George woke up the next morning ready to get started on his day. He ran to Eddie’s room, hoping that everything from the day before had been a dream, or a horrible joke. He knew before he got there that the room would be empty.
He went downstairs to see what his parents were doing. His father was in the shower in the master bedroom. He could hear his mother in the kitchen before he got downstairs.
“I just don’t know, Helen. It’s not like him. The police won’t consider it a missing person’s case until it’s been twenty-four hours. They keep implying he’s a teenage runaway, but my gut is telling me something is wrong. Eddie wouldn’t do that! None of his friends have seen or heard from him. George is even acting strange. Can you come over? I just don’t want to be alone right now. Yeah, Daniel is going to go out looking. I’m going to stay by the phone in case anyone calls. I just feel so helpless. I know . . . I know . . .” George listened to his mother’s voice fade as he moved away from the kitchen.
Helen was his mother’s closest friend in Brunson. When they started talking, they could talk for hours. George knew this was his chance to slip out the back without being noticed.
Despite his rumbling stomach, he bypassed breakfast, knowing he couldn’t get into the kitchen without having to talk to his mother. It was easier if his mom thought he was still sleeping for now, so he could do what he needed to do at the boathouse.
George ran almost the entire way there without stopping. He could barely catch his breath as he got to the edge of the Miller property. As he approached the boathouse, he noticed he was not alone.
“Mr. Miller?” Still breathing heavy, he walked slowly to the frail man, who didn’t seem to notice him despite the noise he was making.
Mr. Miller stood on the wooden dock, with his right palm against the side of the boathouse wall. He didn’t move as George got closer.
“Mr. Miller?”
“It took her.” He spoke without turning his head. “It took my baby girl from me.”
“I know. But we can get her back, right?” George felt bad for him, and wished he could help but he also had his own problems at the moment. He had to figure out how to save Eddie. “Mr. Miller, something bad happened yesterday.”
“I know what happened.” He turned toward George, with fire in his eyes. “I thought I warned you to stay away from the boathouse! Do you have any idea what you and your friends have done?”
Mr. Miller now faced George completely, and took several steps toward him, with clenched fists by his sides. George began to walk backward, wishing he’d stayed home. “They’re not my friends. I was trying to stop them. Please, Mr. Miller, you have to believe me!”
George tripped on an old tree root, stopping him from his backward motion. Mr. Miller sank to his knees and dropped his hands to his sides as if completely exhausted.
“We can do this together, Mr. Miller. I know we can.” George hesitated before continuing, “I saw my brother in my dream last night. He said we have to fix the door. We can make it work again.”
“You’re a nice kid, but I can’t waste my time on some dream you had. I have to figure out how to get my little girl back.” He rose to his feet, having to push off his bended knee for strength. “You should run along home now.”
“No!” George suddenly shouted, surprising them both. “I’m tired of everyone telling me to go away, or ‘run along home’. We’re in this together, whether you like it or not. My brother is in there too, and I’m not leaving.”
George could see Mr. Miller start to object. “I’ve seen Emily. It was in a dream too, but I know it was her, and she was reaching out to me, because of the boathouse. I’m telling the truth, you have to believe me. Please.”
The old man studied him for a long time, finally the lines softened around his eyes and mouth.
George continued, “She had on a light green sundress, and sandals. And she had a doll. I saw the doll again in the boathouse, and in your house.”
“A doll?”
“Yes, a small rag doll with yellow hair, and I think she keeps moving it. I first saw it in the boathouse, and then the second time I saw it in your house, and I know it was the same doll,” George said defensively.
“She took that doll with her everywhere, you know.”
“Please, Mr. Miller, I’m telling the truth,” George pleaded.
“Very well, you can stay. I guess you can’t get into any trouble now. The boathouse isn’t going to be causing us any trouble with the way it is.” Mr. Miller placed his hand on George’s shoulder and guided him toward the boathouse. Together, they assessed the damage to the side door. “These boards will have to be replaced. The door will never close the way they are. I’m not sure I have anything around the house. I’ll have to run to the hardware store.”
“I know where some boards are! Follow me.” George took off, without looking behind him. He ran into the woods to his tree house. When he got there, he immediately started trying to pry the boards loose with his bare hands.
“I’ll go get a hammer,” Mr. Miller called from the ground.
They worked together for the next hour, rebuilding the door. Their hope quickly faded when they realized that something was still wrong.
“Something’s missing.” Mr. Miller seemed puzzled. He stared at his handy work. George thought it looked very professional. He understood. There was a feeling about the boathouse. It still felt unchanged. The magic wasn’t there.
“Should I try to go through it?”
“It won’t work.” Mr. Miller looked sad.
“What could be missing?” George looked around. “It looks perfect.”
“You should go. Someone’s coming. I have to get back inside.” Without hesitation, the old man walked briskly to the back door of the house and disappeared inside.
Within seconds, Jake rounded the corner of the property. George wondered for a moment if he should hide in the boathouse. He took a chance, figuring Jake had already spotted him.
“Hey.” Jake looked uncomfortable. He had his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground as he spoke. “Any word from Eddie last night?”
“No.” George debated telling Jake about the dream. He stared at him for a moment and then thought better of it, remembering all the times Jake and the other boys had bullied him. “I better get home. My mom’s probably looking for me. I just came to look around.”
They said their awkward goodbyes and George headed home for lunch. After skipping his last two meals, he was starving. He felt guilty for being hungry knowing Eddie was still stuck in the boathouse, but his stomach couldn’t wait any longer.