. . .
“These things do not happen in dreams, dear girl… they only happen in nightmares.”
–Marissa Meyer
. . .
Dr. Li-Am Song was still in the hospital when he received the inevitable call from the police. It had been a year since he had last since his only child and older sister–both had gone missing.
No sign of a break-in or any sort of struggle appeared to have happened in Lee’s home, let alone anything in or anywhere near around her property had been found, according to the authorities, which left more questions than answers–it was as though the two of them have been spirited away days before Li-Am had even came back to pick up his daughter.
And while Li-Am didn’t really want to pin the blame or be suspicious of his own sister for kidnapping (for god’s sake, what could possibly be the motive?!) but it was rather hard not to, especially when the ‘prime suspect’ had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth as well… along with Lei-Lei, his daughter, his only child… and not a day goes by where he didn’t regret leaving his little girl alone.
Li-Am tried to stay strong, to be positive and hope that his daughter will one day be found soon enough but he wasn’t stupid. This isn’t a movie where a good ending is most likely guaranteed.
It’s been a goddamn year.
And while the authorities tried so hard to be sympathetic to the Doctor’s plight, even they have to be frank, especially with a cold case like this…
Because there was no need for them to give an already grieving father false hope and Li-Am is more than aware of the fact that the longer a person had gone missing, the lesser the possibilities of them being found alive.
The best he could hope for is the authorities finding a body at the very least for him to mourn and bury what was left of his only child….
And yet–
“…Doctor Song?”
Li-Am unconsciously steeled himself at the familiar voice he had been dreading and waiting to hear after all this time, mentally bracing himself for the awful news.
This is it, his moment of truth…
“Yes, Officer Gareth, it’s me. What is it?”
For a moment, there was nothing but static–
There was the sound of waves crashing loudly somewhere in the distance, the sound of seagulls calling faintly in the background and… is Officer Gareth situated on the beach or something? Or is he loitering about in Lee’s property again?
“D-Doctor, we…” there was a deep inhale, an odd note of disbelief and something that suspiciously sounds like relief ringing in a single breath, “…we found your daughter.”
Li-Am’s jaw clenched, teeth gritting so hard that it hurts as he waited for the horrible bomb that was going to be dropped on him any moment now the same way it had gone around when they declared his wife had passed away.
He can feel his lungs squeezing as he tried to breathe normally but there was dread and something cold and heavy was already weighing in his chest, just tell him, get it over with–!
“She’s… she’s alive.”
Li-Am didn’t remember anything much after demanding for their location, other than the all-consuming need to see his little girl as soon as possible, he didn’t care. Needless to say, Li-Am Song has never run and drove faster his whole life in that one moment.
It was a mystery how his car wasn’t pulled over.
* * * * *
Li-Am can feel his eyes tearing up again.
…Because there she is.
Is–as in present tense, not was, because his daughter, his little girl is very much alive and breathing, thank God!
“Clear signs of malnutrition and dehydration,” one of the nurses were reporting to him as he gingerly tucked the scratchy and thin hospital sheets (Li-Am made a mental note to bring Lei-Lei her blankets) around his daughter even better to keep her warm, “…although there were no visible signs of recent wounds or any sort of injuries.”
“H-Have they checked?” he rasped, “You know…”
To be honest, Li-Am was absolutely terrified of the answer. If he had his way, he didn’t want to hear what the nurse has to say.
He didn’t really want to know if his own daughter had been a victim of sexual abuse or anything so vile that it shouldn’t have been even possible to anyone, but he had to, for Leigh Anne’s sake–he had to know what kind of pain she had went through so he could have at least done something to help her once she wakes up.
…If she wakes up.
But she will, Li-Am thought.
She has to.
From now on, he’s going to do his damn best to keep her safe. He’s never ever going to let his little girl out of his sight again so easily.
“Yes, sir, they have. Rest assured, there’s none,” thankfully, the nurse was professional enough to keep a straight face, not even reacting at Li-Am’s very audible sigh of relief, “…but they found old and closed scars on her back. Does she have those marks before the incident or…?”
The nurse’s words died down on her throat.
For a moment, Li-Am was confused as of why she suddenly stopped talking but then he realized that the nurse wasn’t even looking at him anymore.
“D-Dad…?”
Very slowly, Li-Am turned around.
Leigh Anne Song blinked slowly, once, then twice, groggily locking her eyes at the nurse, then at him. She looked like she just woke up from a very long nap.
“Hi,” she said, smiling faintly.