Chapter 2: The Brother In The Picture
I didn’t remember walking closer to the girl.
I only remembered the photograph.
My fingers held onto it like it was the only thing keeping me standing.
Eighteen years.
Eighteen years of anger.
Eighteen years of questions.
Eighteen years of telling myself Daniel was gone because accepting that he left was easier than admitting I didn’t know the truth.
The girl picked up her backpack.
“My mom said you would ask questions.””
I stared at her.
“She knew I would find you?””
The girl nodded.
“She was sure.””
I looked around the empty gas station.
The place felt different now.
Like it wasn’t abandoned.
Like something had been waiting here.
A message.
A meeting.
A secret.
I crouched down so I was closer to her height.
“What’s your name?””
“Maya.””
“Maya,” I repeated.
She looked at my vest.
“You’re really Red?””
I almost laughed.
Almost.
“Yeah.””
She studied my face.
“You don’t look happy.””
I looked away.
Kids had a way of seeing things adults spent years hiding.
“I haven’t heard that name in a long time.””
“Why?””
Because the person who gave me that name was supposed to be gone.
Because my brother was the only person who ever said it like it meant something.
Because Red wasn’t just a nickname.
It was a piece of a life I lost.
I stood up.
“You said your mom is in the hospital.””
Maya nodded.
“She wanted me to find you before she…”
Her voice cracked.
She stopped.
Before she finished the sentence, I understood.
“Before she what?””
Maya looked down.
“She said I needed to give you the picture first.””
A cold feeling moved through my chest.
“Why?””
“She said you wouldn’t believe me.””
I looked at the photograph again.
She was right.
I wouldn’t have.
Not without proof.
Not without Daniel’s eyes staring back at me.
I grabbed my keys.
“Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital.””
Maya hesitated.
“My mom said not to bring anyone.””
I looked at her.
“Your mom also sent you to find a stranger in the middle of nowhere.””
“She said you weren’t a stranger.””
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
I looked at the photograph one more time.
Daniel.
My brother.
Alive.
Somewhere.
Waiting.
I walked toward my motorcycle.
Maya followed slowly.
Then she stopped.
“Red?””
I turned.
“What?””
She pointed at the photograph.
“There’s something else.””
My heart dropped.
“What?””
She shook her head.
“Mom said only you could know when to look.””
I stepped back.
“What does that mean?””
Maya hugged her backpack.
“I don’t know.””
I looked at the picture again.
The front.
The back.
Nothing.
Just Daniel’s face.
Just those words.
TELL MY BROTHER I’M ALIVE.
I wanted to demand answers.
I wanted to know where Daniel was.
Why he disappeared.
Why nobody told me.
But Maya was a child.
And whatever happened eighteen years ago had already taken enough from both of us.
I started the motorcycle.
The engine roared.
Maya climbed on carefully behind me.
Before we left, I looked back at the gas station.
For a moment, I thought I saw movement near the old building.
A shadow.
Someone watching.
I turned my head.
Nothing.
Just broken windows.
Empty rooms.
A forgotten place.
But my instincts had kept me alive for fifty-eight years.
And my instincts were screaming.
Someone had known I would come here.
The hospital was twenty minutes away.
Maya held onto the back of my vest as we rode.
Neither of us spoke.
My mind was trapped in the past.
Daniel and I were kids again.
Racing bikes down neighborhood streets.
Arguing over stupid things.
Making promises we thought would last forever.
Then came the night everything changed.
The night he disappeared.
The night I became the person everyone expected me to be.
The strong one.
The angry one.
The one who never broke.
But that photograph had cracked something open.
And I wasn’t sure what would come out.
When we reached the hospital parking lot, Maya climbed off.
I noticed her hands were still covered in bicycle grease.
“You didn’t even wash your hands.””
She looked at them.
“My mom always says small things matter.””
I looked at her.
“She sounds smart.””
“She is.””
Maya walked toward the entrance.
Then she stopped.
“Red?””
“Yeah?””
“She said you’d be angry.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She said when you learn the truth, you’ll think she lied to you.””
My jaw tightened.
“Who?””
Maya looked toward the hospital doors.
“My mom.””
The automatic doors opened.
A nurse walked out.
Maya stepped inside.
Then she turned around.
And whispered:
“She said your brother didn’t disappear.””
I stared at her.
“Then what happened?””
May you like
Maya’s face went pale.
“He was hiding.””
