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A crestfallen Somali trudged along the sidewalk. A cold gust of wind nipped at his face and made him shiver slightly. Reminiscing about the fun times with his friends,the orange cat's eyes started to well up with tears. Not wanting anyone to see his sorry state, he walked up to a nearby tree and climbed his way to the top branches. Sitting in his comfort space, on a thick and old branch, he rested his head on his knees and started sobbing softly, just as he had done many times before.
"You cryin' up there?", came a voice from below.
Struck with the familiarity, he quickly looked down. That unforgettable voice came from none other than a certain brown dog.
"Paulo, why are you crying?", inquired the voice.
With tears in his eyes, the Somali wasted no time jumping down, albeit rather clumsily. Almost landing on his face, he began:
"Oh my God, David! How? Where-?”, started Paulo as he looked up.
Nothing. David was nowhere to be found. Confused, Paulo frantically searched around his proximity, looking for possible prints or grass that has been recently stepped on. He found nothing.
David is gone , his brain reminded him. David is gone .
Drained from all energy, Paulo apathetically walked the rest of the way home, just as he had always done. He remembered how he and David both used to skate home together. Paulo quickly brushed those memories away, as it didn’t matter anymore .
He arrived home; arrived at his sad looking abode. Going inside, he didn’t know if he wanted to eat or sleep, much less make an effort to do any of those things. Paulo’s father had been gone for a while due to a big project of some sort - his father hadn’t explained much. With David gone, things haven’t been the same. Everybody had been affected in different ways but none the same as Paulo. One thing they all shared, however, was the sentiment of mystery. What had actually happened to David was unknown. The police declared him dead after he’d been reported missing for a while. But a part of him didn't believe this. Maybe he didn't want to believe it.
Paulo sat down on the so-called living room couch and thought back to what David had last said to him. They had been skating around the park, as was usual, when silence fell upon the two.
"I must go now. My planet needs me", said David, out of the blue.
That had confused Paulo but he chalked it up to David saying nonsensical, silly things again. They said their goodbyes and each headed home. Paulo never saw David again after that day. He also hadn't heard anything from David's family, which he found odd. Paulo lay on the couch, deciding what to do next.
At some point in time, he must have fallen asleep, although he didn't remember ever doing so. He shrugged it off and got up to prepare some food. Paulo looked outside and saw that it was dark already. Checking the clock confirmed that it was indeed 7:60pm. What? He turned around. The clock read 8:00pm. Paulo assumed his hunger was making him see things so he looked around the cupboard for the last of the instant noodle cups. He turned the stove gas dial to the “spark” position but nothing happened. The clicking noise so familiar to him was nowhere to be found. Trying out all the other 3 remaining dials rendered the same result. Listening closely, he couldn’t even hear the gas hissing out. Slightly concerned, he reached for the faucet to get water. To his dismay, no water came out. Good thing the electricity isn’t -; his thoughts had been cut short by a pop coming from somewhere and total darkness engulfing him. Crap , he thought, as he walked to the window, his nearest light source, and saw that it was impossibly dark outside. No street lamps were turned on and no houses had lights in them. The only light came from the cars, thankfully enough that he spotted a flashlight nearby.
Instead of panicking, he simply crunched on the raw noodles and went directly to his bed, not bothering to change or shower or brush his teeth, as some of those options were impossible given the circumstances. Laying on his bed, Paulo, unsurprisingly, managed to fall asleep.
The next morning came soon, and Paulo woke up to a very dim day. He immediately looked out the window. There was barely any sunlight, with heavy fog in the distance, practically making it look like a late evening. The clock read 6:50am so he routinely got ready for school. As he walked outside, he found it strange that there were no cars in sight, much less people. Something was making him very uneasy so he accelerated his pace, hoping to find some comfort in his friends at school.
On his way there, he saw not one person or car. He was considering going back home out of this newfound irrational fear but kept walking forward, shrugging it off as paranoia brought by his lack of food. He wondered how David would react in such a situation and started to feel better. Lost in his own thoughts, he was brought back to his senses by a certain korat.
"Everything alright, Paulo?", asked the gray-furred cat as he put his hand on Paulo's shoulder.
"No Mike, everything isn't alright." responded Paulo, once again sad and unrestful. "Ever since he went away, nothing has been alright."
"Went away…?", started the korat, inquiring to know more.
"Yes, man! Everything's been going downhill ever since David mysteriously disappeared.", replied Paulo.
Mike slightly tilted his head, confused.
"Who?"