By evening, in a state of utter panic, Pranee rushed to the police station, her hands trembling, her voice breaking, as she reported that her son had gone missing.
Almost at the same time, Phop Rak's father came straight from work to the station.
The moment he saw his wife's pale, shaken face, he moved quickly to steady her.
He comforted her, calmed her trembling breath.
Deep inside, he knew....
Pranee had not done anything wrong.
Perhaps even Phop Rak himself had done nothing wrong.
But the situation… was something far beyond their understanding.
The police began the investigation at once.
They gathered every bit of information they could about Phop Rak,
asked questions, wrote reports,
and then sent the two of them back home.
The walk back was filled with silence....
a silence heavy with guilt.
All the way, Pranee kept blaming herself.
Her heart whispered the same cruel words again and again:
It is all my fault.
She thought of how she had broken her family, time after time....
whether in anger or in desperation.
She believed this was divine punishment for her sins.
Her peace had been stolen, her happiness ripped away.
Her family torn apart.
And now, even her son…
Years ago, when she had wronged Grandma and Talotkan,
that day had never left her.
Every single night, it returned to haunt her.
The regret cut deeper with every passing year.
Pranee was not an evil woman at heart.
She only ever wanted to build a better future for her children.
But her anger… her reckless choices…
had destroyed everything she held dear.
Each day, she prayed to the gods for forgiveness.
And yet, even now, she did not have the courage
to return and face Grandma and Talotkan.
She could not kneel before them and ask for pardon.
---
Elsewhere, in a quiet room,
Phop Rak and Akat sat together, their faces tense, their eyes fixed on a dimly lit phone screen.
They were trying to call Talotkan's childhood friends...
a few numbers Phop Rak vaguely remembered.
But none of the numbers connected.
Every attempt ended the same.....silence, failure, defeat.
At last, only one option remained:
to search with their own feet,
to ask people directly.
They decided to begin right where they were.....
from the hotel itself.
Together, they descended to the reception.
Faces weary, yet determined,
they asked the staff if they knew anyone named Talotkan.
The receptionists exchanged puzzled glances.
But none of them knew her.
No one had even heard of her name.
For hours, they tried again and again,
but every attempt ended the same.....
failure, silence, nothing.
By now, the night had grown deep.
Defeated, they decided to return to their room.
They promised each other that tomorrow,
with the first light of dawn,
they would resume their search.
But what they did not know…
was what had already begun.
What was happening even now,
beyond their sight.