Page 30 - The Muse 2019-20 Issue

whole life things that are completely anomalous have been happening. My father having groups of men in the basement, my father leaving way too early for work, and my father smelling of weird oils and powders when he comes home from work when the factory only manufactures cloth and towels. I decided this was the day I would figure it all out. This was the day my questions would be answered.
My father would already be at work by now, so I wouldn’t have to worry about him seeing me on the way. I snuck out of my mother’s bedroom window and began the eight mile walk to the factory. The humid air was beating down on me like a baseball bat, and the sun was hardly even up yet. The red dust snuck in between my toes, considering my shoes were flimsy and worn out. My mind wandered about until I lifted my head and saw that I had arrived.
I crept around the factory and entered through the side exit door. I was immediately greeted with smelly air, then a wave of air conditioning rushed towards me like a reunion of two old friends, and I stood there for a second in awe. My calm feeling broke when I heard something, and I remembered where I was and what I was doing. I crept into a small empty office and used the emergency stairs to get to the top floor, where my father worked. My brother had told me about the factory countless times, so I knew where to go. I silently climbed up the long flights of gray cold stairs. They felt never ending. When I finally arrived at the top, I slowly opened the door and rushed into a janitor's closet. I was so sure someone saw me in those few moments I was out in the open. I mean, it would be out of the ordinary to see a girl running through a factory. I stood and waited as the suspense inside of me grew to record breaking levels.
Then I heard it, the small bell meaning the workers were taking a short break. I ran out of
the closet and quickly made my way to a desk where I crouched and watched my very own father talking to the boss! I couldn’t believe it; my father was having a conversation with Mr. Massumor. Hundreds of people worked at this factory. If Mr. Massumor wanted to tell my father something, he could have sent someone of higher rank to tell him. It didn’t make any sense. Just then I felt someone pull me into a closet, perhaps the one I was just in. I was terrified because that meant someone caught me. When I looked up, I was expecting to see some bulky mean looking man. That’s why I was surprised to see Emil, standing there with a surprised but equally as amused face.
“Misa! What are you doing? You could be arrested for coming in here.”
“I’m sorry, Emil. I have come to see my father.” I replied distracted by the fact that he remembered my name.
“Your father would kill you for this. Any father would! Why are you really here?”
“Okay, you can’t tell anyone, but I’m here to spy on my father. I’m tired of everything about him being suspicious. I want the truth.”
“What is your father doing that makes him suspicious?”
“He comes home late, leaves extra early, and has secret meetings in our basement. I know you think I’m crazy for coming here, but my father is just a big question mark to my family, I need to know who he is.”
Emil looked around nervously, his eyes filled up with confusion and realization.
“I don’t think you’re crazy. It’s okay, I’m sure it will be fine.” He stuttered as if he himself didn’t even believe in what he was saying.
Then he added, “Don’t come here again, or you will be in trouble.”
He didn’t allow me to speak as he pulled me out of the closet and ran down the stairs pulling me behind him. He opened the side door once again and pushed me out, closing the door behind me. There it was again, the heat. As I was walking home, I realized this trip to the factory only raised more questions for myself. It was all just another big black question mark to me. I refused to have gone through all that trouble for nothing, I needed an answer out of it. So that’s why I decided to look through the basement when I got home. No one in my family but my father is allowed in the basement. If my father ever caught me in there. I tried not to think about that. He wouldn’t be home for hours. My brother was also at work with him, and my mother was in town, so I went.
I crept down into the basement. When I opened the door, I saw a large gray table in the center of the room. On this table were many papers, filled with random words and circled drawings that didn’t make any sense. There were also four tall storage drawers, but they were all locked. I kept looking and saw a small poster at the edge of the room by a clock. It read, Five Steps the Irregular Way, Once you Do
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