[IrishElk] Drive Angry

[irishelk]

Alex (H/teenage/M) leaves school one day and walks home. As he approaches his family's house he sees through the window his older sister, chatting with someone Alex doesn't recognize. Alex immediately stops, turns around and walks away from his home, planning never to return.

[jumpingjacks]

Dramatic!
Prior to his seeing the person with his sister, did he already have plans to run away? Does this sighting represent a 'last straw' type thing? Does it represent a significant change in circumstances?
Older sister - teenager like him? Or an adult?
Person she was chatting to - HAM? Were they chatting in the living room? dining room? kitchen? her bedroom? Alex's bedroom? relevant?
Were they having an amicable chat? Did he see them do anything else besides talk? Did they seem to be friends? lovers? Is this the first time Alex has ever seen this person?
Is Alex afraid? Angry? Do Alex and his sister share the same parents? Are they alive? Do they live in the house too?
Relevant to find out where Alex runs off to? His plans for the future?

[invisiblemimsy]

Does Alex make some kind of assumption? Is it a false assumption, correct or partially correct? Does he actually know or suspect something now?

Has he just learned something about his sister? E.g. he thought she was deaf and now realises she isn't? Does it matter that she's older? Does he have a mother, father, relevantly other relatives?

Has something terrible or difficult happened, or does he think it has, or is going to?

Relevant what happens to Alex after that?

Is this to do with the man, the sister, something else, someone else?
Does he actually return? Soon or eventually?

Is it to do with the identity of Alex, his sister, the man or anyone else? Are any of them adopted?

[GalFisk]

Has Alex thought of such a plan before this moment? Does he plan not to return in order to: stay safe? Avoid trouble? Avoid embarrassment? Help himself? Help someone else? Cause trouble? Relevant where he plans to go? Does he like his sister? Relevant? Does his sister like him? Relevant? Does he feel: fear? Anger? Sorrow? Disappointment? Relief? Happiness? Resignation? Love? Disappointment? Confusion? Does he eventually return? Relevant?

[trebor]

Is the person she’s chatting with there in person? Is it a video chat? Did he know who this person was? Was the person wearing anything relevant? Had his sister ever talked about this person before? Prior to this, did Alex not believe that this person existed? Had Alex thought his sister was hallucinating or hearing voices, but this proved him wrong?

Is she his biological sister? Is the time period relevant? Was the person she was talking to hiding out in their house? Do Alex and his sister live together? Does anyone else relevantly live with them? Is Alex perhaps in hiding? If so, from the person his sister was talking to?

Has Alex committed a crime? Has his sister? Anyone else? Is it relevant that he was just at school? Would this work equally well if he were older? Has anything relevant happened at his school? If yes, did he cause it?

Is the profession of the third person relevant?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

Dramatic! Dun dun!

Prior to his seeing the person with his sister, did he already have plans to run away? No. Does this sighting represent a 'last straw' type thing? No. Does it represent a significant change in circumstances? Yope.
Older sister - teenager like him? Or an adult? This.
Person she was chatting to - HAM? Yes. Were they chatting in the living room? dining room? kitchen? her bedroom? Alex's bedroom? relevant? Irr.
Were they having an amicable chat? Yes. Did he see them do anything else besides talk? No. Did they seem to be friends? lovers? This. Is this the first time Alex has ever seen this person? No.
Is Alex afraid? Most likely. Angry? No/not relevantly. Do Alex and his sister share the same parents? Yes. Are they alive? Yes. Do they live in the house too? No.
Relevant to find out where Alex runs off to? Yes, or at least helpful in solving. His plans for the future? Ditto.


invisiblemimsy

Does Alex make some kind of assumption? Yesish. Is it a false assumption, correct or partially correct? He is mistaken, but not completely incorrect. Does he actually know or suspect something now? Yesish.

Has he just learned something about his sister? No. E.g. he thought she was deaf and now realises she isn't? Does it matter that she's older? Yes. Does he have a mother, father, relevantly other relatives? Parents, yes.

Has something terrible or difficult happened, Yes. or does he think it has, or is going to? No/irr.

Relevant what happens to Alex after that? Yes, or at least helpful in solving.

Is this to do with the man, the sister, something else, someone else? Yes to all.
Does he actually return? Yes. Soon or eventually? Eventually, exact timing irr.

Is it to do with the identity of Alex, his sister, the man or anyone else? Yes, most directly with his sister and the man. Are any of them adopted? Irr.


GalFisk

Has Alex thought of such a plan before this moment? Possibly, but he decides at that moment. Does he plan not to return in order to: stay safe? Avoid trouble? Possibly, Avoid embarrassment? Possibly... Help himself? Help someone else? Cause trouble? But not exactly any of these.
Relevant where he plans to go? Yes, or at least helpful in solving. Does he like his sister? Yes. Relevant? Not really. Does his sister like him? Assume yes. Relevant? Not really.
Does he feel: fear? Anger? Sorrow? Disappointment? Relief? Happiness? Resignation? Likely this... Love? Disappointment? ...this... Confusion? ...and this.
Does he eventually return? Yes. Relevant? Yes, or at least helpful in solving.


trebor

Is the person she’s chatting with there in person? Yes. Is it a video chat? No. Did he know who this person was? No. Was the person wearing anything relevant? No. Had his sister ever talked about this person before? Not to him. Prior to this, did Alex not believe that this person existed? Had Alex thought his sister was hallucinating or hearing voices, but this proved him wrong? No, but interesting thought!

Is she his biological sister? Yes. Is the time period relevant? Could take place in many eras, but assume today. Was the person she was talking to hiding out in their house? No. Do Alex and his sister live together? Not at the time the puzzle statement takes place. Does anyone else relevantly live with them? Yope. Is Alex perhaps in hiding? Noish. If so, from the person his sister was talking to? No.

Has Alex committed a crime? No. Has his sister? No. Anyone else? Yes. Is it relevant that he was just at school? Yes. Would this work equally well if he were older? Not as well, but it's still possible. Has anything relevant happened at his school? Yesish. If yes, did he cause it? Largely no.

Is the profession of the third person relevant? No.


Great questions everyone!

[jumpingjacks]

Hmmmmm... in the puzzle statement, you say Alex "walks home", approaches "his family's house", and then walks away from "his home". First "home" = "family's house" = last "home"? Does his family only have the one house? Do they all normally live in the house in the puzzle statement? His parents do not live there, correct? Does Alex? Does his sister? Does the man? Are his parents separated? Does Alex live with both his parents? One of them? is his sister his legal guardian? Are his parents alive but incapacitated somehow? Are they in hospital? Do they have mental health problems? Are they in prison?

Someone has committed a crime: His sister's lover? His mother? His father? Someone at school? A classmate? teacher?

Regarding this man, Alex does not recognise him, correct? And yet this is not the first time he has seen him. Does this mean that he did see him once, but just forgot? Would Alex have the same reaction if it were any other strange man chatting amorously to his sister through the window? Is Alex afraid of the man? Does he think he is dangerous?

At school - did anyone die? get hurt?

[invisiblemimsy]

Does Alex not recognise the man because:
- Alex was younger when he last saw the man?
- The man was younger and/or looked different before?
- He mistakes the man for someone else?
- Other?

[wolfier]

Is his sister normally deemed an able person? Is the appearance of the stranger relevant? Did Alex see him at school? Elsewhere? Was the crime involved perpetrated by this man? By another person? At school? Is that crime serious (murder, rape, etc.) or considered a minor felony? Victimless?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

Hmmmmm... in the puzzle statement, you say Alex "walks home", approaches "his family's house", and then walks away from "his home". First "home" = "family's house" = last "home"? Yes. Does his family only have the one house? No. Do they all normally live in the house in the puzzle statement? Difficult to say "normally"--not all of them live there at the time of the statement. His parents do not live there, correct? They do not. Does Alex? No. Does his sister? Yes. Does the man? Yes. Are his parents separated? No. Does Alex live with both his parents? No. One of them? No. is his sister his legal guardian? No. Are his parents alive but incapacitated somehow? Are they in hospital? Do they have mental health problems? Are they in prison? No to rest.

Someone has committed a crime: His sister's lover? His mother? His father? Someone at school? A classmate? No to all. teacher? Yesish.

Regarding this man, Alex does not recognise him, correct? Correct. And yet this is not the first time he has seen him. Sorry, I misunderstood your previous question.

************TYPO
Is this the first time Alex has ever seen this person? Yes.

Does this mean that he did see him once, but just forgot? Would Alex have the same reaction if it were any other strange man chatting amorously to his sister through the window? Alex has either never seen him or has forgotten him, irr which. Is Alex afraid of the man? No. Does he think he is dangerous? No.

At school - did anyone die? get hurt? Not relevantly, but possibly.


invisiblemimsy

Does Alex not recognise the man because:
- Alex was younger when he last saw the man? This is possible, but see typo above.
- The man was younger and/or looked different before?
- He mistakes the man for someone else?
- Other?


wolfier

Is his sister normally deemed an able person? Yes. Is the appearance of the stranger relevant? No. Did Alex see him at school? No. Elsewhere? Possible but irr, see above. Was the crime involved perpetrated by this man? No. By another person? Yes. At school? Yope. Is that crime serious (murder, rape, etc.) None of these... or considered a minor felony? ...but it is a felony, and in this case I'd say serious. Victimless? No.

[jumpingjacks]

So Alex doesn't live in this house, but considers it his "home"? to which he was going to return after school?
Did he know his sister was living there? Did he know the man was living there? Did he only find this out after seeing him through the window?
He didn't recognise the man personally, but did he recognise something about him? For instance, was he wearing a uniform? Did he have an object with him that gave some clue as to his identity/job?

Is this correct:
- His family has two (more?) houses. His sister and her partner live in one of them, which is the one referred to in the puzzle statement.
- His parents live in the other? Is this where Alex normally lives too? Is he temporarily staying with his sister?

Crime at school: was Alex the victim of this crime? a classmate? teacher?

[invisiblemimsy]

Is the felony sexual relations with a minor?
Rape or indecent assault or paedophilia?
Was his sister the victim or the criminal? Same Q Alex, the man, someone else?
Did he recognise him because he had seen him in the newspaper, wanted poster, school yearbook, other?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

So Alex doesn't live in this house, but considers it his "home"? Correct. to which he was going to return after school? Yes.
Did he know his sister was living there? Noish. Did he know the man was living there? No. Did he only find this out after seeing him through the window? He might assume so, but still does not know.
He didn't recognise the man personally, but did he recognise something about him? For instance, was he wearing a uniform? Did he have an object with him that gave some clue as to his identity/job? No to all.

Is this correct:
- His family has two (more?) houses. His sister and her partner live in one of them, which is the one referred to in the puzzle statement. Yes.
- His parents live in the other? Yes. Is this where Alex normally lives too? No. Is he temporarily staying with his sister? No, good q's.

Crime at school: was Alex the victim of this crime? Yes. a classmate? Possibly. teacher? No, or at least not the victim of the same crime.


invisiblemimsy

Is the felony sexual relations with a minor?
Rape or indecent assault or paedophilia? No to all.

Was his sister the victim or the criminal? Same Q Alex, the man, someone else? Alex and possibly others are the victims, Someone else(s) are the criminals.
Did he recognise him because he had seen him in the newspaper, wanted poster, school yearbook, other? He does not recognize him.

[jumpingjacks]

Is Alex's school a boarding school? Does he live in his school dorms? Is this the first time he has come home (or tried to come home) in a while? Did he expect to find his parents at the house? Is he aware of the other house, where his parents are?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

Is Alex's school a boarding school? No, except in an extremely broad sense. Does he live in his school dorms? Same.
Is this the first time he has come home (or tried to come home) in a while? Yes. Did he expect to find his parents at the house? Yes. Is he aware of the other house, where his parents are? No.

[trebor]

Does he attend a residential school? Is his ethnicity relevant? Does the walk from his school to the house take less than half an hour? Half an hour to an hour? Several hours? Over a day? Would I be correct in assuming that he does not go home after school most days? Were any of Alex's family members aware of his intention to return home after school that day? Are Alex and his sister's boyfriend the same ethnicity?

Does Alex, when he walks away from his home, walk to: a hospital? A shelter (as in homeless shelter, shelter for at-risk youth, etc.)? A police station? Another person's house? Back to the school? A restaurant/coffee shop? Does he walk away with the intention of harming himself?

[GalFisk]

Crime: fraud? Theft? Violence? Identity theft? Computer crime? Embezzlement?

[jumpingjacks]

A thought -- is Alex's school in fact a young offenders' institution? Prior to leaving for school, Alex lived in the house with his parents, right? And is he unaware that they now have a new house? Does he think they are still living in the old house? Does he assume that his sister and boyfriend have moved in, taken his bedroom, so there is now no room for him? Does he think his family has cast him out?

[irishelk]

trebor

Does he attend a residential school? Noish. Is his ethnicity relevant? No. Does the walk from his school to the house take less than half an hour? Half an hour to an hour? Several hours? Over a day? Not super relevant, but let's say several hours. Would I be correct in assuming that he does not go home after school most days? Yes. Were any of Alex's family members aware of his intention to return home after school that day? No. Are Alex and his sister's boyfriend the same ethnicity?Irr.

Does Alex, when he walks away from his home, walk to: a hospital? A shelter (as in homeless shelter, shelter for at-risk youth, etc.)? A police station? This. Another person's house? Back to the school? A restaurant/coffee shop? Does he walk away with the intention of harming himself?No to rest.


GalFisk

Crime: fraud? Noish. Theft? Violence? Possibly, but not strictly relevant. Identity theft? Computer crime? Embezzlement? No to rest.


jumpingjacks

A thought -- is Alex's school in fact a young offenders' institution? No. Prior to leaving for school, Alex lived in the house with his parents, right? Yes. And is he unaware that they now have a new house? Yesish... Does he think they are still living in the old house? Not by the end of the puzzle statement. Does he assume that his sister and boyfriend have moved in, taken his bedroom, so there is now no room for him? Yope. Does he think his family has cast him out? No.

[jumpingjacks]

When he goes to the police station, does he tell them that he is in danger? that his parents are in danger? that his sister is in danger? Does he report the crime that happened in school?

So just by seeing his sister talking to her boyfriend, he knows that his parents no longer live in the house? Does he relevantly see anything else? Does he relevantly NOT see something that he would expect to see?

He walks several hours from school to home... relevant why he does not tale a quicker means of transport? Does he have no money? Due to the crime that happened? Has he run away from school?

[jumpingjacks]

PS. The forum says it's your birthday! Is it? Happy birthday!!!!

[trebor]

Does Alex attend a university/college? Trade school? At which it is normal to live in dorms?

Does Alex go to the police to report the crime that happened to him at school? To report another crime? To obtain protection? Does he know someone who works at the station? Is the crime that happened to him the same act (or whatever you’d call it) that happened to his classmates who were victims of the crime? As in, say, if he was a victim of theft and so were other students, did someone steal from a fund that was meant to be shared amongst them, or did someone go up at take $5 from one person’s picky, $10 from someone else, etc.

Was the crime committed by one person? More than one? Who work(s) at the school? Within the school division? By a bus driver? Someone in government? Threat against the school relevant? Such as a bomb threat?

[GalFisk]

Witness protection relevant? Has there been a threat to Alex? To his family?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

When he goes to the police station, does he tell them that he is in danger? that his parents are in danger? that his sister is in danger? No. Does he report the crime that happened in school(ish)? Yes.

So just by seeing his sister talking to her boyfriend, he knows that his parents no longer live in the house? Yes--maybe explore. Does he relevantly see anything else? No. Does he relevantly NOT see something that he would expect to see? No.

He walks several hours from school to home... relevant why he does not tale a quicker means of transport? Yes. Does he have no money? Yes. Due to the crime that happened? Yes. Has he run away from school? Yes.


PS. The forum says it's your birthday! Is it? Happy birthday!!!! It was, thank you! I've decided not to age anymore, so I turned 29 for the second time. =)


trebor

Does Alex attend a university/college? No. Trade school? No. At which it is normal to live in dorms? I'd hesitate to use "normal," but the students did live at the school.

Does Alex go to the police to report the crime that happened to him at school(ish)? Not primarily, but he did do this. To report another crime? No. To obtain protection? Probably. Does he know someone who works at the station? No/irr. Is the crime that happened to him the same act (or whatever you’d call it) that happened to his classmates who were victims of the crime? Yes. As in, say, if he was a victim of theft and so were other students, did someone steal from a fund that was meant to be shared amongst them, or did someone go up at take $5 from one person’s picky, $10 from someone else, etc. but not this.

Was the crime committed by one person? More than one? This. Who work(s) at the school? Yes. Within the school division? By a bus driver? Someone in government? Threat against the school relevant? Such as a bomb threat? No to rest.


GalFisk

Witness protection relevant? No. Has there been a threat to Alex? To his family? DOYD--he was in danger at one point, certainly, but not a verbal or written threat.

[jumpingjacks]

We are the same age! Or rather, you are about 2 weeks older than I am

Is the criminal still at Alex's school at the time of the puzzle? Was the crime still ongoing when he left? Would it be accurate to say he escaped? Is there perhaps a hostage situation happening? Kidnapping? You say violence was not strictly necessary, but was violence threatened at any point? To force Alex (and others?) to do something?

Yesish to a teacher being the criminal - was this person only pretending to be a teacher? Like Barty Crouch Jr pretending to be Mad Eye Moody?

Exploring how Alex knows about his parents not living there just from the presence of his sister's boyfriend... has he, in the past, heard his parents airing strong opinions about his sister's love life? about the sort of man they want for their daughter? Did they not want her to be with anyone at all? Did they say they would never allow any of her boyfriends to be under their roof?

Is his sister aware of the crime that happened in school? If she were given this puzzle and recognised herself in it, would she know the answer? Would she be confused?

[wolfier]

Is child sexual abuse at religious constitutions relevant?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

We are the same age! Or rather, you are about 2 weeks older than I am Rub it in, why don't you?! Happy birthday!

Is the criminal still at Alex's school at the time of the puzzle? Yes. Was the crime still ongoing when he left? Yes. Would it be accurate to say he escaped? Yes. Is there perhaps a hostage situation happening? Not exactly. Kidnapping? Yes. You say violence was not strictly necessary, but was violence threatened at any point? To force Alex (and others?) to do something? Not necessarily, but quite possibly.

Yesish to a teacher being the criminal - was this person only pretending to be a teacher? In a sense...they were teachers in that they taught kids things. Like Barty Crouch Jr pretending to be Mad Eye Moody? Not like this.

Exploring how Alex knows about his parents not living there just from the presence of his sister's boyfriend... has he, in the past, heard his parents airing strong opinions about his sister's love life?about the sort of man they want for their daughter? Did they not want her to be with anyone at all? Did they say they would never allow any of her boyfriends to be under their roof? No to all, good thought.

Is his sister aware of the crime that happened in school? Yesish. If she were given this puzzle and recognised herself in it, would she know the answer? Yes. Would she be confused? Possibly.


wolfier

Is child sexual abuse at religious constitutions relevant? No.

[jumpingjacks]

Haha thanks! We are both officially oooold!!

So Alex had been kidnapped, but escaped, right? Were other students kidnapped as well? Were they being held on school grounds? Locked up in a room? Sports hall? Had he been kidnapped by a teacher? More than one? Were the criminal(s) making demands in exchange for the students' release?
Did the teacher(s) only apply for the teaching job because it was part of their criminal plan all along?
Was the crime well-publicised? Did Alex believe that his sister would know of it? That his parents would?

[android18]

Was seeing his sister with the man enough for Alex to deduce that his parents weren't home? Does he go home specifically to find his parents? Does he believe they'd keep him safe? Does he believe that his parents have died? Been attacked or killed by the kidnapper?

[irishelk]

jumpingjacks

Haha thanks! We are both officially oooold!!

So Alex had been kidnapped, but escaped, right? Correct. Were other students kidnapped as well? Yes. Were they being held on school grounds? Yope, there is an FA-ish assumption lurking. Locked up in a room? Sports hall? No. Had he been kidnapped by a teacher? More than one? Yope. Were the criminal(s) making demands in exchange for the students' release? No.
Did the teacher(s) only apply for the teaching job because it was part of their criminal plan all along? No, FA.
Was the crime well-publicised? Irr. Did Alex believe that his sister would know of it? That his parents would? Possibly, irr.


android18

Was seeing his sister with the man enough for Alex to deduce that his parents weren't home? Yesish. Does he go home specifically to find his parents? Yes. Does he believe they'd keep him safe? Irr. Does he believe that his parents have died? No. Been attacked or killed by the kidnapper? No.

[trebor]

Do his parents work for the police? Does he think something bad has happened to his parents?

The school(ish) he attends. Was he sent there by his parents? Willingly? Is it a place where he learns a specific vocation?

Was the kidnapper(s?) a janitor there? Secretary? Maintenance person? Principal? Counselor? Health care worker? Groundskeeper? Cafeteria worker?

Does this occur in modern times?

[irishelk]

trebor

Do his parents work for the police? No. Does he think something bad has happened to his parents? No.

The school(ish) he attends. Was he sent there by his parents? No. Willingly? He did not go willingly. Is it a place where he learns a specific vocation? Only for a very vague value (VVV?) of "vocation."

Was the kidnapper(s?) a janitor there? Secretary? Maintenance person? Principal? Counselor? Health care worker? Groundskeeper? Cafeteria worker? To prevent a frustrating chain of questioning, everyone at the place in question is complicit to some extent in the kidnapping. Irr who carried out the actual act.

[wolfier]

When the kidnapping took place, did the kidnapper ask for a ransom? Was it monetary?

[GalFisk]

Did all the kidnapped kids get kidnapped at the same time? Were they kidnapped by being prevented from leaving the school? Did any other kids relevantly escape from kidnapping? Get released from kidnapping? Cults relevant?

[android18]

Is Alex in the armed forces? Is everyone complicit by accident? Or at least some by accident? Was Alex complicit?

[jumpingjacks]

Is this like a dystopian YA novel, where kids are selected by the state for this special school? They are made to train for something? Is Alex considered 'lucky' to be chosen?

[irishelk]

wolfier

When the kidnapping took place, did the kidnapper ask for a ransom? Was it monetary? No.


GalFisk

Did all the kidnapped kids get kidnapped at the same time? Unlikely. Were they kidnapped by being prevented from leaving the school? In part.Did any other kids relevantly escape from kidnapping? Get released from kidnapping? Not relevantly. Cults relevant? YES!


android18

Is Alex in the armed forces? No. Is everyone complicit by accident? No. Or at least some by accident? Quite possibly. Was Alex complicit? Not relevantly, but possibly.


jumpingjacks

Is this like a dystopian YA novel, where kids are selected by the state for this special school? No. They are made to train for something? Possibly. Is Alex considered 'lucky' to be chosen? Probably, or at least this rhetoric is probably used--see above.

[android18]

Could this happen in real life? Religion relevant? Government indoctrination? Is Alex in some sort of Sunday school type thing?

[GalFisk]

Religious cult? Doomsday cult? Terror organization? Suicide cult? Relevant why he left? How? Does he think his sister is part of the cult?

[irishelk]

android18

Could this happen in real life? Yes--very rarely, but it has. Religion relevant? Yes. Government indoctrination? Yes. Is Alex in some sort of Sunday school type thing? Not quite.


GalFisk

Religious cult? Yes. Doomsday cult? Terror organization? Suicide cult? Could be any of these too, irr. Relevant why he left? Not specifically. How? No. Does he think his sister is part of the cult? No.

[Balin]

Since this is a cult, is arranged marriage relevant?

[irishelk]

Balin

Since this is a cult, is arranged marriage relevant? No.

[GalFisk]

Does he think the cult is out to get him? Get his sister? Relevant what he experienced in the cult?

[irishelk]

GalFisk

Does he think the cult is out to get him? No. Get his sister? No. Relevant what he experienced in the cult? No.


After my lengthy school-induced absence, allow me to

***************************RECAP

Alex is walking to his family home after having escaped from a religious cult that kidnapped him. The "school" was where members of the cult indoctrinated/brainwashed the children they had kidnapped.

He sees his older, biological sister in the home, where she but not their parents live, talking to her partner who also lives there. Alex does not know the partner. He does understand from seeing them that the parents no longer live there. He then walks away from the house, without speaking to the sister and intending never to return--this is the part that still needs explaining. He goes to a police station, but he does not relevantly fear that the cult is still after him or his family.

You're just one lateral leap away.

[wolfier]

Does Alex still consider himself part of the cult? Is it relevant how long he had been kidnapped? Is Alex's action driven by specific indoctrination he received from the cult?

[irishelk]

wolfier

Does Alex still consider himself part of the cult? No, good idea. Is it relevant how long he had been kidnapped? Yes. Is Alex's action driven by specific indoctrination he received from the cult? No.

[trebor]

Just in case, has Alex escaped because he doesn’t want to be part of the cult? Does Alex perhaps believe in the preachings of the cult? Has he escaped so that he can witness for it? Recruit more members?

At the end of the puzzle statement does Alex believe his parents are dead? Is he afraid of his sister? Of her partner? Does he think one or both of them have done something to his parents? Does he perhaps know that his sister was to take over the house in the event of their deaths?

Is a particular teaching of the cult relevant?

[wolfier]

Was the sister also kidnapped (but escaped earlier)? Has the man or the sister ever been part of the cult?
At the time of the kidnap, did Alex's sister play a part (assuming unknowingly)?
Does Alex think positively or negatively of his sister before he heard the conversation? After?
Did Alex's sister know Alex is alive?
Is the police visit for reporting a crime? To provide a tip? To seek protection? Did Alex expect the police to visit the house after? To apprehend the kidnappers? When he "eventually" returns home, would he expect his sister to be still there? Her lover? His parents?

[biograd]

Did his observation of the sister reveal that much more time had passed since he joined the cult than it had seemed from on the inside? thereby revealing that he had been more completely isolated from the outside world than he had been led to believe?

[irishelk]

trebor

Just in case, has Alex escaped because he doesn’t want to be part of the cult? Yes. Does Alex perhaps believe in the preachings of the cult? No. Has he escaped so that he can witness for it? Recruit more members? No.

At the end of the puzzle statement does Alex believe his parents are dead? No. Is he afraid of his sister? No. Of her partner? No. Does he think one or both of them have done something to his parents? No. Does he perhaps know that his sister was to take over the house in the event of their deaths?No.

Is a particular teaching of the cult relevant? No.


wolfier

Was the sister also kidnapped (but escaped earlier)? No. Has the man or the sister ever been part of the cult? No.
At the time of the kidnap, did Alex's sister play a part (assuming unknowingly)? Irr.
Does Alex think positively or negatively of his sister before he heard the conversation? Irr., remember he didn't relevantly hear the conversation, just saw them talking. After? Irr, assume positive.
Did Alex's sister know Alex is alive? Possibly not--irr.
Is the police visit for reporting a crime? In part. To provide a tip? No. To seek protection? Possibly. Did Alex expect the police to visit the house after? No. To apprehend the kidnappers?No. When he "eventually" returns home, would he expect his sister to be still there? Her lover? His parents? Hard to answer--he does not expect to ever return to this house. He does expect to see his parents and sister again.


biograd

Did his observation of the sister reveal that much more time had passed since he joined the cult than it had seemed from on the inside? Not exactly, but very OTRT. thereby revealing that he had been more completely isolated from the outside world than he had been led to believe? Not this.

[wolfier]

After seeing the sister and the man talk - did Alex surrender himself to the police? Thinking that he committed a crime himself? Pretending he committed a crime himself?
Was the house with only 1 bedroom, so seeing the two immediately implied his parents aren't there?
Did Alex come to realisation that perhaps he is too old to still come to the house to look for his parents?
Did Alex speculate where his parents went after seeing his sister and the man? Correctly?
Did Alex's family tell him anything relevant before the kidnap?
Did the cult feed Alex information which Alex found out to be false seeing his sister and her partner?
Did he expect the sister to be able to recognise him after all this time? (and then believed that she would not be able to)? Do we need to know the exact events happened at the time of the kidnap?
Would Alex's course of action be different if he saw just his sister in the house? just the man? nobody? just the sister but she's pregnant?
In these cases, was Alex still planning to go to the police station at some point? To make the same report?

[irishelk]

wolfier

After seeing the sister and the man talk - did Alex surrender himself to the police? Thinking that he committed a crime himself? Pretending he committed a crime himself? No to all.
Was the house with only 1 bedroom, Irr, but... so seeing the two immediately implied his parents aren't there? Yes to this half.
Did Alex come to realisation that perhaps he is too old to still come to the house to look for his parents? No.
Did Alex speculate where his parents went after seeing his sister and the man? No. Correctly?
Did Alex's family tell him anything relevant before the kidnap? No.
Did the cult feed Alex information which Alex found out to be false seeing his sister and her partner? No.
Did he expect the sister to be able to recognise him after all this time? (and then believed that she would not be able to)? No/irr, but you're so close! Do we need to know the exact events happened at the time of the kidnap? No.
Would Alex's course of action be different if he saw just his sister in the house? just the man? nobody? Possibly. just the sister but she's pregnant? For the rest, his action would be the same.
In these cases, was Alex still planning to go to the police station at some point? Not relevantly. To make the same report? Not relevantly--to avoid confusion with these questions: presumably at some point he would notify the police that he had been kidnapped and escaped, but that eventual report is not especially relevant to the solution.

[wolfier]

Would Alex's course of action be different if he saw just his sister in the house? just the man? nobody? Possibly. just the sister but she's pregnant? For the rest, his action would be the same.

You mean, Alex would do something different if he saw nobody in the house. For every other case above (just the sister, just the man, a pregnant sister), he would still silently leave the house, go to the police station and plan to never return?

[irishelk]

wolfier

You mean, Alex would do something different if he saw nobody in the house. For every other case above (just the sister, just the man, a pregnant sister), he would still silently leave the house, go to the police station and plan to never return? Correct.

[trebor]

Does seeing his sister and her partner reveal a change in the family dynamics? Reveal something else that could happen only with the passage of time?

Is the relationship between his parents and his sister strained? Or between the parents and her partner?

If Alex had been away for any other reason but everything else had remained unchanged would he still be going to the police station with the same intent?

[wolfier]

So the only thing that matters seems to be that the house isn't empty. (I assume that if he sees his parents, he would still enter the house) The fact that it is his older sister who is in the house doesn't seem to change the puzzle much...as a complete stranger would have worked. How about a stranger woman he does not recognise? Does he recognise his sister at all? Would the puzzle work if it were his younger sister instead of older?

WAG: Alex does not recognise the people in the house. If it were his parents they would have been recognisable because adults' faces don't change much. Since people in the house are "strangers" he thinks he's at the wrong house, begins doubting about his own recollection of his home location, gets afraid he has got lost, thus seeks help from the police.

[irishelk]

trebor

Does seeing his sister and her partner reveal a change in the family dynamics? Noish. Reveal something else that could happen only with the passage of time? In a sense.

Is the relationship between his parents and his sister strained? Or between the parents and her partner? No/irr.

If Alex had been away for any other reason but everything else had remained unchanged would he still be going to the police station with the same intent? Unlikely--if he weren't kidnapped, he would likely have more knowledge of the situation before walking up to the house.

wolfier

So the only thing that matters seems to be that the house isn't empty. Not exactly. (I assume that if he sees his parents, he would still enter the house) Yes... The fact that it is his older sister who is in the house doesn't seem to change the puzzle much...as a complete stranger would have worked. How about a stranger woman he does not recognise? Yes, because... Does he recognise his sister at all? No! Would the puzzle work if it were his younger sister instead of older?

WAG: Alex does not recognise the people in the house. If it were his parents they would have been recognisable because adults' faces don't change much. Since people in the house are "strangers" he thinks he's at the wrong house, begins doubting about his own recollection of his home location, gets afraid he has got lost, thus seeks help from the police.

You got it!


******************************SPOILER

Can't say it much better than above, but:

After being kidnapped by a cult for many years, Alex escapes from the cult's indoctrinating "school" and returns home. In the years he has been gone, his parents have moved away, and his sister now lives in the family house with her husband. However, it has been so long that Alex does not recognize his sister, and does not know the husband at all. Assuming that either his family has moved or he has mis-remembered the house, he heads to the police station for help in locating them.

Good job everybody, and thank you for your persistence wolfier!