The woman, who had never believed in gods or buddhas, couldn't help fervently thanking them in her heart.
Thank you for truly hearing her prayers.
She was endlessly grateful.
"Mom, Mom?"
A trace of panic crept into the child's voice.
The woman was sensitive enough to tense up immediately.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"He... he saw..."
This was the first time she had seen her mother cry when she wasn't watching a TV show.
In the end, the man withdrew one hand.
The result was still a victory.
The man urged her impatiently. "What did he say!?"
The woman hurried across the road, making it to the other side amid a series of close calls.
When I finally regained my composure and looked up again...
When I learned the man was also looking for my niece, I knew he had brought her out.
I angrily punched the air again.
The traffic had been chaotic at the time, and I hadn't gotten a clear look at the license plate of the car the little girl had gotten into.
The man immediately slumped. "Not yet..."
"There were so many cars like that on the street..."
Big Boy was at a complete loss.
The woman opened her mouth to say something—
I... had watched helplessly as my niece got into an unfamiliar car, heading toward an unknown and dangerous fate...
Maybe she'd been scolded, criticized, or wronged...
There was nothing she could do.
Answering the police's questions, the woman was both nervous and remorseful.
I'd deal with my own problems later.
"I didn't recognize it..."
The man had originally wanted to leave with them too...
Car horns blared one after another.
They couldn't delay the rescue any longer.
She couldn't just sit there doing nothing.
But