The Vanishing of Amanda Reiss

When the school bus finally arrived in front of Amanda’s house, she felt a wave of excitement come over her. For the first time, she was overjoyed to be the last stop cause it meant she could go see Drew, her bestest friend in the whole wide world. 

“Well, ain’t you a little ball of energy!”, said the bus driver, noticing her skip from the back of the bus and jump out onto the pavement. “Careful sweetie! Wouldn’t want you to get hurt now” 

“It’s okay, Ms. Brown. I’m alright!,” she assured her. “Drew didn’t come to school today, and I think she’s sick, so I’m gonna ask my Mom if I can go see her and try to help her get better!” 

“Drew? Oh, is that one of your newer friends, honey?”

“Newer friends?,” she giggled. “You’re silly, Ms. Brown! You know who Drew is!” 

“I do?,”she asked, turning her head. “Huh, I guess I just haven’t noticed her before. I’ll keep an eye out for her next time. See ya tomorrow, sweetie!”. The door to the bus slowly closed in front of her before it drove, a trail of dust and smoke left behind as it traveled down the bumpy road. 

As Amanda walked up the whitewood stairs to her front door, her eyes squinted in confusion as she looked back at the now distant yellow vehicle, still visible from the end of the road. It made no sense for Ms. Brown to not remember Drew, especially since she was always the last person off along with her. “Eh, she’s old. She probably just forgot”, she thought, her innocent mind helping her jump to that conclusion. 

“Hi Mommy!”, she entered the door and put her backpack on the coat rack, throwing off her Dora the Explorer shoes. 

“Hi honey! How was your day?”, her mom came down the spiral staircase near the door, lazily dressed in a white T-shirt that was way too big for her along with black sweatpants and socks. Her hair was ponytail for some reason. 

“It was good, I guess”, Amanda shrugged. “Drew didn’t come today, and Mr. Baker said she wasn’t feeling good. Can I go see her for a while? I wanna see if I can make her feel better!”, she threw her socks into the laundry room and put on her pink sandals. When she looked back up, there it was again. The same expression of confusion on Ms. Brown’s face was now on her mom’s, too. 

“Drew? Why didn’t tell me you made another friend, honey?”, her Mom asked. “Did you meet her at school?” 

Amanda’s reaction wasn’t the same as it was for Ms. Brown. Her face was now visibly concerned, her small, squinted eyes staring at her mother as she slowly stood back up from putting on her sandals. “Uuuuhh, what are you talking about, Mom? You saw Drew today, right? Was she sick? That’s what Mr. Baker said!” 

“Why would I have seen your new friend, sweetie? I didn’t even know about them till right now, silly!,” she chuckled.

“Mom. You’ve known Drew forever. She’s lived next door forever. Why are acting like you don’t remember her?,” she backed up a little bit, scared. 

“Whoa, hold on, sweetie. What’s the matter? Did I say something that scared you?”, she walked closer and put her arms on her shoulders. “Calm down, it’s alright,” she said. “Now, let’s back up a little bit, okay? Was I supposed to have seen your friend today?” 

Amanthing happen to her? Is she okay?,” her tone became slightly higher. 

“Honey, what are you talking about? Why are you getting scared? If you wanna see your friend that’s fine, but you gotta tell me who they are. I don’t you just going anywhere”. 

“I’m not just going anywhere!”, she pulled away from her mother’s hands. “I’m going to see my friend next door! Why is everyone acting like they don’t know her? Gary, Mr. Smith, Ms. Brown, and now you! Everyone’s acting like she doesn’t exist!” 

“Amanda!,”  she shouted, surprised by her sudden outburst. “Now that’s enough. You know better than to shout like that”, she stood up and put her hands on her hips. “If you really want to see your friend that badly, then I’m coming with you. I don’t you going someplace I don’t know about”.

“But it’s right next door! Why don’t you know about-”

“Hey! What did I say about shouting!?”

Amanda put her head down. “I’m sorry. I just….” She started tearing up a little. 

“*sigh* Don’t apologize, sweetie”, she picked up her own sandals. “Let’s just go see your friend, okay? I can tell you’re frustrated”. 

Amanda just nodded her head in silence, playing with her blue dress to distract from her confusion. She didn;t want to say anything until they got there. It wasn’t just about not having met her friend yet. This was Drew. Her best friend since she was a baby. Something was wrong. 

Amanda was all too eager to run up to the door of “Drew’s house” and starting knocking frantically on the door,  stopping when her mother up from behind and grabbed her. “Amanda, cut that out!,” she demanded. “What are you so worked up about?”. She looks up at the house, which stood a little from the others. It was mostly the same, with its brick structure, wide wooden front porch and big windows. However, it was noticeably larger than the other houses, and had a distinct red door instead of a white one. 

“Are you sure this is where your friend lives, sweetie? I don’t recall even seeing this house here…” 

Amanda didn’t say anything. She was too focused on the door. A red door. She knew Drew’s house didn’t have a red door. It was white, like the other houses, but you could still tell it apart because it had black paint stains on it that her father never bothered to cover because he thought it gave the house “character”. This wasn’t right, and she knew it. She quickly rung the doorbell, praying it would get the door open faster. 

“What’s going on? Why is so different? Why is everything different? This isn’t Drew’s house, but it is! This is where she lives! I don’t understand what’s going on! Why has no answered the door yet? It’s been so long!”, her mind raced with a thousand thoughts at once, overwhelmed by inexplicable changes. She dug her nails into her hair and started tearing up, her mother holding her shoulders again. She moved away and tried to ring the doorbell once more and- 

The door opened. 

Slowly, it opened, and behind it was a boy. A boy she had never seen before in her life, dressed in a black tuxedo with a red bowtie and short, brown hair. He was very small. He reminded her of her little brother, a toddler. 

“Hi. Can I help you?,” the boy asked. His voice is oddly deep for how old he looked, and almost seemed robotic its delivery. Amanda was certain he was somehow standing perfectly still as well, like a statue. 

“U-um, I’m here to see Drew. Who are you? Do you know Drew!? Is she okay?,” she asked, her concern for the boy’s identity quickly fading. Her mom pat her head to try and calm her down. 

The boy simply stared at her with his unusually large, green, empty eyes. Unresponsive. Unmoving. 

“Drew?,” he asked, finally. “Oh. You must be talking about my sister. Come on in. She’s been expected you,” he motioned his hand to welcome her in. 

“Well, aren’t you a little gentlemen,” said Amanda’s mother, walking behind her as she stepped into the dimly-lit house. 

“Not you,” the boy said as Amanda was pulled deeper into the space by an unseen force as the door slammed shut behind her. She ran up to in desperation, slamming her hands against it even more frantically than before. 

“Mom? Mom! Mom, are you there!? Mom!!”

There was no response. Not even the sound of a bang from the other side. She could no longer suppress her tears, falling to her knees and sobbing as she continued to weakly slam her fist against that strange red door. 

“Please…. I just wanna see my friend…. Please…..”

“You can’t. My sister died when I was born,” the boy said, his voice now deeper. 

Amanda turned her back against the door, staring into the boy’s eyes. “W-what did you just say?,” she asked. 

“Ten years ago. I was born,” the boy said. “That’s she’s been gone. That’s how long I’ve been here”. 

“But…. She’s my friend. I know her…. She can’t be dead. That didn’t happen. It can’t happen. What do you mean she’s gone. She can’t be gone! Please, I just wanna-” 

“Be quiet!”

Suddenly, the foyer went pitch black. Amanda her head as if to protect herself. It was useless, though. He could see her. Shaking. Crying. He felt bad for her, almost. 

“It’s alright,” he put his hand on her head. “I know… I know. Shhhh. You’ll understand everything soon. I promise. She’s waiting for you. In the backyard. Do you wanna go to the backward?” 

He lifted her chin up, making her look into his eyes. 

“Do you want to go to the backyard?,” he asked again. 

Slowly but surely, her crying stopped as she stared deeply into his eyes. Her face became blank, like his. 

“Yes,” she stood up. “Yes. I’d like to go…..to the backyard”. 

“Good”. He took her hand, and they walked through the foyer, out toward the back of the house. 

Pictures of Drew and her family lined the walls. But for every photo they walked by, she was replaced by him. The boy, standing there, sticking out like a sore amongst all the birthday parties. All the Thanksgiving dinners. All the sleepovers. All the Trick-or-Treats. All the memories. Not that she noticed. 

When they got to the backyard door, he turned back to her. He smiled. Her eyes were green. Just like his. 

“You finally understand, don’t you?” 

She nodded. 

“You were pretty strong. I couldn’t get into your head, like I could everybody else. Your memory of her was too much. Too much for me to take away. But I don’t have to worry about that anymore, right?”

She shook her head. 

“Good. Let’s go then. Into the back yard”. 

As he walked forward, she stood in place, her eyes squinting again. 

“It’s alright. Don’t worry. It’s all gonna be okay”, he managed to pull her with him. The tendrils were starting to come out.

“Once you step out here, you won’t have to think anymore. You won’t have to remember her.” 

She turned to him. And there, finally, she smiled. She saw her face. The face of her best friend. 

“Because now, we’ll always be together. Bestest friends forever….”