Lana Steuart was enjoying her exceptionally ordinary life. Of course, she wished for something more, but what sixteen-year-old girl with access to the internet doesn't? Everything was perfect Lana had her mother, who worked extremely hard to raise L...
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The memories of that night in October are fuzzy. To be honest, the only reason I truly know that it happened in October was that the Harry Potter costume, that was hand made by my grandma, was hanging off the doorknob of my closet. That costume was not going to be worn that year at all, of course at the time I did not know that all of our plans for the rest of that year were going to be canceled. One thing I do know is that I felt weird going to sleep that night, being six years old at the time I could not put my finger on the gut feeling I had as my mother tucked me into my twin bed and kissed the top of my head before flipping the lights off and quickly shuffling out of my bedroom closing the door behind her. The strange feeling started sinking in as I realized the sun had not fully gone down yet, and my mom had never sent me to bed before it was dark. I also remember noticing that she shut my door completely and did not leave it cracked like she always did "to keep the scary things away". That feeling I felt is a feeling I know far too well now: Dread.
I did eventually fall asleep after about thirty minutes of tossing and turning. At that point in my life, I had gotten used to my dad working late and not getting home until hours of the night that I had not even thought to face as a first grader. I must have been a light sleeper that night because I woke up to the sound of my father's voice coming through the vents. I remember being excited that he was home and I would actually get to see him, I believe I even hoped he would tell me a story to get me back to sleep.
I walked down the stairs trying not to trip over the lace of my Cinderella nightgown that never really fit right. I thought I was being sneaky, but the creaking of the floorboards blew my cover. I remember walking through the large archway that leads to the kitchen. My father had two suitcases packed and my mother was kissing his lips goodbye and wiping a tear off of her cheek. My mother did not realize my appearance in the kitchen until my dad pulled away and walked over to me gently picking me up in his arms resting me on his hip. I remember laughing until I realized the serious look in his eyes. It was the look he gave me when I knocked over my mom's antique flowerpot or when I scratched his original pressing of "Magical Mystery Tour" by the Beatles. The look in his eyes was quickly replaced with the normal happy glint that was always there when he looked at me, so I did not think much of the look I saw before.
"I thought you were asleep?" he questioned as he walked further into the kitchen so he could sit me on the tile countertop. I giggled in response as he gently kissed the top of my head "Daddy has to go on a trip.." he looked down at me with a grin "Don't worry though I'll be back soon." I hugged my arms around his neck as he pulled me into another hug. It was rare that he had gone on business trips, but I took his word and didn't think anything of it. He sat me down on the floor and quickly turned around as another man walked through the door. My mother bit her lip as she picked me up. As a six-year-old, I felt a little too old to be held all the time, but I am glad I allowed my mom to hold me then. The man that had walked through the doors was younger than my father..probably a good ten years. I remember knowing that they worked together because I had met him at different corporate events. One of the last things I remember from that night was the man saying "Shawn...You ready?" and my father turning and walking out the door.
He has now been on that business trip for a little over ten years.
