazing at the stars, back when the night sky was still filled with them.
Every little corner held a memory, and the thought of leaving it all behind hurt more than she had expected.
Without making a sound, she quietly returned to her room.
She lay face-down on her pillow, hoping the soft cotton would muffle the ache building inside her chest. She didn't cry, not yet, but she knew she was close. If she faced her parents now, she was certain she would break down. And the house, already weighed down by an unbearable silence, didn't need the sound of her tears.
Outside, the wind began to pick up.
It wasn't particularly strong, just enough to whistle through the small cracks in the windowpane. Misty slowly turned towards the sound, her eyes barely open.
And that's when she saw it.
A figure.
A shadow gliding across the glass.
Slowly. Deliberately.
Misty's entire body froze.
"Who… who's there?" she whispered.
There was no response.
She pressed herself deeper into the mattress, desperately hoping it was nothing more than a trick of her imagination, perhaps brought on by exhaustion and fear. But the feeling of dread growing inside her refused to disappear.
The figure was gone, but it had left something behind. A strange chill that had nothing to do with the wind. An unsettling heaviness filled the room, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Suddenly, a thought struck her mind with terrifying force.
May.
Misty shot upright and rushed out of her room, dashing towards her sister's bedroom as fast as her legs could carry her.
But what she saw when she reached the doorway brought her entire world to a standstill.
A beam of white light was pouring through May's window.
At first, it appeared soft and faint, but within seconds, it grew sharper and brighter, illuminating the entire room with an eerie, electric glow.
May was surrounded by it.
The light had wrapped around her like a cocoon, slowly lifting her body from the bed.
"No! May!"
Misty rushed forward, stretching out both arms as she desperately tried to pull her sister away from the light. But the moment her hand touched the glowing beam, an unbearable sensation spread through her body, as though her skin had been set ablaze by an icy fire.
Her vision began to blur. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears, and her legs grew too weak to support her.
"Mama! Mama! Come upstairs!" she screamed, her voice cracking with desperation.
Heavy footsteps thundered from downstairs. Her parents had heard her cries and were rushing towards them. Her mother's desperate screams echoed through the staircase, but Misty could barely make out what she was saying.
Her body was becoming weightless.
She was floating.
Her grip on May gradually weakened as the light grew brighter, consuming them both and wrapping itself more tightly around their bodies.
And then, in the final moments before they disappeared, Misty caught a glimpse of her mother rushing through the bedroom door.
Her face was frozen in horror.
Their eyes met.
For a brief moment, everything seemed to slow down.
A single tear rolled down Misty's cheek.
She looked at her mother, trying to hold on to that final image of the woman who had raised her, loved her, and protected her throughout her life.
Then, in a barely audible whisper, she said,
"Goodbye… Mother."
And with that, everything turned white.