“Cayden, I need to confess something, no look at me! Cayden, Daniel isn’t real. You have to remember, he’s dead.”

The one sentence that single handedly ruined my entire life.

One Year Previously

4/13

Dear diary, sorry I haven’t check in in a while, Daniels been acting a little weird since the camping field trip when some kid went missing. he barley talks anymore and when ever he does it always sounds weird, almost as if it’s not his voice. I mean I guess it’s sad but we always said that since no one else cared about us then we wouldn’t care about them and it’s not like we knew them or anything. But I still hang out with him, it’s not like I have any other options.

4/15

Hey diary, I was hanging out with Daniel again today. He was acting extra weird, we passed a poster and before I could read it he stepped in front and said that we should keep walking, it really freaked me out. And then when we were hanging out in our secret tree house I went to go get some lemonade and when I offered him some he shook his head. He NEVER refuses lemonade, I’m starting to get scared

4/20

Hi diary, I have more news on Daniel. Today I tried to ask him why he was acting so strange lately and he wouldn’t even talk to me, he just stood up and left. And when I tried to run after him he just disappeared. Then when I went to his house his mom answered and she looked like she had been crying, and when I asked her about Daniel she just looked at me with a weird face and said Daniel wasn’t there. The way she looked at me was almost as if she was pitying me. What’s happening?

4/34

Hello again diary, just wanted to let you know that I’m gonna be gone for a while.

*tear drops on the page

Today when me and Daniel were playing cards in our tree house when mom called me and I had to go talk to her. She made me sit down at the table and held my hand, and she said,

“Cayden, I need to confess something, no look at me!”

“Mom can’t this wait, me and Daniel were in a heated game of uno.”

“Cayden”

…

“Cayden, Daniel, he-he’s. Daniels gone.”

“Well yeah he’s going to be if I don’t get back there.”

“No Cayden, Daniel is dead. No matter how many times I tell you there’s no one there you never believe me. Cayden, Daniel was the boy that died on the camping trip. That’s why he always hides the posters. They’re his missing person posters. It’s also why he doesn’t drink or eat anything. Cayden you have to listen to me this time, I’m worried for you, Daniel. Is. Gone.”