The Path

Forty had walked the path, and zero had returned. Yet, despite this, Samantha kept on her journey along the path. The idea of never seeing her sister again fueled her to keep walking, despite the sharp pain in her side and ear-splitting headache. She had lost her sense of time hours ago, but she had a vague idea based on the unilluminated sky above her. Samantha had always been an optimistic person, but the criteria surrounding her journey faltered this feeling. Upon listening to her plan, the townspeople erupted in discouragement and attempts to dissuade the young woman. Her love for her little sister emboldened her to make the daring quest and ignore the pleas of her neighbors to abandon the journey.  

It all happened just a week ago. Samantha, however, as many who are subject to traumatic experiences, remembers the event as it happened 20 seconds ago - it is a constant reminder of the goal of her journey. She was having a particularly uneventful day. Samantha already knew what she wanted to accomplish in the future, so she flew by all of her classes that she deemed “irrelevant” to fulfilling her dreams. The only class that intrigued Samantha was medical advancements. It was for this reason that she strived to be a doctor, and to work at the most prestigious hospital in the world, Crozer-Keystone Institute of Medicine. Samantha walked home from school with her friend Franklin. She remembers the day so vividly that if asked, she could reiterate the whole conversation she had with Franklin. When Samantha arrived at her house, she felt a sudden feeling of dread surround her. She attempted to open the front door of her house, but it was locked. This was a peculiar happening, as Samantha’s sister always got home before her and opened the door. This was a telltale sign that something was wrong. Being the optimistic person she was, she decided not to panic and to complete her homework. This sense of calmness soon evaporated when Samantha’s mother burst through the door, eyes filled with tears. “She’s Gone!, She’s Gone!”, Sonya wept. It took Samantha a couple seconds to comprehend who her mother was referring to, but once she did, she too started to weep. 

According to police, Jessica had been walking on a beaten path near her school when she went out of the range of security cameras and was never seen again. Samantha had no doubts this was true; she knew her sister tended to stray away from the masses and enjoyed walking by herself. This was the reason why Jessica and Samantha clicked - Samantha loved that she could vent to her sister and express feelings she kept hidden from the rest of the world, and Jessica found solace in Samantha’s calm and gentle personality. 

Of course, Samantha harbored her thoughts about herself, ones she shared with no one, even Jessica. She tried to portray herself as a sociable and care-free person, but inside she felt in innate shyness, a need to shield herself from the world. She needed someone like Jessica, someone who would listen and not judge. It occurred to her that she was doing this not only to save her sister - but her best friend.   

Samantha felt the dryness of her mouth and the unbearable aching of her legs. She decided to take a rest and take a small sip from her water jug. The oddness of her journey soon became apparent to her. “Why am I doing this?” she asked herself. “What if this is for nothing?”. Then, in the process of putting her jug back into her bag, a picture of Samantha with her sister fluttered in the wind and landed directly in her hands. Both girls were beaming, and it was easy to see how much the two girls loved each other. They did not look very much alike - Samantha was blonde and well built, with the welcoming eyes of a social butterfly, while Jessica possessed the brooding eyes and slender build of an introvert - but the beaming faces of the two girls told the viewer of the image all they needed to know about their relationship. The answer to her question became obvious, and soon after, every step she began to chant quietly the words “For Jessica”. “For Jessica” “For Jessica” “For Jessica”.”For Jessica.” “For Jessica.”

After what seemed like hours of walking, Samantha decided to stop to settle down and recharge in a small patch of grass for her journey the next day. As she was drifting off to sleep, she began to hear very faint noises; so faint that Samantha had to concentrate hard to hear them. Deciding they were just a figment of her exhausted mind, Samantha eventually fell asleep. Waking up refreshed and calm, Samantha stretched and began her breakfast. Much to her alarm, however, Samantha continued to hear the noises. As she paid more attention to these noises, she began to decipher the sound of a girl crying from the noises. This sent a chill down Samantha’s spine. What if that is Jessica? What happened to her? She tried to force these thoughts out of her head, and she quickened her pace. 

Samantha began to run towards the source of the noise. As she got closer and closer, the once faint noises became louder and louder. She desperately looked to find a hint as to why Jessica seemed to vanish. Then, miraculously, out of the very corner of her eye, Samantha saw small footsteps leading into a forest. Cautiously, Samantha began to tiptoe through the forest. While walking, Samantha heard a sudden rustle in bushes 20 yards from her; she saw a fire shining luminously in the gloomy dawn sky. Gingerly, Samantha approached the fire. When she peeked through the bushes, she couldn’t believe what she saw: her sister and her friends, huddled near the fire. The fear present in their eyes was striking; it took all of Samantha's willpower not to sprint in and hug her sister. 

Samantha heard a louder noise, and the childrens’ captor walked out. “What is all this Ruckus? Jessica, explain!” It was a voice she had heard before, she knew, but she had trouble determining exactly who she was envisioning. Then, the man turned around and faced Samantha. What she saw next she never could have dreamt of. 

“Dad?”