“Why do you guys never believe me? What have I done wrong that all of you think that I’m crazy?” said Frank as he was talking to the town sheriff. His parents were missing and his gut kept telling him that the dark part of town took them. Throughout the history of this town, there were many talks about the dark part of town being mysterious and haunted, but no one could prove it. Anyone who went there, ended up never coming back

“So you’re saying that they were kidnapped..?” the police officer asked.
“For the fourth time! Yes!” Frank replied angrily. The conversation went for long. Frank kept trying to prove his point, but the sheriff kept calming him down and not believing him. After the sheriff got the report down the best he could, he walked off and got into his car. He stood there with a shocked look on face. “How could people be like this? What makes them think just because I believe  something that nobody else believes in makes me have different feelings?! No! I want my parents back more than anybody else would! I guess I have to do this myself then,” he said. “There’s not one other person who’d believe me and I don’t want to lose my parents.” That day, Frank made the most daring decision of his life. He decided he would finally take matters into his own hands. He was set to find his parents, prove to everyone that he was not crazy and that the dark part of town was actually cursed. As the sheriff and his men were done searching the area for any evidence, he hurried back inside to get ready for the long and frightful journey.

As he walked back inside, he sat on his grey, torn up, but comfy couch. He sat there thinking, “What should I take with me? Should I take a weapon just in case? Should I pack clothes for a whole month? Should I bring a lot of food?” His head was filled with questions, but soon the excitement and adrenaline took over . At Least that’s what he thought it was. He swiftly got up out of the couch and packed only a couple things that he thought were necessary which were two outfits and a pocket knife. “I’m sure I will find a place to eat,” he said to himself, “I’m sure along the way there will be a tavern or a bar I can stop by.” 

The day was coming to an end so Frank decided to get a good night's rest and then, at first light, get onto his destined path of validation. It took him longer to fall asleep than he thought it would, but after that, he slept as if he hadn’t in years. At first light, he woke up to the chirping of birds outside his window. He was ready for the journey, but was getting more and more nervous and frightened by the fact that no one returned from the dark side of town. He grabbed his bag and walked out the door

He chose to stop by and eat breakfast at a tavern. He ate as fast as he could because he knew walking down the dark alley that leads to the dark part of town is best during morning because robbers are usually back at home asleep or at the market trying to snatch something up. He paid for his food and started walking, but he was stared down by everyone as if he was an outsider.

This town is like any other town. Everyone knew each other so rumors would spread fast. He earned the nickname “crazy Frank” in this town because he had a different view on most things and also believed that the dark part of town was kidnapping people. So as he would walk out of a public spot, everyone would treat him like an outsider.

Without paying attention, he headed towards the dark alley. When he arrived chills went through his back. Everything was so still. The trees weren't making a single movement. The air was cold and it was just dead silence. With all the strength he had, he forced himself to start walking. The farther he got, the more he’d start looking around. Fear was taking over him.

“I need to find my parents, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to walk all the way there through this alley. I don’t think I’ll get there alive. Feels as if the tree will cast its branches on me and kill me with one hit.” he thought to himself. He shivered as he kept walking. One thing he kept thinking about was his parents. That’s what encouraged him to keep going.

As he reached the outskirt of the town, he felt as if an eternity passed. He entered the dark part of town and right away saw how happy everyone was. The streets were clean, the market was stocked with food, the houses were all well maintained and the air felt as if it was coming from the mountains.

He started heading farther and farther into the town and with every step he got a bad feeling that something was wrong. What really made him even more suspicious, was when he accidentally tripped over a rope that was holding the tent in place and it fell and broke the seller's glass kitchenware that he was selling. He leaned down to start cleaning with a smile on his face. “I’m so sorry sir!” said Frank.
The seller looked at him and said, “Oh it’s totally fine! I’ll just make more and I’ll be selling them in a week!”
Frank stood there shocked. “I would be so angry at the person who’d do this to my products. How is he so happy?”

He tried paying the seller for the broken goods but he wouldn’t accept it. So he moved on feeling bad for what just happened. He kept looking around as he walked down the streets. This town looked as if it was a dream. He noticed that the more he kept looking around, the more he’d forget things.

He suddenly found himself trying to remember why he was here. Took him a while, but he remembered that he was here to find his parents. “Oh no! So this is why everyone is really happy! They are forgetting things slowly and it gets to the point where they don’t remember their previous life! I need to find my parents before it’s too late!” he thought to himself.

He started asking around if anyone had seen his parents. Everyone seemed so nice and were ready to help. They pointed toward a house just up the road from where the market was, and without thinking much, he started walking in a fast pace towards the house.

His heart was racing, “Am I really going to find my parents here?” he asked himself. He came up to a brick house that was very clean all around. The bushes were trimmed and everything seemed really neat. He knocked on the door.. and his mom opened the door..

“May I help you?” she asked.
Frank stood there in shock, “Mom?” he said with a shaky voice, “Is that you?” He could clearly tell that something was wrong. She didn’t recognize him. She stood there with a confused face. She called her husband and he came up to the door to greet the “stranger.”

Frank couldn’t believe it. He tried explaining to them that they’re his parents, but they kept saying that they don’t know him. “I think you have gotten the wrong house,” they said, “maybe it’s the house next to us that you’re looking for.” Frank couldn’t believe what happened. He decided to go and knock on the neighbor's door to see if they knew how his parents got here.

An older lady opened the door. “Hi Ma’am, I’d like to know when your neighbors moved into the house next to you?” he asked
The lady said “They came here about a week ago. They were very lost. I had to help them get this place. I guess the spell took over them, too.”
Frank gave her a weird look. “Wait… what spell?!”

The lady invited him in and explained how the town has a spell cast on it from the 1800’s. Anyone that entered the town got so distracted by the beauty of it, their memories faded and they forgot everything.

“I noticed that when I came here. I forgot what I even came here for. Is there anyway to get that spell off? Those are my parents next door and they don’t even recognize me.”
“Oh wow! So that’s why you look so worried,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you. The spell doesn’t work on me because I don’t concentrate on the town as much. What you need to do is try and spark old memories in them by bringing up a touching story.” Frank was listened to every word she said. He asked the nice lady if he could spend the night and try to do that tomorrow morning. She agreed.

The next morning he again went and knocked on his parents’ door. They both opened it and asked, “Was that the right house that we sent you to yesterday?” Frank looks at them but doesn’t respond to that question.
He right away said, “I’ll tell you guys a couple stories and I want to see what you guys think about them alright?” His parents looked at each other and then agreed.

Frank began with a story that happened when he was a teenager. “I remember this day as if it was yesterday. I was 16 years old, my friends and I entered a little jewelry store we had on the corner of the town where rich people lived. We walked in, but we had no clue that there was a robbery in progress. The robbers thought that we were trying to stop them so they shot me out of paranoia. I remember the blood coming out of my shoulder. It was gushing out and I couldn’t stop it. That day I truly saw who were my true friends and how much my parents meant to me. I saw my friends running out the back not even looking back. I was slowly sliding out of my mind. All I could hear was yelling, but it was as if it was several miles away. One thought was in my head as I was slowly passing out, “My parents… my parents..” I slowly started tearing up and a couple seconds later, I passed out. I felt someone grab me by my neck and legs. He picked me up and started carrying me somewhere. I felt as if I was dead and slowly drifting in the middle of nowhere. I then woke up in a hospital bed. I saw a packet of blood above me with a line leading to my vein. I looked at my arm and shoulder, but I couldn’t move or feel it! I tried several times, but then just gave up and stared at the wall for a while with tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe that I once got stabbed for my friends and they didn’t even bother to come back for me. I’m so thankful my dad was nearby and was found fast enough to get me to the hospital on time. Throughout the whole recovery, my mom and dad were there for me. They never left my side. They never gave up on me.”

By the time Frank was done, both of his parents were crying. That brought back their memories, their past. They quickly hugged him and apologized that they left. “It’s not your guy’s fault. This evil spell took over everyone in the town. No one remembers their old memories. They only live in the moment and forget about it all a couple days later.”

Frank helped his parents pack their things and on the way out thanked the nice lady for the help. The journey back home was long. It was hard walking with all their belongings. They got back home by the evening and put everything in their right places.

Rumors quickly spread and soon there was a crowd outside their house. Frank and his parents came out and explained everything that happened. Everyone was listening to every word because they never believed that the dark part of town existed. The truth was out. People started believing Frank and he became really close to a lot of people.