Unsolved mysteries were always something that intrigued me. Ever since I was a young girl I'd consume TV Shows, and movies investigating these cold cases. What intrigued me the most were those where someone disappeared and had never been found. Timmothy Pitzen and Andrew Gosden are two that come to mind. Pitzen disappeared in 2011 at the age of 6, Gosden in 2007 at the age of 14. Pitzen didn't have a choice, it was his mother's. Gosden... did...

Gosden's case really intrigued me. With no signs of anything wrong, he got on a train to London and disappeared. Last seen in King's Cross St. Pancras Station in September 2007, he hasn't been seen since. I've sat in my bed many nights playing on my DS, and couldn't help but ponder the question. What if I did that?

I pulled out my laptop and punched his name into Google. We're actually around the same age, except I'm a year younger than him. Pitzen's case didn't catch my interest as much. The only thing that was really keeping me hooked was that it's still ongoing. It's been a few months since he was first reported missing. I've been keeping track of both cases since they first began.

I looked over at the clock on the bottom right of my computer screen

5:48 AM, 07 Nov 2011

I should probably head to bed. Then again, I've been home alone all weekend. Nobody will care if I didn't show up to school anyway.

While scrolling through Wikipedia, the Skype icon in my taskbar began glowing. I think she's awake; at least, I hope it's her. My eyes darted toward the side of the window containing all the names of my Skype friends. Just as I had hoped, Jade's name was at the top.

Jade Vaux: up late again?
Sierra Vaux: u kno it
Jade Vaux: girl u know that's not good for u xP
Sierra Vaux: shrug
Sierra Vaux: not liek anyone would care
Jade Vaux: i care
Sierra Vaux: ofc u do lol
Sierra Vaux: im skippin tmr, no need to worry

Before I knew it, it was noon. Maybe she's right. I can't keep falling asleep on my keyboard like that. I got up and scanned the house, still nobody around. I unplugged my phone from the charger, and noticed the handful of text messages from my father. He said he'll be out for a few more days. No big deal. It's a lot quieter without him.

Phone, DS, laptop, sketchbooks, keys; I'm all set. I stepped out of the house and walked down the street along the railroad tracks in front of my house. As I got to the station I couldn't help but notice the lack of people. I counted the number of other people as I sat down, and figured there were maybe 6 waiting for northbound trains, and 3 for southbound. It's a surprise, but a welcome one. I pulled out my DS and booted up a ROM of Picross.

Someone sat down on the bench next to me, but I was too engrossed in the game to notice. Before long, the boy nudged my side and I looked over. No cause for alarm, it's just Kai. "So, I see you're enjoying your mods."

"Sure am."
"How come you're not at school today?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Ah, you got me. I'll tell you if you tell me."
"Didn't give enough of a shit to go to bed early."
"Sounds like the usual."
"So what's your excuse?"
"Just needed a break. You know how it is."

As he finished his sentence, the train rolled into the station. I shut my DS and shoved it in my bag as I headed into the train car, with Kai following close behind. I had no idea where I was going, honestly, because I usually take the northbound train to school. I asked Kai and he told me the same thing.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It's Jade again. She's just wondering what my plans are for today, so I told her "wandering probably".

"Does Jade know about your research?"
"What about it?"
"Your fantasy."
"It's just that. A fantasy. I have no reason to tell her."

The train stopped again. Kai motioned to me that he wanted to get off, so we both got up and exited the train. We were in an unfamiliar part of town that neither of us had traveled to before. Nothing immediately stood out to us; it just looked like any other suburban neighborhood in the area.

We wandered around for about 15 minutes before coming across a kenopsic park. The grass swished beneath our feet as we walked toward the center and sat down. I pulled out my laptop and shared more of my research with Kai. We stayed in that park until sundown. He wanted to stay for a bit longer, his love of nature in isolation getting to him; I convinced him to go before it gets too unsafe.

I departed with him at my local station, and I made it back home. I saw another message from Jade telling me to go to school this time. I thought about it for a bit. As much as I just want to drop out I should probably listen to her.

There's nothing to be excited about here, honestly. And just as I had predicted, nobody noticed I had skipped yesterday. Kai didn't show up today, though. I began doubting my choice to come back again. I was hoping I could just fly through the day without issues, but of course I had to look at this one girl the wrong way. Needless to say, I regretted my decision immediately. As we were released for lunch I grabbed all my stuff and left to Kai's house.

He opened the door for me, asking me if I had stayed up again.

"No. I went today."
"Did something happen?"
"Olivia."
"Oh-"
"Yeah. I think I've had enough, honestly. Can I stay here for a few days?"
"I don't see why not. Is your dad coming back?"
"Yeah, he texted me a few hours ago."
"Ah.. I'm sorry."

I stepped into the house and walked into his room with him. He booted up his PC and opened Minecraft.

"I just bought this game the other week, its really fun."
"What is it?"
"It's this survival sandbox game. I think you'll like it."
"Oh-"
"How can we play together?"
"I coded a mod into the game to allow us to play on the same network. The game's still in Beta so that feature isn't really a thing yet."

I opened the website for the game and bought an account for myself. He handed me a USB stick with the mod he created and guided me through the steps of setting it up. Before long, we were both on a brand new survival world.

I spent the next few days at his house, mostly playing this new game with him. We built a really big survival base, with lots of rooms and riches. Honestly, it was pure fun, but I knew what had to be done soon. That Friday night, I logged off of the world and told him that tonight was going to be the night. He didn't take the news well at first, even though he knew about this fantasy. I assured him I had everything planned out. I thanked him for making my last days here amazing, and that I was happy to have spent them with him. He gave me a big hug before I left for the last time.

I walked over toward the station and boarded the first northbound train I saw. I rode it all the way to the line terminus, which happened to be a major railroad hub connecting the entire nation. I purchased a ticket, boarded a train, and left.

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