The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The vanishing of Danny Stevens

It's been a week since Danny Stevens disappeared without a trace. The local people searched the forest inch by inch, the night of Danny's disappearance and another three days after.

The chief of the local police station, Mr. John Smith, was announced almost immediately. He was a retired policeman who once worked in the Big City beyond the hills. Old, obese, and with a heavy walking, Mr. Smith thought it would be appropriate to call the police from the Big City for such a serious situation. Hence, five police officers arrived in Goodharts and searched for Danny, in their neat uniforms and followed by their trained dogs. For the children of Goodharts, this unrest was alluring; like a film happening before their eyes.

But for the police, things couldn't be more serious. They searched the forest, the town, and its surroundings. But no trace of Danny. Behind the oak tree where Billy had seen him for the last time, they could still see his footprints in the soft soil. But after a few steps, the footprints had vanished abruptly as if Danny... had flown away.

Yet, with all the unrest in the town, life returned to normal, little by little. Apart from Danny's family, the local people, although affected by the little boy's disappearance, they were actually relieved that the disappearance finally happened. They could now be at peace for the next seven years.

Mr. Porter, the reporter, was the busiest person ever since the disappearance occurred. 'The Voice of Goodharts' finally had a front-page subject, one that could capture the attention of the whole community. His newspaper, in all its years of existence, had never seen such a gripping subject. Or maybe a couple of times, when other people in town went missing in almost the same circumstances as Danny.

Ferry's father seemed to be informed about every detail of the investigation. Every morning, he was reading the newspaper out loud. Until then, Ferry didn't pay much attention to weather prognosis or the cost of the coupons;  this time, he was all ears.

"Miss Beatrice Summer, Danny Stevens' teacher," his father read, "has been dismissedas a result of her negligence she proved while the boy was in her care. Until further information, she cannot leave the town and she will remain at investigators' disposal. A strange map was found among her personal things, with a shortcut to the forest marked on it. And it's also known that Miss Summer behaved strangely a couple of weeks before the disappearance. Which makes us wonder ─ what is her part in little Danny's vanishing?"

Ferry's heart melted. Everybody was blaming Miss Summer as if she knew what was to happen. Even if Miss Summer had behaved oddly, he knew in his heart she wouldn't have been responsible for Danny's disappearance.

At school, things seemed just as somber. The old Biology teacher who was always dozing at his desk took Miss Summer's place. He wasn't a pleasant appearance, always clueless and disorganized. He also smelled like naphthalene, which made children avoid him even more.

In class, the children were bored and sometimes they were leaving their seats to fool around right next to the sleeping teacher, making the other classmates laugh. Those were the only moments of the day when the heaviness seemed to scatter. But Danny was missed. Although he never treated somebody nicely, he was the trickiest child in the class.

Yet the one who seemed to miss him the most was his best friend, Billy Pride. The boy didn't bother anyone, anymore. He was sulky most of the time, sitting at his desk, his mind somewhere else. As expected, nobody asked him anything about what he saw the day of the disappearance. His father took care of that. Not even the policemen dared to bother him, a sign his father had a big influence in the Big City, too.

Meanwhile, the police were trying to talk to all the people who knew Danny. In the local newspaper, the theory of him running away from home was very popular. But why? And where? Danny was a normal child. A bit more prankish than others, it's true, but a normal child, nevertheless. His parents loved him and now they were desperate to find him.