The principal's office felt heavier this time.
Last week, when the parents had first gathered here, there had still been a fragile thread of reassurance the kind you cling to when you tell yourself kids do reckless things, but they'll come home when they get hungry. That thread had long since snapped.
Now the blinds were half-closed, slicing the sunlight into sharp bands that cut across the room. The smell of stale coffee lingered from the principal's untouched mug.
Mrs. Parker sat rigid in her chair, knuckles white where her hands were clasped in her lap. Beside her, Mr. Cortez leaned forward, elbows on his knees, jaw tight enough to hurt. Windy's mother tapped her foot so rapidly it was almost a tremor, her eyes flicking toward the clock every few seconds as though staring at the minute hand would force it to move faster.
Principal Harris sat behind his desk, his usual air of polite formality fraying at the edges. His tie was loosened, and he was rubbing his temples when he began speaking.
"I understand you're all still concerned about the children's whereabouts..."
"Concerned?" Mrs. Parker's voice cracked, sharp and brittle.
"They've been missing for days, Mr. Harris... Days!...And the last thing we heard from them was a lie about a school camp that never existed. Concerned doesn't even begin to cover it..." She growled angrily.
The principal's eyes flicked between them. "I've made calls. Checked local records, public transport logs, even reached out to the coast guard on the off chance… but there's been no sign of them in any official travel documentation, If they left town, it wasn't by any normal means."
Mr. Cortez leaned back slowly, rubbing his jaw. "So they didn't take the ferry....Didn't take a bus... Didn't board a plane."
"Then how?" Mrs. Parker demanded.
Before Principal Harris could answer, the office door opened a crack and a hesitant voice called from the hallway. "Um… Principal Harris? Can I come in?"
Lisa, a quiet senior from the art club, stepped into the room, clutching a folded piece of paper in both hands. She looked nervous, glancing at the gathered adults before walking over to the desk.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I think I found something that might be important."
She unfolded the paper and laid it flat on the desk. It was a flier.
Across the top, written in curling, old-fashioned lettering, were the words:
MIRAGE ISLAND – A Journey Beyond the Map
Beneath the title was an illustration of a crescent-shaped island, surrounded by water so vividly blue it seemed almost to ripple on the page. But there was something off about it. The island's edges didn't end cleanly, they bled into the white of the paper, fading into transparency as though the image itself were disappearing.
Mr. Cortez frowned. "Where did you get this?"
Lisa glanced down at the flier before answering. "Before they left...uhm I bumped into Leo and dropped this, I don't know...It just looked different. So I kept it."
Mrs. Cortez's voice sharpened. "Why didn't you bring it sooner?"
"I thought it was just some tourist thing," Lisa admitted, looking apologetic. "But then I heard people saying you were looking for them.... and I remembered…" She hesitated. "The picture on this it looks like some of the sketches Ash used to make in art club. Not exactly, but close. The shape of the island, the way the edges… blur."
The parents exchanged tense looks.
Principal Harris picked up the flier and studied it. "I've never heard of Mirage Island before. Certainly not on any local maps."
"That's because it's not on any maps," Mr. Cortez said, his voice low. "If this is where they went…" He trailed off, gripping the desk as if it could anchor him.
Mrs. Parker pulled her phone from her bag, her movements quick and deliberate. "I'm calling Detective Luke."
Within minutes, Luke's's voice was on speakerphone.
"An island not listed on any chart," he said after hearing Lisa's story. "And called 'Mirage' no less. That's not the kind of place you just happen to find. You either know where it is… or someone takes you there."
Windy's mother asked, "Can you find it?"
There was a pause. "Maybe. I know a team ,marine divers who specialize in offshore recovery and mapping. If it's real, and not just a name, they might be able to locate it. Though…" luke hesitated, his tone shifting. "…the name suggests it might not be visible all the time."
"Meaning?" Mr. Cortez pressed.
"Meaning it could be obscured, hidden by fog, light refraction, or…" He stopped himself before saying the last word.
Mrs. Parker caught it anyway. "…or something unnatural."
Luke's voice was steady again. "I'll contact the diving crew,They'll begin the search by first light."
As the call ended, no one moved. The only sound was the faint rustle of the paper in Principal Harris's hand as he set the flier back on the desk. The illustration seemed different now, the water darker, the island's shape almost shifting if you looked at it too long.
Lisa glanced at it one last time before leaving the room. "Be careful with that. I don't think it wants to be found."
The words lingered after she was gone.
---
The parents didn't sleep that night. Messages flew back and forth between them, between principal Harris, luke and between the divers he had contacted. The team was based in the next city over, experienced in coastal rescues and salvage operations. They had dealt with treacherous currents, deep wrecks, even places locals swore were cursed but luke warned that this might be different.
By morning, the divers were in the water.
The parents gathered at the marina's small office, watching the operation unfold through radio chatter and a grainy live feed from the divers' helmet cameras. The water was calm but unnervingly dark a cloudy green that seemed to swallow light whole. The team searched for days but couldn't find anything.
" I'm sorry, we could not get any information, but we promise to try our best..." They reassured.
The search continued for days which turned to weeks. The parents could not help but worry and cry, regretting each decision they had taken.
The team fanned out again, sweeping the ocean floor and scanning for anomalies. At first, the view was only silt and scattered rocks, the occasional flicker of fish darting away from the camera's glow. But then… something appeared in the distance.
It wasn't the shape of an island. It was human.
"Hold on," one of the divers said, his voice crackling over the radio. "I've got… bodies...Multiple."
The parents went still.
The camera drew closer, revealing pale figures drifting just beneath the surface, hair floating like seaweed around their faces. The water distorted them, making them seem both weightless and impossibly heavy at the same time.
One by one, the names formed in the parents' minds before the divers even confirmed them. Mira, Zoe, Leo, Jayden, Ash, Windy and the three girls who had left with Windy.
"They're not breathing! ," the diver said quickly, sensing the panic. Quickly to the shore!...
The feed shook as the divers worked, strapping harnesses around each of the teens and hauling them toward the surface. The parents could hear splashes overhead as the boat crew pulled them aboard to the shore performing CPR immediately.
Minutes later, the radio crackled again the boat captain this time.
"Low pulse! There's little chance of survival...Looks like they've been in the water a while skin's pale, lips blue... now!."
We're heading straight to the city hospital now"
The room erupted in motion chairs scraping back, bags being grabbed, phones dialing ahead to the hospital.
Mrs. Parker's knees nearly gave out, but Mr. Cortez caught her. Windy's mother had her hands over her mouth, tears spilling freely.
The last transmission from the boat came just before the line went quiet:
" We tried our best...They're in coma and with the aid of the life support we are hoping they would come out of it.....
Oh my God.... No ... They wailed in pain and bitterness.
---