I may not have known where Mom - my real mom - was at, so I decided to check her antique store.

It was still early in the morning, and I hoped that she had opened her shop. I mean, she was not at home when Milo, Jade, and I woke up. Maybe she wanted to get a head start on her work.

Yup. That sounded like her. Always doing something as soon as she could and never procrastinating. I am thankfully that way too.

As Amy and I got closer to the row of stores, I said, "You know, Amy, I should have gone back to our home, pack some of our belongings, and run away from Dad and evil Kira. Yeah. We could go to our mom and stay with her. I will explain everything, and she will have to let us live with her."

Even though that Amy did not know or speak much, it was nice to talk with her. She grabbed the sleeve of my shirt with her tiny hands and cooed happily.

I smiled and kissed the top of her precious head. "I knew that you would agree with me."

We reached the antique shop. The lights were off inside, and I was afraid that it was closed.

I went up to the front door and knocked. First, I did it gently.

"Mom? Are you in there? It is me. Jackson. And I brought Amy along."

I waited for a response and unfortunately did not get one. So I tried again. I knocked harder and spoke louder this time.

"Mom! It is me! Your son! Please! Open up!"

Still no response. I kicked a pebble nearby, and it skidded across the sidewalk. However, I did not give up just yet. It was a long shot, but maybe the door was unlocked.

I wrapped my thumb and fingers around the doorknob and pulled. The door did not budge, so I pushed my body against it and grunted. Darn door.

I sighed heavily, deciding to give up, and looked at Baby Amy.

"I am sorry, Amy," I apologized with sadness in my voice. "I know how much you miss Mom. You really want to see her, do you not?"

She nodded and faced the store. "Mama."

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too. But how can we—"

"Brother!" She sucked on her little hand. "Mama!"

"Huh? What is it, Amy? Are you trying to tell me that you see or know where Mom is?"

"Goo!" She held up her little feet.

I did not understand where she was getting at and just followed her gaze. I had my eyes glued on the door. No. On a piece of paper that was taped to the door. No sight of our mother. Just paper.

How did I not notice that before?

Words were written on the paper. Simple words. In bold letters, it read this:

"SHOP IS CLOSED, CUSTOMERS. LEAVING FORLOT FOREVER."

What? Our mom was leaving? No! She cannot!

Hold it. There was more.

"IF YOU ARE READING THIS, JACKSON, COME TO THE FORLOT AIRPORT."

I gasped and had the urge to cry tears of happiness. This was a miracle! Amy and I could hurry to the airport, find Mom, and inform her about Dad and Kira. Why, she would be more than happy to take us with her. Maybe she could even help us pack my and Amy's belongings or replace them.

Now, you readers may be thinking to yourselves that I was overthinking it. I would be leaving Forlot, including Milo and Jade. But what else could Amy and I do? We did not feel safe with Kira and our father. They did not seem right in the head.

Also, let me remind you that Kira murdered Stacy and almost fed me razor blades! If those are not insane things to do, I am not sure what is considered insane.

I rocked my sister and entertained her as we made our way to the Forlot airport. Minutes later, we arrived and began our search for our mother.

"Keep an eye out for Mom," I said to Amy. "She should be here somewhere."

I chuckled as Amy pretended that her hands were binoculars and peered through them.

"Mama! Mama, Mama, Mama!"

I cupped a hand around my mouth. "Mom? Mom! Amy and I are here! It is Jackson by the way!"

There were loads of people in the building. Some ignored my shouts. Others stared and even glared at me. It was their way of telling me to shut the heck up.

We soon ended up in the section where the small stores were. They sold stuff that you would need for any flight and snacks and drinks.

Would you readers believe me if I told you that one of the stores was selling a red wagon? And no, it was not a toy store.

Who in the world would want to buy a wagon? What good would that do on an airplane?

I would not be bringing up the wagon if not for the fact that Little Amy wanted it. Like, she wanted that thing so badly. She held out her arms and hands, desiring to touch it and get in.

"No, no, no." I gently pushed her arms down. "We are not here for that. We are here for Mommy."

She pouted. "Me want!"

"Sorry, baby girl. We cannot get it. Besides, it is too expensive."

"Too expensive, you say?" I heard a woman's voice.

I turned to where that came from and gasped. Waves of relief and joy washed over me.

The woman was none other than Mom. She was wearing her regular clothes and holding a black suitcase by its handle. She was smiling at us.

"There you two are!" she said excitedly. She motioned with a hand. "Come with me. We have much to do before it is too late."

"Where are we going? To the airplane?"

"No. To the restrooms. Now come on."