Chapter 26

The news of that day assured everyone that the weather forecast would be sunny and full of life, but the reality was a completely different one. It was only eleven in the morning but it seemed that the day there would be no ray of light: the clouds had made their presence known and they were not willing to stop being the protagonists in the sky. Or at least that's how the mother who was sitting —and in complete silence— in front of an officer perceived it.

—How can I help you, ma'am?

The man's voice managed to make her land in the real world and sigh once more as she realized where she was now. A police station. She wanted to answer the officer's question, but she couldn't utter anything at all. Her voice seemed to get stuck in her throat, and no matter how hard she tried to speak, she failed several times.

The officer did not lose his temper due to the silence of the woman. He only limited himself to waiting for her answer, he knew how difficult it was for a person to have to come to these places and report the disappearance or death of someone. He waited for a few more minutes until he heard a faint whisper from her lips.

—I have come to report my daughter missing.

«As I expected», the officer thought and tried to turn the tension-filled atmosphere into a calmer one, so he approached the lady in a soft voice.

—In that case, I need you to tell me the first and last name of your daughter.

—Her name is Elena Miller.

That woman could observe the policemen who came in large numbers, entering through the doors of the police station or chatting near the vending machines, which would not be an unusual scenario in that city. But for her it was. The emptiness in her chest made her feel smaller than usual —and more defenseless as well. She had never set foot in that place —in a police station— and she would give anything that something so disastrous had never happened that she was speaking to a police officer right now.

—Could you describe the order of the events?

Her mind traveled very far from what was her reality and remembering what had happened in the morning, she sighed sadly. A rebellious tear escaped from her right eye and slid down her cheek. She wanted to answer the officer's question, but she couldn't say a single word. She was very terrified. She tried again, but she failed. Hopefully, she could pronounce her daughter's name and now she had to explain what she saw —or rather, what she didn't see— that morning.

—Would you like me to get you a coffee? So maybe you can calm down a bit and get on with the paperwork. —Said the man in front of her smiling kindly.

The woman just shook her head up and down, nodding, and the policeman left the office. Then, she could not hold back anymore and she collapsed in a sea of ​​tears inside the police station. Some people —who, like her, had lost a loved one— turned around when they heard the sobs coming from that office. From afar, they could see the pain of a woman —and at the same time, a mother— who was sitting on a metal chair with her hands covering her wet face.

But how could she help herself to cry like that if her only daughter was missing? Many thoughts struck her head then, negative thoughts that explained in such a macabre way the reasons for Elena's sudden absence.

That day she had decided to wake up later than usual. The clock in her room read ten in the morning when she got up from the mattress and left the room. She thought her daughter would be playing in the backyard like she always did every Sunday. It was always the same: Elena woke up earlier than she did and when she came down the stairs she saw her through the windows jumping on the trampoline. From that simple thought, she was unaware of the vast silence that reigned within her home. She leisurely came downstairs and headed for the kitchen. She was so focused on the news on the radio that she forgot to see if her daughter was in the garden. It was when she served the last pancake on the pink plate intended for Elena that fear began to take over her body.

—Elena, breakfast is ready!

However, great was her surprise when she did not hear any response. That confused her a bit but she imagined that her daughter had not heard her, so she called her again.

—Elena, come here!

Silence reigned. No one answered her again. So, she put the dryer she was holding on the wooden table and opened the door to the back garden. —Elena, I'm calling you-.

But she was only able to shut up abruptly, and she paled as she realized one disturbing factor: her daughter wasn't playing in the backyard as she thought. Even when it made her entire body shudder, she didn't lose control. Not yet.

She decided to think her daughter was asleep and hadn't woken up, so she headed up the stairs, but this time she walked faster. Her hands were sweating and her jaw was shaking. She began to hyperventilate without realizing it, panic coursing from head to toe. She didn't even have a notion of how she could open the door to her daughter's room if she was about to pass out trying to climb the wooden stairs, but she was still able to turn the knob on her. When she entered Elena's room she nearly gasped. Almost, because her voice echoed against the four pink walls. Elena's unmade bed let her know that her daughter had already woken up while she was still asleep. What little ounce of hope and sanity she had left was gone when she made her way to the bathroom and she didn't see her daughter anywhere either.

This time she did pass out. And after regaining consciousness, Katherine took the cell phone and dialed the number that had been known by her since she was a child. Although she was terrified later and hung up when she heard someone answer, she drove with blinding speed to the police station.

—Here you go. —Said the officer who was attending to her case, offering her the coffee she had asked for. —Well, Can we continue with the questions?

This was going to be a long morning and the woman — Katherine Miller— knew it. She just hoped to find her daughter and that all this mess she was in would be resolved as soon as possible.

[...]

—Thank you for coming. We will do our best to find Elena Miller. If we have any clues as to where your daughter is, we will not hesitate to notify you of her.

As in the morning, that woman only limited herself to nod at what the officer said and she went out through the automatic doors, leaving the police station. The trembling in her body still did not stop and she began to believe that it was not due to the low temperature of the environment. Her face was still wet with tears and she wasn't able to insert the key into the slot of her car. She decided it was too much and she sighed as she leaned over the glass.

«Elena, Where are you?», she thought wistfully.

Her daughter was all she had of her and now she had lost her. Or rather, she was already lost when her mother was looking for her around the house. She blamed herself for not accepting that Elena slept with her that night. The little girl looked so scared that she didn't quite understand. Elena actually always looked scared when night came. She first assumed that it was an irrational fear of the dark, typical of children, so she ignored it and closed the door to her room so that her daughter would not enter. The worst mistake she could make.

—Why was I so stupid? If I had slept with her, none of this would have happened. —She blamed herself.

Tears threatened to flow from her eyes, but this time that woman did not forbid it. She cried as she had never cried in her entire life. She was torn during the crying, even more than inside the police station. She burst into tears and reassembled only to break down again. When she decided that it was best to divorce her husband, she was not afraid to stay alone. She had her daughter and that was the only thing she cared about. The two together against the world and injustices, but her reality was too different from what it was the day before. She had seen a movie with Elena while they had a delicious pizza and now she was crying next to the car after reporting her daughter missing at the nearest police station from her home. How ironic.

She stretched her arms and hugged herself imagining that it was her daughter and not her who was caressing her body, holding tightly as she continued crying more and more. She missed Elena so much.