Being as quiet as I could be, I slipped out of my room, the darkness of the hallway surrounding me. I saw a light where the doorway to the living room is, and the crying I had heard grew louder. Stepping out of the doorway, my little imagination ran wild, wondering what possibly is going on in the living room.

I peeked around the corner to see my mom, on her knees beside the couch. Her weeping was loud, and it was what caused me to wake up.

On the couch laid my dad, and he seemed to be sleeping. My little mind wondered why mom was crying, and why he wasn't waking up to her crying. Dad seemed to be sleeping peacefully through mom's crying, as if he couldn't hear her.

After all, dad is very sick. He has been sick for the past four years, and without a sign of healing. In fact, he seems to be getting worse every day!

Mom calls his sickness ALS, and she describes it as "not being able to move from the neck down". This means that he also cannot talk, he only moans.

Because of dad's sickness, I was never allowed to leave the house, except for some days when my aunt would come over. Sadly, she had died last year, so I haven't been able to leave the house.

Silently, I snuck back into my room like a mouse, and crawled back into bed and slept to greet the day.

~Three Years Later~

The screen showed a reporter, sitting at a desk with a small stack of papers in her hands. She faced the camera with a straight face, and began to report the latest story:

"Breaking news, Maria Queen has gone missing after calling the police."

I gasped, jumping to full attention to the news because of the name "Maria Queen". It was the same name adults would call my mom whenever they had to tell her something very urgent. My eyes were glued to the television as the reporter continued.

"The police have informed us she was trying to report a kidnapping, until the phone was hung up on. They are still looking around the premise to find any clues to where she might be.

"Now onto the weather-" The lady was interrupted by the screen turning black, due to the remote that I grasped in my hand. My hands were trembling as I put the remote back down on the coffee table, and darted to my room.

Grabbing a spare backpack from my closet, I began piling clothes and other possessions I will need to survive. I am old enough to know that if I don't leave right now, the authorities will come after me and take me away. I cannot let that happen.

Swinging the almost full bag on my shoulder, I ran back downstairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed all the water and snacks I needed, then darted to mom's room.

I scavenged all the loose money I could find from the closet and drawers. In my head I wished that mom had more money stored somewhere, and exhaled deeply when I found a jar full of money. Stuffing the jar in the bag, I thought of the possible places where I could go. I realized that I would have to be all alone, and I still ran out of the house, not daring to look back.

• • • • •

The abandoned house I ended up at was definitely not what I had in mind. It had to be at least fifty years old, and obviously, the owner didn't take very good care of it. The wood was dark and crusty, and it looked like it could tumble to the ground any moment.

I carefully walk into the house, where I am faced with a small room. The room has a mattress against the wall and even a bathroom. It's all buried in dust, though. My new home needs to be prepared properly.

"Well," I spoke to myself, breaking the eerie silence that hung in the air. "Welcome home."

Hello! I am Aria, the author of this Wattpad. I hope you like the prolouge, and I have no idea when I'm going to post the first chapter, so we'll see.

That's Misty, the main character!