Skylar was still wondering where Neil was when he called him yesterday. Skylar never calmed down afterward, he couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities that could have happened to Neil.
Skylar ruffled his short hair frustrated he didn't know where to look for Neil. Neil was like he was in another world after Skylar called him yesterday.
"You have to be patient, Skylar."
Skylar immediately turned his head towards Faiz, "How patient? My brother has been missing since yesterday," Skylar began to sound frustrated.
"If you're like this, how can you find it? If you're going to clear your mind first, you won't be able to think if it continues like this."
Skylar is hard to think especially when Neil is somewhere away from his sight and Skylar doesn't know how he is. Unknowingly his tears melted and he quickly cupped his hands covering his face. "Where's Neil?"
Faiz rubbed his back. "You can try calling him again, Skylar."
Skylar raised his face he looked flabbergasted and only realized it. He reached into the origin of the gray pants pocket taking the black phone there and pressing fast on the phone screen. Looked at Faiz with gratitude.
On the first call, Neil didn't pick it up, making a cold sweat drench Skylar's forehead. Skylar's heart pounded as he returned to make the call a second time.
"Hello?"
Skylar froze hearing that voice, a voice that seemed like he hadn't heard in a long time. Made his chest rumble unnaturally.
"Hello?"
Skylar realized from his ice, that this is what he was waiting for. "Bro-, Neil where are you?"
"Skylar? I'm at school," Neil said, sounding unsure.
Skylar turned to Faiz who looked at him curiously. Then Skylar closed his eyes tightly, hearing his pounding heartbeat. "No, you're not at school." Skylar almost screamed.
"I'm at school. On the top floor."
Skylar opened his eyelids, he stared wildly around him looking for Neil's existence but couldn't find it. As happened last night, Neil is in the same place but on a different dimension. That's hard to believe the logic. "Me too."
"It's the same as last night when dad called me. It's like there are two in the same place, but they aren't. I don't know where. Everyone here, behaving strangely. Including you."
Skylar's eyeballs widened. "Me?"
Neil who was at the other end of the phone exhaled a rough breath. "Yes, you are here to live in my house."
Skylar choked on his saliva, he digested Neil's sentence, but Skylar asked him something else. "Why are you there?"
"I don't know but in the alley, after I'm me," Neil broke up cut off by Skylar's dead phone.
Neil groaned furiously, he almost slammed the phone in his grasp but Faiz immediately held it back. "Neil said what, Skylar?"
Skylar rubbed his face roughly. "As I said before, I suspect big brother is stuck in another dimension or even in another world because he said that the people there were acting strangely. And again someone who looks like me was there living in his house."
Faiz held his chin while muttering, "This sounds unbelievable."
Skylar continued with his eyes around. "He said he was here too."
Faiz looked up and looked around and found nothing.
"Before his call was cut off he said something about inside the alley. I don't know what that means."
Faiz thought. "Maybe it was on a small road that brought Neil to that strange place. Some kind of portal, maybe."
"Where's the little road?"
"That's what we have to look for."
***
Things didn't go according to plan. Skylar was suddenly called by his mother to go home. He was halfway to finding Neil with Faiz. Skylar couldn't tell his mother about Neil's loss. Because mom has made a promise to him not to see Neil again. And Skylar denied it.
The torrential rain out there brought old memories to come without excuses to Skylar's mind. He grabbed his phone there with a photo of Neil that Skylar had secretly taken.
Skylar stared long ago, researching closely. His heart rumbled and sounded wrong. But he didn't stop him from exploring any further, Skylar's long finger sliding his phone screen to reveal dozens of photos of the same person.
Skylar grimaced not expecting this many photos of Neil on his phone. One might be confused to distinguish between Skylar and Neil at a glance. However, for Skylar, Neil and himself were different.
Without Skylar subconsciously stroking the surface of Neil's face on his phone screen, instantly he froze.
What-?
Skylar's cheeks seemed to burn with what he had just thought. But his eyes didn't turn away for a second from there, he continued to look.
Skylar's hand slowly sank behind his thick blanket. His mind was full of what he had just imagined. Skylar enjoyed himself muffled by the sound of heavy rain out there.
Fuck!