Komorebi

  Chapter 3

  It was half an hour after dusk. The groggy sun hovered dangerously low in the horizon. Night breezes ran through the trees along the hospital perimeter, making the leaves rustle and crack. A small group of people combed through the trees armed with flashlights.

  "Amelia!" Celia called.

  One of the searchers that was with her approached her and took her hand. It was Prince. The nurse shook his head at her. "It's no use. We can't find her in this darkness. It's dangerous and it's late."

  "Which is why we need to find her," Celia replied under her breath. "Amelia!" she called once more.

  A band of bushes shook on their left. Celia turned with a growing smile, expecting it to be Amelia, her little girl. But it was just another fellow nurse.

  "No sign of her in the front courtyard," she reported.

  Celia's smile faded. Prince squeezed her hand gently.

  Another person appeared by the nurse that had arrived. Celia looked at him expectantly, readying herself for a wave of relief or another slap to the face. "Well?" Celia asked when the nurse didn't speak.

  "She's not in building A or building B. I've asked all the other staff over there. No luck."

  Celia buckled downwards as if her knees had ceased to exist. Prince caught her under the arms, gently softening her crash on the ground. "Celia, are you—"

  "Give me back my baby!" Celia screamed at the blue-orange sky. "I'll do anything—Just bring her back home—!" her voice broke into a sob. The woman cried at the darkening sky, her body trembling with every wail. "Just please bring her back..." she pleaded, "Please..."

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