Masked Twilight

No One Believes Me

Colin's POV

"Why did he run away?" Talo whines. "He was gonna teach me to be his apprentice. He bailed. Coward." He crosses his arms and kicks at the mulch of the playground.

"Why did Link run away?" Beth repeats, using her feet to sway on the swing.

"It's weird not seeing him on the ranch," Malo says.

"It's weird not eating with him at dinner or playing with him at home," I whisper.

It's also weird that Time doesn't greet me when I get off the bus. It's weird that Mom and Dad aren't home, but that's a good weird. At least I know that they're gone because I'll be a big brother. But with Mom and Dad gone, who will help Link? And I mean actually help him? Those agents just want to catch him and bring him back. But who will help him with the problems he faces in his head when my parents can't?

Me. That's who.

"When he gets back, we'll throw him a big party," Beth thinks out loud. "That way he'll never want to leave again."

"I don't think it's that easy," I say, but they don't hear me. The teachers have called us to the door to get in our classes.

Talo takes one last turn on the monkey bars before joining his class. Malo stays behind because he's in the younger group that came out a few minutes ago.

"We can make cupcakes," Beth says as we get in line with our class, "and hang streamers!"

"That won't make him stay."

"What do you mean?" she asks, finally hearing me.

I twiddle my fingers. "Don't you think Link will want peace after all these crazy things?"

"Well, after something crazy, a party and cupcakes would cheer me up."

What I want to say is, "But that's you." What I really say is, "I guess."

A loud party would scare Link off again, I think. He needs to know that we care about him enough to respect his space and give him what he needs. If that means long hugs and quiet rooms, then we should give that to him.

But then, why didn't my card help?

I guess it did, a little bit. It made him open the door and talk to me. It just wasn't enough. Maybe he'll need someone professional to talk to, but I don't think he'll like that.

I've been reading the letters and postcards Ilia and I found in his room. Most of them are fun memories from Link's childhood. Others are promises that his dad will be there as soon as he gets released from the military. Some of the letters had smaller pictures that went with them. As I've sorted through the pile, I've placed them in order from the largest amount of days in the countdown to the smallest amount, which is 10 days.  The order of letters and postcards seemed to be in a pattern, but when I told my aunt, she said it was a coincidence. It can't be a coincidence.

I'm happy my class has technology as our special today. I've been wanting to look up something that my aunt wouldn't help me with.

Most of technology is spent playing typing games. After we take the timed typing test that's only used to see our progress, I go to Google and search "dots and dashes code".

The first thing that comes up is called "The Hystory of Morse Code". That's not what I want.

I scroll down and find a picture of the key to the code. I pull a paper from my pocket that I used to draw out the pattern and compare it to the key.

Letter postcard letter letter letter letter letter.

Dash dot dash dash dash dash dash.

T-W-O.

The first word is two!

It takes me a long time to figure out the second word. I have to keep erasing and trying different letters to the dots and dashes, so I hardly get through the code. Time is almost out for this class, so I scribble the key down on the back of the paper to use later.

I don't pay attention to math class. I can do fractions later. Figuring out the code is more important. I keep working at it on the bus, and when I get home, I run through the door.

"Hi, Colin," Aunt Peony says. She listens to the person on the other side of her phone call as she waves at me. "How was school? Any homework?"

"It was good," I answer as I rush to the basement door. "Lots of homework. I'll work on it downstairs."

"If you need any help, come ask me."

"'Kay." I shut the door and drop my bookbag on the couch as I pass it to get to Link's room. Yestrrday, I folded the clothes and stacked his school books in the corner to clean up. On the dresser is the pile of letters and postcards.

I pick up the roll of tape I took from the junk drawer in the kitchen and begin taping the papers on the wall to organize the code. When I reach the part I haven't decoded yet, I use the key. Once all the papers are taped to the wall or spread out on the floor, I stand there confused.

The last word isn't complete. There must be a letter or postcard missing. I check the bag I found them in, but it's empty. There's nothing in the drawer except socks. I check under the bed and dresser, then in the pile of school books and folders. It's gone. The last one is gone.

I sit on the floor and stare at the code on the paper and start guessing. After a few minutes, I jump in the air in victory.

The last letter is N!

The code says: Two sides of the same coin.

I did it! I knew there was a code! But what does it mean? Two sides of the same coin. Hmm . . .

I scan my eyes over all the letters and postcards, looking longer on the pictures of Link and his dad. Some of the pictures show pretty sunsets or fields with the place written across the front instead of Link. I recognize some of the code in the pattern of the pictures. What if there's another code?

I get to work again. It's hard at first since I don't know which represents the dots and which represents the dashes. After I figure that out, I have the rest of the code in minutes. It doesn't make a lot of sense, though.

Shadow and light.

What does this mean?

"Colin, honey," Aunt Peony calls. I hear her walking down the stairs. "You've been down there for a while. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I meet her in the basement living room and close the door behind me. She wouldn't believe me about the codes even if she saw the evidence.

"Come upstairs with me and tell me about your day."

She takes my hand and leads me up the stairs. When we reach the top, the house phone starts to ring. I run to see who it is and recognize Dad's number.

"Hi!" I say excitedly when I pick up.

"Hey, Colin," he says back. We talk for a little bit before he gives the phone to Mom.

"I miss you," she says. "We're coming home tomorrow. Are you ready?"

"I can't wait!" I don't tell Mom or Dad about the codes. They should see it for themselves when they get home. I wait for them to say something about Link first, because the agents would tell them if they found anything, then Mom and Dad would tell me, right? But the call goes on and they don't say anything about it. So just when Dad is about to hang up, I stop him.

"Will Link be okay?" I ask quietly.

There's a minute of silence before Dad says, "We will make sure Link is okay. We're doing everything we can for him. Just pray for him, okay?"

"Okay."

"He loves you, Colin. He's just not sure if we love him."

I feel tears in my eyes. "But we do love him."

"I know. Pray that he knows that too."

I nod. "I will."

"We'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you too."