Once I Was Lost Novels & Stories

Several of my coworkers were bedridden with the spreading epidemic. The signal here was terrible. I hadn't received any messages from Bobby in days. Then today, a firebomb landed nearby. I wasn't fast enough—I took shrapnel to the leg. Lying in bed, all I felt was anxiety. I clutched my phone, waiting for a signal to flicker back to life. It wasn't until after midnight that the notification tone finally chimed. My screen lit up with dozens of missed calls—all from Bobby. Adam told me that Bobby had found out I joined the rescue team.

I am woken up by a sharp rapping. "Go away, Meena!" frustrated I can't sleep on my vacation. We went to fairy hill yesterday! What could she possibly want to do today that is so important? But the rapping on the door grows insistent. And then it hits me. I'm no longer in Ireland or in the correct century! Meena isn't here! I open my eyes in a panic, seeing nothing but blackness, and I am disoriented. Remembering yesterday's events, I recall I was in a small cell and a cook for a Prince and Princess of Troy!

] I deleted the text and threw my SIM card away. This time, I could finally start a new life.

Dad screamed as he rushed toward me. I stood on the balcony railing and looked back at him, staring down at the people who made me call them my family. "Dominic wants me to get lost. I'm a good boy, so I'll do everything he tells me to do." Then, I spread my arms open and threw myself backward like a kite on a broken string.

My eyes were bloodshot, burning with something close to obsession. I pulled out my phone and called someone. "I need a favor. Track someone down for me." Then I stood up, the pendant pressed so tight in my fist that the edge bit into my palm. I didn't let go. I was going to find her. Wherever she was. Whether she wanted to see me or not. I was going to bring her back. Even if I had to beg on my knees. Even if it took a lifetime to make it right. Layla. I'm coming. Wait for me.

She began to play a medley of different songs it started out with the violin being played first “I set on a narrow way many years ago…hoping I would find true love along the broken road….but I got lost a time or two…what my brow kept pushing through…I couldn’t see how every sign pointed straight to you….Marry me…today and every day….marry me…if I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe say you will….ooohh…cause God bless the broken road that led me straight to you…heart beat fast…colors and promises…how to be brave…how can I love when I’m afraid to…fall…watching you stand alone…all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow….my head’s underwater, but I’m breathing fine…you’re crazy and I’m

And I thought I saw you out there crying And I thought I heard you call my name And I thought I heard you out there crying But are we all lost stars Trying to light up the dark? But are we all lost stars Trying to light up the dark?

A gentle ripple of laughter moved through the crowd. I steadied myself. “This song… it came from a version of me I wasn’t sure I would ever get back to.” A pause. My voice softened. “There was a time not too long ago where I lost everything that made me feel like myself. My voice didn’t feel like mine. My life didn’t feel like mine. Even my future felt… distant.”

Please don’t try to find me through my dealer He won’t pick up his phone Please don’t try my father either He ain’t been home for years I know I’m no spirit seeker I can’t sleep through the tears I get lost in the ether I check it, I wreck it, I turn it around I gave you all my money, gave you all my money Gave you all my money, gave you all my money I don’t wanna live I don’t wanna give you nothing ’Cause you never give me nothing back Why can’t you be good for something? Not one shirt off your back Why can’t you be good for something? Not one shirt off your back She was so lost in the song that she did not notice someone was playing horn from behind. Just then she felt as if something hit

“Who isn’t? There are pieces of ourselves that just disappear with time and by the time we even realize something is missing, we’re already a shadow of ourselves.” “Do you remember who you were, before you were lost?” I had never sat myself down to ponder about that. Who was I before I was lost? The moment I left Kevin I felt so lost, like a puppy abandoned in the middle of the Pacific. I had no direction, no zeal to live, nothing. Just a gaping abyss in my soul. But was I lost when I left Kevin or when I met him? “I hardly remember, I’ve become so used to my life now that I’ve never really thought about it.” I shrugged.