Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When I was at the second floor, Mylo’s voice was broadcast. “Abraham Fisher, if you’re here, please come to the front door immediately. All of us are looking for you. Don’t forget, today is your wedding day!”
Mylo sounded calm yet angry, as if he would have given Abraham a few good punches once he found him.
As I moved between the bookshelves, I heard people talking about whether this groom had run away because he didn’t love his bride.
I smiled. That was the most unlikely reason.
I searched the entire building, but there was still no sign of Abraham. My feet hurt, but I didn’t dare stop. I ran down the stairs.
Mylo had already put up a search notice in the library’s bulletin board.. I don’t know how he’d managed to convince the administrator of the place. Anyway, he wasn’t happy when he saw me.
He told me to get in the camper van and carried me onto the bed. He then handed me a glass of water. “Lie down for a while. I’ll call you when we reach our next destination.”
“Mylo—”
“Don’t try to convince me. There’s no use sitting in front. You have to conserve your energy.”
“What if he’s walking along the streets?”
“I’ll look out for him.” Mylo was starting to get angry. His bushy eyebrows drew together. “If you don’t lie down, you’ll collapse soon. Look at your face now. Drink some water and lie down,” he ordered.
I don’t know how I look right now, but I know that I’m not doing well.
At that moment, the police called and told me that Abraham had no record of taking a plane or a train. He should still be in Elsingborg and haven’t left yet.
With a little sigh of relief, I finished the water under Mylo’s supervision and lay down.
It was only then that Mylo was finally relieved and went to the front to drive.
I looked at the oil paintings on the ceiling for a long time, but I couldn’t tell what they were about.
Messages kept popping up on my phone. I looked through them and many people were telling me the places they’ve searched and they found nothing. My heart tightened every time I looked through them.
To my surprise, Sara also sent a message. I thought that she had heard about Abraham’s disappearance from someone else and was going to help me search for him. Very unexpectedly, she said, “I’ve always told you to stop being so boring. Now Abraham has run away from you.”
I deleted her message, not planning to bother with her.
Soon, my aunt came to ask me, “Did Abraham run away from the marriage? Really?”
As far as I could remember, my aunt, Arya, cared for me when I was a little girl. I haven’t seen her in 15 years, and I don’t really remember what she looked like anymore. I had only invited her family to this wedding out of courtesy.
“No, it’s just that something happened. Aunt, I’ll have to trouble you to find a hotel to stay at for the time being, or you can go back. I’m really sorry about this.”
After I sent my aunt the message, I sent an apology to all the guests that I could think of. I continued pressing on the send button and could slowly feel the strength in my hands diminish, with my eyelids becoming heavier.
Next, I must have fallen asleep.
When I opened my eyes again, Mylo stood beside me. I immediately sat up. “Where are we?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already searched all the libraries in Elsingborg.” He paused for a moment. “I didn’t manage to find Abraham.”
I felt like he was spouting nonsense. “You’re all alone and you’re already done searching?”
“It’s already 6.30pm.” He pushed open the window. The streets outside were already lit up with dim streetlights.
I was extremely surprised. “I fell asleep?”
“You’re in a terrible mood. It’s better if you sleep.”
I shook my head.
No, that’s impossible. How did I even fall asleep under such circumstances? I looked at the glass of water on the table to my right. It’s the one that I drank in the day. “You drugged the water?”
Mylo lowered his head in silence. He leaned against the refrigerator behind him. After a moment, he said with concern, “Emma, you probably didn’t realize it yourself. You were shaking all over when you sat in the car.” He sounded worried. “Your lips were purple. I really wanted to take you to the hospital.”
He took a step toward me. “This isn’t a good thing, Emma. We should live for ourselves, and not let our lives be affected by anyone’s disappearance.”
“That’s enough!” I didn’t want to discuss that with him. He never wanted me to marry Abraham. I jumped out of bed and got out of the camper van.
Mylo caught up with me and pulled me back. “Where are you going?”
My phone rang again, and countless messages popped up. I skimmed through them briefly. Half of them were telling me that they didn’t manage to find Abraham, and the other half seemed to be taunting me. They assumed that it must be because I was such a horrible bride that the groom decided to flee on the day of the wedding itself.
They did not have any evidence, and just came to a conclusion based on their own thoughts.
A gust of autumn wind blew over, and for the first time, I felt the piercing coldness in what should have been a blissful autumn.