The silent advocate

A tragic discovery

The morning sun filtered through the compound, but the usual lively sounds of the neighborhood felt strangely muted. A slight, impatient knock rattled the front door. It was Annie.

​When nobody answered, she let out a loud sigh, holding her hips. "This girl is still sleeping by this time? Ordinary small dance yesterday and she is already knocked out. Later she will say she is not lazy!"

​Walking around to the back of the house to see if she could get in through the kitchen, Annie stopped in her tracks. The back door was wide open, swaying gently on its hinges.

​A cold prickle of unease washed over her. "Ah-ah. Why is everywhere so quiet?"

​She stepped through the doorway, calling out for her friend, and proceeded into the sitting room. The moment her feet crossed the threshold, her heart dropped. The joyous party from the night before had been completely erased. Broken glass bottles littered the rug, electronics were ripped from the walls, and drawers were scattered everywhere, their contents dumped onto the floor.

​"Ah, what happened her—"

​The words died in her throat.

​Across the room, lying in a dark, congealed pool of blood, were the lifeless bodies of Mimi’s parents, draped over one another in a final, tragic embrace.

​Annie’s breath hitched, but as her eyes scanned the c*****e, she spotted Mimi.

​Mimi was lying on the other side of the room, completely unconscious. Her clothes were torn, her body was bruised, and a trail of fresh blood was staining the fabric between her thighs. The horror of what had happened to her friend struck Annie like a physical blow.

​A piercing, blood-curdling scream tore from Annie’s throat. She collapsed to her knees, scrambling across the messy floor until she reached Mimi. She lifted her friend’s limp body, desperately gathering Mimi’s head against her chest, rocking her back and forth.

​"No, no! Mimi, please! Don't do this to us!" Annie sobbed, her tears raining down onto Mimi's pale face. "You are my only friend, my only sister! I don't have any other person in this world than you! Don't leave me alone like this!"

​Realizing she couldn't save them on her own, Annie frantically let go of Mimi and bolted out of the house into the street, screaming at the top of her lungs for help.

​Within minutes, the compound was flooded with shocked neighbors. The quiet morning exploded into wails and chaos. Hands reached in to lift Mimi's unconscious, broken body, rushing her out toward a car to get her to the hospital.

​Through it all, Annie followed, her vision blurred by endless tears, silently screaming a desperate prayer into the heavens, begging God to save her second family—to bring Mimi back to her, even though the parents they both loved were already gone.