Chapter 553: Running Away from Home
Two days later, Quincy returned with good news. The two missing children had been found in a restroom in the residential area.
"It wasn’t a kidnapping at all. One of the kids broke a cup and got scolded by his parents, so he decided to run away. He told his best friend about his plan, and the friend wanted to go with him. They hid in the trunk of a car, and when it got to the residential area, they jumped out. They hurt their legs in the fall and were too scared to go home, afraid they’d get scolded again. They were also worried about getting caught, so they hid in a public restroom. Luckily, a patrol officer found them."
Everyone was stunned.
"Two little kids running away from home managed to send so many people running in circles. Dozens of patrol officers were searching high and low, and all along, they were just hiding in a restroom in the residential area."
"Those two kids are probably in for a good spanking."
"To be honest, I actually had the ridiculous idea of running away from home when I was little," Evelyn Ford said. Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
Evelyn Ford chuckled. "It’s true."
"Back in fifth grade, I went through a phase where I kept getting nosebleeds. I looked it up online, and the internet told me I might have a terminal illness. The search results suggested I had leukemia, blood cancer, bone cancer, or a tumor. I was terrified. It felt like my world was collapsing. My parents are both doctors, but I didn’t dare tell them. I was scared of dying, but I was also scared they wouldn’t be able to handle it. So, I decided to run away and find some deserted place to wait for death."
"I wrote a really long letter to my parents. I was a pretty dramatic kid. To keep them from worrying or looking for me, I told them I was a fairy on a mission to save the world. I said they shouldn’t try to find me and that once I’d done a thousand good deeds, I could come back to them."
"What happened then? Did you actually manage to run away?"
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "I was at the train station, and the thought of leaving my parents made me start crying. I cried so hard I fainted and was taken to the hospital. The police called my parents, who were still at work—at that very hospital. They had no idea I’d been brought in by the police in the middle of running away. When I woke up, I started spouting all sorts of nonsense, telling them to take care of themselves. I was a blubbering mess of snot and tears, telling them I was dying. My parents were terrified, of course. They gave me a full check-up, and it turned out to be nothing more than rhinitis. That, combined with the heat and a bit of summer fatigue, was what caused the nosebleeds."
"I can’t believe that’s your story, Evelyn. You’re not making this up, are you? You don’t seem like the type to run away from home at all."
Evelyn Ford put a hand to her forehead. "It’s a little embarrassing. My parents never told anyone else, to save my pride. But all their colleagues at the hospital knew. Afterward, whenever I went to the hospital to see my parents, those ’aunts’ and ’uncles’ would always tease me about it."
Quincy burst out laughing. "Running away isn’t funny, but I just can’t help but laugh when I picture Evelyn thinking she’s terminally ill and looking it up online. That’s hilarious! And diagnosing herself with so many different fatal diseases!"
"Crying until you passed out at the station is even funnier! But seriously, that was really dangerous. It’s a good thing the police took you to the hospital. What if you’d run into a bad person?"
Evelyn Ford looked a little sheepish. "I just felt so sad at the time. The more I thought about it, the sadder I got, and the more I cried, the more I wanted to cry. I’d even picked out my destination: I was going to go to the highlands, watch the sun light up the golden mountains, and die quietly all by myself."
"Hahaha... that’s even funnier!" Quincy was laughing so hard tears streamed down his face.
"Didn’t any of you ever have the urge to run away?" Evelyn Ford asked. ’I can’t believe none of them had a rebellious phase.’
"Of course," said Miles Vaughn. "And I paid the price for it, too. I wasn’t getting along with my family in high school, so I wanted to run away. I even started street racing on a motorcycle like some other guys. I ended up crashing, broke my leg, and got several stitches in my head. After that, I toned it down a lot. In the end, aside from being scared of dying, I just didn’t want to make my family worry." After Miles finished speaking, Wyatt Vaughn raised his hand.
"I remember that," Wyatt added. "When our grandparents heard he’d gotten into an accident, they fainted from the shock."
Ethan Dawson cleared his throat. "Actually, I’ve got a runaway story too. The difference is, I actually succeeded. I took a few unlicensed cabs and made it through several provinces. But then my dad froze my bank card. I was only in middle school, so I couldn’t get a job to support myself. Then I got robbed of my cash and phone. In the end, I had to borrow a phone from some old guy on the street to call my dad and give in. He came and picked me up, but he gave me a good thrashing when we got home."
"Everyone had such colorful pasts! What about you, Mr. Graham? Did you ever have a rebellious phase?"
Officer Graham glanced at Wendy and couldn’t help but smile. "When I was a student, from elementary school all the way through high school, I was always at the bottom of my class. I dyed my hair, smoked, got into fights, hung out at unlicensed internet cafes... I was deep into that whole emo-punk subculture."
Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were both a little surprised.
"Mr. Graham, you’re not joking, are you?"
"I’m not. In my second year of high school, I got into a fight with some local troublemakers and ended up with two broken ribs. My dad thought I was a lost cause, and my mom cried every day. My uncle suggested sending me to the military, but I refused. As soon as I healed, I went right back to hanging out with my good-for-nothing friends. One night, at a barbecue stall, we got beaten up by a few drunk men. Just by chance, some off-duty police officers passed by and saved us. If it weren’t for them, I would have died that night for sure. While I was in the hospital, those same officers came to visit. They told us to focus on getting better and to study hard. After I was discharged, I suddenly realized I didn’t want to just drift through life anymore. I wanted to be a hero, too. So I threw myself into my studies and eventually got into the Corinth Police Academy."
When Officer Graham finished, everyone applauded.
"After I graduated from the academy, I was assigned to the very same precinct as the officers who had saved my life."
At this, Officer Graham’s voice choked up. "But in the ten years that followed... in just ten short years, every single one of them died in the line of duty."
No one knew how to comfort Officer Graham. In the end, Quincy broke the heavy silence by telling an embarrassing story of his own to change the subject.
"You three can’t go copying them." Quincy pointed to Zoe, Annie, and Wendy, his tone serious. "Running away from home is wrong. Back when they did it, there were still police, cameras, and daylight. Now, it’s all dark outside. If you get lost, we won’t be able to find you."
Zoe tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "But Dad, you can just ask the birds to tell you where I am."
Quincy sighed. "What if all the birds have flown away? Besides, Daddy can’t understand what birds are saying."
Zoe sighed. "Okay, I won’t run away. I’m not a baby anymore. I’m a big girl now."
"Grown-ups can’t run away either," Zoe said with a very serious expression. "If you get lost, we’ll be scared."
"Alright, alright. None of us will run away. We’ll all stay together as a family, forever. How does that sound?"
"Yay!"
Rhys Chase sat in the corner, sipping his cold tea. He suddenly felt a longing to be a part of this big family.