On December 12, 1992, at 5:55 pm in the afternoon, the soothing yet calming vibrancy of the sun slowly vanishes, and is replaced by the bright full scenery of the moon. Once the time reaches 6:00 pm, everything went silent.…people were inside their homes, no moving vehicles, and even the animals who were always seen outside were never saw again during that time. What happened?

And the sole reason for that is because it is the start of a new season, the winter...

        - Start of the Story -

One cold starry night on the exact same date, a 16-year-old boy Juan is living in a big house, and during that time, he is home alone. Both of his parents have decided to stay at an apartment due to the freezing temperature outside, making it hard for them to walk and find a vehicle, but they promised to go back by 12:00 am in the midnight. While his older sister, Anna, is in a party with her friends celebrating and welcoming the start of the new season. Juan is quite jealous due to the fact that he is the only one left in his house, neither knowing what to do nor to spend time with. Although lonely and bored, Juan has come up to the point that he has to do something interesting to ease his boredom. With that, he tried to kill time by doing several kinds of stuff: reading a book, watching television, and playing online games. Unfortunately, after doing all of those aforementioned ways to kill time, none of it has sufficed him.

A few moments have passed, he tried checking the Triangular-shaped clock above the brown cabinet. And he felt a bit of uneasiness, knowing the fact that it's still 9:30 pm, i.e., he needs to wait a few hours more (specifically, 2 and a half hours) before his parents will come home. Much to his dismay, he tried to contact his friend, Pedro, to soothe his weariness.

"Hello???" said Juan.

"Ohh, Hey there Juan, what do you want??" whispered Pedro on the phone.

"What's with your voice.…are you okay?" Juan uttered.

"It's nothing... seriously…I was just babysitting my little sister. And that is why I need to lower my voice so that it won't disturb her...give me a sec, I'll go downstairs so that I could talk with you without lowering my voice", Pedro whispered.

"Understandable, I'll be waiting," said Juan.

   - Few seconds have passed -

"I'm back, so what did you need to talk about?" said Pedro

"Actually, it's not that important, I just want to kill some time by having a conversation with you.…by the way.… I heard that you won a writing contest.….congrats!!", uttered happily by Juan.

"Thanks, but so what of it?" said by Pedro with an arrogant tone of voice.

"Oh, come on! What's with that cold reaction of yours?? You ought to be happy with it...and by the way...Would you mind sharing some stories that would shiver down a spine to me?" eagerly said by Juan.

"Hmm, okay..not a problem to me...I will tell you a scary story, but of course a real one...so have you heard or read an article about the people who have vanished during the night without reason?" said Pedro.

"Hmm, it seems a bit familiar, but I think I haven't read it yet," said Juan.

"There was a saying that once you've heard or read it, there might be a chance that you'll be the next target," said Pedro.

"Next target of what?" uttered Juan while being bewildered.

"I mean, you are home alone, right? Ahh, just you know, I've done a bit of research on it.… and -…." said Pedro.

  - Juan suddenly hung up the phone -

After that, Juan heard a rustling sound in the window located on his back. And without being reluctant, he thought it was a ghost or a burglar, so he immediately ran upstairs and went to his bedroom.

Juan closed the door and hurriedly jump onto his bed and covered himself with a white cotton sheet blanket up to his head like a fluffy ball (the term "fluffy ball" is just a figurative term). Thereafter, he began to contact Pedro again.

"Hey hey, are you there????? Sorry for hanging up the call; it is because I heard something in my window downstairs", said by Juan nervously.

"It's okay, it's understandable after all, I-I -hope that y-you're doing fine," said by Pedro while stuttering.

"Excuse me!??, I mean, I should be the one asking that question to you...and why are you stuttering!?" said by Juan in a worrying tone.

"Naught really, it's not that important.…." said by Pedro.

       - A few seconds after -

"Sorry, I lied to you...I hope you're still there...so let me tell you this... whatever happens, never violate the signs", said by Pedro worriedly.

"Wait, I am quite baffled. What signs are you talking about? Are you playing with me??? If so, cut the crap out Pedro!!" uttered by Juan while being angry.

"No, I am not playing with you.….you still remember about the article we are talking about earlier??" said Pedro.

"Yes, so what of it?" said Juan.

"Listen, the article is legit, and I've done research about as to why people are missing...so let me tell you these kinds of stuff...I hope you're still listening.… So three signs will happen first before a person gets abducted", said Pedro.

      - Pedro continued -

"The first sign is that it will happen in the window, and I think that explains why you heard a crippling noise on your window earlier," said Pedro.

"I don't believe you; what if it's just a branch of a tree?" said Juan.

"I didn't confirm that you'll be the target yet, but maybe..so let me continue...the second one is when you heard a bang on your ceiling, but don't worry.. you're going to be fine...the sound on your window might just be a coincidence", said by Pedro.

Before Pedro told Juan about the third sign, there is a sudden bang on the ceiling…

*Thud!!!! Thud!!!!! Thud!!!!*

Juan immediately looked up onto the ceiling...

"What was that??! I just heard a loud noise?? Are you fine??" said Pedro.

"Yes, it might just be a coincidence...I think cats are just playing since it usually happens, hehehehe", said by Juan while laughing.

"Just be alert, okay so the third sign is-", said by Pedro but was interrupted by Juan.

"Shush!! Stop playing with me. Like I said earlier, I'm not in the mood to play jokes on you...I don't believe in those kinds of stuff, ahahaha...and just to tell you, my parents will be here by 12:00 pm", said Juan.

"But-", said Pedro.

"I said shush!!! You're literally freaking me out", said Juan.

After a few seconds, the clock continued tictacking until its hour hand (or the shorter hand of the clock) went to 12, i.e., it is already 12:00 am.

...Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.…...

...*Knock!! Knock!! Knock!! Knock!!*...

"Yes, my parents are here!!" said by Juan while being excited.

"Wait!!!!-", Pedro shouted.

…but Juan didn't pay attention to Pedro's call. Juan immediately went downstairs. The knock didn't stop.

...He opened the door....

...Minutes have passed, everything became silent as the knock on the door have stopped....

...And Juan was never to be found again after that night....

...- END -...

Who abducted him?? Aliens?? Monsters?? Secret Organization?? And why??

and yeah, this is the end of the story..no more next

(Hello! I am the author of this short story..and I really am sorry for my grammatical errors since it is my first time making a short novel, and I don't have plenty of time to proofread my story, so please bear with it️. Another this is that I really need to increase my vocabulary so that I would be able to write without being mentally blocked)😳

(And if you're wondering about the third sign to which Pedro was talking about, the third sign is "there will be a knock on the door", and don't open it whatever happens or else..…)

...Yosh😎👉👉✨...