Missing. Chapter 2

Kim waited patiently for her mother to start telling her story. Mother bit her lower lip and looked up at her daughter.

"I really don't know where to begin," she said finally.

Kim rolled her eyes and dug her hand in her opened packet of crisps. She threw a handful in her mouth and looked at her mother excpectantly to recount her tale.

"You don't even seem slightly interested. If so, I'm going up to bed," said her mother.

"Oh you're so touchy.....start at the beginning then, maybe you'll make it to the end," snapped Kim. Her mother looked at her, hurt. Kim avoided her eyes and munched on a few other crisps.

"You are being obnixious Kim," said the mother. Kim ignored her mother and yawned. The poor mother might have been talking to a stone wall.

"Time to start telling you the whole thing, Kim. Well of course, you know that Dad and I have been married ever since we were both eighteen - for almost thirty years now...-" she began.

"Yeah and you both were so dumb that you decided to have kids after ten years of marriage," retorted Kim moodily. She scrunched up the empty crisps packet and threw it at the dustbin. She missed and the packet fell to the floor. Instead of getting it up to throw it in the bin properly, Kim relaxed on her chair and licked the crisp's salt off her fingers.

Her mother went to throw it in herself.

"Mum keep on going with this stupid story, it's gonna take us all night!" yelled Kim crossly.

Her mother calmly returned to her chair and sipped her tea.

"Well, after five years, I was pregnant and I gave birth to a boy," said mother.

Kim listened her mouth open.

"So I have a brother?" she asked softly.

Her mother nodded.

"Of course, he was our first child and your dad and I were so happy. Especially dad. He absolutley loved little Axel..." continued the mother, only to be interrupted again by Kim.

"He's not little, he must be twenty five now, same age as James."

"Don't interrupt me will you? I'm speaking about what happened twenty five years ago!" ejaculated the frustrated mother. She sipped her tea again.

"Well, in the village, at that time, a young couple was coming to live nearby. Dad and I were approximatley the same age as them and we quickly made friends with the duo. Once, they invited us over for a sleepover, and we accepted their invitation. It was a very cold Saturday, I remember, that night I bundled six month old Axel in his pram to sleep, with his faveourite blue teddy bear right beside him. In the middle of the night we woke up to find out that the couple had ran away from the house taking Axel with them. No matter how much we tried to track them down, we failed. They apparently moved country with my Axel and all....

So you see Kim, dad spoils you because he's afraid he'll lose you too," said the mother.



For once Kim was to astounded to speak.