I glare out of the passenger-seat window…
As my mom and I drive through our new neighborhood.
Mom
I know you’re leaving behind your old friends…
Mom
And this town is a little quieter than the city…
Mom
That you’ll give this place a chance?
I want to say I hate it already…
Because there doesn’t seem to be anyone my own age here…
But I know it would just cause an argument.
We pull into our driveway a moment later…
And I notice that a river runs close to our backyard.
Mom
Be careful if you ever go down there.
Mom
I’ve heard that the current is very fast.
My mom and I both get out of the car…
But instead of opening the trunk…
My mom heads straight for the front door.
Mom
Can you please bring our stuff in on your own, dear?
Mom
My back is killing me from the long drive.
And go around to the rear of the car.
I open the trunk and begin loading my arms with duffel bags.
Just when I’m about to keel over backwards with the weight…
I hear a voice behind me.
Boy
Here, let me take those.
I feel the weight lift from both of my shoulders…
And turn around to find a boy about my age holding the bags.
And I feel a flutter of butterflies in my stomach.
He’s more handsome than any of the boys in my old neighborhood…
And his biceps are bulging through his shirt.
Callum
And I live next door.
Jada
How do you know my name?
Callum nods at the label on the bag of clothes in my arms…
And I feel my cheeks go red.
Callum
Can I help you take these into your house?
I realize I don’t feel so bad about moving here now.
I follow Callum as he leads the way into my house.
Jada
How long have you lived in this area?
Callum
There’s not a lot to do around here…
Callum
But there are ways to make your own fun.
We dump most of the stuff in the hallway…
And take my things up to my new room.
But as soon as we enter it…
And the blood drains out of his face.
I’m about to ask him if he’s okay…
When he suddenly regains his composure…
And heads over to my bed.
He places my belongings down…
And I expect him to turn back to me.
But he just stares at the bed…
And his arms begin to tremble.
Callum
I’m sorry Jada, but…
Callum
This was HER room.
Before I can ask Callum to explain…
And bursts out of the house.
And find him looking out at the river.
I approach him cautiously…
And he begins talking without turning around.
I move around to his side…
And see that his eyes are red from crying.
Callum
We were best friends growing up.
Callum
And when we turned 17…
Callum
We became more than that.
Callum
I loved her, Jada.
He looks up at a thick tree branch leaning over the river…
Callum
She would sit up there whenever she was angry.
Callum
She said it calmed her.
Callum
I told her it was dangerous…
Callum
But she never listened to me.
Callum
One day, we had an argument in my house…
Callum
Over something insignificant.
Callum
But Zoe was really angry.
Callum
She stormed down to this river…
Callum
To sit in her usual place…
Callum
And that was the last I ever saw of her.
I look at the fast-running water…
And a wave of nausea washes over me.
Jada
You don’t think she…
Callum
The police searched for two months…
Callum
But they never found her body.
Callum
They eventually concluded she must have been swept out to sea.
I reach out and squeeze Callum’s arm.
Jada
I shouldn’t have taken you back into her room.
Callum
And it’s about time I learned to accept…
Callum
That Zoe is gone for good.
Callum
I can’t hold onto this pain forever.
We gaze into each other’s eyes for a long time…
And it’s only when I feel a cool breeze on the back of my neck…
That I realize the sun has sunk below the horizon.
Callum walks me back to my house…
Later, as I’m lying in Zoe’s old bed…
I struggle to remove the image of her sunken body out of my mind.
At around 2 a.m., I eventually feel my eyelids drooping…
But then I’m jolted awake by a sharp bang on my window.
I throw my duvet cover to one side…
And creep over to the window.
And peer out into the darkness.
There doesn’t seem to be anybody there…
So I assume it must have been a bird or something.
I’m about to head back to my bed…
When I notice a small pebble sitting on the roof.
I open the window and reach out to grab it.
I pull it into my room and examine it.
Wrapped around the pebble with an elastic band…
I remove the note and open it.
In a rough scrawl, the note reads:
“I need to speak with you urgently.”
“Meet me at the river as soon as you can.”
