Chapter 60
Kent couldn’t fathom why Brandon was getting all worked up over the “winter” thing all of a sudden, but he nodded anyway, “Yeah, just like Sophia’s dad said, I even recorded it.”
As Kent said this, he clicked on his computer, “You bet. She was such a darling, a real heart-stealer since she was tiny, pretty as a picture, all rosy-cheeked. Back then, she must’ve been five or six years old, middle of winter, all alone outside…” Haley’s voice, rough with a hint of booze, slowly drifted from the phone. Brandon cut him off, “Send me the recording.”
“The whole thing? It’s kinda long, want me to edit down to the highlights first?”
“Just send it all,” Brandon cut him off again, “Send it now.”
“Alright.” As Brandon’s right-hand man for years, Kent knew the drill and was always ready. He quickly sent the prepared recording to Brandon.
“Good, go on with your stuff.”
After giving instructions to Kent on the phone, Brandon hung up, pressed his palm on the mouse, and opened the recording Kent had
sent.
He didn’t speed through it. Instead, he just put on his headphones, leaned back gently against his computer chair, and hit play. The recording from Kent’s phone was crisp and clear, without any background noise.
Brandon had been listening with his eyes closed, but when Haley said, “It’s all my fault, when I picked her up back then, I never thought her mom might not like her.” he opened his eyes and looked at the audio playing on his computer. Haley’s denials didn’t stir his gaze or expression, until Kent asked Haley if Sophia was always so sweet and adorable as a child. That’s when a flicker of emotion finally passed through Brandon’s eyes. He stared at the screen, listening to Haley’s hoarse, nostalgic voice recalling the moment he found young Sophia, describing her as five or six years old, in the winter cold, alone outdoors, her little face turning blue from the freeze, not crying or fussing, just hugging her knees, curled up into a ball, with those big eyes staring at him full of terror, not shouting out loud; when he walked over, she asked in a weak voice, “Mister, are you here to take me home?”
Brandon swallowed hard, slightly tilting his head, his hands crossed on the desk, fingertips pressing into his skin.
Yolanda had also gone missing in the winter, out in the wilderness.
The conversation in his headphones continued.
“She had hypothermia which led to a bunch of complications, ended up with pneumonia, high fever for days. When she came to, she was out of it, didn’t remember anything, just me.”
As Haley’s voice filled with regret entered his ears, Brandon’s gaze slowly drifted to the computer screen.
“She didn’t remember anything, just me.” Haley’s regretful voice echoed in his ears, and Brandon thought of something Sophia had said not long ago, “You miss her because you two shared many beautiful memories. But if you’re the only one holding onto those memories, does she still matter?”
Brandon hadn’t given the question much thought at the time, but if Sophia was Yolanda, whether or not she had those memories, she mattered all the same to him.
Brandon didn’t get up right away. He listened to the entire recording seriously and patiently.
When the voice in his ears stopped, Brandon sat motionless, staring at the computer screen, his expression blank, his mind filled with Haley’s description of a young Sophia. frail, helpless, terrified, yet remarkably well-behaved and sensible.
The very image of young Yolanda.
Suddenly, Brandon longed to see Sophia, eager and impatient.
His body reacted to the surge of emotion within hirn, his toes pushing off the desk to move the chair back a couple of steps, and he stood up. As he passed through the living room, he bent down to grab the keys from the coffee table and left the house.
On the way to Sophia’s school, Brandon drove fast.
The cold wind poured in through the wide-open car window, tossing his hair about.
Brandon didn’t bother to close the window, letting the gusts come in wave after wave, his hands steady and skilled on the steering wheel, his handsome face slightly tense, his mind reconstructing the image of a small figure, curled up in terror against the snowy landscape.
Sophia’s school wasn’t far from the hotel, just a few minutes’ drive.
Brandon arrived at the school just as classes were letting out, the ancient, echoing sound of the school bell piercing the campus, and groups of young students began, to emerge from the various buildings..
Brandon stood beneath Sophia’s classroom building, watching the clusters of young students descend the stairs but didn’t see Sophia among them.
He didn’t wait downstairs. Instead, he moved through the crowd and up the stairs.
He didn’t know where Sophia’s classroom was or even if she had a class. He just followed his instincts through the crowd.
Like always, Sophia waited until almost everyone had left before she started packing up her things to leave.
There were still quite a few people in the corridor, laughing and frolicking with the unique vitality of youth.
Sophia didn’t join them, only smiling in response when familiar faces greeted her. Then, amidst the bustling crowd, she spotted
Brandon.
His handsome face was tense, his eyes searching eagerly through the crowd as he moved.
Her steps slowed to a halt.
Brandon also saw her and stopped in his tracks. The urgency in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a profound and peaceful softness, as if he had just let out a long sigh of relief.
He didn’t approach her, just stood at a distance, letting his gaze rest on her through the crowd, his eyes showing a level of focus and tenderness Sophia had never seen before.
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