"Is it just me or is this table really small?", Detective Ford asked as he sat down at the cafeteria table with Henrietta and Alea.
"Of course it's just you. You're sitting at a table for kids" She mocked.
" It's only small because you're so big", Henrietta purred.
She glanced at Henrietta from the corner of her eye and stared back at the detective. "So Detective Ford", she began but he cut her short.
" You can call me Alex".
"Yes sir", Henrietta cooed and she was given a disgusted look by her friend.
She inhaled deeply. "You asked me to meet you here, to discuss something. That being?"
" Yeah", he adjusted his posture, " I asked you to meet me. So why'd you bring her?"
"Hey!", Henrietta protested, " I'm her friend and moral support. Sides, Molly said I could join her if I was strong enough. And you, Detective Alex, have blessed me with all the strength I'd ever need". She ran her nails up his arm.
Alex was visibly uncomfortable. He'd never been hit on by a child before,so he didn't know how to respond or if he should. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "So Alea…"
She nodded. " She'll stay".
He sighed softly. " So I'm gonna ask you some questions".
"Shoot".
"But you can cuff me", Henrietta cooed.
She groaned and face palmed. "Henrietta", she sighed.
Alex cleared his throat again. "So", he began, "Can you tell me anything of your life before the accident?"
She stared into space and shook her head. " Can't remember".
Henrietta squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. " I don't know,but Alea, I think you were very close to your dad".
She stared at her friend in utter perplexity. "Huh? How'd you know?"
"Cause you always sob in your sleep. You call for him every night. You always beg him to come back".
Her lips trembled and tears formed in her eyes. "I… I didn't…know this. No", she breathed out sharply and the tears flowed, "That can't be true. I can't even remember my dad. How can I call for someone I don't know?"
" Alea, you do know him. Your subconscious mind knows him very well", Alex said softly.
She shook her head violently.
" Okay. Okay. We won't push it. Do you remember your friends or any familiar places?"
" I haven't left the hospital since I was admitted. So I don't know".
Alex exhaled deeply. "Okay, I'll figure out how we can change that. Have you noticed anything unusual about yourself or your surroundings?"
She pushed her lips out and shook her head. "Nahh".
Henrietta's brow flew up. " Are you serious?!", she screeched and everyone in the cafeteria turned to stare at them, "Sorry. Don't you notice that you speak differently everyday?"
Alex had a confused look on his face. " Henrietta, please explain".
"Yes daddyo".
Alex groaned.
"Alea's speech changes daily. Sometimes she talks like a five year old, other times she talks like she's seventeen. Then, like now, she talks like the ten year old she is. There are some words that she uses that even Nurse Ava herself don't know. An instance is the day you came, we were playing Scrabble and she made the word aria."
Alex furrowed his brows. "That might be because of the accident. Some kids are naturally like that. But it's very helpful. Thank you Henrietta".
She smiled and batted her lashes. Alex cringed and she laughed.
Alex and Henrietta stared at her. "Listen Alea, I promise, I'll find your family". "Yeah. Cute cops don't lie".
She shook her head and laughed. She rested her head on Henrietta's shoulder.
"That's my time ladies. I'll see you soon", Alex said and left the cafeteria.
Henrietta stared dreamily at him.
"Earth to Henrietta. How can you so boldy flirt with someone a decade older than you?"
Henrietta giggled. " I love older men. They're more mature than guys my age. You'll find that out when you're older".
" Jesus girl!", she whisper shrieked, " You're only 12!"
Henrietta chuckled. "My grandma tells me I'm very wise and mature. So intellectually I'm not 12".
She shook her head and laughed again.
" Wanna go back to our ward?" Henrietta asked.
She shrugged. " Bet".
****
She sat in bed and chewed her on her nails. Her face contorted in disgust and she spat. Then she remembered that Ava had applied nail polish to prevent her from chewing on her nails. But she knew deep down, that she didn't bite her nails before the accident.
She sighed and gently rolled off the bed. Then she crawled over to Henrietta on her belly and shook her. "Henrietta? You awake?"
"Oh Alex, mature aren't you?", Henrietta mumbled incoherently in her sleep.
She frowned and decided that she was on her own. She went back to her bed and sat staring into the darkness.
Had she really been calling for her dad? And where'd he go to that she was begging him to come back? Maybe he was dead.
That thought terrified her. But that was very feasible. She'd been in the hospital for almost two months and no one had ever come looking for her. Maybe she had no family. Then what use was Alex? He'd just be wasting his time.
She, at that point, murdered every hope of Alex finding her family. It was wishful thinking afterall. And even if they were alive, they didn't want her.
She was cursed to be alone. And with that, she closed her drooping eyelids and fell asleep.
****
Alex rubbed his temples, frustration etched on his face. Three weeks had passed since he'd started investigating Azalea's case and he was no closer to finding her family.
Sitting at his desk, surrounded by stacks of files and notes, he stared at Azalea's photo. Her bright green eyes seemed to haunt him, as if pleading for him to uncover the truth.
Just then, his colleague, Det. James, strolled over. "Hey Alex, still on the amnesia girl's case?"
Alex nodded. " I just can't shake the feeling that there's something I'm missing".
James leaned against the desk. " I've been thinking…what if she's not just an ordinary missing person?"
He raised an eyebrow. " What'd you mean?"
James glanced around the room, ensuring they were out of earshot. "I mean, what if she's connected to someone important? Someone like…. Senator Julian Wales?"
Alex snorted. " That's impossible. There's no way a senator's daughter would end up in a low profile hospital with amnesia".
James gave him a bewildered look. " How can you of all people say that? We've seen stranger things happen".
" Yeah but…"
"No buts Alex. The boys over there found out that Senator Julian Wales has a daughter he hid from public eye. For now,no one knows the reason why".
"So what you're saying is that Azalea might be related to the senator? If that's true, why then is she in the hospital? Her father can afford to ship her off to Fiji and hire the strongest security to protect her".
" Yeah well, what if he was attacked before he could do so? Or maybe the enemy was from within. They'd surely know that the senator was suspicious".
" James our beloved senator isn't stupid. There's been multiple attempts on his life. So why the hell would he leave his darling daughter to remain with him, knowing that they could be attacked? Did you see his estate mansion James? It was a blood bath. There's no way the senator's daughter is in Kyrios or Valleterra for that matter".
James shrugged. " Keep an open mind bro".
As the day drew to a close, Alex packed up his files, his determination wavering. James' suggestion still lingered in his mind, and he considered following the lead that might help his case.
He's aware that it might overlap with the Senator Julian Wales case and as such, he's hesistant to pursue it because doing so could be seen as insubordination, as the higher ups were already handling that case.
Sighing, he made his way to his car. He opened the door and got in, tossing the files into the passenger's seat. He started up the car and Azalea's photo caught his eye. He picked it up.
"I'm really sorry Alea. I tried, but I won't be finding your family afterall. I mean,I could but that's if I'm allowed in to Senator Julian Wales case. Yeah, I do believe James. It's not the first time".
He shook his head and sighed. He put the photo back into the file and drove out the Kyrios Police Department parking lot.