6.

Yeah, as she had said, Mary had quite a lot of information gathered. Her gathered information focused solely on people who have gone missing in this town over a lengthy period and under mysterious circumstance. All these missing people have one thing in common other than having gone missing.

She had detailed files, photos, dates, and times, and to go along with her info on the missing she had and has up to date names, addresses and phone numbers of relatives to those she knows are missing, all these afore mentioned missing people of course having had some sort of contact with this towns forest park.

She suggested that maybe she and Terrence could go do some investigating, perhaps go talk to some of the relatives of the known missing. Terrence had listened intensively to Mary as she went through those files of hers, telling of what she knows, and he paused for a moment or two after she had put forth that suggestion of hers.

If he is to move any way forward with any attempt to find out what it is that is happening, then it may just be a wise move to seek out family members of the lost, maybe he could make out some sense of it not only with what has been happening to these people but also as to what is happening to him too.

Like it or not, this forest has a grip on him. That in itself may be a partial answer, sure thousands of people have made their way through this park throughout its history and only a small few over many years have disappeared. Why them and not everyone else? And why, despite having yet to enter that park, does it have a physical and possibly mental hold over and such an effect on Terrance?

If Terrance is to go meet some of these relatives of the lost, then wouldn't it seem a good idea that Mary go with him? Putting aside how things have been affecting him of late but there could be the thoughts that these people may be more open to talking if Terrance had the company of a lady during any and all possible talks. Besides and in her own way Mary has been dealing with all this for some time now.

It all is early days. Terrence has yet to fully open up to Mary if he is to do that at all, there is no need to rush headfirst into anything yet. Take things as they come and react appropriately. Indeed, moving forwards it is quite surprisingly to Terrance all those who are contacted are relatively quick to agree to meet him and Mary in person. He has no idea what may come from these meetings, it is however a beginning, and it can hopefully provide some sort of insight.

As they discuss a plan of action, if this is something that needs a plan of action, both Terrance and Mary are alone, and they are alone in Mary's house. Working together through phone calls they manage to set up physical meeting with relatives of missing people, the first of which has been scheduled for the following day. With progress there are setbacks. No sooner have the organized a meeting that Mary's parents have let it be known that they are on their way for a 'visit'. Mary makes a suggestion in the hopes it may not only allow for the 'quest' Terrence has joined her on to begin but also aid in getting her own family off her back.

Her family, Mary's parents in particular, want her to give in, pack up, sell the house Mary has been living in and have her move away with them. They have been wanting this for such a long time and have long since given up on any and all hopes of finding their son alive. If Todd somehow is alive, having lived an ordinary life away from family, then on this day of days, he would be and is twenty-two years old.

If Todd had been kidnapped, not that anyone truly knows, and is somehow alive and free today then he may have no idea of who his family are and even if he did then he may not want to be found. Mary's parents believe that her brother is dead and believe it is time to move on no matter how difficult such a thing can be and of course Mary believes her brother is alive and she will never give up on him.

She hopes to show her parents that her efforts are not futile, besides if Todd is alive or not, Mary cannot understand why her parents don't want closure. They are, of course, worried for their daughter. Their son is gone and as horrible as that is, they have to focus on what is and if that means seeking some kind of aid for Mary as in having her looked at by professionals ... then so be it.

Terrance doesn't particularly want to walk himself into any sort of family squabble especially one which revolves around the disappearance of a seven-year-old boy fifteen years prior to his current moment, though stay with Mary he does. He doesn't know these people, Mary included ... still. She greets her parents at her front door when they arrive while he waits in the living room.

It can be said that they were more than a little surprised to meet this stranger and they would wonder to what kind of relationship he may have with their daughter though at no point do they come out and ask what it is that is on their minds. They act pleasant and well-mannered and remain so for the duration of their visit though they do not stay long, and they are not all so happy when they leave.

Mary's parents listen to what they are told, and they promise to support their daughter even if they believe her actions can indeed only ever be futile. Who knows? They can always hope that she may indeed find some sort of closure and eventually move away with them. Perhaps a little leeway can be extended. There had been a moment during the visit where Terrence considered paying a complement to Mary's mother on her casserole recipe though that may be something better left for another time.

'I guess that went well' says Terrence with a hint of sarcasm once he and Mary are once again alone.

'It actually did' she says with a smile having not expected that particular gathering to have gone as pleasantly as it had.

She knew what was on her parent's minds, not offering any answer to any unasked questions may have been best for the time being. Mary's eyes and her smile, they do something to Terrence no matter how he may want to deny such a fact. Before anything he may deem inappropriate can have an opportunity to happen, he tells her that he best be going and that he will see her the following morning so they can go make a start on conducting their 'investigation interviews'. Her smile fades as he finds his own way out.

7.

Terrance has himself a moment ... coming out of a daydream like moment to find himself standing on and halfway across a strong wooden bridge staring out at a lake like river. He has no idea where it is that he so happens to be, though if he had to guess then chances are that his guess would be right. He has absolutely no idea as to how he came to be on this bridge. The last thing he remembers is being alone in that new house of his after having left Mary not all so long prior.

Is he dreaming? Is this moment real? It certainly feels real, as real as any other moment he has ever had. The river before him indeed looks more like a small lake than a river. It flows under the bridge he stands on and its banks are a hell of a lot closer together behind him than what they are ahead of him.

The bridge definitely is wooden, completely wooden, and it looks as if it has been around for some time though at that it is strong and sturdy. It stands about six feet wide and about seventy feet long and Terrance stands on it ... dead center. There are four steep steps on each side. There are plenty of trees either side of the waters and a walkway trail leads off and away on either side of this bridge.

The trail to the right looks so much wider than the one on the left and there is a steep incline on that left hand side. A stiff breeze makes the tree tops sway while being non-existent where Terrance stands. How or why, this is he does not know. Deep within that public town park is where Terrence must be, he is sure of this though again has no idea as to how he has come to be here, and he had no idea as to where to look so that he can begin an attempt to find a way out of it.

There is movement to his right and a little away from the bridge. A dog runs by. It is a German Sheppard, and it is soon followed by a young lady dressed in running attire. This cannot be the lady who went missing in 1983, can it? Terrence cannot allow himself to be disorientated. He must go after this young lady, he has to do this, and he cannot stay right where he is no matter how confused he may be. This all is most odd.

She, this lady, is moving at speed so Terrence begins to move as quickly as he can to go after her though as soon as he comes off the bridge, he runs right into something he is sure is not or was not there and he falls to the ground. It is as if he ran right into some sort of invisible barrier.

Darkness, Terrence is now completely surrounded in darkness where only a moment previously there had been a dimmed light as he had stood on that bridge. He needs a moment or two to gather himself and once he has gathered himself, he discovers that he is no longer outdoors rather he is at home alone in his bedroom. What it is that he had actually collided with was his bedroom door.

So, had his river lake bridge moment been nothing more than a dream? No, that can't be right; it all felt real, it had to have been real, it was real. Sleepwalking within his new bedroom cannot correlate to a moment in that park down the town, can it?

For the first time, Terrence considers that maybe he is not strong enough to look after his own mental health. Wouldn't it be best that he seeks out some sort of professional help before things get too far out of control? At least if he were to seek some kind of advice then if things were to begin to go south then there may be some sort of focus to aid him to get back on track.

Right now, it is the middle of the night, when he gets up, he has those meetings to go to with relatives of the lost one of whom so happened to be the partner of that lady jogger at the time she went missing. This man reported her missing. Terrence will at least see this meeting and perhaps a couple more through and take it from there.

If he is losing it and is at the beginning of some kind of breakdown then he can't really afford to wait too long to do anything about it, right? Though what if he is not losing it? What if he really had been on a wooden bridge in the town's public park? What if something is trying to ease him into something else, something his whole life has been moving towards?

He can't be second guessing what is happening; sure, he has already walked himself into waters, and now apparently a door too, so what if he does that again? Walk into waters again or something similar? The last thing he wants, or needs, is to cause himself physical harm.

Morning comes and the first thoughts Terrance have, are of that envelope of flyers and newspaper clipping he had been given. Within this envelope is a flyer of the young lady who went missing in 1983 and of course it has her photo upon it. This is definitely the same lady who had passed by the bridge he is sure he had stood on.