"Help me!"


    A little girl''s desperate cries echoed in Andrew''s mind, and he woke up from a dream.


    The room was pitch ck and eerily silent. As if drained, he weakly leaned against the head of the bed. Fragments of a memory flickered in his mind like a haunting rey.


    "Hold my hand."


    "Hug me."


    A sweet, childlike voice seemed to call out to him again, as if it had traveled through time to reach him. He opened his eyes and was pulled into a memory from many years ago.


    The summer air carried the fresh scent of grass. In the courtyard, koi fish chased one another in the pond. Sunlight bathed the entire yard, its warmth embracing everything in its reach.


    He was just an 11-year-old boy then. In front of him stood a little girl with a chubby face. Her little hands tugged at his sleeve.


    Andrew bent down, as if this moment had been predestined, and smiled at her. "What now?"


    "Swing-swing," replied the girl, pointing at a swing set not far away.


    "It''s a swing."


    "Swing-swing."


    "Alright, swing-swing."


    As he stood up, the girl pouted. "You forgot again. Hold hands."


    She raised her hand high and grabbed his. He then led her toward the swing set.


    Suddenly, a voice came, interrupting the reverie.


    Barton turned on the lights, his concerned gaze fixed on Andrew.


    "Sir, you had another nightmare."


    "Just a little more. I was so close to it."


    "Sir, you should get over it. What happened back then wasn''t your fault. It''s time to take your medicine."


    Barton ced a bottle of pills in front of him. Andrew stared at it without moving.


    "Every night, when the world goes


    quiet, I think back to that day. If I had kept an eye on her, she wouldn''t è have been kidnapped. When I close my eyes, I can still see them grab her roughly and hear her cries for help. I watched helplessly as they tied her up and drove away."


    Andrew paused. "I was there when she was born. The first word she ever said was Brother. I watched over her for so many years, but I failed to protect her."


    Barton, keenly aware of Andrew''s


    growing distress, acted quickly. He turned on all the lights in the room


    and threw open the windows. A st of cold air swept in and sobbed up Andrew.


    Vel


    "Sir, that was 16 years ago. She has grown up now. She''s just as you imagined she''d be-beautiful, elegant, and clever. She''s even married. She''s living a happy life, and she''ll continue to live happily for the rest of her days."