Missing Children

"See! It says here in this book!" Nigel pointed at the words. "'Comelle, the wonderous city by the sea, shines like, um, illustrious elstone in the moonlight.'" He held the book open so that his equally scraggy companion could see it to.

She squinted, reading the long and impressive words herself. She liked books, but most of the time she did not believe what was written. The city in the book looked nothing like it was now. The book's Comelle was like a huge cake, with icing bridges and candied windows and stairs. Jaane's Comelle was flattened, dark and full of cracked walls. A squished cake really. If the book is right, is it possible that the Shadow did all that? She really didn't want to think about that. "It's not true," she told him. "It's only a book. You can never trust what's in books. My mama says book knowledge is useless knowledge."

He shrugged and closed the book. "I only like this book for the pictures. They're pretty."

They silently went off down the alley towards the garbage heap that the children often played their days in. It was a wonderful place, full of things that none of the children had ever seen anywhere else before. Strange statues, broken pillars, old pictures and books covered the ground. Nigel and Jaane deftly made their way through the piles of rubble and ruined lives.

Once across a narrow bridge of old signs, the two met the rest of their usual group. The "usual group" had gotten smaller recently; Didi and Renner had disappeared, along with their families. No one knew where they had gone. There were whispers of Darkfriends, but no one paid it much mind. There were always need for workers and homes now and another family soon took their house and everything in it.

"Jaane, look at what I found!" Saren exclaimed, holding up a necklace that sparkled slightly underneath the dirt and dust. "Isn't it pretty?" Putting it on, Saren prattled on about her find. Jaane ignored her as usual. Everyone ignored Saren. They hoped privately that she was going to be taken next.

Walking over to where the boys were standing, Jaane saw that it was a small toy jo'car. Nigel was examining it intently. Twisting a key at the side of it, he put the jo'car down and it sped off, hitting a sheet of metal and stopping. They all went to the jo'car.

"That's so neat!" one of the older boys exclaimed. "Herren, where did you find it?"

"In the north," Herren gestured. "Most of them were broken. I took this one because it looked the best."

"Cool!" the other boy replied and they left them, running off towards where the alleged stash was.

Nigel picked up the abandoned toy and quietly pocketed it. "You're so good with machines," Jaane had to remark. "You just need to see one and you know how it works and everything!"

"Not really," he replied. "It's simple. You just find the most obvious place for the button to make it run."

Jaane just shook her head and walked with Nigel. She wouldn't call him her best friend; best friends were supposedly always together and almost like twins. Jaane doubted that she could ever be that close to anyone else. I don't think that I've ever seen anyone that close to another person, she thought, wonderingly. I guess that is the way real life is like, as opposed to the life the books portray.

As the shadows grew in the yard, the children all scrambled to leave and return to their own homes. The city shut down at sunset every night. Houses were bared and doors triple-bolted shut. Bad things happened at night. People, whole families disappeared. Sometimes, there was blood and sometimes there was nothing. Jaane of course dared to stay out later and later. If I get caught, I get caught, was her mentality. But eventually she would return to the small shack where her mother and her lived before full nightfall.

"Mother?" Jaane called out as she wedged the door firmly into place.

"I am here," a quiet voice replied, wavering at the sound of its own voice.

"Mother, I am home." She followed the voice to a small room near the back of the shack. In the room was a beaten-up sofa with tears and no legs. On the sofa was a small woman aged beyond her actual years, covered almost completely up by a discoloured blanket.

"Good," her mother replied. "Stay near me. The night winds blow strongly tonight."

Obediently, Jaane knelt down onto the ground by her mother, wrapping her arms around her.

"What did you learn at school today? Did you paint any pictures?" She seemed eager yet afraid of any new information and clutched Jaane closer.

"No, Mama." Jaane said quietly. There has been no school since two years ago, Mama. I've told you many times and you still forget! But she curbed her tongue. "Today was a holiday, Mama. I was playing with my friends."

She nodded absently and smiled with a faraway look in her eye. "Of course. You should bring your friends over so I can meet them. I will bake shocata cookies for them."

"That would be nice." She watched her carefully for any movement indicating that she would do so at that instant, but Mama seemed content to stay on her bed.

Resting like that, they both nodded off to sleep while the wind picked up and blew against the door.

Jaane woke up with the sound of rain tapping on the door. No, that's someone knocking! Quietly, Jaane wiggled out of her Mother's arms and went to the door, opening it slowly. It was Nigel.

"Saren is gone." Wordlessly, he handed the necklace from yesterday to her. Jaane nodded and put the necklace on. People come and people go.

"Is her whole family gone or was she playing outside too long?"

"I don't know. I don't know where she lives. I found the necklace out in the playground. I guess she dropped it. No one has seen Saren yet though or saw her once it got dark."

"Okay." Jaane nodded and walked on, but Nigel held back. "What's wrong?"

He hung his head and dug his hands into his pockets. "Last night, I heard someone try to open my door. If I get taken, will you take the jo'car for me?"

"Really? Why you, Nigel? I mean, there was plenty of other kids to be taken." Jaane dug into a can beside a restaurant with earlier glory days. She produced a half-eaten orange and some smoked sausage. Nigel shook his head when she offered him a bite.

"I don't know! Maybe they want every kid!" He shook his head.

"Maybe." She still wasn't convinced. What was the point of taking every single kid in the world?

He stuck with her the entire day, following her around and making machine toys work for her amusement. The shadows began to grow again.

"Jaane? Will you walk me home?"

She was tempted to say no. "Sure. Your house is near the marketplace, right?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Leading the way, Nigel walked with reluctance. Is he scared to go home? Or is he scared to be alone? Should I be scared too? If they are after Nigel, then they might take me too. Two for one sort of thing. Strangely, the idea didn't scare her much. She felt prepared whatever might happen.

Finally, they were at Nigel's door, a piece of plywood at the front of a pile of concrete slabs that seemed to be on the point of collapsing at any moment. At times like that, Jaane saw just how fortunate herself and her mother were in terms of living conditions.

"Well, here we are," Nigel said awkwardly.

"Yes, this is your place. I need to run along and go to mine; Mama will worry."

"I know." He kicked his feet. "Could you stay the night here at my place?"

"I'm not sure." Mama might go out in the night if I don't come home. The Light only knows what else she might do.

"Please? Could you run home and back to tell your mother?" They both knew that it was too late to do that before full dark.

"No, I can't." She sighed. "Okay, I'll stay the night. But if nothing happens, I will be mad." Jaane walked towards the door.

"I know, but I think they will come tonight. They don't believe me. They think I was dreaming it up." "They" were his parents. He let Jaane enter first and called out as he shut the door. "Mom, Dad. My friend Jaane is staying here tonight."

A man grunted from the concrete ground, where he seemed to be fiddling with some machine. A woman sighed and got off of a soiled chair to go towards the kitchen, she presumed. The rooms, divided by torn sheets, were very basic. Little ornamentation was displayed. We are like animals. We live for the moment. We survive. She shivered; she hated those rare moment of big thoughts.

"Well," Nigel prompted her. "How do you like my house?"

"It's... nice." She politely replied.

"Good," he smiled.

A voice croaked "Dinner!" and the children went into the kitchen. It was soup of a dull brown colour and she wasn't sure what was all in it, but it was food. Food was the one thing that Jaane had to fight for, food for her mother as well since she couldn't find her own.

After supper, Jaane helped to clean the dishes and pots with Nigel and swept the grounds til Nigel's mother was satisfied. Few words were exchanged. That was the way things were.

When it was time to sleep, Nigel handed her a thread-bare blanket from his own.

"No, you keep it. It's your blanket. I'll sleep okay without one."

"Are you sure? The ground gets very cold at night."

Jaane chewed her lip. He was very right, but hospitality said that you weren't supposed to do that. "Can't we share?"

"Share?" The idea sounded alien on his lips.

"Yes. We'll share the blankets. Next to each, we'll also be extra warm." Jaane smiled.

"Okay," he said, unsure as he laid down beside her.

Voices brought Jaane slowly awake. A crash of wood breaking, no, shattering, woke her up completely. She found herself hugging Nigel and Nigel holding her back just as strongly.

"Who is it?" Jaane whispered.

"I don't know," he whispered back as quietly and quickly. "Same people as before."

Panic froze her limbs. What can I do? Weapons! She had nothing, no sharp bits of metal or anything. Well, she had Saren's necklace. Maybe she could trip or even blind their attackers. She fingered the small stone that hung from the necklace, feeling a little more confident now.

A ball of fiery light moved slowly across the room and stayed on the other side of the room. Slow footfalls entered the room. Jaane could now see Nigel's eyes wide shut. She held the stone harder and looked for the man (she thought it was a man), ready for when he would appear.

He walked into the room with an arrogant pace to his walk, disdainfully stepping as to not have his cloak touch the squalor of the house. His eyes searched the room and focused on Jaane. He walked towards her, determined. Her teeth bared back into a snarl. If he's going to take me, he's going to have to get those pretty clothes dirty first! Just as she was going to take the necklace off and throw it at him, he stopped.

"Wake up, little boy. It's time to leave here."

Nigel's eyes opened and he rolled over to face the man and sat up. "What if I don't want to go? This is my home and this is my family," he spoke with quiet determination.

"You don't want to leave this place and live in the style that your skills and talents merit?"

Nigel's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

The man smiled. It did not warm his face. Jaane drew even more back.

"You are a very clever and lucky boy. My lord saw you playing and he needs people who are as clever as you are. He will reward you and your family well if you help him."

Nigel's eyes moved towards his parents. "Does Mom and Dad know about this?"

The man nodded and continued to smile. "Yes. But some other men want you to help them instead, so we have to leave now. It's dangerous." He held out his hand for Nigel to take.

"What men? Are they the ones who took the other children?"

"Yes," he said exasperatedly.

"Oh. Okay." He took the man's hand. No!!! Don't!!! It's a trick! She wanted to scream.

A line appeared in thin air in front of them and slowly widened to show a fancy sitting room, just like the ones in books. They went into the picture and Nigel never looked back once. The picture faded quickly.

Jaane stood up immediately and ran towards it. Suddenly, she knew that she had to get out of the house. They never find the family of the children, her mind dully repeated. He's going to make Nigel's Mom and Dad disappear too! She clawed through the thin remnants of the thick door.

As she exited, the house began to burn with great heat, so strong that her skin felt raw. It burned down immediately in unnatural speed. Jaane ran and watched it burn to the last ashes.

Poor parents. I bet he used something on them to make them sleep, or maybe they were already dead or dying at he talked with Nigel. The ideas made her shiver. I want to go home!!! She sobbed at she ran home. Home was safety.

Between gasps of air, Jaane told her mother what had happened. She took it easily. Jaane was careful to balance truth and fiction in retelling it, no matter how upset she was. As it had happened, Mama hadn't even noticed Jaane being missing. Suddenly, Mama reached out and pluck the necklace off of her neck.

"What are you doing with Aes Sedai things? Where did you get this?" She sounded angry and very alert for once.

"My friend Saren found it. She gave it to me," Jaane blurted out, surprised.

"A gift? There is always a price to Aes Sedai gifts," she half-sneered, returning to her usual disposition. Jaane retrieved the necklace from Mama's fingers and gently tucked her in before going outside. An Aes Sedai gift?

Morning had just arrived as Jaane went out of the house. The shadows were retreating again. She liked to watch the shadows retreat. She put the necklace back on. One day, when I am older, I will find an Aes Sedai and ask what this is, maybe return it to the person who dropped it. But that would be a long time, for she was only ten years old and there were no Aes Sedai in Comelle. Besides, Aes Sedai only lived in books, just like the picture-book world that the man had taken Nigel into. Her Comelle was her world and nothing would ever change that.