Beth lives in the late 18/early 1900s countryside. She lives with her dog, Collin and her beloved Father, however, everything changes when her father goes missing... Chapter 1: Gone It was dark, ever so dark. I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. I kept my arms outstretched to feel where I was going, even though the wind froze them until they were almost numb. I felt my heart beating and could hear my heavy breathing. I wandered through the forest when I heard rustling. Something was there... A hand lay on my shoulder and I screamed... Then I heard a gentle voice whisper, "Morning, Mary," and I smiled. Father held a lamp and guided me home, where he sat down on the end of my bed and made a promise. "Beth," his tender voice whispered, "You need never be afraid. In the dark, I will find you. In the rain, I will shelter you. No matter where you are." My six year old self believed him as she lay down to sleep on her bed. The stars were glistening in their bed of blue and the moon's bright surface reflected the same words Father had said. What a lovely little story, eh? A six year old girl lost in the woods and rescued by her loving father, then he tells her he'll always be there. A sweet little promise. Well promises can be terrible things: they are fragile and can be broken or they are not always in our control. If I hadn't trusted him so much, maybe things could've gone better. "Morning, Mary," Father smiled. My name wasn't Mary, he just said that a lot. I never knew why. "Morning," I waved. I was feeding Collin, our dog. "I'm off to town today to sell some of the corn," Father explained. "I should be back for lunch." He packed the carriage and I waved him off to town. I was used to being alone. I was twelve now, and able to look after myself and Collin. It started to rain heavily, so I carried a very wet Collin into the house and dried him, before practicing drawing with the pencils and paper Father had bought me for my birthday last year. I drew father and I holding hands and Collin was by our feet. I had no brown, so I used orange and a light shade of black on top for the clothes. I drew flowers and hearts around us. When the sun came out, I decided to surprise Father. It was almost noon and Father had said he'd be home by lunch, so I decided to bake him lunch. I almost burned it, but I knew Father wouldn't mind. I neatly lay the cutlery out and the plates. "Something's missing," I said to Collin. I ran outside, laughing as the dewy grass tickled my bare feet. The smell was gorgeous, the scent of a field after rain - nothing could beat that. I remembered what I was looking for and picked some of the flowers out the front. When I was back in, I lay them on the table and waited. I waited for a for hours. My picture was on the table, too, held down by the vase of flowers. Collin started yapping. "Don't worry, Collin, Father always comes home. He's just running late. You can't blame him." Yet he did not come. It was tea time, but Father hadn't come home. I made myself tea and went to bed. "He'll be fine, Collin. He's always fine," I whispered, but Collin wasn't in the room. BANG, BANG, BANG. Three clear, hard knocks on the door. I leaped out of bed - Father was home! "Come, Collin," I called and the dog followed me down the stairs and to the door. I opened it abruptly, but father wasn't there. It was a man in a fancy suit. It wasn't brown like Father's clothes, it was black and white and he wore a black tie. "Are you Elizabeth Wood?" Asked the man. "Yes, Beth for short. If you're looking for Father, he's in town right now," I said. "I'm sorry," the man bent down to my height, "but your father's gone." "You don't mean..." "No, Miss, just missing." And that's where it all began.
