However, Mira seemed oblivious, taking delicate steps toward the shop in her thin clothing.
After she got off the car, the first thing she saw was that man. His skin had darkened significantly, and he seemed even thinner than when she last saw him. He had a patch over his left eye, but she recognized him at a glance; it was him, the person she had been searching for all these years.
When she was twelve, an earthquake struck her hometown. She was trapped under a concrete slab, and to save her, he had directly crawled beneath the slab, propping it up with all his strength. After she managed to escape, he could no longer hold it and suffered a fractured tailbone, nearly becoming disabled.
All her relatives died in that earthquake. She was terrified and lonely, and he stayed by her side, teaching her to play the harmonica, to play the guitar, and to read sheet music.
Later, he was dispatched to the peacekeeping forces in Libya. Before he left, she asked him when he would return, and he said he would come back when she grew up.
“Today is my birthday. Can you promise me one thing?”
“Sure.”
“When I grow up, will you come back and marry me?”
He patted her head, his voice gentle, “I promise you.”
I have grown up, Tony Brown, I have grown up.
Tears began to fall without her noticing. She clutched her dress tightly; it was not far, but each step felt like it took all her strength.
“Tony Brown—”
She wanted to call out to him, but her throat had become hoarse without her realizing it, and she couldn’t make a sound.
At that moment, she saw a little girl running towards him. The girl looked to be no more than two years old, unsteady on her feet, calling out in a tender voice, “Daddy, Daddy—”
Tony Brown saw her and hurriedly went to her, picking her up and wiping the black smudge off her mouth. A slightly plump woman walked over and smiled at him, saying, “Tony , are you tired?”
“No, I’m not tired.”
A few young people who had finished loading the car noticed Mira, their eyes lighting up. One of them exclaimed, “My God, where did this fairy come from?”
Tony Brown heard the voice and followed their gaze, seeing Mira standing not far away. He frowned and asked her, “Who are you looking for?”
Mira felt as if a heavy weight had dropped in her heart when she saw the little girl appear and the woman gently calling him Tony.
“Who are you looking for?”
It was as if someone had poured a bucket of icy water over her. When he asked her who she was looking for, his expression was filled with confusion; he didn’t recognize her at all.
“Who are you looking for?” he asked again.
Mira remained silent. After a long time, she took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Thelma and Phoenix witnessed the entire scene from the car. They had long realized that Mira had a special bond with her savior, but it seemed he was already married. After Mira got into the car, the two of them were at a loss for how to comfort her.
“Let’s go!” Mira said.
Phoenix turned the car around, and soon they drove out of the street. Once they completely disappeared from the fruit shop, Mira burst into tears, holding her head as if a dam had broken.
Thelma was completely startled. She tried to comfort her, but it was of no use.
After Mira left, Tony Brown handed the child to the woman beside him and turned to enter the store. The woman poked her daughter’s cute face and said, “You mustn’t call Uncle ‘Daddy’ again, okay?”
Tony Brown closed the bathroom door. He stood in front of the mirror and took off the patch from his left eye, only to find a dark hole where his eye used to be, looking terrifyingly gruesome.
This was the result of a struggle with a thug who had forcibly gouged it out.
He lowered his head to wash his face, then rummaged through his bag to find his wallet. When he opened the folded wallet, a photo of a young girl was tucked in the middle, smiling beautifully in the bright spring light.
She had grown up, becoming even more beautiful, almost like a little fairy.
He smiled at the photo, but as he smiled, he suddenly slammed his fist against the mirror, shattering it into pieces. In the broken reflection, a tear rolled down his face.
Seeing Mira lose control like that made Thelma and Phoenix genuinely worried. Thelma took her out to eat, but she hardly touched her food and drank quite a bit of alcohol instead. With no other choice, Thelma had to book a room, and together with Phoenix, they carried the drunken Mira to rest.
