Have you ever thought about disappearing?

It's not many of us occasionally have a seductive fantasy that life would be so much better

if we simply started over somewhere else, reinventing ourselves, began a new life.

For many of us, these kinds of fantasies provided totally normal, temporary and

consequence-free relief from everyday stresses like bills, mortgages, student loans,

interpersonal conflict, raising kids, etc.

Emphasis on fantasies here.

Very few of us actually do try and start an entirely new life.

For the very few of us that go forth though, what enduring mystery can create for the rest of us?

They did it. They actually did it.

They're so curious, so intrigued.

Why did they do it? Where did they go? How did they manage to pull it off?

Who else was in on it, if anyone?

Were they simply lucky, super smart, especially devious, courageous, some combination of the above?

Every once in a while we get these questions answered when the mystery gets resolved.

The person shows back up.

Other times, the reappearance just adds further layers of mystery.

And then there's another kind of mysterious disappearance.

There are people who don't choose to disappear, but for some reason they just do.

Maybe mental illness, amnesia, perhaps something else entirely,

maybe something paranormal, or at least we wonder about the paranormal, which can be terrifying.

We wonder if they could just up and disappear.

...