Gone

Prolouge

My life started normal. I had a Mom, Dad, older sister, older brother. Normal, happy family you could say. The perfect house wife, soccer mom, stern business man but soft dad , video game playing, girl obsessed soccer playing brother, and of course, the goody goody, straight A sister. I didn't know them long. Only about four years I would expect. From what I remember, my sister and I were close for the most part. The memory of my sister is quite faded. Most I remember is her long blonde perfect hair, ocean blue eyes, tan flawless skin. She looks like my mom. My mom, I remember perfectly. Her sweet forgiving smile that I always saw when I would finger paint on the walls in the kitchen. She also had a sweet singing voice that harmonized perfectly with my dad's. Her blonde hair was always pulled up in some way and she rarely wore make up, she didn't need it in my opinion. My dad would tell her the same thing every time they went out to dinner, leaving me with my brother and sister. I loved my brother but I'm not sure the feelings were exactly returned. Every time I came around him his dark green eyes would cloud up with what seemed as hatred. His light brown hair was always spiked up and gum was always being chewed loudly in his mouth. But one night, my "perfect normal" life, came to an end.

My mom had slipped me into my My Little Pony jammies and sent me out of my room to say good night to the family. She patted my butt and closed the door behind her as I ran full speed for my dad's recliner chair, placed perfectly in front of the flat screen TV above the fire place. There, just like every night at 7:00 PM sharp, sat my father. His glasses slid down to the tip of his pointy nose, his eyes trying to see through them, even though they haven't been changed in the past three years, and his whole face buried into the newspaper. I dropped down to my tummy and army crawled to the space at his feet. I poked my head up under the paper and he chuckles at me.

"Well look what I've found. Quite a cute munchkin" he teased, set down his paper and pulled me into his lap. "Isn't past your bed time?" He asked and I nodded and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

"Good night, Daddy" I said sweetly. He kissed my cheek, hugged me tight, and placed me on the other side of the chair. "I love you"

"Love you too, Munchkin" he said and with that, I skipped off to my sisters room. I pushed open the door to my sisters room and she smiled ear to ear at the sight of me.  She scooped me up in a hug and kisses my cheek.

"Night, Peaches. Love you" she said and set me down on the floor, pointing me towards the door. "Sleep tight"

"Night, Sissy." I said and run out of the teenager's room. I ignored my brother's room, knowing he didn't want me and went to find my mother. She was already in my room waiting for me. Mom picked me up, making me giggle, and she tucked me into bed. The sheets were pulled all the way up to my chin and she kissed my forehead. The lyrics to You are my Sunshine came from her lips and I drifted off into sleep. I felt her lips press against my forehead and then the door close.

That was the last night I saw my family.

The middle of the night, rough, dirty hands gripped my small body, ripping me from my bed. I screamed at the top of my lungs and the giant hand covered my mouth, trying to keep me quiet. The darkness outside surrounded me once I'm pulled from my room.

"Keep quiet" the man ordered and I couldn't hold back the tears, the ones that stained my cheeks that night. I was thrown into the back of a van, my head crashed into the side, as my eyes tried to adjust to the lack of light.

The sound of other children around me, came to me. I was only four at the time so I cried for my mother to save me, my father to come hold me, my sister to kick the butt of the man who took me, but no one came. They didn't even know I was gone.

"Shut up!" Another man yelled as the van was started, pulling away from my house and down my street. "Time for your new home!" The man yelled, then silence.