Archie was gone. Jane was gone. Suzanne. The grays. Even the room where Archie was on the table. All gone. The light that had once surrounded Nathan had faded. All that was left was the expanse of trees and Nathan lying on the ground. All that was replaced by devastated parents yearning for their missing children, frantic for answers. Police asked questions. Search parties scoured the forest. Reporters investigated the story and sought the elusive scoop.
The men in the black suits never returned after that night.
Nathan spent every night staring out his bedroom window waiting for the light to return. Waiting for Jane. Waiting for Archie. He did this every night until he left for college, a move he never wanted to make but his therapist urged him. His parents told him it would be a way for a fresh start, a way for him to get away from the rumors that dogged him. Time passed. He moved forward but always looked back.
Nathan listened to his mixtapes. Especially that Air Supply song. They reminded him of Jane. Her smile. Her eyes. Her laughter. He even committed to learning a new word every day to honor her. Archie was a hole in his heart. He was a topic Nathan and his parents tried to avoid at gatherings but always found a way to discuss. Any random comment would bring his memory alive and the tears would flow. His mom and dad stayed in the house.
Nathan refused to return to the woods.