I remember walking in there feeling the fall breeze that was just cool enough to need a sweater. The smell of wood condescending across the room as I looked at all the dusty tables around the room. Looking over to the wall to see the paintings on the walls of the little girl some of them in black and white others in orange, red, and yellow. The little girl wearing a firefighter costume that was clearly too big for her as the helmet fell over her face and the uniform dragged on the ground behind her. I looked over toward the bar staring at the flamed painting that read The Firehouse.
It was the summer of 2013 when Alice disappeared, one day senior year she just vanished. That day if she wouldn't have disappeared would of been the day of my life. It was after school on a Wednesday. I was walking her home after practice, when we reached her house we said our goodbyes and I left I just went home going on to enjoy my day little did I know she would be taken that night.
That was the last time I ever saw her until today and I had been searching for her for 3 years feeling as though it was my fault she got taken, I was apparently the last person she saw and it made me feel like I should have done something to prevent her from getting taken. Turns out she was perfectly fine here serving tables at a local New York bar of all places. Happy as could be.
All I could do was stare as she walked around serving tables and talking with everyone as if she had known them for years. So many people had told me to just give it up on looking for her, that she wasn't coming back, that she was gone forever and here she is. Not a care in the world. Does she even miss any of us? Did she even run away? Did someone blackmail her into leaving or did she leave on her own? What the hell is going on? I should confront her! No I can't! I don't know what she has been through. Maybe a lot maybe nothing. I thought as I stared mindlessly at her as she handed a customer a menu.
I felt dumb just standing here next to the doorway, but I couldn't sit down she would come to my table and she would immediately know who I was, I couldn't stay in here. I walked outside it suddenly felt like the middle of winter even though it was only September. I couldn't tell if it was the wind making me feel the cold or the chills running down my spine.
I looked around and walked to the nearest bench I could find and sat down. It was a worn down green bench that you could see the painting fading off up revealing the wood underneath but I didn't care that it looked like it was about to break. It was all I had because it was right outside the door. I watched her serve all day than clean up the old rusty tables covered in food and sticky drinks people had spilled throughout the day and push in the black chairs with a little graining with each one. Until she eventually put her apron on the hook and she walked out backwards and locked the door click.
She turned around and looked at me and I saw the look of disbelief on her face as she stared at me. Realising that I had found her she gave me a quick smirk and turned and walked down the busy noisey street. Swaying her hips as she went, knowing I was staring at her white dress shirt and her blue high waisted skirt waving with the wind around her. I followed.
I followed her all the way to central park where she turned right around a corner forcing me to push through people. "Excuse me, Excuse me." I said as I turned the corner. I finally got around the corner and she was gone. I walked slowly walked forward turning my head every direction, searching to see if I could find where she had went when I lost sight of her. I continued to slowly walk until I felt someone grab my shirt sleeve and pull me toward them into an ally that I hadn't even realized it was there.
I looked at the hand it was clearly the hand of a woman small painted nails. She must be strong to be able to pull me away from a balanced stance, Man I should work on that. "Stop following Alice or you will end up just like her, Jax." Then the girl ran down the alley jumping over a fence that was blocking the other side, it jingled as she climbed and went over it. She landed perfectly. Of course. She turned back looked me dead in the eyes, winked and turned back continuing to run her shoes making noise as she went click click click click.
