Fifty thousand dollars. After that, I quit listening. It was a lot of money for us, especially considering what we already spent.
Mary Ann had been having troubles for more than a year before she disappeared. Her grades had slipped from As and Bs to Ds and Fs. After a couple months, we got a letter stating that our daughter had stopped going to class.
She was spending all of her time with a group of young people we didn’t know. Beards, beads, crazy colors. One day I followed her and saw her get into a black van with gold crosses painted on it. She started to stay out longer and longer until one day she didn’t come home at all.
And now, after a year, this man, this detective, tells us he found her. She is Northern California. She is in a cult. She has changed her name and doesn’t want to come home. She says she has a new family now, and is doing God’s work.
The detective tells us that he can bring our daughter back, help her get well. He knows a place that will un-wash her brain.
For a price.
Sunday Photo Fiction
Looking for a great new prompt? Head over to What Pegman Saw, a weekly flash fiction prompt based on Google’s Map View. It’s just getting started, with a new post every Saturday.
Love your take. $50,000 is a lot of unwashing. Well told.
A painful price that the detective knows people would be willing to pay for their children.
A good story that is scarily too common.
Wow, I would hate to think what they’d do to her. Cults aren’t good, but it doesn’t seem people like this claiming to help people who’ve succumbed, are much better. $50 000 is a lot. I’m pretty sure they could just get her themselves or talk to someone more reliable, and safe then this character.
Intriguing story!
I love the connection to the beginning … at the end. Great story.
This has all the elements that make a story great. Well written.