A Periwinkle Grayed : Prologue

It all started with a box of chocolates.

“Daddy! I want it! I want it!” cried my little darling. Her wavy blond hair, reminiscent of her mother's, brushed past my face as she pouted.

I looked up at the brown-haired woman on my right, dressed in a tight-fitting blue blouse and faded jeans. Her stern gaze seemed to falter for a moment and I knew I wouldn't get another chance like that.

“Please.” I muttered.

Some time passed as she stared at me and Emma before finally letting out a sigh. I smiled. We had won.

“You have ten minutes.” She said, trying to maintain a stern face which only faltered into a smile when Emma let out a squeal of joy.

“I'll only take five.” I promised, setting Emma beside her.

I left them on that particular park bench and approached the candy shop across the street. A bell rang somewhere as I entered the shop. It was packed to the brim with Christmas shoppers. Navigating my way through the crowd, I finally found a place at the cashier.

“How may I help you?” One of the cashier's addressed me after a while.

“I'll have a box of Hershey's, please.”

The cashier smiled and extracted the box from one of the shelves before handing it to me. I paid quickly and followed a family of German tourists out of the shop. All thoughts of seeing Emma's smile were wiped from my mind when I noticed the empty bench.

My concern only rose, igniting blasts of horns and yells after me as I brushed past a light.

“No...no, no, no...” I approached the empty bench. There was no sign of them anywhere.

A loud ringing jerked me from my anxiety. It was coming from the pocket of my coat. Reaching inside, I extracted a shiny blue phone. Only problem was, I was not supposed to have a phone.

“Hello?” I flicked it open and answered the call.

“Check the trash.” There was a click. The call had ended.

I looked around, spotting a dustbin beside the bench. I opened the lid and stopped short in horror. Lying tucked against a half-eaten sandwich and an empty cup of coffee was a woman's head. The same woman who had been assigned to protect Emma.

The phone rang again, making me jump.

“Who are you!?” I all but screamed into the receiver.

“Get to Central if you want to see your daughter again. You have five hours.”

A sense of complete dread filled my heart as the line went dead again.