Shaan fell silent. His eyes blinked repeatedly, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. The little girl finally spoke. He never expected that such an unexpected mont would make her react.
"No." Shaan shook his head. "This pocketbook belongs to soone, and I plan to return it," said Shaan, wiping the dust off the surface of the pocketbook. "Why do you ask?"
"...No. It’s nothing." The little girl hid her face behind the elephant doll in her hands. "That pocketbook just looks very similar to my sibling’s, but I don’t know, maybe it’s just a coincidence."
"Oh, that sounds like a coincidence." Shaan smiled. "What’s your sibling’s na?"
Before the little girl could answer, Chelsie shouted his na. Shaan quickly slipped the pocketbook back into his pocket.
"Sorry we took so long to co back," said Chelsie, fixing her hair. "Uhm... When we got there, we didn’t expect that there would be so many people waiting in line to buy the vitajuice," explained Chelsie. "So we had to wait quite a long ti to get it."
"That’s right. We also got lost, so that’s why we were late," added Nalira.
"Ah, okay. So that’s how it was."
"Here you go, little girl." Chelsie handed her the can of vitajuice she was holding. "Take this. I’m sure you’ll like it." Chelsie smiled.
The little girl fell silent again for a mont before she finally took her first step toward Chelsie. However, the closer she got, the more unsteady her steps beca. She walked for a bit, then stopped. Her movents wavered, as if doubt still lingered in her mind.
"Don’t worry, little girl. We won’t hurt you," Chelsie said as she tried to reassure her. "I’m sure you’ll like it."
For the second ti, Chelsie tried to reassure the little girl until she finally started to move. Slowly, she took the drink from Chelsie’s hand and opened it. With an innocent expression, the little girl quickly finished the vitajuice.
"Thank you," said the little girl in a soft voice.
"You’re welco," Chelsie smiled. "How about it? Tastes good, right?"
"Y-yes. Very good." The little girl smiled, nodding her head slowly.
’Wow, I didn’t expect Chelsie to make her smile,’ Shaan nodded. ’Amazing. She really knows how to win over children.’
"...So, what’s your na?"
"Uh... My na is... My na is..." The little girl imdiately buried her face in her doll. "My brother forbids from telling strangers my na. I’m not allowed to."
"Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you," said Shaan.
"...We need to know your na so we can take you back to your family."
"Uh... okay." Said the little girl. She slowly lifted her face. "My na is Eline."
"Hello, Eline. My na is Shaan." Shaan tried to shake her hand. "Those two are Chelsie and Nalira."
However, the little girl completely ignored Shaan’s outstretched hand. She imdiately buried her face in her elephant doll once again.
"Uhm... Shaan, it seems like she isn’t used to things like that yet," Chelsie whispered from Shaan’s left side. "We should avoid doing anything that makes her uncomfortable."
"Alright, I’m sorry," Shaan said as he quickly pulled his hand back. "I really didn’t know."
"Uhm... Eline, what were you doing alone in that narrow alley?" Chelsie asked in a gentle tone.
"Uh... I was chasing a stray cat. It suddenly snatched Mr Elephant from ," said the little girl, hugging her elephant doll tightly. "Luckily, I managed to find Mr. Elephant, but..." Eline hung her head dejectedly. "I got stuck there instead."
"So... Where are your parents, Eline?" Nalira’s expression looked curious.
The little girl shook her head quickly. "No. Only my big brother.
"Uhm... In that case, we’ll help you find your brother." Chelsie reached out her hand to Eline. "It would be very dangerous for you to wander around here alone, Eline. "
"I agree with Chelsie," Shaan said enthusiastically. "I’m sure your brother is still around here sowhere, and he must be worried about you."
They decided to help the little girl look around the area where they were now. However, after walking for a long ti, they still couldn’t find Eline’s brother.
"Eline," Chelsie said as she bent down to the little girl’s level. "Do you see your brother among any of these people?"
"No. I don’t see him." Her blue eyes began to well up with tears. "My brother might... he might have forgotten , and I’ll never see him again."
"Eline, don’t talk like that." Chelsie gently stroked Eline’s hair. "Your big brother would never leave you. I’m sure we’ll find him. We just need to keep looking. Okay?" Chelsie smiled.
Eline slowly nodded her head. "Th-thank you, sis."
"... Shaan, we have to hurry. The crowd is starting to fill up this place, and the longer we stay here, the harder it will be to find this little girl’s brother.
"Right." Shaan pointed his index finger toward the fountain in the middle of the crowd. "What about that area? We haven’t checked that part yet. Let’s hope we can find Eline’s brother there."
"Uhmm... I agree," Chelsie nodded her head. "Then we have to move now."
Without wasting any ti, they rushed toward the area and searched for Eline’s brother. However, more and more people gathered around the fountain, forcing Shaan and the others to push through the crowd until they eventually got separated.
"Nalira, Chelsie!" Shaan shouted among the crowd. "Damn it, where are they? How did we end up getting separated like—
"B-Brother!" Eline suddenly shouted and imdiately let go of Shaan’s hand. "Wait for , brother!" Eline ran through the crowd, leaving Shaan behind.
"Damn it, wait, Eline!"
The sudden turn of events shocked Shaan, and he imdiately tried to chase after Eline as fast as he could. However, the little girl moved surprisingly fast. Her small body slipped easily through the surrounding crowd.
’Argh, damn it!’ Shaan muttered. ’I need to find Eline as soon as possible before I lose her trail.’
Shaan quickened his pace through the crowd until he finally managed to get out of it. He looked to the side and saw Elina running towards a man standing near the fountain. Good, luckily, she was okay.
That’s a relief. At least Eline can reunite with her brother. I’ll go et him and explain about—
Shaan suddenly stopped. His eyes widened when he recognized the man’s figure. "W-wait... is...is that Sebastian?"
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