The Disappearing Rose

Chapter 1

The undulating hills on both sides of the highway turn into mysterious notes dancing on the staff of the earth. Like a meticulously arranged chessboard, the forests and grasslands are embedded in the gullies of the hills by a mysterious hand, interspersed with scattered farms and pastures, creating a gorgeous pastoral landscape. Inside the farm fences, cattle, sheep, and horses stand peacefully, their gazes going over the fences towards the distant horizon, as if expecting something.

On the tranquil country road, only a few cars shuttle back and forth, turning into lonely explorers searching for their paths on this vast land. The setting sun is a generous painter, generously sprinkling its golden paint on the earth, coating every inch of land, every leaf with a brilliant golden glow. However, facing such a picturesque sunset, there is one person who is in no mood to appreciate it.

That is Andy, his iron-like hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, his sapphire-like eyes staring intently at the red "pickup" ahead. His gaze is reflected in the rearview mirror, revealing his inner anxiety and tension. The car radio plays beautiful melodies, but it's hard to soothe his restless heart.

Three days ago, Andy's peaceful and beautiful life was shattered by an unexpected event. His girlfriend Natalia went missing without warning. That evening, as usual, Andy finished his work at the clinic and stepped out into the afterglow of the setting sun. The streets were bathed in golden sunlight, and he was full of anticipation for returning home, believing that Natalia had prepared a warm dinner for him, waiting for his return.

To surprise her, Andy took a detour to the familiar florist on the street and bought a large bouquet of bright roses from the owner, Anna. During their time together, the ice in Andy's heart had long been melted by Natalia's tenderness, turning into a surging flame of passion. He made up his mind to confess his deepest love to Natalia that night.

Humming an unknown tune, Andy's mind kept fantasizing about the scene where Natalia would be surprised and throw herself into his arms. Carrying the bouquet of blooming roses, he pushed open the door to his home with joy. However, what awaited him was silence and emptiness.

"Natalia, my sweetheart. I'm home!" Andy called softly.

In the quiet air, no one responded to his call. Andy looked around, his gaze sweeping through the tidy living room, where the soft light reflected the traces of their life together over the past few months. Every corner was filled with Natalia's presence, and touching those warm traces seemed to still feel the warmth of their once-cuddling closeness. But despite the memories everywhere, Andy's heart was still lost because the figure he longed for had not yet appeared.

In the center of the living room, a dining table stands quietly, with exquisite plates and a bottle of unopened red wine on it. The cutlery is neatly placed on both sides of the plates. On the plates, the fried pork chops exude an enticing aroma, surrounded by delicate mashed potatoes and colorful vegetables. The faint white smoke on the pork chops bears witness to Natalia's recent busyness.

The TV on the side is still on, with the news anchor reporting the news of a man named Mond Newcumen's suicide.

Andy speculated silently: "She might have gone out temporarily and should be back soon." He walked to the dining table and sat down alone. In front of him was a carefully prepared dinner, but the person with whom he would share it was missing. His thoughts surged: "What if Natalia rejects my marriage proposal? Would she think I'm too impulsive, or that our relationship is not stable enough? No, she wouldn't. She knows me; she must feel my sincerity. She will definitely agree!" Andy kept reassuring himself.

Even though he comforted himself this way, his inner anxiety was still hard to calm. He picked up the wine bottle on the table, poured himself a glass, took a deep breath, and then drank the red wine in one gulp. The sweet liquid slid down his throat, bringing a hint of coolness and comfort. He looked at the empty seat across the dining table, his heart full of longing for Natalia. Andy couldn't help but laugh at himself, not expecting that at nearly forty years old, he would still have the anxiety of youth. Andy tried to calm himself down and wait for Natalia's return. As time passed, ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour... several hours went by, and the food on the table had long gone cold, but Natalia still did not appear.

Anxious and restless, Andy began to frequently lift the curtains and look out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Natalia's return. As night fell, all that was outside the window was the quiet street and the occasional passing vehicle.

"Where on earth did Natalia go? Could something have happened to her?" An ominous cloud gradually enveloped Andy's heart. He could no longer contain his inner anxiety and walked out of his home to start searching for Natalia's traces.

He traversed every corner of the small town, restaurants, bars, shopping malls, churches... every place where he had left footprints with Natalia, he searched carefully. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not find a trace of Natalia. Andy's heart was filled with worry.

A long and heavy day passed, and a worried Andy stepped into the town police station. He went straight to his old friend Roger's office, his voice full of anxiety: "Roger, I really don't know what to do. I need your help!" He looked at Roger, his eyes flickering with uncontrollable distress. Roger, now the police chief with significant power in the town police station, was surprised by Andy's sudden visit. But he quickly composed himself and gently asked, "Andy, don't worry, take your time, what happened?"

Andy took a deep breath, his voice trembling: "Natalia is missing, it's been a whole day. Could she... could she have had an accident? I was planning to... propose to her." At this point, his voice choked up.

Roger listened to Andy's narration, and the image of the brown-haired girl who often accompanied Andy came to his mind, with her big eyes and a round face always full of smiles. He comforted softly, "Andy, don't worry, I will do everything I can to help you." After saying this, he sat back behind his desk and turned on the computer.

Roger asked Andy for some personal information about Natalia and quickly entered it into the system on the computer screen. As the screen continued to change, Roger's expression gradually became serious. He looked up, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Andy, have you lost any valuables at home recently?"

Andy shook his head: "No, why?"

Roger followed up: "Then have you made any large transfers from your personal bank account recently?"

Andy was even more puzzled: "No, what do you mean?" His expression was somewhat displeased, not understanding why Roger would ask about these irrelevant issues.

Roger sighed and looked directly into Andy's eyes: "Andy, I've checked all the systems connected to the police station, and there is no information on anyone named Natalia. So, I suspect that Natalia's identity might be fabricated." He paused and continued, "Now there is a scam that is very popular among scammers, called 'romance scam.' Scammers specifically target single men and women, pretend to date them, and after establishing a romantic relationship, they start to scam for money and then suddenly disappear. I'm afraid you might have encountered such a scam."

Hearing this, Andy stood up angrily: "That's impossible! Natalia wouldn't deceive me!"

"Natalia would never deceive me!" Andy muttered resolutely to himself. His gaze was firmly locked on the red pickup truck ahead. In the pickup, Lucie, with her flowing blonde hair, Natalia's best friend, was driving intently.

A heavy hammer was ceaselessly pounding Andy's heart and mind. Roger's judgment was that Natalia might be a scammer skilled in romantic fraud, and some mysterious reason might have caused her to flee. Such assertions stirred up strong resistance within Andy. He firmly believed that Natalia's love was sincere and flawless. If Roger couldn't find any information on Natalia, it must be that the police system had malfunctioned; such oversights were not rare, were they?

Since the police couldn't be relied upon, Andy decided to continue searching for Natalia on his own. He recalled every sweet moment he had spent with Natalia and once again traversed every corner of the small town, but unfortunately, he still found nothing. Despair washed over him like a tidal wave, almost drowning him.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Lucie appeared in his line of sight. Andy was sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the photo of himself with Natalia on the wall. Lucie's arrival undoubtedly brought a breath of life into the messy home. She loudly directed Andy to clean the room together, her movements swift and efficient, and soon the room gradually returned to its former tidiness. Andy watched Lucie's busy figure with a sense of bewilderment, a strange emotion welling up in his heart. For a moment, he even felt that the shadows of Lucie and Natalia were gradually merging, as if they were one and the same.

After the room was cleaned, the two sat on the sofa, and Lucie looked at Andy with a firm gaze, "Andy, don't give up. I believe Natalia must be waiting for you." There was a certain special emotion hidden beneath the sparkle in her eyes that made Andy dare not look directly at her. However, he mustered his courage and said, "Thank you, Lucie. I will continue to search for Natalia, even if the hope is so slim." With these words, Andy's eyes became resolute again.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Lucie prepared to leave. Andy got up to see her off at the door, but just as the door was about to close, his expression suddenly darkened. Just now, as Lucie got up, a heart-shaped keychain pendant had slipped from her small bag, and although she quickly retrieved it, the scarlet color had been deeply imprinted on Andy's retinas.

Andy's thoughts traced back to several weeks ago on a Friday when he and Natalia were strolling leisurely on the lush green lawn of the town hall. Natalia's gaze was deeply attracted to a heart-shaped keychain pendant, carved from milky white crystal, at a crafts stall. She was fond of that little trinket as if it were a symbol in her heart. The uniqueness of that keychain lay in the fact that it had been accidentally splashed with red ink by Andy, creating a mottled pattern of half red and half white, one of a kind. Now, this pendant bearing their shared memories appeared on Lucie, and this discovery stirred up an indescribable complex of emotions within Andy.

He suspected that Natalia's disappearance might be related to Lucie. Once this thought arose, the weeds of suspicion grew wildly in Andy's heart. Finally, he made a bold decision—to follow Lucie. He rushed out the door, jumped into his old white Chevrolet, and closely tailed Lucie's red pickup truck. He believed that by following Lucie, he would be able to find traces of Natalia.

After Lucie's red pickup truck wandered around the small town for a few hours, it finally headed outside the town. Andy followed closely behind.