Dylan nodded. “Yes, Dad. He is watching us through his flat-screen television.”
Their father shook his head. “I know that you both have very good creative imagination skills. But I never knew it was so good. Anyway, I am already getting very excited about the candies. Can we continue the game while your mom and I are eating our candies?”
“Mom? Dad? We are not joking about this. Seriously, these candies are strictly for kids,” Claire said.
“Yes, I know. And I am the king of the jungle. Come on, Claire. Do as your dad has instructed. Hand over some candies right now,” their mother said.
Claire glanced at Dylan. He was staring blankly at her.
“Why are you looking at Dylan, Claire? Did you not hear what I just said? All right, both of you should hand over your bags right now. Hand them over to me,” their mother insisted.
“Darling, you don’t have to seize their bags of candies. I am sure they will give us some. Won’t you, kids?” their father asked.
Claire and Dylan did not say anything. Rather, they clutched their bags tightly.
Their mother was infuriated. “What is going on? Am I dreaming or what? Honey, do you realize that these kids really don’t want to give us any candies?”
“Is that so? Claire? Dylan? Are you serious about what you just said? You really don’t want to share some of your candies with your parents?” their father asked.
“Dad, it is not as if we don’t want to share with you. But there is something you need to understand,” Claire said.
“Really? And what do you want us to understand other than the fact that you have both suddenly become selfish and greedy?” their father asked.
“We are not being greedy, Dad. Honestly, the candies are meant for kids alone,” Dylan said.
“Meant for kids alone my foot. Come on, give those bags to me,” their mother said. Before either of them could respond, their mother had reached over from her front seat and snatched away both candy bags from them.
“Mom. Please don’t!” Claire begged.
“Keep quiet, Claire. What has gotten into you?” their mother asked as she opened the two bags.
“Dad, please don’t let Mom take any candy,” Dylan begged.
Their father nodded and smiled. “Of course I won’t allow her to take any candy. I will be the one to do so myself.”
Claire saw their father put the car in park and dip his hand into one of the bags and bring out a long stick of candy. She reached forward to knock it from his hands but her father saw her move and expertly avoided her outstretched hands. With one swift move, he had popped the candy stick into his mouth.
Dylan caught hold of Claire’s arm and shook it. He pointed at their mother in front. She was already eating a piece of candy as well.
Feeling deflated and defeated, Claire sank back into her seat.
Their mother looked at both of them. “My, my, my. These are some sweet and delicious candies you have here! No wonder you kids did not want to share with anyone, not even your parents.”
Their father reached into the bag and brought out some more candies. “You are right, honey. These candies are very delicious indeed. Maybe we should go back and get some more.”
Claire and Dylan just shook their heads, dejected.
“What is that? You would not go back to get some more candies? You don’t want to be disobedient to us, or do you?” their mother asked.
Their mother saw Claire’s eyes suddenly widen as she gasped. “Claire, what is wrong?” their mother asked.
In response, Claire pointed ahead, in front of her. Their mother glanced towards her side and gasped as well.
Their father was suddenly glowing. A yellow cloud had engulfed him and he was glowing brightly. “Honey. What is happening? Can you see this cloud around me?” their father was asking, examining his hands and arms.
“Darling, where did this come from?” their mother asked, moving backwards.
But before he could respond there was a loud puff and he was gone, leaving behind an empty driver’s seat. Their mother screamed and turned around to look at her kids. But she was even more shocked to notice that they were both staring at her with their mouths wide open. Something about their openmouthed gazes caught her attention and she was forced to look at herself.
Their mother saw that there was a similar yellow glow all over her. The same yellow cloud which had previously engulfed their father had now engulfed her as well.
Their mother looked at them with eyes filled with tears and terror. “Dylan? Claire? What is happening? Where did you get those candies from?” she demanded.
But before either of them could respond, she also disappeared in a puff.
Dylan began to cry. Claire held him close and shook him. “Get a grip on yourself, Dylan.”
“Get a grip on myself? But Dad and Mom have disappeared, Claire. They are gone!” Dylan cried. “I know, Dylan. But we are going to figure out how to get them back. We just need to contact Raquetr somehow,” Claire said.
Suddenly, there was a knock on their window. They both turned to see a policeman outside. He was looking into their SUV and frowning. “Hello, kids. How come there is no one driving this car?” Claire blinked and looked at the two empty seats in front of them. “They just left not too long ago.” “They? Who are they?” the policeman asked. “Our parents, officer,” Claire replied.
“And they left you in the middle of moving traffic? That is very irresponsible. Did they not see that the traffic was already beginning to move? How could they have just abandoned the car like this?” the officer asked.
Claire and Dylan looked outside and saw that the other lanes were beginning to clear as vehicles began to move.
The policeman opened the driver’s door of the SUV. “You guys are obstructing the smooth flow of traffic in this lane. I am going to have to move this vehicle out of here and park it somewhere safer. And then we can talk about how to charge your parents for reckless driving.”
“Officer, it was not reckless driving,” Claire said as the officer sat down in the driver’s seat.
“Is that so? Then tell me what it is? They even left the car keys in the ignition with the engine running. Where did you say your parents went to?” the officer asked as he began to drive the SUV.
“I never said they went anywhere. They just left hurriedly,” Claire said.
The policeman nodded. “Hurriedly?”
“No, suddenly,” Claire said.
“That will not be a problem, miss. As soon as I park this car, I will get them to hurriedly and suddenly answer to the list of traffic violations that they have committed today,” the officer said.
“You don’t understand. They are innocent, officer,” Dylan added, sniffing.
“And I am simply the guilty driver of an SUV. What is this?” the policeman asked, waving a bag of candy.
“No, no, don’t!” Claire shouted.
“Don’t what? I found them on the front seat. Something tells me that they are candy bags,” the policeman said as he drove the SUV into an empty space by the corner of the road and stopped.
“Please, Officer. That is what I was trying to tell you,” Claire said.
The officer opened one of the bags and brought out two long sticks of candy. “Yes, you did mention something about hurriedly and suddenly. Did you mean how fast I should eat one of these deliciouslooking candy bars?”
“Please, sir. I beg you. Don’t eat them. Don’t!” Dylan cried.
“Really? Do you kids realize the extent of trouble that you both are in? And yet all you can think about is trying to stop me from taking some of these lovely candies?” the officer asked.
“You shouldn’t take those candies, Officer. You shouldn’t,” Claire said.
The policeman nodded his head. “Yes, I understand. This is going to be a wonderful case. An SUV full of kids, abandoned in the middle of busy traffic by their parents,” the policeman said as he threw the two candies into his mouth.
Claire let out a loud groan and began to cry as well. Dylan’s sobs became more hysterical. The policeman shook his head as he watched the two crying children in the back seat. “What? So you don’t think it is polite to share some of your candies with the police officer who is going to book your parents for several counts of irresponsibility and violations of traffic offences?”
The kids did not respond. They already knew what was going to happen.
It was not long before the policeman gasped and began to fidget in the front seat of the SUV. “What the heck is this around me? Where did this yellow cloud come from?”
Claire and Dylan could not say anything. They just watched as the policeman continued to look around his glowing body before he disappeared.
They were both so transfixed watching the empty front seats that they never saw the people who were walking towards their car until someone knocked on the window.
Both Claire and Dylan jumped in shock and surprise. But they began to relax when the saw who they were. There were a few young kids with a young woman.
The young woman smiled at Claire. “Sorry to bother you, but I am looking for an address.”
Claire nodded, wiping away tears from her eyes. “Yes? What address is that?”
The young woman frowned on seeing Claire’s stained eyes. She glanced at Dylan and also saw the tears in his eyes. “Are you both all right?”
Claire nodded. “Yes. Where did you say you wanted to go?”
But before the woman could respond, one of the young kids, a girl, shouted out excitedly: “Wow. It’s candies. Aunty, there are candies in their car.”
Confused and surprised, the young woman glanced at the young girl. She was at the front of the car, pointing into the driver’s seat excitedly. She looked back at Claire and smiled. “Please don’t pay any attention to my little niece. Kids these days can be so greedy and overbearing. Here I am looking for directions to our destination, and there she is, thinking of candies.”
“No, it’s all right, miss. There are enough candies to go around,” Dylan suddenly said.
“Dylan,” Claire said, glaring at him.
“What? Why shouldn’t we share some of the candies with them? After all, there is enough for everyone, isn’t there?” Dylan asked.
Claire was still thinking of her next response when Dylan reached for the front seats and picked up the two bags of candies. He then opened up one of the bags and signalled to the three kids to come over to his side of the car.
As they all ran over to him, the young woman blushed and smiled at Claire. “My goodness. Your brother is really kind.”
Claire sighed. “Yes, I guess he is, isn’t he?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, he sure is. May I have some as well?”
Claire blinked. “You?”
The woman nodded and pointed at the kids with Dylan. “It seems like the candies are really delicious. My niece and her friends have taken several already. I wouldn’t mind tasting some.”
Claire shook her head. “No, it is particularly for kids, miss. I am sorry.”
“Did you say for kids? Then you have no problem with me. Let me have some,” the woman said, with her hand outstretched.
“But you are not a kid,” Claire protested.
The woman smiled again. “We all are, young lady. We are all kids at heart. Come on, let me have some.”
Claire was about to respond when one of the young kids came over to her side. “Aunty, here, have one candy.”
“No. Don’t!” Claire shouted. But she was too late. In one swift movement, the young woman had collected the candy from the young girl and thrown it into her mouth.
“My goodness. What a lovely taste,” the woman said as she ate it. She turned to Claire. “Where did you get these candies? I surely would like to buy some.”
Claire shook her head. “You don’t know what you have just done.”
“What have I done?” the young woman asked.
Claire did not respond. She watched quietly as each of the kids began to look at each other and laugh excitedly. Their bodies were glowing strangely.
“Aunty, see? My body is all covered in yellow!” one of them said.
The young woman frowned as she looked at them. All the kids were now glowing in yellow. Alarmed, the woman turned to Claire. “What is this? What is going on?”
Claire looked away. “I tried to warn you, didn’t I?”
The woman suddenly gasped as she stared at herself. Her own body was now aglow in the same mysterious yellow cloud. “What is happening to me? What is happening to us?”
Claire looked at her once again. “Did you say you wanted an address to somewhere?”
The woman started to scream but it was cut off suddenly as she disappeared, along with the other children.
Everywhere was now quiet.
Claire coughed and looked at her brother. Dylan was holding his bag of candies in his hand. “Well, what do you think?”
Dylan looked at his sister. “What do I think about what?”
“Everything.”
Dylan shrugged his shoulder. “I really don’t know, Claire. I mean, Mom and Dad are both gone. Who knows what could be happening right now in Raquetr’s domain.”
“The best thing we can do is to get as many kids over to him as quickly as possible,” Claire said.
“And then what?”
“And then we try to get back to Raquetr and see if we can rescue Mom and Dad, and maybe the other adults that are trapped there,” Claire replied.
“I think that is a good plan, Claire. Where do we get a large number of kids?”
Claire pointed at a signboard on a lamppost. On it was written Middleview Elementary School. “We can go to that school and share as many candies as possible.”
Dylan nodded. They both got out of the car and locked it. They then began to walk in the direction of the school.
A couple of hours later, they both walked out of the school compound. Dylan was gushing excitedly. “I cannot believe how easy it was to do this, Claire!”
Claire smiled back at her brother and held up her bag of candies. “Yes, Dylan. Sharing the candies was actually easier than I thought. I know that kids love candies, but the way those schoolchildren rushed to get some of our candies was just something else!”
“Was it because we made it free to them, under the pretext that we were running a promotion?”
Claire shrugged. “I really cannot say for sure. But whatever it was, it surely worked like magic. And look at the way their teachers rushed for the candies as well.”
“Yes, you are right, Claire. But considering Raquetr’s instructions, do you think we should still have allowed the teachers to eat the candies as well?”
“Dylan, what were we expected to do? Remember, Mom and Dad have already gone to his domain. We need to do everything to get them back. And the only way we can approach Raquetr is by complying with his first instruction, which was to get as many kids as possible to his domain. I am sure that when we approach him about Mom, Dad, and maybe the other adults, he will be willing to help us to get them out, since they don’t belong there. And why would that be so? It is simply because we got across the kids for him.”
Dylan nodded. “Yes, you are right, Claire. We have sent him a whole bunch of kids. Raquetr should be delighted with our efforts.”
Claire held up her bag. “I agree. But don’t you think this is strange, Dylan?”
“What is that?”
“While I was distributing my candies in the school, my bag kept on replenishing itself with more candies.”
Dylan nodded. “Sure. Mine was doing the same. But they are magical candy bags, remember?”
“Yes, I know all that, Dylan. But have you not noticed anything?”
Dylan raised his own bag and looked at it closely. “It seems like mine has lost some weight, Claire.”
Claire snapped her fingers. “Exactly, Dylan. Mine is also not as heavy as it used to be. It is almost as if—
” Claire began to say, and stopped when she saw Dylan open his bag and turn it over.
They both gasped as Dylan continued to shake his bag, attempting to empty it of its contents. Slowly, Dylan turned the bag upright and looked at his sister with eyes filled with worry. “It . . . it . . . it is empty. Claire, my bag is empty!” he spluttered.
Claire quickly opened her bag and began to rummage through it. She looked up at her brother again. “You are right, Dylan. Mine is empty as well. There is not a single piece of candy in it.”
Dylan shook his bag vigorously again. “But that is not possible! I could have sworn that there were still some candies when we left that school.”
Claire nodded. “Yes, there was. We only left when there were no more kids or teachers to give the candies to. Were we not leaving to go in search of more people to give the candies to?”
“Yes, we were, Claire. But where are the candies?”
“Or maybe Raquetr has gotten enough people in his domain already.”
Dylan frowned at his sister. “You think so?”
Claire nodded. “That is the only explanation, Dylan. If he has already gotten enough kids, then it would be pointless allowing us to still send over more kids to him. Maybe that is why he stopped the replenishment of the candies.”
Dylan sighed. “Well, in that case, our job is done, right? We might as well return back to him and see if we can get Mom and Dad.”
But Claire did not respond to her younger brother. Rather, she was staring blankly at her left hand. Dylan noticed this and walked up to his sister. He gripped her shoulder. “Claire? Claire, are you all right?”
Claire shook her head. “It is gone. Dylan, it is gone!”
“What? What are you talking about? What is gone?”
Claire waved her left hand again. “My ring. The magic ring, Dylan. It is no longer there!”
Shocked, Dylan raised his left hand as well. Almost immediately, he let out a scream. “Mine as well! Claire, my ring is gone. What is happening?”
Claire was shaking her head as she looked around them. “Something is going wrong, Dylan. Where is your bag?”
Dylan blinked. “Where is what? What bag are you talking about, Claire?”
“Your empty candy bag, of course. Where is yours, Dylan?”
10 Paranormal Stories Page 14
