Strangers in Valentine: A Tale of Broken Hearts and Broken Souls

"I want you to do something for me."

He sat on the edge of his queen sized bed, staring at the small, framed photo sitting on the bedside table. It was a picture of a tiny girl with brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"Austin?"

"Huh?" He turned his head to look at his mother. "What did you say?"

She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I asked if you liked your new school."

"Oh... yeah," he said, picking up the photo and looking down at it again. "It's nice." He felt a lump rise in his throat and forced himself to swallow it down before he could say anything else. "I wish Dad was around to see this, though."

His mother clasped her hand over her mouth and tried to hide her sobbing while she walked away from him toward the door.

"Mom..." he muttered as he set the picture back down on the table. "Why don't you want me to visit Dad's grave? You know I go there all the time... I talk to him every day."

She stopped halfway through the doorway and sighed heavily. "Have you heard about the disappearances near Valentine? The police think there's some sort of monster out there that takes people..." She shook her head, thinking about it. "You can't be wandering off by yourself in those woods."

"But Mom," Austin said, sounding more like a kid than he would have liked, "Dad's buried out in those woods... I always go there to see him." He stared down at his feet, trying not to cry again. "I'd feel weird visiting him if I couldn't walk there alone... You're fine with me walking everywhere else in town by myself."

"That's different!" she yelled at him loud enough so that she could barely get out the words without crying again. "You just can't! And I'm sick of hearing about how much you miss your father and how you never want to *live* without him!" She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to hold back tears. "Just leave it alone... Please... Just let him rest in peace." When she opened her eyes, they were bloodshot red and puffy from crying. She looked down at Austin with a hurt look on her face before turning away from him and walking out of their house.

The next morning was much like any other morning for Austin; he ate breakfast with his mom before leaving for school where he'd spend most of his day ignoring most of his classmates until lunchtime when he'd join them for one last meal before heading off to P.E., followed by Art, followed by Science period 2 which was spent doing nothing but listening to Mr. Gardner drone on about rocks or something equally boring before finally ending class for the day once everyone had received their homework assignments for Friday afternoon's test before heading off into the woods behind school where he would wander aimlessly until sunset when he would begin walking home only stopping when night started falling before returning home with plenty of time left in order to help his mom prepare dinner while they watched whatever movie was playing on television that night before taking a shower before going up to bed where he would lie awake staring at his ceiling wondering whether or not his father would ever return to see him again one day until eventually drifting off into sleep where he would dream about being with his father again... But not quite as happy as he used to be because as much as he wanted everything between them to be normal again, deep inside where no one else could see it was painfully obvious that nothing between them could ever be normal again since that fateful night when all hell broke loose and everything changed forever... Everything except for Austin who had been too young to remember any of it happening yet still felt like part of what changed that night along with everyone else who survived the tragedy that occurred during an ordinary summer evening when fate decided everyone's fates were better together than apart which was why everyone died together instead of living apart but 21 years later when Austin continued living apart from everyone else despite being surrounded by them every single day of his life knowing that even though everything between them seemed perfectly normal now, deep inside where no one else could see it wasn't normal at all because sometimes things just weren't meant to be normal no matter how hard we try or how badly we want them too... Even if sometimes they are best left untouched because sometimes things are better left alone despite how much we wish they weren't after realizing they don't belong anywhere but still need somewhere so they can call home whenever they feel lost or sad or lonely or scared because sometimes even though things may be best left alone they aren't really meant to be left alone either which is why sometimes things need someone special in their lives just like Austin needed someone special in his after losing everything else because no matter how bad things get or how hard we try sometimes we can't make life better for ourselves so maybe we should ask someone else for help instead... And if nothing works then maybe we should just ask our dads since we already know what they'd say anyway; If only their words could bring us comfort instead of reminding us of everything we've lost and everything we'll never have because sometimes even though things change, we never do... Sometimes never really means never after all... Sometimes never really means forever...