Ever since he was a young boy, Tommy had been keenly aware of his surroundings, especially the comings and goings of his parents. Recently, however, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off-kilter as he noticed the gaping void that his father’s absence was leaving in their small family. The usual family dinners, once a cherished tradition, were becoming more and more sparse. His father’s seat at the dinner table sat empty more often than not, leaving just Tommy and his mother to share their meals in an increasingly uncomfortable silence.
These absences were gnawing at Tommy, creating a persistent worry in the pit of his stomach. His mind raced, making him wonder if something might be amiss in their seemingly perfect family life. Each missed dinner fueled his concern, feeding the uncertainty that was steadily growing inside him. It was a nagging fear, an inkling that something could be seriously wrong, a secret lurking beneath the surface.
Not being one to stand idly by when faced with a mystery, Tommy made up his mind to take action. He needed answers, needed to know what was going on with his father, and the only way he saw to get them was to embark on his own little investigation. So, with a heart full of concern and a head full of curiosity, he decided to track his father’s whereabouts. The decision wasn’t easy, but he felt that understanding his father’s mysterious behavior was important for the peace of his own mind.
However, his little venture proved to be more adventurous than he had initially imagined. One thing led to the other, a chain reaction of unexpected events that seemed to veer off the path he had originally set. It felt as if he was being pulled along by an unseen force, guiding him towards something he hadn’t anticipated. Before he even realized what was happening, Tommy found himself standing inside the house of his neighbor, a place he had only ever seen from the outside.
