“Hey, wake up! What’s wrong with you?”
Being in a muddle, Finnick felt a pair of small and tender hands were slapping his face. Spending the last ounce of energy, he raised his arm and grabbed that pair of hands.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes. Dehydration caused him to have blurred vision after keeping his eyes closed for too long. He vaguely saw a little girl in a red princess dress with two ponytails, squatting by his side and looking at him anxiously.
“Hey, you woke up!”
That little girl grinned cheerfully and clapped her hands with joy, narrowing her eyes into crescents.
A moment later, she screamed suddenly.
Much to her surprise, there were some obvious bloodstains on her red princess dress, which was visible under the moonlight.
Looking along the bloodstain, that little girl immediately saw the wound on Finnick’s thigh.
“My goodness! That’s a lot of blood. What’s wrong with you?”
She then looked around vigilantly and whispered in Finnick’s ear, “Are the bad guys chasing you down?”
Finnick could feel the warm breath in his ear. Staring at that little girl in wide-eyed surprise, he did not expect her to trust him so much and treat him as a good guy.
“Yes!” Finnick replied instinctively, gazing into her eyes.
While patting her chest, she promised, “Don’t be afraid! I’m here to guide you and won’t let the bad guys hurt you again!”
Finnick felt calm for no reason and stared blankly at the little girl who was busy moving around in front of him.
Although he had not eaten or drunk for a long time and his body weight had been lost due to dehydration, his weight was obviously not something that a girl of his age could bear.
She was struggling, staggering, and carrying Finnick on her back.
That little girl could barely sustain his weight, and they almost fell to the ground. Gradually, she stabilized herself and moved forward.
The path was so long that Finnick thought it had no end.
Still, he thought he would die there. While dragging an enormous burden, the girl kept chattering to prevent him from falling asleep.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep! Let me… tell you a story or sing you a song?”
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…”
Finnick could not stand it any longer. He remarked weakly, “Shh, you’re so noisy!”
However, that little girl seemed to be immune to his occasional scolding. She continued entertaining him and keeping him awake for fear that he would never get up once he fell asleep.
Though Finnick appeared to be disgusted by her chitter-chatter, he actually appreciated her kindness. After finding grandpa and the others, I want her to stay. If she is gone, I will find her wherever she goes.
I want to repay her!
“What’s your name?” Finnick suddenly asked.
“Me?” That little girl turned to glance at him. When she was about to answer, they saw the car’s headlights coming toward them all of a sudden.
That little girl shouted excitedly, “Yes! There’s a car coming! You’re safe now!”
Next, Finnick’s memory was in a muddle as he was extremely weak at that moment.
However, he could still recall that his grandfather thanked the driver who sent him to the hospital when he woke up. Then, Finnick was told that the little girl rushed home immediately after sending him to the hospital when he asked the driver about her.
From that day onward, he could not find her.
…
Finnick was sitting on the balcony in the villa and thinking about the incident ten years ago until Noah’s message interrupted him.
He looked at the message: I’ve transferred forty million to Ashley.
Thinking of Ashley, Finnick suddenly lost interest in remembering the past.
He had nightmares every day over the past ten years, dreaming about the kidnapping incident.
That kind of fear and despair had taken root in his heart.
However, every time in the darkest moment of the nightmare, he would hear that crisp voice…
