The man handed the woman the open umbrella.
He took the umbrella from her, opened it, and held it over his own head.
They said little.
They silently followed the officers and searched the area they had already gone over once.
No.
They weren't silent.
Again and again, they shouted the child's name.
The officers shouted along with them.
By now, the tourists on the mountain had more or less learned that a child was missing.
"Something's wrong."
"Didn't you just see something white go by?"
"Did the child just disappear?"
"Little one!"
"Oh, oh, that's good."
"Thank goodness for that officer."
If only the child could hear them...
"The mountain isn't a dangerous place."
"What?"
The woman's thoughts briefly wandered.
If the child was lucky enough, that hat should be enough to keep the child going until they found somewhere to shelter from the rain.
The woman suddenly grabbed the man's hand.
"Do you have somewhere to shelter from the rain?"
"Little—"
"That's true."
"And the officers aren't stupid."
"Otherwise, even if they found the child, the child might end up seriously ill."
"Maybe the child accidentally ran too far or something..."
"That's all just speculation."
"Let's hope the child wasn't abducted by traffickers."
"We'll find the child, I'm sure of it."
She lowered her hand.
She also cut off the man's speculation.
"Who knows."
"...I know."
"Don't accidents like this happen every year?"
The man was still shaken.
"I hope the child has somewhere to go."
"The child's whole life would be ruined."
"I hope the child is all right."
"But if that's the case, even if we searched every inch of the mountain, we still wouldn't find the child."
"...If only the child could meet someone kind, too."
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