I was frozen in place, my mind a blank void in an instant.
On the other end of the line, she spoke something in Burmese to someone nearby, and then, the faint music I had barely heard abruptly ceased. In its place came the sharp clattering of wheels rattling over a mountain road, signaling they were in a moving vehicle.
"Before we reached this point, I changed my mind. I'll tell him that his daughter was accidentally killed by the soldiers due to her violent resistance... What do you think?" Her voice came through the receiver, cold as ice. "After all, no one will find any evidence."
"A dead person can't snitch." She paused briefly before adding, "Say something to your daughter, for the last time."
Moments later, the vehicle came to a halt.
I then heard the sound of her untying the gag from my daughter's mouth.
"Ah... Ah..."
As soon as she was able to speak, my daughter's panicked cries filled my ears, wrenching my heart in an agony too deep to bear.
"Qin Yao, please let her go, please..." My face was drenched with tears as I begged, desperately pounding my forehead against the wooden boards, again and again, trying to soften her heart.
"Mom..."
Suddenly, a faint yet earth-shattering syllable came through the receiver.
"Mom... Mom..."
My daughter called for me, over and over, her voice strained, as if summoning all her remaining strength. She seemed to realize this was her final moment and only wanted me to hear her call.
"Mom... Mom..."
It was the first time she had ever called me "Mom," and my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
However, before I could even process it, a gunshot rang out, shattering every last ounce of hope. Then, a small, fragile body was heartlessly kicked from the vehicle, rolling helplessly on the road.
In that moment, my world fell into an unbearable silence. I could no longer hear any sound from my daughter...