Old Album

Aron POV

"Oh, Jerry, I am so happy today." I hugged Jerry happily as I reached home.

"Aaron, what happened? Did you find her?" She looked at me in confusion.

"Yes, I know where she is. I'll soon meet her and ask for her forgiveness." I danced with Jerry to express my happiness.

"I am happy for you, Aron. It filled my heart with joy to see you smile after a long time." She turned up the volume on the sound system to celebrate my significant accomplishment.

I was quite proud of what I had accomplished. I wasn't as excited when I received the Best Businessman award as I am now that I've found her. I had a wonderful evening with Jerry and went to bed after setting my alarm for five in the morning.

My mind was filled with excitement about meeting her again after one month. What will I tell her? How will she react to seeing me in front of her? Was she going to be surprised? My enthusiasm kept me from falling asleep.

Why time ticks so slowly is beyond my comprehension. Why hasn't this night passed in a blink so that I can go find her now? As soon as I learned her address, I wanted to go see her, but I had to wait until the morning because the place was close to a hill and it wasn't safe to drive there at night.

I hugged my pillow, imagining it to be Sara, and closed my eyes. The cushion isn't as soft as Sara's body, but cuddling with it is the best way to fall asleep. Even before my alarm went off in the morning, I got up early. I had a shower, dressed in jeans and a sports t-shirt, and made myself some coffee. Sara's thoughts had been all over my mind since this morning.

To my astonishment, I heard a ringing sound on her phone when I tried to call her again in hopes that she would now answer. It seems like today is my lucky day. After meeting her, I will confess my love to her and ask for a fresh start in our life together.

After six hours of driving, I finally arrived at the location I discovered through her most recent ATM withdrawal. This tiny village is located beneath the hill. As soon as I arrived, I had the impression that I had been here before. I don't know why Sara visited this place. I searched all over the place for her, and after asking a lot of people about her, one man recognized her from her phone photo and gave me her address.

I quickly swung my car in the direction of her residence. My heartbeat accelerated when I applied the brake in front of her residence. With eagerness, I rang her house's doorbell. However, despite five rings, she failed to open the door. I applied a modest amount of force and pushed the door open.

"Where are you, Sara?" I looked everywhere in the house for her, but I couldn't find her.

Oh, she left this place before my arrival. My heart broke over, not finding her in the house. I sat on the couch to console my heart. I felt as though there had been a fight inside after glancing around and spotting various objects lying around.

I hope she is not in any trouble. My heart sank as I saw the bloodstains on the floor and the broken flower vase. I worried about her safety. In the hallway corner, I peered at her bags. I wondered why she had left this place without her luggage. In an attempt to learn more about her current location, I opened her suitcase and looked through her belongings. Inside the luggage, I discovered her few clothes and a broken ATM card. Indeed, it appears that she damaged the ATM card after withdrawing her cash.

When I inquired about Sara in the neighborhood, I learned that this was her birthplace, where she spent her painful childhood. I can feel her pain now. Returning to this place to relive those painful memories is not an effortless task for her. It all happened because of me.

I ventured out onto the terrace to witness the location where her uncle Joe had harassed her. The image of her traumatic childhood filled my veins with anger. If I were to meet that man now, I would kill him. I clenched my fist in anger. I'm curious to learn more about her early years as I examine her household belongings.

I found an album in a cupboard. I saw Sara's old picture. I grinned at her adorable face and shed another tear as I realized she was no longer in my life.

"Sara, please come back; I am missing you." I moved to the next page of the album and whispered gently. My eyes landed on one picture.

Who's this boy with her?

I came to understand that we took this picture when I was three years old, shortly before my parents relocated to the next town. I was her first love, and our fate presented me with the opportunity to meet her again. However, what I did with her left me feeling deeply guilty.

Reflecting on my behavior with her, I felt overwhelmed with guilt. I turned to look at more pictures, and I saw one from her birthday.

Who is this man with her? It seems like I've seen him before. I tried to quickly recall that individual, but I couldn't place him precisely in my memory. The realization dawned on me: she was no longer here, and I was preparing to return to the city.

Her neighbor told me that a month ago, she mysteriously left this house.

Where should I look for her now? When I opened the door to her house to go, I noticed that it was the same man from the picture.

"Hey, wait, who are you?" I chased after him to catch up with him, but he fled as soon as he saw me.

Who was that man who ran on seeing me?

I try calling her again, hoping to locate her. This time, she received my call.

"Where are you, Sara?"

"Who is this?" I heard an unknown voice on the call.

When I asked him about Sara, he replied that he had found this phone on the roadside. After striking a generous deal with him, I took her phone from him to learn more about her. I returned to my house with a heavy heart after not finding her there.

My phone again buzzed with my mom's number. I don't know why she kept calling me for the last few days. She called me numerous times, but she never said anything and hung up without answering. I found her behavior so strange, but now I don't want to think about anything else; I only want to find Sara at any cost.