- California, Los Angeles -
Wednesday, 1st January 2020
The sun set and evening came, and the streets of Los Angeles began to crowd with people and cars, the lights of the signs lit up the place, as if life had returned to these streets.
Restaurants and cafes began to fill with friends and families who gathered to celebrate, before midnight, the owner of the cafe shouted: We will start the countdown!
Everyone smiled happily, and started counting together: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, 1... Happy New Year!
Away from all this noise, among the tall buildings, a young girl sits on the balcony, sipping her hot drink and wearing her comfy pajamas, looking out at the city and at the fireworks that started as soon as they finished counting, signaling the arrival of the New Year.
Her cat climbed into her lap, and said with a smile: Happy New Year to you, Lucy... (Then she hears the microwave): Ah, I'm done heating my food, so let's eat Lucy, come on.
She went back inside, lit the TV, took out her food, and started preparing the table. Her house was simple and tidy, with bright and light colors that suited her. She has a library full of books in the living room, and there is a wall next to her bedroom door full of pictures of her and her parents and grandparents, and there are pictures of her friends. When she graduated from the university, she took pictures of her trips with them.
At the entrance there are some boxes that she has not emptied yet.
She sat eating and watching various programs, while her cat was enjoying her food. The bell interrupted her. She got up and went towards the door to find the building guard standing in front of her: Good evening, Miss Sarah, how are you?
'Good evening,' she replied, 'I'm fine. Thank you for your question. Is there a problem, Mr. William?'
"No", He replied, but we are checking the apartments because there are complaints about power outages. It seems that things are fine with you.
She smiled, saying: Yes, perhaps the generator has malfunctioned... Oh, wait a bit, please... (She went back inside and back to him carrying a lunch box), she continued, saying: I have cooked some food for you, to share with your colleagues. on the new year.
He smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss. Happy New Year."
she replied, "Happy new year, Mr. William"
She locked the door, and her cat was spilling her food on the floor, she said grumbling: No, Lucy, what have you done?
She went to clean up her cat's mess, after she finished, she washed her hands and went back to eating her food, while everyone was happily celebrating with his family and friends, Sarah spent this vacation like other days, alone with her cat watching various programs on TV.
Wednesday, 8th January
The next week, she woke up actively and let the sunshine in to her house, took a shower and started making breakfast. She heard her phone ring. She went to her room and answered, "Hello Susan, how are you?"
She replied, "Welcome. Happy New Year, Sarah."
She smiled and held the phone between her ear and her shoulder: And to you too, what's the matter, did you miss me?
She replied sarcastically: No, I called to remind you that the deadline for submitting the article will be next Tuesday, did you finish it?
She replied while she was frying eggs: I don't have much left; don't worry I will finish it soon. How was the vacation with your family?
She replied: It was beautiful, next time you will come with me so we can spend the vacation with family and friends
She replied with a smile, "alright, I agree. I must go now. Have a nice day."
She replied: You too, see you later.
In the afternoon, the vet finished vaccinating her cat, saying, "Miss Sarah, you can go out. Have a nice day."
She replied: Thank you.
She picked up her cat and put her in the cage, then said goodbye to the nurse, and got in her car to the cemetery, parked her car, then said: Ok, Lucy rests a little while I say hello to my mother.
She walked for a few minutes and then stopped in front of her grave and said: Hello, Mom, I brought you the flowers that you love. About dad... don't worry I'll find him one day for sure. My work as a journalist has started to improve and the manager has complimented me a lot. And I adopted a cat named Lucy. You always liked that name, right?
She smiled sadly and continued: I miss you, Mom, and for your warm embrace, and for your delicious food... I miss you both so much.
After that she went to the concierge, saying, "Good evening, Mr. William. Have the rest of my things arrived?"
He answered her: Yes, I have already sent them to your apartment, and you have also received a letter from Thailand, sent by the owner of your old apartment.
She exclaimed, "Thailand!" This is strange... Thank you. Good night.
She went up to her apartment, took her cat out of the cage, then started to enter the boxes inside, and after she finished, she put on slippers and sat on the sofa. Who is this? The name sounds familiar.
She opened the letter and read its content: "Hello, Mrs. James, I'm Mr. Tan. I won't talk to you for long. I have information that may be useful to you and through which you will get your answers." He knows my mother! Mr. Tan... Oh right, Mr. Tan!
She hurriedly entered her room and took a small box in which she had put her mother's things before leaving her old apartment. She returned to her place and began to take out the letters until she found what she was looking for: Here it is! My father had been writing to this man before, he must have been one of his old friends, but what information did he mean in his letter?
Saturday, 11th April
After she made an appointment with her lawyer's friend, she went into his office and sat down talking to him about the letter she had received: During your trips, I received this letter, and I think it was from my father's friend. He didn't mention much, but he really aroused my curiosity.
He looked at the letter carefully and then said: Sarah, what do you expect to find after these five years?
She sighed, "I don't know, maybe the secret of my father's disappearance!" Looking at the content of the letter is ambiguous, and the sender is also, then why the message might arrive now, my mother had never mentioned him before, how did he know my mother? Isn't this all strange?
He nodded: It's strange, and I won't argue with that, but if you want to search, where do you start? Your mother was a journalist. This means that she visited many places and met hundreds of people, and she certainly got into many problems.
She looked at the letter thinking about his question and then said: The answer to your question is in the letter, that means I must start from there.
He said: You're going to Thailand, are you crazy! This would be dangerous. You don't even know where you might go. Hire a private investigator to help you search, that's better.
She replied: It is dangerous for me, but for the private investigator, no? ... Look, after all these years I finally found someone who can tell us where my father is. This might be an opportunity to find him, we don't know what kind of trouble he got into, and he might be in dire need of help.
He replied: You know that withdrawal from such matters is almost impossible, but you are stubborn. I only hope that you will find what you are looking for.
After she visited her friend, she went straight to her workplace, where she met the director of Los Angeles newspaper, Mr. Daniel. He hosted her, saying: Please sit down, so how can I help you?
She sat down and said, "Mr. Daniel, you were here during the time my mother worked for this newspaper, so I want to know everything about the case she was working on."
He replied: She was working on a special case related to an influential man who abused his authority.
She said: Are there any other details, names, locations or anything?
He nodded negatively: No, I'm sorry, I worked with your mother in the past, but I didn't participate with her in any case. She liked to work alone.
She was silent for a while, then asked him: May I know your relationship with my father, I mean my stepfather? You were the one who introduced her to him, right?
He replied: Actually, I don't know him, but he told me to introduce him to her and help him get closer to your mother because he liked her.
she murmured in response and then took out the letter she had received in the mail: Have you ever heard of Mr. Tan? Or did my mother ever tell you about him?
He looked at the letter carefully and then said: From Thailand?! It's strange I don't remember she knew anyone from there, maybe it was her acquaintance so she could get access to the news of Thailand, but I'm not quite sure.
He gave her the letter back, then said: That's all I know, I wish I could have helped you more.
She smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Daniel."
Returning home after a long day of disappointment, she sat on the sofa, staring into the void and saying, "Who is Mr. Tan?"
***