Written by soulful_sojourner

We all have certain mysteries that we have yet to unfold, things that would be very energy draining to find out about. Like the this-was-never-supposed-to-happen-mysteries. You know cold cases?

That's what I think of the missing case of Zealia, who is aged same as me and still in university.

The news pods statements of her friends, a week old, stare at me beckoning to unravel the meanings behind them.

"She never gave any vibes of being an Auroraist. She was cheerful and ever helping and concerned to parents and big broski's needs. She was a poster model of a good Helili upbringing girl until this missing thing."

I would almost agree with this statement, if not for our last encounter. Before I delve into our last encounter I might need to give a few gist of how things are in the place I live.. Luthra.

Being a citizen of Luthra, I have seen the nation being in a weak grapple between the two major governing forces of Aurora and Helili.

Helili is this new age religion which is based on applying control to the mini scale lives and its backed up by observable, repeatable, measurable results that has wooed most of Luthrans to vote for them both as a religion and a governing political party. Aurora on the other hand is based on freedom from such Helili means of controlling measures.

Her friends back in the newspaper heading were meaning to defend her as a part of Helili since her missing case has made the Auroraists doubt she ran away from home since it's not possible to be missing out of a Helili house with such equipped security. Zealia's parents and friends claimed that she was kidnapped.

Our families, both Zealia's and mine were strong Helilists and so every weekend we had our gatherings called Leap. We had our Leap school starting from grade 1 and in our class it was just Zealia and me.

As I have been seeing her at our Leap meetings since forever and if anything, she looks like the opposite of a missing-able person. I have to agree with the news pods' statements of her friends.

I took a glance at the newspaper when I should have been correcting my cram school students' test papers.. Zealia's smile spoke of something that I knew.. A subtle sad smile that only those who are trying hard to suppress their thoughts would recognize..

Our last encounter made my assumptions even more firm-er than ever.

What happens usually during a Leap class is as follows : I, like a doubting Thomas of a skeptic, would wonder of making a talk with Zealia but in the end I overthink to the point of nothingness. Surprisingly, it seems like she understands me? 'Cause after each class when I tried to initiate a conversation she thanked me.. Needless to say this never stopped astounding me.

The genuineness in her eyes, cascading waterfalls of her voice, all used to make me forget what I was, even going to speak. Yet each class I kept trying to initiate—much so that this became our routine, our personal ritual, unseen by her brother or anyone or Leap teachers.

When we were 25, we were both chosen as Leap volunteers for maintenance of seats. Our ritual continued as good as ever.

But last Leap was the first time I bent our routine a bit.

She was handling the seats from the row next to mine and we both took a mini break. I scrambled up my inner fearful voices and took a big breath before passing her a piece of paper with these words.

hey, zealia, if we are really good members of leap standing for their motto of ultimate peace for all, why is it that we haven't had an ounce of quality talk? let's ignore the superficial frivolities for a while. yes I'm fine and you're fine by our helili efforts. But what are u and i afraid of?

Zealia had a frown. After a long pause she uttered the words I couldn't forget for a lifetime..

''So you care!"

After that leap day, I didn't see her anymore. The next time I heard from her was through news pods.

—---------- —---------------------- —-------------------

"Son, have you got your teaching materials and everything prepared?", my mother's voice shook me out of my thoughts.

It was another day of Leap day. Another day of immersing ourselves with meditation and mediation and volunteering; but for me it always seemed too much to believe. I have seen my own parents say things like an Auroraist would when it comes to food and delicacies. We secretly have meat during our Helili abstinence times. Not really Helilist are we now? Auroraists don't have restrictions of that sort like Helilists would. I have seen many Auroraists size plus folks being proud of their self-image. And yet here am I, healthy and well fed, ashamed of myself.

"Yes, mother. I have it all sorted out." I gave mum a normal regular blank slate- peck and waited inside our car with the chauffeur.

"Bez my man!" The chauffeur, dressed in tux and extended a big hand shake to me which I received better than with any other Helili member.

After we exchanged our niceties, the chauffeur suddenly had a look of a fortune teller. Oblong and a faraway gaze which was quite odd and didn't fit his jolly, short, bit bulging stature.

"You know where she is don't you my lad?"

"I don't" I hoped my clipped tone wasn't any indication of holding me in any suspicious light. I felt as though I had forgotten to speak. Firstly, why would our chauffeur ask such a question ? Isn't it common knowledge I am an oddball bachelor when it comes to ladies? Or was he a secret witness to our encounter?

His gaze frowned a bit in concentration as if to ask something but chose against it as parents arrived.

----

Leap meetings went on full swing as usual. And now it was time for teaching. I suddenly remembered I had forgotten my textbooks at my cubicle. Hastily I went to collect them but what greeted me was a sight I didn't expect.

My own note that I gave to Zealia was placed over my textbook.

Was Zealia here? I took a quick scan of the perimeter but there was just me in the teacher's hall.

The note seemed to have aged quite a bit from back then..Wait, is it even the same paper? I did recall very accurately that I wrote all words in small letters but here random letters are made into capital letters.. Could it be a secret message?

HEy, zeaLia, if we are really good members of leaP standIng for their Motto of ultimATe peace for all, why is it that we haven't had an ounce of quality talk? let's ignore the superficial frivolities for a while. yes I'M fine And you're fine by some ounCe of helIli EffortS. But what are u and i afraid of?

I noted down all the capitalized letters..

H E L P I M A T M A C I E S

—-----------------------------------

I'm no longer in the Leap classes , rather, somewhere where I usually wouldn't be.

"You're Bez amirite?" The gal's smoky eyes and intimidating tall-ness made me almost forget Zealia is the one missing.

I internally chided, sporting a frown before answering, "And you're the Macie, whom Zealia wrote on this note here?" I showed her the piece of paper.

Macie scanned the paper as if seeing it for the last time. A tear snaked down ruining her mascara. "I'm Macie but our friendship kinda dwindled and we have stopped hanging out for ages. It kinda happened on its own after I started dating."

"Why would Zealia tell me to meet you then? ", I thought out loud.

"I've never seen you ever before either, how did y'all meet up?'

"I guess I'm good at being a part of the background. Nevertheless our relationship can be explained over minutes..." I gave her the short gist of us.

"You sound like a good bloke." Macie nodded absentmindedly.

Funny how Zealia, while not here physically, is making me get out of my comfort zones. Zealia's close mate's plush sofa made me sink in way too low for my comfort, a luxury, as I was only used to hard plastic seats.

Then a wail of a siren broke out. I jumped off the sofa like a pussy with the furs all standing straight up.

"BIIIIG SIIIIS! BIIIG SIIIIIS! HEAR ME OUT ON MY REVISIONSSS! "

I kid you not, this kiddo's voice is powerful alone to enchant up the spirits from the dead, even though she only reached my knee and has braces bigger than a hippo's biggest teeth! She kept bouncing up and down saying what sounded like gibberish to me but also as I strain out I unmistakably hear something that astounded me!

"In the 21st century most of the food came from outdoors and not prepared at home. Time is money and productivity of life means white collared workers not having the time to cook and go to work. Rather providing cheap and quick food was adopted into a business and Macies was the franchise that overtook many nations back then. Soon local businesses started to spring up imitating Macies style of service and efficacy..."

After a while the younger sister bounced off back to wherever she came from with an energy I wish I had.

"I'm really sorry for my sister's disturbance, Mikaela can be a bit of a-know-it-all at times."

"No worries. It looks like she eavesdropped for a good reason!"

"What do you mean?"

"We were talking about Macies and she just now told us how Macies used to be a food outlet back in the ancient days"

Macy gasped way too loud for a gasp. "I never noticed it! Good thinking!"

Did Macie really not pay attention to what her sister said? But they were talking in their family language which would definitely be understood by her. I was lucky to have a translator contraption with me at the time. Wait if I didn't have it.. Would Macie have known and yet not have told it to me? Could Macie be a suspect in it too?
"What are the chances of her being held hostage at a food outlet?" I asked, hoping to find out what Macie thought.

"I don't know what to think. Ok Let's start with the first food outlet as Tapu Bulu"

That was a clever way to segue, but I played along with her, hoping I didn't seem too obvious about my suspicions. "You might wanna invite your sister too, she deserves it", I added in with a slight smile.

Even before Macie stood up to call, Makaela came rushing onto us like a freight train.

—------------------------------------------------

By the time we came to stop at the last food outlet, Taskies, we all were dead beat, including Makaela.

None of them had Zealia.

"We're at such a dead end." Macie voiced out our thoughts as we all stuffed ourselves in circular buns of Omelet and Tahini.

Makaela stopped chewing halfway through the bun sounding like a wilted Weeping Willow, "Maybe we shouldn't have feasted when ZeZe is still missing."

I felt like the clues , they were right there – in front of me, and yet where could I have blundered, I wondered...

"Here is your receipt sir, miss", the server replied. We never got to see his face clearly because all of our attention quicksande-d onto the dainty little book with the receipt.

The boo had a big title : "Zealia's diary"

Makaela eagerly opened the book and lo behold, we saw Zealia's confession that she escaped out of the house in her own handwriting and told us not to worry much.

Each of us mirrored shock, and relief.

"Was it all a part of ZeZe's pranks?" Makaela giggled.

We all shared an absurd smile.

"That kinda sounds like the old Zealia I knew of!" Macie chirped in slurping in a coke.

Later as we exited out, I noticed my chauffeur smoking and leaning onto the cab. We all called out to him and at first it looked like he was about to ignore us, but thankfully Makaela was ever the smartest. At the sight of her, my chauffeur acknowledged as we got inside the cab.

Turning up the radio way too loud for normal standards, we got on our ride way home.

Soon Macie and Makaela left and it was me and my chauffeur.

I felt a complete whoosh of relief as I let go of the breath I'd been holding for a long time. Maybe the note was all a note to assure me Zealia was safe, I thought with an inner smile. Perhaps she did take my content of the note to heart.

It was only then I realized, my chauffeur and I didn't exchange more than two words through our journey.

Thump. Thump. Cough.

Why did that vaguely sound like Zealia? I took a U-turn to ask the chauffeur.

"You must be imagining, sonny. That's just two rabbits I had purchased from a flea market". He wore a lazy grin.

I went back home wondering if Zealia's note was a fake one.