We signed each other’s yearbooks.
At one point, Michael leaned toward me and whispered, “Promise me something.”
“What?”
“Don’t ever forget tonight.”
I thought it was romantic.
I had no idea how important those words would become.
Around eleven thirty, Michael told me he needed to step outside.
“I’ll be right back.”
I nodded.
“Don’t disappear.”
He smiled.
“I won’t.”
He never came back.
The Search
At first, I wasn’t worried.
I assumed he’d gone to talk to someone.
Maybe he was outside with friends.
Maybe he’d gone to the parking lot.
But fifteen minutes passed.
Then thirty.
I started looking for him.
I checked the lobby.
The bathrooms.
The parking lot.
The garden behind the hotel.
Nothing.
I asked his friends.
Nobody knew where he had gone.
At midnight, I called his house.
His mother answered.
“Is Michael with you?”
“No.”
Her voice changed immediately.
“What do you mean?”
“He left the prom.”
She went silent.
Then she said something I will never forget.
“He didn’t come home.”
The police were called.
By one in the morning, the hotel parking lot was full of flashing lights.
His car was still there.
His wallet was inside.
His jacket was inside.
His keys were inside.
But Michael was gone.
There was no note.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
No body.
Nothing.
The next morning, people were searching the lake.
