The Mist

Prologue

"Where are you going, Jack?" My mom questioned as I began walking away. "My room." I responded, not looking back to her. I wasn't in much of a mood to talk. I closed my door behind me and took the tie I was wearing off. I threw it on the ground then tore the too-tight dress shirt off my arms, leaving me in a plain white shirt. I kicked off my shoes with slight struggle. That stupid shirt and that stupid tie and those stupid shoes and this stupid day. I took a deep breath and stood in front of my mirror. My eyes were puffy and red and I could just see the tear stains. "Can't everything just stop?" I whispered. "If everything stopped, the better days won't be able to arrive, my dear Seán." I jumped a little and turned around. I sighed and put my hand on my chest. "You scared the living shit out of me." Mark chuckled gently and leaned back in the chair he was seated in. "I'm sorry. I just thought I'd stop by today." I nodded once and looked to my window. It was still locked. "How did you get in?" I asked. He just shrugged. "I have my ways. You should know that by now." I walked over and sat criss-cross on my bed near where he was seated. "How're you holding up?" He questioned quietly, the atmosphere changing drastically. I scoffed a little and averted my eyes to anything. "The same as anyone who just got back from their dad's funeral." He sucked in some air through his teeth and let out a tiny laugh, trying to lighten the mood I guess. "Sorry. I don't know what to say in these situations." I shrugged. "It's alright. You don't have to say anything."

I rested my hands on my stomach as I stared at the ceiling. They found him in the ocean, just floating. He'd been gone for weeks. He just left one day with no explanation and didn't contact mom or me. Then he just..dies. They said there were no signs of him drowning or even struggle. No problems on the inside or the outside. He was just gone, with no explanation. "I'm sorry.." I heard Mark mutter. I lifted my head to look at him. "For what?" He shrugged and shook his head. "I just am." I sat up and reached over, giving his shoulder a comforting touch. "Thank you." He raised his head and smiled. He had these chocolate brown eyes that never seem to change. They're always very soft and kind. He had black hair that flopped to one side and tan skin. He's looked the same in all the time I've known him. It's like he doesn't age. I asked him about it once. He just told me that it's magic and one day I'd understand. That was years ago and I still don't get it, but I never question it. Though it seems like something that I probably should ask about.

Mark reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "I guess I should give this to you- under the circumstances and all..." His sentence trailed off." I raised my eyebrows. "What is it?" He smiled a bit and read the front before handing it to me. I grabbed it and looked at it. It had my name written in neat, cursive letters. This looked exactly like dad's writing. "Is this..?" I looked up to see Mark staring at the wall with his hand covering his mouth. He gave a small nod, not looking at me. I could feel my heart quicken. Why would he have this? I quickly opened it, trying my best not to tear the envelope. I took out the contents and placed them on the bed. There were pictures and what seemed to be a letter. I decided to read the letter first. I unfolded it and felt tears spring in my eyes once I saw it was all in his writing. Every letter looked exactly like the ones he'd write. I let out a small laugh and wiped my cheek then began to read.

Seán,

I am so sorry to leave you like this, so suddenly. I wish I could have been there with you and your mother longer, but it was a dire emergency. Although, there's no excuse for abandoning you and I could never deserve your forgiveness, that isn't what this is about. You're still very young. You will be 17 soon. There's something I have waiting for you when you finally turn 25. That may seem like long ways away, but it is worth it. If it's not what you want then you can simply leave. I've gone over it with Mark multiple times, he'll be the one to bring you there. I hope you love it as much as I did. It's amazing, full of wonderful things. You'll find my research there- research of things that may be hard to process, but I wish that you try to understand. It will change your life. I love you and your mother, always and forever.

Please remember to believe.

I slowly put the letter down and bit my trembling lip. "You knew him?" I shakily breathed out. Mark closed his eyes. "I did." I let out a whimper and put my face in my hands. "I don't understand. What is he even talking about?" I heard him take a deep breath then he moved in his seat. I peeked through my fingers to see that he had grabbed the pictures from the envelope. He looked at them slowly and I saw a tear fall down his cheek. "What are they of?" I asked. He handed me one then began to study the next one. I took it from him. It was a picture of my dad at a large desk in what seemed to be a cabin. He was writing and the suns rays added a nice effect to the picture. I smiled a little and wiped my face with one hand. Mark put the rest of them in my hand and leaned back, hiding his face. I looked through them. There was one of Mark and my dad holding what seemed to be swords and they were both in a fighting stance. I furrowed my eyebrows confused. Where the hell did they get swords like that from? The next one was of my dad holding some kind of fire in his hand. Okay that's good photoshop. It looks so real. The next few were just shots of scenery and an ocean, much like the one in town- the one where dad was.

I set the pictures down and looked at Mark. His face was blank, but tears still fell every few seconds. I sighed a little and placed my hand on his knee. His eyes moved to me. They were still kind as ever. "He was so extraordinary and you're just the same. I can't wait for you to see that." He smiled a bit and leaned forward, holding my hand in between his. I tilted my head and put on a small grin. "You think?" He nodded. "I know." My smile grew bigger. He let go of my hand and reached for another piece of paper and pen. "I won't be able to come as much as I usually do. But we can still talk. Just write on this piece of paper." I raised my eyebrows and laughed. "Okay, now that's insane. What?" He smiled and got another piece from his pocket. How deep is that thing anyways? "Try it." He urged me to take the items from his hand. I did so, still hesitant. He motioned for me to write and held up the piece of paper in his hands. I began writing the words hi Mark on the paper. "See?" He said in an I-told-you-so tone. I looked up and saw the same writing on the paper in his hands. "How the hell did it do that?" I frantically asked, grabbing the paper from him. He laughed and gave a pat to my head. "Magic." I scoffed and handed him the paper back. He put the letter and pictures back in the envelope then put it on my nightstand with the other paper he gave me. "It's getting late. You should try to get some sleep." I shook my head and looked to the window, ready to protest that it was too early. To my surprise, the sky was dark. I swear it was just daylight like 5 minutes ago. I looked back to him and huffed. "I guess." He began walking towards my window. "Wait!" I called out a little too loud. I put my hand over my mouth as he stopped. He turned his head to face me. "Could you maybe..stay? Just this once?" I asked much softer this time. He seemed to smile and turned around. He slipped off his shoes and got under the covers with me. I grabbed the envelope and held it to my chest. Mark wrapped his arms around me and my light turned off. I didn't question it and closed my eyes. I always thought of Mark as a friend and being this close to him didn't seem to bother me much. I leaned my head against his chest and let the exhaustion take over my body.