As soon as the words left her mouth, Lily Thompson turned and ran.
The caretaker was stunned, watching the sudden disappearance of Lily. Her temperament was nothing like Ms. Protich’s.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Ms. Protich said, her face clouded with darkness.
“It’s alright, it’s nothing. She’s still young; she’ll understand in time. Don’t take her words to heart. People often say things they don’t mean when they’re upset.”
Ms. Protich shook her head without saying a word. She turned to look out the window, her eyes filled with sorrow. Was an eighteen-year-old still considered young?
She was already an adult; how could she not understand?
What does being an adult mean? It means taking responsibility for your words and actions.
Ms. Protich took a deep breath and leaned against the headboard, feeling like a puppet bound by thorns, unsure of what to do next or how to handle Lily Thompson.
“Can I be discharged this afternoon?”
“I just asked the doctor. He said you can be discharged, but you still need to rest at home. Avoid strenuous activities, relax, listen to music, watch TV, take walks, and keep yourself in good spirits. Don’t dwell on past troubles.”
“I understand.”
“Drink more fish soup at home.”
“Alright.”
The more the caretaker worried about her, the more Ms. Protich felt distressed. The daughter she had raised for eighteen years cared less about her than this caretaker who had only looked after her for a day. How could she not feel sad? She couldn’t lift her spirits.
The caretaker handled the discharge procedures. Ms. Protich had only stayed one day in the hospital and didn’t have much to pack. She changed into the clothes she wore yesterday, packed her things simply, and took a taxi back to Autumn Joy Estate.
The gate was locked; she couldn’t get in and only had Henry’s number on her phone. She called him.
“Mr. James, I’ve been discharged and am now outside Autumn Joy Estate. The gate is locked; I can’t get in…”
Henry was surprised, his voice hoarse: “You’ve been discharged already?”
“Yes, the doctor said I’m fine.”
Henry was not only surprised by Ms. Protich’s discharge but also by her willingness to return to Autumn Joy Estate so soon.
Previously, Ms. Protich had wanted to leave there desperately. He thought she would stay longer in the hospital and leave directly after discharge. He didn’t expect her to return after just one day. Was it because Leland Burns had threatened her with her daughter?
Henry said, “Ms. Protich, Mr. Burns has been very busy lately and doesn’t have time for you. Since you’ve already left there, don’t go back. Didn’t you want to see your daughter? Go see her now.”
“I’ve already seen her,” Ms. Protich said, trembling slightly as she took a deep breath. “Mr. James, I have nowhere else to go now. I want to stay at Autumn Joy Estate.”
“Why?” Just a few days ago, Ms. Protich had begged him to help plead with Leland Burns to let her leave.
She had been desperate to leave before; why didn’t she want to go now?
“Miss Dawson went missing unexpectedly; perhaps only you can find her. I want to stay close to where news might come from so I can know as soon as possible that she’s safe.” Only then would she feel at ease.
Henry fell silent for a moment. Why did Ms. Protich care so much about Winifred Dawson’s fate like Leland Burns did? Was Winifred Dawson that important?
“Do as you wish, but let me tell you upfront: the chances of Winifred Dawson being alive are slim. We can’t keep searching indefinitely; Mr. Burns has given us three months’ time only. If we don’t find anything within three months, we’ll assume she’s dead. If Mr. Burns can accept that outcome, you should be able to as well,” Henry said tentatively.
Could she accept it?
Ms. Protich thought about it and shook her head; she couldn’t accept Winifred Dawson’s death without seeing her body first.
She didn’t voice these thoughts: “Three months then…”
“If we find nothing in three months, Mr. Burns will kick you out too,” Henry added before giving her the gate code: “It’s 81930 followed by a # sign.”
“I got it.”
After hanging up, Ms. Protich opened the gate and pushed through the heavy iron doors with her bag in hand.
Reaching the main house required another code entry at the door lock.
During her previous stay here, this door had always been open; she had never been locked out before.
She decided to try the old code first-it worked.
Inside was pitch dark as if it were night; all curtains were drawn tightly shut.
Ms. Protich turned on the lights and walked in.
Though she had lived here for several days already, she still wasn’t used to it-there were too many valuable decorations everywhere that made her afraid of breaking something expensive by accident.
Most of her time was spent in the kitchen or bedroom; when bored, she’d walk around outside where there was less risk of breaking anything.
The house felt particularly empty when no one else was around-the loneliness would sweep over unexpectedly no matter where she went-the only sounds being those of her footsteps or breathing or heartbeat-and sometimes even an echo if speaking loudly enough.
Ms. Protich turned on all lights one by one until reaching the living room where a strong smell of alcohol hit her nose immediately upon entering-a mix of smoke and alcohol along with someone’s presence-it could only be Leland Burns.
Hesitating briefly before turning on more lights-the living room suddenly lit up brightly-almost blindingly so-revealing Leland Burns sitting slumped against a sofa on the carpet-a once-proud figure now looking defeated like a rooster who’d lost its fight-dejected-vulnerable-
Strong light stung Leland Burns’ eyes making him squint reflexively while shielding them with his hand-
Once adjusted-he lazily looked towards Ms. Protich through half-opened sleepy eyes-
“Why are you back?” His voice sounded hoarse likely from too much drinking & smoking damaging vocal cords-words came out brokenly some barely audible-
“Weren’t you the one who forced me here initially?”
Leland tilted his head thinking briefly before nodding heavily pointing at her with an extended finger resting against sofa armrest-
“But weren’t you always wanting desperately out?”