The Ties of The Sun and The Moon

Runaway

The windows of the car were wide open and the breeze travelled through Alyssa's hair. James sat beside Alyssa, showing her their itinerary. Their driver, Norman, rolled the windows up in order to hear what James was saying about the trip.

"The hotel is just 2 minutes away now. Tomorrow, we will visit the parents of the the victims. They agreed to this." James said, not noticing that Alyssa was already asleep. He turned his head around and saw he sleeping, her head hitting the door every time there was a bump on the road. He concluded that she must be sleep-deprived and decided to let her sleep.

"We're here already." Norman said calmly, urging James to wake Alyssa. James pat Alyssa's shoulder gently. "Mhm?" Alyssa mumbled, shifting around in her seat.

"We're here already." James said, picking her bag up for her and tapping her arm again. "The hotel?" She mumbled quietly, stretching her arms out. "Mhm" He said in a low voice.

She got her bag from him and exited the car, bumping her head on the way out.

"Here's our card, could we have 3 rooms?" Norman asked, handing the woman at the counter his card. 

"I'm sorry, there's only enough for two rooms." The woman said, handing us back the card.

"Well, you two ought to stay together. I'm not gay and I'm not staying with a stranger." Norman remarked, placing his card back in his wallet.

"Are you fine with staying in the same room?" James asked Alyssa, getting the key for their room. "I'll stay on the floor, it's fine." Alyssa answered, taking the key and walking towards their room.

The room was filled with hues of brown, grey, and black. There was a huge bed in the middle of the room and there were dark black curtains covering the windows. The remote for the air-conditioning was on the bed.

Alyssa turned the aircon on and plopped down on the bed, tossing her bag on the floor. 

"At least get a pillow." James said, tossing a pillow on the carpeted floor on which she lay down. "Mhm- thanks." She said, hugging the pillow and rolling around on the soft carpet. The sweet temperature enveloped her and the texture of the carpet hugged her. This- this to her was peace.

James lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Alyssa was long asleep. He turned the other direction, hugging a pillow and stretching. 

"Get you hands off me..." Alyssa mumbled in her sleep. "Dad- Please don't touch me there!" She cried in her sleep, sobbing.

James sat up, checking on Alyssa who was moving in her sleep. "Shh... shh. It's ok. You're ok." He whispered, going over to her and placing her on the bed. He placed the blanket around her as she calmed down. He slept on the floor whilst making sure she doesn't cry more.

***

The sound of birds chirping filled the room. The curtains, though closed, had light slipping through it.

All three of them were fully dressed and ready to interview the victim's parents. Alyssa, though half-asleep swore that she saw her face on a pole. Then again, she was half-asleep.

At the house of the victims' parents, James knocked on the door, coming face to face with Alyssa's mother. The woman- Gwen- stared teary-eyed at the boy.

"Philip!" She yelled, calling the father of the victim- James.

Philip rushed down the stairs, thinking something happened to Gwen. Philip stared at James wide-eyed. He rushed towards the boy to give him a hug. Upon seeing Alyssa, Gwen broke into tears and hugged her. 

Alyssa, confused, stared at James who was already staring at her.

"Ma'am...? We're the journalists who asked if we could interview you." James spoke, trying to break off the hug.

Gwen dramatically gasped, letting go of Alyssa. "Oh, darlings, we're so sorry. You two just look a lot like-" She cut herself off before breaking into tears once more. "Come in- come in." She said in a squeaky voice.

"What would you like to know about them?" Philip asked, handing Gwen tissue at the same time.

"Well, let's start with how you two ended up living together." James responded, pulling a notebook out of his bag to take notes.

"I decided to move in with Alyssa's mother since my son and my wife were already dead. That house holds memories of them and only them. It would've hurt so bad if I stayed there." Philip responded with a voice that tells you the person has been through a lot.

"Where were they buried?" James said a little hesitantly. Gwen shook her head, wiping her tears away. 

"They were cremated. We have their urns." She responded, pointing at the urns on top of a cabinet.

Alyssa just stared at Gwen, unable to fathom the familiarity of that woman. Her face was never shown on newspapers, but she looked familiar nonetheless. It was the same thing she felt when she saw James for the first time- The time when she was drunk.

This went on for a while- this went on for an hour or so. 

"Thank you for your time. I'm really sorry for your loss." James said, closing his notebook and standing up.

"Wait!-" Gwen called out, walking away quickly to get something. "I want you to keep this." She said, handing him a picture of the James that died.

It was a splitting image of him- and the girl in the photo was a splitting image of Alyssa.

"You two are just too much like them. Keep it, please." Gwen said, stuttering a little.

James smiled and took the photo, waving good bye at the tow as we entered the car.

Oh, the breeze of the area rushed through their hair. The sweet smell of the summer sun. It was all nice until Alyssa saw her face on a lamp-post again. She frowned at the sight of it.

Back in their room, Alyssa plopped down on the bed. "James?" She called.

"Am I going insane or did you also see the poster of me on the lamp-post earlier?" She asked, lying down on her belly and opening the news. "You saw it too-" James said, getting cut off by the news.

"Alyssa- 15 years old- has been missing for 48 hours. A search team has been set out to find her. Please contact this number if you have seen her."

"Alyssa?" James asked, looking at her as the news played in the background.