Ashes Reverie

(XI)

She sits in the car, and out of nowhere, she realizes that the boy who helped her smells so kind and pure. I wish at least I could thank him for guiding me to the police station and then sending me safely home, she thinks. But it's too late for such thoughts now, so she ends up thinking that maybe she could thank him someday if they meet again. She doesn't even know his name.
After a few seconds of thinking, she asks the officer who is driving the car, "Sir, could you please tell me the name of the boy who was with me?" Her voice trembles.
"The head officer's kid? The one who brought you to the police station?" He asks kindly."Yes, that boy," she replies."His name is Fedrick."She doesn't say anything after that. She just wanted to know the name of the boy.They reach home, and she recognizes her house gate. "Yes, Uncle, that's my house," she says, her voice trembling. Her legs are shaking, but the officer doesn't know what's wrong. The only thing he knows is that this girl got lost from her parents and was in some kind of accident. That's how she got her injuries.But she's acting strange after seeing her house, like something is wrong inside, or maybe she's just afraid of being alone on the streets.He knocks on the door, and her father appears, visibly shaken. For a moment, he looks terrified to see the police with her, but he isn't a fool; he composes himself within a second."Where was my daughter? Where did you find her? I've been searching for her since last night!" His hands tremble, and he looks extremely worried and frightened.He runs to her, kneels, holds her hands, and says in a depressed tone, "Where were you, my angel? How did you get all these injuries? Who did this to you? Tell me. Did you eat anything? Or have you been hungry all this time? Oh, you poor thing," he says, hugging her tightly."What happened?" he asks after noticing that the police officers are still standing there.The officer explains, "She told us she got lost."They inquire, "How did she get lost?""We went to the shop yesterday, and she disappeared there. She was playing around, and we didn't notice because we were busy. I don't know when she went outside the shop. I searched all night but couldn't find her. Maybe she was in an accident too."He appears increasingly distressed, so the police officer deems it inappropriate to press further. But he knows that the man's story doesn't make sense.When the police leave, he tells Flora to go to her room and sit down. She keeps thinking about when and how her father started worrying about her. He doesn't even seem angry at all. She silently obeys and goes to her room as he said.After a short while, he also enters the room. He takes off his belt and begins beating her. She stays quiet, enduring it. This time, she doesn't say a word because she doesn't know what she did wrong.While hitting her, she cries, "Not there; it's already bleeding. Please, no, Father, please.""It hurts, right? See what you've done to yourself? You're a whore now. Do you know what that means? A bad girl who's cursed to destroy her own life. This time, you're responsible for everything you've done to yourself."After beating her for a while, he asks, "Who did this to you? And if someone ever questions you about it, what will you say?"She replies, "It's my mistake."She repeats the sentence five times and then stays quiet.Harry smiles and says, "Well done," leaving the room.