It's been sixteen years now, and the memories keep haunting me.
Dad is nowhere to be found, and Mum's health keeps deteriorating. Nothing has been the same since the day I failed to protect Isabell.
Dad always made me promise to protect Isa with my life. She was my cute little sister, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I took care of her until I was ten.
It was a rainy Friday. Isabel didn't want to come to school because of the rain.
Mum and Dad weren't home, so after breakfast, I handed her an umbrella.
"Take this, Isabel. We need to hurry to school. Dad will be mad if we stay home, and we might get grounded. Plus, you won't be able to go to your piano lessons," I said.
She pouted and blinked her long eyelashes. Missing piano lessons was the last thing she wanted.
Finally, she took the umbrella, and we hurried off to school.
The rain didn't stop until a few minutes before recess. Isabel came to my class with her lunchbox.
"Samuel, I'm hungry. Let's eat," she said, sounding tired.
"I'm not hungry, Isabel. You can go ahead and eat. I'll join you later," I replied as I hurried off to the football field.
"Samuel, wait for me! I want to come with you," I heard her say.
I didn't look back or wait for her. But I could feel her running after me as I disappeared into the field.
After a few minutes into the game, a boy shouted "Everybody, look! There's a tornado!".
We all stopped and looked in the direction he was pointing. A strong wind was swirling towards us.
Before I knew it, most of us started coughing profusely.
"Can you feel it? There's something in the wind," I said to the boy beside me.
Then we heard the teacher yell, "Everyone, run!"
In a panic, I immediately thought of Isabel and sprinted to the playground to find her.
"Isabel!" I called out, tears filling my eyes.
I shouted her name as I searched everywhere.
Finally, I spotted her lunchbox and one of her shoes.
Opening the lunchbox I saw the untouched food.
It then hit me that she had been waiting for me so we could eat together like always.
"Isabel!" I cried, tears streaming down my face.
I turned and ran towards the woods, in the direction where I found her shoe.
After running a distance, I came across the other leg of the shoe and stopped abruptly.
I peered into the tornado that was a few distance from me.
It was wild and noisy, with an overwhelming
smell.
I couldn't see what lay within or beyond it; leaves were swirling in the air along with sand particles.
There's definitely something in the wind. I muttered fearfully.
I hurried back and reported my sister's disappearance to the head teacher. They quickly called the police and my parents.
They all arrived after some time and the search began.
We searched until midnight, everyone calling out for Isabel, their flashlights illuminating the whole town.
"Isabel!" my mom kept shouting, clutching the searchlight in her hand.
None of us wanted to give up.
We searched for days, weeks, months, and then years.
Mom kept crying and hitting Dad to go search for Isabel.
Then one night, Dad left the house in his security uniform, promising Mom to bring back Isabel.
However, Dad hasn’t return for six years now.
Throughout these years, I couldn't look Mom in the eyes. The guilt didn't let me.
She was slowly fading away by staying indoors all day, crying and lamenting. I didn't know what to do.
Then one day, the doorbell rang, and I went to get it.
"Is this Johnson's house?" the man asked.
"Yes, this is Johnson's, and I'm Samuel Johnson."
"Alright, Samuel. You have a message," he said, handing me a disc.
I immediately rushed inside and told Mom.
She hurriedly took the disc and inserted it into the laptop.
"Isabel!" we exclaimed as we saw my sister on the screen.
Her face was dirty, her hair disheveled, and her uniform dusty. She looked tired but determined, with no shoes on her feet.
"Dad, Mom, and Samuel. If you're seeing me now, that means I'm safe.
I was taken by the wild wind. It told me it's my destiny to join Mother Nature and help see to the well-being of humans.
Don't blame Samuel, and Samuel, please don't blame yourself. You're the best brother I've ever had.
I was asked to make a wish, and this was my last wish—to send a message to my family.
Don't worry about me, I am fine.
I miss you all," she concluded, and the screen went black.
Mum let out a painful cry as she clutched the laptop. She didn't cry for long, instead, she did something she hadn't done in six years—texting Dad.
She sent a message, telling him to come back home because Isabel was gone forever.
After three days, Dad didn't return, instead, he sent his photo where he looked like a wounded soldier who had just come back from war. And a letter that he will be back as soon as he can.
I and Mom hugged, and cried. It's sad, but we've accepted that my cute little sister is gone.
We have moved on, but we keep her in our hearts.
Mum still cleans Isabel's room and dresses the bed every day. Then she will say, "I love you, Isabel," before leaving the room.