Meanwhile, in another part of the country, in a small island.
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"Auntie, how are you feeling?"
On the bed lay an exhausted lady dressed in blue hospital gown. Various instruments were hooked to her and were beeping to show her vitals. She slowly lifted her lids and instantly closed them due to the high brightness.
"Auntie, take it slow."
The lady tried to lift her heavy lids again. This time, slowly. Her gaze slowly adjusted to the light and zeroed onto the man standing in front of her referring to her as "Auntie". She thought to herself, "Why am I here?". As if, sensing her question, the young man smiled and said, "Auntie you have been severely injured. So, I brought you here."
"W.....Wh....What happened to me?" She could not even recognize her voice. It was hoarse. She lifted her hand to graze the gauge that was plastered onto her forehead.
"I found you lying onto a pavement while I was returning from a trip. You were heavily injured, so I brought you here. How are you feeling Auntie?"
"I'm parched. Can I get some water?", asked the lady cladded in blue.
"Sure, Auntie. Here you go." He brought a glass of water to her lips. "You have been lying here for a long time. So, drink slowly."
After drinking two mouthful, the lady asked, "Dear boy, where am I?"
"Auntie, we are in X City, in my private island. You won't be harmed in any way by staying here. Ummmm...."
"Spill whatever you want to say dear boy."
"Actually Auntie, call me Hao and if you don't mind me asking, can you tell me what exactly happened to you? I didn't find any surveillance footage in the area. The police was also unaware of your disappearance."
"Ok, you shall be Xiao Hao from now on. You are my saviour. Thank you for saving me. I don't even know what exactly happened to me. I was out to buy some groceries and was ambushed. But it all doesn't add up. I feel something amiss. I terribly miss my baby. I wonder how she is doing. She must have been busy finding me. Can you get me a phone? I need to call her."
"Auntie, I tried finding her but to no avail. I haven't found a single clue of anybody related to you. But here is your phone. I have got you a new SIM. I have saved my number in the contacts. Here you go. Find me for anything you need. I will be going out for a while. Stay put. Please Auntie. You haven't recovered yet."
"But, Xiao Hao, how can I stay put when I know nothing about my baby? I don't even know what has happened to her as you can't find any clue about her. I must call her. NOW."
"I understand, Auntie. But please promise me that you will take care of your health. Please promise me. Please."
"I....."
"Please Auntie."
"I.... Ok. I promise you to take care of my health."
"Auntie, and I promise you to bring your daughter back to you." With that, he left.
Melania lied on the bed and sighed deeply. 'I hope you are fine, my baby. You have sacrificed a lot already. I don't want you to sacrifice anymore. I just want to see you happy.'
She sighed again and tried to dial her number but got the same automated voice message as earlier. 'I must recover soon.' She thought internally.
Meanwhile, she scanned her room. The room was exquisitely decorated in shades of black and white. 'Hm... Xiao Hao has the same taste as my Sophie darling.' She became nostalgic.
"Darling, why do you only like to wear shades of black or white?"
"Momma, Black is a mysterious while white is pure."
"Momma, one day your princess will become very very famous."
"Momma, one day everyone will know your darling's name."
"Momma is the best. I love Momma the most."
"Momma, will you always protect me from bad guys?"
Silently a tear rolled down from the eyes of Melania and in another part of the country Sophie felt a heartache and a tear rolled down from her eyes too.