(WIP) The Dream That Gave Me Hope.

3 - The Disappearance.

The day started like any other. I woke up to the sound of my alarm, groaned at the early hour, and reached for my phone on the bedside table. I had a text from Sage. It was sent at 3:17am.

"I love you, Milo. Remember that, always."

I frowned, puzzled by the odd timing and the seriousness of her message. Sage was not one for dramatics. I texted her back, a simple "I love you too, pickle. Everything okay?"

No response.

I got ready for the day, my mind preoccupied with Sage's message. It wasn't like her to send something like that and then go silent. I tried calling her on my way to work, but it went straight to voicemail.

Work was a blur. I couldn't concentrate. My mind kept drifting back to Sage, to her message, to her silence. I tried calling her again during my lunch break, but still, no answer.

By the time I got home, I was frantic. I had called Sage's office and they told me she hadn't come in. I called her friends, her family, but no one had heard from her. I drove to her apartment, but it was empty. Her car was still parked in its usual spot, but there was no sign of Sage.

I called the police then. I told them about the message, about her silence, about my growing fear. They promised to look into it, but their reassurances did little to calm my anxiety.

That night, I didn't sleep. I sat on my couch, my phone in my hand, waiting for a call or a text. Waiting for any sign that Sage was okay. But the night passed in silence.

The next few days were a blur of fear and uncertainty. The police launched a search, but there was no sign of Sage. No clues to where she might have gone or why. Her bank accounts were untouched, her passport still in her apartment. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

I felt helpless. Lost. Sage was my rock, my constant. And now she was gone. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. All I could do was wait and hope and pray that she would come back to me.

But as the days turned into weeks, hope became harder to hold onto. The police had no leads, no suspects. Sage was just... gone.

I replayed our last conversation over and over in my mind. Had there been signs that I missed? Had she been planning to leave? But nothing made sense. Sage was happy, content. We were going to plan a future together. Why would she just disappear?

I was left with a hole in my heart and a million unanswered questions. Where was Sage? Why had she left? And would I ever see her again?

I held onto her last message to me.
"I love you, Milo. Remember that, always."
And I did. I remembered her love, her smile, her laugh. I remembered Sage. And I hoped, against all odds, that one day she would come back to me.