By: Chloe Wu

Abel has always found peace walking in his community park – a haven of tranquility away from the chaos of his household. He especially enjoy autumn, since he can watch the golden leaves dance their way in the breeze and fall gracefully to the ground.

As he chose to wander down the trail on a clear, autumn morning, a friendly face caught his attention. She seemed to be about his age, still in middle school. The girl’s golden locks cascaded in gentle waves down to below her shoulders. Abel noticed her blue eyes, which seemed to hold a part of the sky within them, as they shimmered with a touch of curiosity and a bit of mystery. Her features were delicate as well, giving her a pure and innocent look, drawing people in like magnets. She was dressed in a simple but elegant, flowing sundress with hues that mirrored the softness of her aura. Everything about her ethereal appearance seemed to create a halo around her.

“Hello there! Beautiful day isn’t it?” she smiled at Abel. Her smile was infectious, brightening the atmosphere around them.

Abel smiled back and nodded.

The girl introduced herself as Sarah, and the two started to have a friendly conversation. They shared stories, laughed together, and Abel felt an instant connection between them. He was excited to meet a new friend. Eventually, they separated and went their own ways.

Over the next few days, Abel returned to the very spot he met Sarah, hoping to see her again. Days eventually turned into weeks, and Abel’s excitement slowly turned into confusion. He hasn’t seen Sarah since their first encounter, and it began to worry Abel. Who was Sarah, and why had she disappeared without a trace?

He asked around, but no one knew who she was. Some even said that she didn’t exist. Abel was on the brink of losing his sanity and started to question himself. Was Sarah real? Or was she just his imagination? It just couldn’t be his imagination, she felt so real. Maybe a bit too real.

Over the next few months, Abel continued his investigation. He didn’t understand how she could just disappear without an explanation. He couldn’t accept it. Maybe she wasn’t real at all. But he still couldn’t accept it. Abel started to lose hope in his investigation since he didn’t have any leads. Eventually, he stopped thinking about the mysterious figure, Sarah.

One day, as Abel was taking a stroll down the streets of the busy city, he noticed a familiar face. He paused and looked again; it was a poster trying to identify a dead body. The poster was on a billboard near the police station, and Abel couldn’t believe it. Sarah’s face was on the poster. They found a dead body, and it looked just like Sarah. And she was unidentified. He checked the date of when they found the dead body.

Ten years ago? Abel was beyond shocked. That was way before his encounter with Sarah. He could’ve sworn Sarah was real when he met her. It raised so many questions in Abel’s mind. Abel wanted to inform the police, but he figured that they wouldn’t believe him anyway. He couldn’t believe it himself.

Years passed, and although Abel tried to move on, but he couldn’t deny that Sarah still occupied a large part of his mind. He wondered if his encounter with Sarah was real, and the curiosity rapidly grew within him. He never told anyone about his encounter with Sarah. Every so often, Abel would come up with a theory about the incident, but he couldn’t prove it. He hoped that one day, he would be able to forget about all of this and move on with his life.