Chapter 3 - -CHAPTER 1.5: PANIC-

Tim's parents woke up, thinking it was a normal morning as usual. They noticed that Tim hasn't left his room yet. "Hey, Honey," Tim's dad said. Tim's mom had just come into the kitchen and sighed, "Yes?" "Is Tim awake?" Dad asked while he took a sip of his coffee, "He seems to wake up later than usual. He's quiet, too." Tim's mom replied, "He's going to be late for school if he doesn't wake up. Could you wake him up?" "Sure," Dad replied. Dad stood up and went to Tim's room. The floorboards creaked as he walked through the hallway, which was lined with family pictures, and even a family picture of Tim when he was younger. When he opened the door to Tim's room, Tim wasn't there, his bookbag was still there, his dream journal was still open, the bed was empty yet tidy, and the only sound was the fan and the blaring alarm from his digital clock. It was slowly flashing the time that Tim was supposed to wake up, like every other day. Where was he? "Tim?" His dad called out. Tim's dad found a note on the desk, he opened it up, and read the words. The note was written, "Mom and Dad, if you read this, I must let you know that I have left to be happy. Goodbye." Goodbye? What does he mean by left to be happy?Did he run away?  Did he kill himself?  No.. no way.. He can't think of that. That would be too horrible. His dad panicked, dropped the note, and horrible thoughts raced through his mind about what might have happened to his son. He looked at the open journal and read it, pages rustling as he turned the pages. His dad was confused. Why the hell does his son write about leaving reality in this journal? His dad knows his son didn't kill himself, the journal said so. Then, why would he write about leaving reality then? Unless.. It was about dreams that Tim always mentions in this journal. His dad left Tim's room and ran to the kitchen. "Honey? What's wrong?" Tim's mom asked with concern. Tim's mom had a cup of coffee she had just made in her hand. "Tim.. our son.. He ran away!" His dad yelled. Tim's mom dropped her coffee mug, the mug broke, and coffee was now on the floor, her hands trembling. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN TIM'S GONE!?" His mom shouted. She was panicking now and couldn't control herself. "He ran away because he wanted to... I DON'T KNOW!" His dad yelled. He had a difficult time trying to recall the note, trying to make it easy to believe. "Great.. Just great!" She said sarcastically, with tears swelling up in her eyes. "Tim is gone now! And we don't even know what happened to him! He might even be dead!" "No.. he can't be dead or kill himself…" His dad replied. But Tim's mom was too anxious and scared, she just wanted her son back right now. Tim's mom started to mourn the loss of her son. "Just.. go find him. Call anybody. I just want our son back…", she said while her face was wet with her own tears. Tim's dad felt like crying, but he knew crying wasn't going to make Tim miraculously come back home. Tim's dad grabbed his phone and called 911. Later that day, it faded into sunset, now it was a warm summer night, and Tim still hadn't come back home. The police were looking for him, but no trace or clue of where he went. Tim's mom and dad were still mourning for him. They don't know where he went. They were thinking in their heads, "Was this our fault? Why hadn't he talked to us? What have we done wrong?" They just... Didn't know. Tim's dad was staring at his son's belongings and the pictures of him, thinking about him. The entire house was filled with grief. Tim's room was still empty, silent, the fan still blowing, and the digital alarm clock was still blaring, slowly flashing the time Tim was supposed to be awake, and the note was still on the floor. The mug that Tim's mom had dropped was cleaned up, but the coffee was now stained on the wooden floor. There was no person watching TV, there was no one eating dinner, and there was no one even having a slight conversation. All because Tim decided to run away. Outside, everyone was acting as if nothing had happened. The mourning doves were still cooing, and the streetlights were still orange and buzzing. Tim's parents were still up, still mourning, and waiting. Tim's dad was just sitting in the living room, doing nothing, just staring at the floor, patiently waiting as if Tim was going to knock on their door. Tim's dad remembered those days when his son was actually happy, and not silent. Smiling, instead of a facade. Always talking to them instead of locking himself in his room, writing in his journal about who knows what. Tim's dad had a feeling that his son would actually come back. He thought, "Maybe that journal was a curse to my son." Tim's dad stayed up all night, sitting on the couch, still waiting, while Tim's mom slept in her tears. Mom's words before she fell asleep were, "Where is he!? Where's my boy!? NO! NO!" Tim's dad went into his son's room to read his journal to find something that could help him find out why his son had left. Rustling through the papers, he found many. It was written in those yellow pages that he was bullied and stuck in a cycle. "I appreciate the love of my parents, I do love them back," Tim wrote the day he left, "but I can't handle the pain any longer." Tim's dad now knew why, but how come his son said he wasn't going to kill himself if yesterday was the 'The departure of reality'? This meant that his son was still out there. He just didn't know where. Tim's dad left his room and went back to the couch. This time, he lay down and stared at the ceiling. Still thinking about his son. Tim's disappearance wasn't going to become just a burning memory to him.