Austin, a seventeen-year-old, recounts the moment he lost his little sister.
(Warning: Using this monologue without permission is illegal, as is reproducing it on a website or in print in any way.)
(Beat.)
We were at the mall. I let go of her hand for one minute—one minute! And when I turned around, she was gone.
(Beat, breaking.)
We tried everything. The police. FBI. Posters and billboards with her face, everywhere. They told us to stop, said it was hopeless. But we kept looking...and still, nothing.
(Beat.)
She was frickin' obsessed with Sesame Street. She liked the purple one, the one with two pigtails. I thought she was way too smart for that show. Like, she couldn't even climb up on the couch by herself but she could figure out who the bad guy was in every murder mystery we watched.
(Beat.)
After...after, you know, my dad stopped talking to me, except when he had to. He probably wants to forget about it too.