There was still no news even though Uncle Ted had reported Wendy's loss to the police. In the end, Mr. Parkin was also declared missing. The police carefully tried to uncover all this, and they became so mysterious that they chose to keep quiet about many things.
Daniel thought it looked like they were starting to suspect Mr. Parkin, especially since his wife had mysteriously disappeared in a mental hospital. After all, this was a case of someone disappearing too.
School had started and everyone was in an uproar when they heard the news that Wendy was missing. In front of Daniel's class, already filled with curious kids who want to interview Daniel, he became an actor in no time. However, what caught the children's attention the most was still Catty, which was the main reason why Wendy was able to get out of the house and disappear.
Only one-day Catty entered school. Looked like she got a lot of bad comments from her friends, so the next day she chose not to enter until Wendy was found.
The saddest and most gloomy one was Serry. She approached Daniel and asked, "Is this true? Wendy is missing?"
But Daniel didn't have the energy to answer. That night he was haunted by the shadow of a monster that ate Wendy, and to be honest, he was not ready for that. Although sometimes she was annoying and very childish, Wendy was still Daniel's family. And she would also be looking for him if he started to come home late. Sometimes Wendy also shielded Daniel from Uncle Ted's anger. Daniel felt lost.
All that crowd slowly faded away as time passed. During the break, Daniel was summoned to the teacher's room to meet Prof. Ian. He obeyed, dragging his withered footsteps to go to Prof. Ian's room.
When he arrived at Prof. Ian's desk, his teacher immediately pulled out a chair for Daniel, handed him a bottle of milk, and asked Daniel to drink it. But Daniel refused softly, and Prof. Ian didn't mind at all.
After the attack and kidnapping on the new route, Prof. Ian was back to normal. There was no holographic image on his face and no strange expression on his face. With that, Daniel felt somewhat relieved because at least he didn't have to worry about Prof. Ian too. Prof. Ian wasn't dead yet, and that's enough for him.
"What's the matter, Dan? Where did you lose Wendy? Have the police searched every point? " Prof. Ian's question to be honest had got a clear answer, especially since everyone was talking about it at school.
Daniel answered casually. That did not make Prof. Ian looked offended, he seemed to understand Daniel. While patting Daniel's shoulder, he said, "I'll help you find her. Is your uncle trying to do a sweep?"
"Yeah, I heard he is. But I still don't know the exact location."
Prof. Ian nodded. "Call me if necessary. I will always help you." Then he patted Daniel on the shoulder again, trying to make him strong.
On that day Daniel became very gloomy. Gavin, who used to bother him all the time, now looked a little withdrawn. Maybe because this day Daniel had been surrounded by many people, including the seniors.
Sam sat in front of Daniel, who by now had turned his tiny body. His glasses were huge, and they barely covered his real facial features. If Sam spoke then this would be the third time for them to talk, and it was really weird when everyone believed Sam was his best friend.
"Already looking for a new sweeping point?" asked Sam matter-of-factly. His face, which was always afraid and intimidated, had now completely changed. Sam who was in front of him was a child who was tough and very confident.
Daniel felt intimidated now. He answered somewhat nervously. "My uncle hasn't said anything, so I don't know."
Sam's eyes had become very serious now, and he looked so convincing. Every word that was spoken from his mouth would be something that could be trusted for, 100% fact without any opinion. "Do some sweeping in Rakeen Forest. I'll give you the exact coordinates. I know you will have a hard time convincing your uncle to start sweeping the place considering the cops have already done it. But I can promise you can find her there."
Sam's eyes burned, filled with life Daniel had never recognized. Those eyes did not belong to humans, because their aura seemed more radiant than ordinary humans. But even so, Sam was not a monster.
So Daniel innocently asked, "Who are you?"
Sam answered easily, "I am a child who was not in your life, but suddenly has a gap to enter. I'm sure you've looked at me a few times in strange ways, and you've got what I wanted to give you. But I know you still can't fully unveil the veil. I don't know if I can help you fully because it's not my duty, and it's beyond my control. But this is all I can do. Hopefully, everything goes well."
And before long Sam disappeared, as if he never existed, or as if he was swallowed up in the wind. In the blink of an eye, Daniel had lost Sam. As he was confused to find where Sam was, there was nothing he could find.
When he asked one of his friends about Sam, she just said, "Who is Sam? Your friend who will move here?"
Daniel had found that his life was being played with, and some human memories had been changed. Sam's strength was almost the same as Luna's. But if Sam could find out who Daniel was, then why couldn't Luna?
It would be a mystery that he needed to think about. And for a while, he would put all that thought aside and pretend that he never saw or knew Sam at all.
A few days later, on Saturday, Uncle Ted was ready with his sweep. There was Prof. Ian who was ready to help and some people from the school who were adults. There were also some of the students' parents, along with their children. Everyone worked together to find Wendy.
Daniel tried to express his opinion to do a sweep in the Rakeen Forest. Rakeen Forest was a forest that Daniel always used as a shortcut to go to school. The forest was also around Mr. Parkin's house. Sam's suggestion of re-combing the woods made a lot of sense to Daniel because somehow the fake Mr. Parkin might have hidden Wendy around the place if he hadn't eaten her yet.
Daniel started shivering at the thought.
"Rakeen Forest has been repeatedly searched by the police, Dan. I'll do the combing at a new point. And you better stay at home, don't go anywhere!"
Uncle Ted just walked away without saying anything, with a group of people who would do sweeps to help. To be honest, Daniel wanted to protest because in this search some children were allowed to come, even though they were still with their respective parents. But finally, Daniel was left speechless.
Soon the entire group was already walking away. There were no people left on the grounds of the house that had been overcrowded with people. Daniel rested his chin on his knee. After the sun had risen slightly, Daniel came into the house with a sluggish body.
His weak hand tugged at the doorknob and couldn't slam it down. He nearly collapsed on the floor feeling helpless. However, when he saw a face in front of him, Daniel's enthusiasm rose at once.
"Are you ready to do the sweeping?" It's Sam, who was now giving Daniel the map.
***