(SNEAK PEEK)
Chapter Three
GONE
Vanessa,
I understand that my disappearance may be disconcerting to you but I must ask you to not be afraid. Do not contact anyone or report me missing, I am not missing, I am still here but I have escaped. I know that may sound like nonsense to you now but you will understand in time, my love. I can not direct you this time, Ness, I can not stand beside you, but I can encourage you to let yourself discover the answers you desire and urge you to seek it further. I have known of your concern for me and I can't say I completely blame you for believing I had gone mad but of all the advice I have ever given you; this will mean the most and it will be the most absurd thing you have ever heard; embracing insanity is the only way to escape the confinement of established reality. What is insanity, Vanessa? What is reality? Where have I gone? How did I know you would find this note? Keep asking questions and, by god, go mad trying to figure them out. You will be fine, kiddo. You will find that not all realities can be confined but establish your own and confine yourself in it. I love you. Be careful, they will be watching you. Do not allow them to use your mind, at any cost. I can not tell you anything further or you will never be able to understand, you must do this on your OWN. Do not welcome anybody else into this journey of yours, my daughter, that will only endanger them and most concerning to me, yourself.
Love, Dad
What the hell did I just read? I slammed the book down on the desk and kicked the chair over, where it fell hard to the floor. How could he abandon me and what kind of bullshit excuse was this? I looked around the office for more of his *edit your post and this will go away* that I could destroy, he was damn well going to know the feeling of betrayal this had caused me when he returned home....if he returned home...he must have felt just has betrayed when he discovered that I had psychologically diagnosed him. Somehow, he knew that I was going to seek help for him and he ran away; I chased my own father into running from me. Perhaps he wasn't the selfish one...
I threw myself onto his leather couch and looked up at the wall of books as tears began to spill over from my eye lids, he was gone and the only thing that I could understand from his message was that he had no intention of returning or being found. My cry's deepened into a wave of hysteria and my breathing began to race into a state of hyperventilation.
The blurred vision from my tears made the light unbearable to look towards any longer, I closed my eyes and practiced my breathing. My heart rate slowed and the sinking feeling in my chest subsided, my mouth was dehydrated and my eyes burned from the stain of my tears. I wiped at my cheeks and sat upright, opening my eyes only to catch a shadow in motion across the wall of books to my right. I jumped in surprise but collected myself to a rational state before investigating further, when I turned to look towards the fleeting shadow; it had already vanished. I narrowed my eyes as I stood up and walked over to the book case, where a row of books seemed to significantly stick out further than the rest. Had my father left me a clue? I knew he couldn't resist setting me off in the right direction. I grabbed an appealing styled, ruby, leather based book and pulled it from the shelf. Then I screamed. The book fell to my feet as I stared horrifyingly into the eyeball of a blood thirsty MONSTER.
