story by Lilou Hanen, 6i | posted 18 Dec 2020
It was already 8:00 PM, the sky was dark, and we could hear the owls chirping. My grandpa just took medicine so he wouldn’t get lost again. “Okay, time for bed little guy.” exclaimed my grandpa as he tucks me to bed, “Can I please have a bedtime story?” I asked, “Oh of course my little boy” Grandpa said laughing. “Let me tell you a story about our family, our family has this power to control and stop time, not everyone had them but the ones who did had to keep it a secret.” said Grandpa. “Well Grandpa, do you have the powers too?” I asked. “Who knows my little Liam, who knows?” Gigged grandpa. “Well do I have powers too?” I asked, “Maybe Liam, who knows?” I was still a child at that time so I didn’t understand much. Was it a sign or was it just a bedtime story? “But Grandpa!” I said “How did this magic thing start?” “Oh now Liam, that is for another bedtime story, now you have to go to sleep before mommy and daddy gets mad at me for not putting you to bed” He gigged as he tucked me in my blankets properly.
*5 years later*
It was a Friday afternoon; I was so excited to finally go back home! Suddenly, we got a phone call from my dad. My mom picked up the phone, “Oh hello! Me and Liam are on our way home” Said my mother. As my mother listened to what my dad said, her face went pail and said, “Yes we are on our way.” My mother hung up and told me “Grandpa isn’t that well so we are going to go to him.” I felt my heart drop. "But Grandpa is in London” I said. “Then we are going to London” Said mom with a shaky voice. “Dad is already at home, let's go home first so we can pack our bags.” She spoke.
We arrived home, dad was already there with his suitcase. “Come here, our flight starts in 3 hours” Said my dad. We quickly packed all out clothes and things we would need; I ran down the stairs going in the car, I almost forgot the book my grandpa gave me when I was young. The book was about how families can transfer powers. But everyone told me it wasn’t real and that it was just a bedtime story that my grandpa would tell me. I still ended up taking the book. Me, my sister, my dad, and my mom entered the car. “okay let's go.” Said mom as dad started the car.
We arrived in the airport; we were all worried for our grandpa since he wasn’t always very healthy. He would often lose his memory or get lost. We got on the plane, ready to go to London. Since we were going from California to London it would be a long plane flight. Once we arrived in London, we booked a hotel not that far from the place my grandpa was staying, my grandpa was staying in a hospital in London. We would go and see our grandpa from time to time and hope he was getting better.
We were in London for some time, and I of course can’t just stop school because I still need to learn and study. My mom enrolled me at a school in London, the environment was different, but I still okay with it as I got new friends and from time to time, I would go to their house for a sleepover.
After a few months, my grandpa’s health wasn’t improving and kept having organ failure due to his old age. The day came, my grandpa’s heart stop. Everyone was devastated, my mom and dad were crying and so was I and my little sister. The next week we had my grandpa’s funeral. The funeral was at a chruch. There were so many of my family members there, but I haven’t met all of them. We all put our grandpa’s favorite things and we even cooked his favorite dish for him. We all just wanted a miracle to happen, we all wanted him to wake up and smile. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Then world felt like it was black and white, it felt like the world was tearing apart, everyone was just sad and nothing felt right anymore. I looked around the funeral noticing that everyone loved my grandpa, that he was the best grandpa anyone would ask for and we were all devastated that he had to leave.
I walked around meeting people that were part of our family, some of them I have seen but I haven’t met most of them. As I was walking around, I felt a pat on my shoulder, I turned around to see who it was. There was a strange man, with in a top hat and a black jacket. It was a strange man that I have never met. I said “Hi, I’m Liam.... What’s your name?” “I’m William, nice to meet you.” Said the strange man. “Follow me, I have something to tell you” He said, I hesitated but still followed him because I thought I could trust him. We went to the corner of the funeral, the strange man was one of my uncles, but I didn’t know him.
“You love your grandpa, don’t you?” said the uncle. “Of course, I do!” I said with no hesitation. “Your grandpa already told you about this. But our family has the power to control time.” Said William. “I think it is time for you to have the power passed down.” “Then why did everyone tell me it was just a story?!” I asked. “Because they don’t know it was real, your grandpa was ready to give the power himself, but sadly this happened.” “Then why did my mom and everyone tell me that this was just a story?!” I said confused. “It’s complicated...” Said William. “Since you are going to stay in London for some time, lets meet in the park tomorrow at 4:00 PM” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go or not, but I still went to meet William the next day.
It was already 4:15 PM and the strange Uncle didn’t come yet, I was started to feel dumb for actually falling for a stupid trick as I don’t even know this William dude. It was a late afternoon and the sky was vibrant and the clouds looked softer than ever. I was still a bit disappointed that no one came, I was going to go home soon since I got tired of waiting. I was at the gates of the park on my way to go back home, but then someone tapped on my shoulder again, I turned around and said “what do you want?”. I looked up and realized it was William, and said “You came! I’ve been waiting for you!” “Hello Liam” said William. The Hello Liam was so plain I felt a bit hurt, we both sat on a bench and started talking about our life and our families.
Apparently, uncle’s mom died from cancer when he was only 10, so him and his dad took care of each other and always stuck by each other’s sides. William said that him and his dad were very close, and the day came when his father passed down the powers to William. They both trained and learnt how to control time better. “Everyone has their own ways of using powers” Said William. “I took me some time to learn how to use it properly, I hope you will be able to handle the power properly and to not let the powers get to your head” William said as he looked to me smiling. “I am just kidding” He laughed. “Just make sure to use it responsibly.” “Don’t worry I will” I said to William.
*As we fast forward a few months later, William passed down his powers to me. We would train every Saturday and Sunday together. We got so close we were like brothers. I don’t have full control of the powers yet. Everyone has their own ways of controlling their powers just like how William said. *
It was a bright Sunday morning, today was William’s birthday. I have actually tried to gain more control over this power of mine, I got William’s favorite flavored cake. Lemon, it is a strange flavor to get, especially in a cake. But I didn’t really care, as long as he had the best birthday ever! My family and I decided to make a surprise party for him, my parents don’t know that I have these strange abilities to control power. One rule me and William made was to not use our powers in public nor for fun because it can cause trouble. Me and my parents called William asking him to fix our sink because it was leaking, little did he know we were going to surprise him with a surprise party. We heard William at the door, everyone quickly rushed to their positions, we heard the front door open. “Hello? Anyone home? It is me William” “SURPRISE!” We all shouted. He looked surprised, but not in a good way, after a few seconds he smiled and said “Oh hi everyone!” I went to go get the cake in the fridge and came back. The day ended as a success and I felt so happy we got to surprise William for his birthday.
The next week I went over to go practice as the usual, I went to knock on William’s door. No one replied, “Oh he is probably sleeping, I will just text him” I thought. I pulled out my phone and texted William if we were going to have training today. No reply. I waited for about half an hour playing video games while waiting for him, no one came to the door. I pushed his gate, it was open, I was confused to why he didn’t reply. I entered his gates knowing that it was trespassing, I still did it anyways, I entered his door. The house looked very empty and it looked like as if it is was empty for a while, or it could have been just his house, I went to look upstairs and I entered his bedroom. I opened up the door slowly, “Mr. William? Are you awake?” I said quietly in case he was sleeping. I looked inside, there was nothing. The beds were made, there was no laundry on the floor, it felt like no one has been in this house forever. I ran towards the bathroom. No one, at this point I started to panic so I grabbed my phone and called William’s phone number “You have called a number that is out of service.” I grabbed my backpack and ran back home; I ran to my parents saying that William is not in his house. “Who is William?” Asked my parents, I freaked out and said “William! It was his birthday last week! How could you not forget!” I felt a tear on my cheeks and I ran to my room, my parents can upstairs a few minutes later with ice cream.
It was already dawn and the sky was dark, the owls were hooting and everyone was already asleep. I was just lying in my bed looking outside. I was excited for school tomorrow since I have been on vacation forever, I was still confused to why my uncle didn’t even say goodbye. It was like his whole existence just disappeared, I tried calling him again. “The number you dialed does not-” I hung up, annoyed that he didn’t even say goodbye. I went to sleep frustrated and annoyed.
It was a new day at school, the sky wasn’t that pretty, it was a bit gloomy and it looked like it was about to rain. Everyone else seemed to be so excited and happy, I was still a bit tired and I felt like sleeping. I didn’t want to go in school that soon so I wandered around outside school and there was a little mini stop there, I really wanted to try out their new shake there. I grabbed my wallet and entered the shop, I bought the shake and just sat there thinking about what we are going to do for school. I looked up at the news, all of a sudden, I heard screams and gun shots, I panicked and looked around me. Everyone was running out of the school, there were people crying, people panicking and I looked at the cashier. He looked at me and said “Let's go, there seems to be a gun shooting happening at school.” He grabbed me by the hand and we both ran towards were all of the other people are. I looked at the school and just stood there not knowing if the police would arrive.
A few minutes later no one helped you could see the police escorting people but they aren’t going inside, you could see those lucky kids that had enough time to escape. I knew that I wasn’t ready to go and save them, but no one else was going to go anyways. I sat down, and started mediating, I felt someone grab my hand, I got startled and looked up, it was the police. “Come it isn’t safe here” He grabbed my hand and escorted me. “Is help going to arrive?” I asked the police. He looked at me and said “Yes help will arrive, but my job is to make sure you are safe.” I was still worried because you can hear worried parents and kids running around panicking. I was escorted to a safe place where everyone else were, I couldn’t bare that the kids are kept hostage at school. I heard the big ben banging, one bang, 2 bangs, 3 bangs, 4 bangs, 5 bangs, 6, bangs, 7 bangs and 8 bangs.
I felt like the world was crying waiting for someone to save them. I knew that help wasn’t going to come, I felt so disappointed that no one was coming to go save the kids that were kept hostage. All of a sudden, I felt this energy that was building up inside of me, I knew that I couldn’t let the anger get to me. I sat down, with my legs bent, my hands on my knees, I was mediating. Mediating was a way for me to calm myself down when I'm in a stressful situation. I inhaled, exhaled, and inhaled again, I made sure to have the watch on me tight as that was the way for me to reverse time, I knew it was the only way to save the students, kids, and teachers. It didn’t work, I tried again, and again and again. It didn’t work, the more I tried the more stressed I became. I tried it again, suddenly, I heard the big ben bang once again, but in reverse. I felt the sun slowly go away and the looming moon over my head, I exhaled and the time stopped. I hid behind the bushes waiting for the villain to come over, I waited and waited. I was so sure they would be here by now. Suddenly, I saw a guy, he looked different from everyone else, he had red hair, pale skin and was wearing a suit. I got amazed as he looked so professional in what he was doing it was as if he has been doing this for years.
I grabbed my belt and snuck up behind the strange man, “I’ve been training for this.” I said to myself. I was right behind the man with red hair and grabbed his arm wanted to tie him up so that I can bring him to the police station. All of a sudden, I felt a flush of air go right beside my ear, I jumped back as the man looked at me and smirked, “Who are you little boy? Are you here trying to sabotage my plan?” Said the strange man as he looked down at me. He had a pocket knife in his hand, “I am going to stop you from harming innocent kids!” I yelled getting ready to fight. The strange man looked at me and laughed at me, “You?! You think you a little kid can beat me?!” He said while laughing. “Okay sure, bring it on little guy.” I was ready to fight, although I have never fought with someone in real life before, I only trained with William. “Okay let's settle down rules little guy.” Said the strange man. “I have a name! My name is Liam and you shall call me Liam” I shouted. “Okay Liam, call me Karma. Because I will be always be around” He said laughing.
“First rule, no running away, it is fight till you give up, not run away. Second rule, If I win you have to leave this behind and act like nothing happened, if you win you can bring me to the police station if you can. Third Rule, we are both allowed to have a pocket knife with us.” Said Karma. I nodded my head as I got a trick. I know that I am nothing against this guy, I am smaller and weaker, I am nothing compared to him. He threw the knife on the ground, “There is your knife, little child.” He said still looking down at me.
At this point I was ready; I wanted to take him down, the government doesn’t want to send help so I will help. Grandpa and William chose me to have the power and I can’t let them down like this, all the training, all of my hard work, can’t just go to waste like this. The problem is that I have never actually used a knife to attack someone, I would only use a rubber one so that no one would get hurt, but I had to do it anyways. Right, I don’t have to fight to win, I just need to kill him.
So, with a smile on my face, I walked right up to him. Completely normal, just like how I walk at school. I was already an inch next to the guy. That’s when he first realizes that he is going to die. All of a sudden, I swinge out my knife right under his chin, making sure not to hurt him. Startled he starts to lose is balance, everyone gets startled when they’re about to get killed. Even William got startled. With his center of balance shifts to the back, I will grab his suit and push him down and go in for the kill. He could block a throw from the front, so I'll quickly circle him till I am on his back and surely get to pin him to the ground. “Got you” I said with a calm voice. The guy was terrified and couldn’t move, I quickly tied him up with my belt and dragged him to the police station. We were a few blocks away from the police station, I was still dragging the guy, he was really heavy and I was tired of dragging him. “No please don’t bring me there.” He said. “A deal was a deal” I said with a smile still dragging the heavy guy.
We arrived at the police station and everyone was shocked to what I brought, they got the red hair guy into the car and locked him there for a while, the police asked me to stay for a while as they had to make a few calls. “Hello? Yes, is this Ms. and Mr. Miller? We would like to say that we found your child that you have been searching for.” Said the Police. “Yes, we will bring him back home safely, don’t worry we have him in our hands and you can always trust us.” said the police. I wanted to slap the police officer for saying that.
The police ended up driving me home in another car, “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” The police asked worried for me, “No I'm okay, thanks for asking!” I said proud of myself. Only if William would have been here for to see me defeat an actual opponent, he would have been so proud. I didn’t think that any of this would have happened without my grandpa and William. The next day, we got informed that the bounty of the strange man in red was $10,000. My mom and dad’s jaw dropped and looked at me, they were so shocked. We ended up celebrating, but I felt like there was a part of me that was missing, I really miss William and grandpa. The reason why William left without a trace is still unknown, I am still waiting for him till this day. Waiting for his arrival, it will come soon, I know it.
Hi, I’m Liam Miller and this was my story on how I got to protect my family and other families from a kidnapper. I might have had made a few mistakes in the past but I have learnt from them and I have grown from them. I am already all grown up and I have 2 kids, they are the best kids I can ask for. I still keep my grandpa in my heart as I will never forget how he changed my life as a kid. For William, I did some research about him and they said that there was nobody called William Clark. I hope he would all of a sudden just show up at my door step but I doubt that would happen.
Photo by Matthias Zomer from Pexels
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