The girl’s stare burned into Peter’s soul. Her eyes boiled as if Peter had insulted her Matric dance dress. Peter stared back at her, speechless. She turned her eyes away and sat on the couch right next to Peter. His discomfort quickly worsened as the ‘rebel girl’ spoke.

“I asked you a question. Are you deaf, dumb or just an idiot?”

“What’s your problem?” Peter asked sharply. This was getting beyond a joke. He was here to help these people and they were treating him like he had done something really bad.

“Just answer me.”

“She told me she’d been kidnapped by some ou.”

The old man stood up and grabbed Peter. “What is this? Some kind of sick game you play? Do you like toying with people’s emotions?” Angry spit landed on Peter’s face. He was scared for the first time that evening. The Rebel Girl leapt up to separate the two of them.

The old lady sat frozen on the couch, her gaze on the floor as if the dirty carpet was the only thing affecting her.

“Look. You have to believe me. Melissa told me she was taken, kidnapped, by some guy. She called him Cupido.”

“Cupido?” Rebel Girl asked. She looked at her grandparents in confusion. “You’re sure that’s what she said?”

“Yes. He tortured her. I just want to find her and help her.”

“And you’re sure you saw her tonight?”

“Ja. Listen, I really didn’t come here to speak to you. It’s Melissa I wanted to see. To make sure she’s all right. She didn’t want me to call the police. Is she here or not?”

Another confused look. Rebel Girl spoke slowly. “She’s not. She hasn’t been here for a while.”

“What do you mean?” This was getting weirder and weirder. The old couple and Rebel Girl had sad looks on their faces. It was as if they were remembering something terrible, and Peter had caused it. He sat back down and asked again: “What do you mean?”

The old man started sobbing. “It is impossible that you saw her. Just impossible!”

“Impossible? But I’ve just told you I did. And she’s in danger. Look,” said Peter, gabbling now, trying to make them realise how serious this whole thing was, “we need to move quickly. She wouldn’t let me call the police, but maybe –”

The old man laid his hand on Peter’s arm. “Son, I can see now that you mean well. I can see you’re a good boy. But there’s nothing we can do. Melissa has been missing for over twenty years.”

“What?” Peter stared at the old man. Had he heard correctly? “But, that’s impossible. The girl I met was young.” He looked at Rebel Girl. “About your age.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on here.”

“You’d better start again,” Rebel Girl said. At least she didn’t look like she wanted to punch him senseless any more.

Peter ran over what he’d already told them, stressing Melissa’s age, her appearance, and most of all, her frantic fear. “She said she thought she could trust him,” he ended. “Do you know this Cupido?”

The girl guided the old man to a chair and patted him gently on his back. “Mr Cupido was our neighbour.” She spoke in a serious tone. “And you’re telling me he took her?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Wait here.” She ran from the room and returned a minute later carrying a large flat box with ‘Melissa’ written on it in curly letters. She sat next to Peter and slid out a photo album. She opened it and pointed at a photograph.

“Is this the girl you saw?”

“Yes.”

It was Melissa. No doubt about it. Her hair was big. Her jeans high-waisted. She’d stepped right out of the late eighties. The photo had faded but her eyes were as brilliant as ever.

“Oh, God.”

The tears were tragic. Rebel Girl’s bravado dissolved into an ocean of sorrow. Peter wanted to comfort her, but he was afraid.

“Melissa was my aunt.” The girl’s voice was quiet. “I never met her. She disappeared before I was born. The police finally told my grandparents that they should give up; that Melissa was probably dead.”

Melissa. Missing for twenty years? Probably dead? But he’d seen her, just a few hours ago.

At least they all believed him now. The mood in the room had changed. Everything felt calmer. And deeply sad.

***

Tell us what you think: What do you think the family must be thinking now about Peter’s story?