Grandmother LinLin began her story about the past. Cutting the fact that she had despised Mrs Jiang for her attitude, she began about that fateful night where the house of Mrs Jiang was burnt. It was almost seven years ago but the old woman before her spoke knowingly as though she just saw it all happening to her the other day.
The evening during it, Grandmother LinLin who had just ca ho from playing in the temple arrived to her ho later than she was supposed to be. Her hands were full with a bag of prayer beads that she had gotten from the monk and decided to send most of them to her grandchildren.
"Bring this to my son’s house," said Grandmother LinLin, placing the bag of prayer beads to the hand of the old housekeeper. "The pink beads," she stopped the housekeeper before she was about to ride the car, adding, "They are for AiLin."
"Ailin?" the housekeeper was taken aback hearing that she was going to prepare a bead just for AiLin, the granddaughter that everyone had thought would be the most hated and forgotten by the family. "But pink is NianNian’s favorite..." the housekeeper reminded as the other bead that seed to be floral was green in color and NianNian wouldn’t be happy seeing it.
"So?" Grandmother LinLin snapped. "NianNian have gotten everything. Cannot she give this one thing for her older sister?"
Seeing how upset Grandmother LinLin was, the housekeeper was taken aback. She asked with a thoughtful consideration, "What is wrong, Madam?"
Seeing the housekeeper curious as she had always took care of the family ever since she was still unmarried, Grandmother LinLin finally broke down and told the truth. She began, "I never once disliked AiLin. But as you know my treatnt towards her had never been warm either. I thought that despite that she was still being cared for by that woman as she is her own daughter. But the other day I have gotten a call from a young man."
"A call from a young man?" echoed the housekeeper. "You an, your grandson, ngYao?"
"Not him!" the upset Grandmother LinLin stomped her feet, "It’s another young man. A polite one who I know wouldn’t tell a lie. He snapped a sense to , making shaful with all the things I have done and I cannot bla him. As he had said, children aren’t supposed to protect themselves, they are ant to be protected."
"I don’t quite understand, madam..." the housekeeper whispered. "What do you an? I thought Young Lady AiLin is taken care well."
"Well? They starved her!" Grandmother LinLin threw a docunt toward the housekeeper from her bag and taking a look at it, the housekeeper was horrified. It’s because what she saw in that docunt was pictures over pictures of bruises, starvation to the point that bones and ribs were seen, and more damage to her scalp and the young girl’s face.
There was multiple notes from school, describing that AiLin would sotis be "absent" without a reason but the thought of what would go on in that house during the days she wasn’t in school sent chills down the housekeeper’s spine just by looking at all the picture evidences that offered to her.
"Give this pink prayer beads to AiLin. The monks said that there is a terrible fate waiting for her and I do not wish for my granddaughter to suffer anymore. And this envelope," pointed Grandmother LinLin, "To my son and that cursed daughter in law of mine. Make sure they read this in front of you as from tomorrow onward, AiLin will be living with !"
"Understood, Madam!" The housekeeper then rushed from the house toward the car.
Still surprised by what she had seen, the housekeeper felt guilty. Now that she thinks about it, perhaps she had seen tis when AiLin was either ignored or hated by Mrs Jiang. She never paid too much attention as her work was to take care of Grandmother LinLin but thinking of those abuses that could have been avoided if she had noticed, hurt the housekeeper’s heart.
She then rushed toward the house first but by the ti she arrived the sky had turned pitch black and the house seed empty without a single person answering to the ringing bell.
The housekeeper frowned as she looked at the empty security office and the bell that no matter how many tis been rang no answer seed to appear from the other end.
Turning to the driver, the housekeeper sighed, "I don’t think that this is going to work."
"Then should we go back to Madam’s house?" the driver questioned politely, a young man still in his twenty, the son of the housekeeper herself.
"But this is urgent. Besides, I don’t want the girl to stay for too long in this house. Their abuses... I showed you didn’t I? Do you have the heart to ignore what had happened to her?"
"But mom," said the young man before he sighed upon seeing his mother’s insistance, "Alright how about this?" he offered. "I’ll go inside instead? Try find the family while you stay here. I’ll also try to find Miss AiLin. If it’s as worrying as you said, I’m worried that they are trying to lock her again sowhere in this house."
"Good idea," the housekeeper then hold her son’s hand and snapped her finger, "How about this? We both go inside. I’ll go bring this to them and you try find Miss AiLin? Then maybe this way we can prevent if things go awry. I just have a bad feeling today."
"Alright," the young man nodded quickly, locking the door of the car before opening the gate of the house with the key that could be open with the housekeeper’s fingerprint.
Once inside, the mother and son pair went on their way with the housekeeper making her way to the door of the house, the entrance while her son had instead made his way to the servant’s house, the one on the left with door connecting to the backdoor of the house.
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