SHE NEVER TALKED

Chapter 1 In a remote area stood a house that looked like it had been abandoned years ago. Window frames were rust. The glass wasn’t shining. Spider webs hung from every corner like they owned the place. Light came in through a cracked window, straight to An's eyes. She blocked the sunlight with her hands and coughed a little. Dust. It had been here for years. The floor creaked under her bare feet. Outside, nothing but fields and wind. No neighbors. No cars. No sound except the metal roof groaning in the heat. She wasn’t supposed to be awake yet. But she heard footsteps. Heavy. Slow. Coming up the dirt path. Her chest tightened. She knew those steps. The door didn’t have a lock anymore. It opened with a long, low screech. “An.” His voice was rough, but not angry. Never angry with her. He stood in the doorway with a bag of rice in one hand and a bruise on his jaw he wouldn’t explain. The man who took her. The man her parents called a criminal. He looked at her, then at the sunlight on her face, and frowned. “You’re burning,” he said quietly. “Come away from the window.” And for the first time in years, someone cared if she got hurt. She didn’t answer. She never did. But she followed him inside. She sat down at the dining table, while he prepared dinner. Unlike other parts of the house, the kitchen was clean. The counters wiped. No dust. Like he was trying to make this place feel like a home. For the first time An spoke. “Can you braid my hair?” The man turned to look at her. His eyes were warm, but tired. “Cade. Cade is my name. I don’t know how to plait, but I’ll try my best.” An looked at him, not sure how to reply. This was the man who kidnapped her. Now she was here, in the middle of nowhere. Not sure if she would be killed, or if she would be saved. She had learned one thing from her parents: If you are obedient, you won’t be punished. So she tried again. Another word. “Why did you kidnap me?” Cade came to the table with two bowls of rice and beef. He set one in front of An, and the other one was his. “Do I need to give you a reason for that? Eat while it’s still warm.” He tried to soften his voice. But his hands were shaking. An didn’t touch the food. She stared at the steam rising from the bowl. It smelled like something her mother never cooked. “Are you going to hurt me?” she asked, barely above a whisper. Cade froze. The spoon in his hand clinked against the bowl. He sat down slowly, across from her. The table was small. Too small. He looked at her like she was a stray animal he’d found in the rain. " Just eat your food kid".An looked at him,he had a cold expression but she couldn't be curious any longer. Another question stormed out " did you kidnap more kids like me? For what?.Cade stopped eating and looked straight at her."How old are you?". An played her finger on the spoon." My name is An I'm eleven years old ". " You ask a lot of questions for someone who is eleven, eat your food " The house was silent again. Only the wind hitting the rusted windows. An picked up the spoon. Her hands were small. She took one bite. Then another. It was warm. And it didn’t taste like fear. Cade watched her eat. When she was done, he stood up and walked behind her chair. His fingers were rough, clumsy. “Turn around,” he said quietly. An hesitated. Then she turned. He tried to braid her hair. It was messy. Uneven. A few strands fell out. But he didn’t pull. He didn’t yell. He just kept trying. Outside, the sun was going down. And for the first time since she was taken, An didn’t think about running. **SHE NEVER TALKED** **Chapter 1 - Continued** The braid was terrible. Three lumps, two loose ends, and a piece of hair sticking out by her ear. But it held. Cade stepped back and looked at it. He didn’t smile. He just nodded once, like he’d finished a chore. “Go wash up. There’s water in the basin.” An stood up. The floor creaked again under her bare feet. She didn’t say thank you. She didn’t know how. The bathroom was at the end of the hall. Smaller than the kitchen. Cleaner too. A cracked mirror, a plastic basin, a bar of soap that smelled like nothing. She splashed water on her face. It was cold. It made her awake. When she came back, Cade was already at the table again. Not eating. Just sitting. His hands were wrapped around a chipped mug. No tea in it. The bruise on his jaw looked darker in the fading light.He didn’t look at her when she sat down. An pulled her knees up under the table. The braid tugged at her scalp. “I’m not stupid,” she said. It was the second sentence she’d said all day. Her voice came out hoarse, like it hadn’t been used in years. Cade’s eyes flicked to her, then away. " About what?" An looked down not sure how to reply.She thought she had to do it somehow." Why did you kidnap me and-- and,she paused. His eyes didn't shift from hers." And what?" A quick answer came out of An's mouth."nothing " Silence again. Outside, the wind pushed against the house. The metal roof groaned. After a while, Cade stood up. He went to the corner of the kitchen and dragged out a thin mattress. A blanket. No pillow. He threw it on the floor next to the wall. “That’s you. Don’t wander at night.” An stared at it.Not saying anything She sat on the edge of the mattress. It smelled like dust and old rice. Cade turned off the main light. Only the cracked window let in the last bit of orange from the sky. In the dark, his voice came. Low. “If anyone comes, you stay quiet. You stay here. You don’t open the door. You don’t talk.” A pause. “Understand?” An pulled the blanket over her legs. It was too short. She whispered. “Are the police looking for me?” No answer at first. Then: “Probably.” The floor creaked. Cade had moved, but she couldn’t see him. “Eat tomorrow. Sleep now.” That was all. An lay down. The ceiling had spider webs too. She thought about her parents’ house. The yelling. The locked pantry. She thought about the car ride here. The duct tape. The way Cade hadn’t covered her mouth. Her eyes burned. She didn’t cry. Obedient girls didn’t cry. They got less punishment that way. From the other room, she heard him. Not moving. Just breathing. Rough. Tired. Like he hadn’t slept in days either.She turned to the wall and closed her eyes.The messy braid scratched against the blanket. At the other side was a small busy town. Even at night people were still on the streets. Neon signs flickering. Food stalls full of smoke. A middle aged couple walked around distributing flyers with shaking hands. The ink wasn’t even dry yet. HELP US LOOK FOR OUR DAUGHTER MISSING SINCE YESTERDAY Under it, a photo. An at 11 years old. School uniform. Hair in a ponytail. The woman’s voice broke every time she said it. “Have you seen her? She didn’t come home from school yesterday. Her name is An.” People stopped. Some took the flyer. Some just stared. A police car drove past slowly. One officer rolled down the window. “We’ve filed the report, Adam Smart. We’ll call you if anything comes up.” Adam nodded, but his jaw was tight.Saone Smart kept walking. Kept taping flyers to poles even when the tape wouldn’t stick. When they ran out, they went back home. The house was too quiet. An’s shoes were still by the door. Her backpack on the chair. Half-eaten apple on the table from yesterday morning. Adam slammed his fist on the table. “Who would take her? It’s been one day!” Saone sat down and started folding the leftover flyers. Again. And again. “She must be scared. She’s only eleven.” Her voice was flat. Like if she said it enough, it would be true. On the TV, the news was already running her photo. MISSING CHILD. LAST SEEN WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL. Adam turned it off. “We don’t need people talking.” Saone looked at him. “Then what do we need?” He didn’t answer. Upstairs, An’s room was exactly how she left it. Math homework on the desk. One sock missing. The window was still open from yesterday. Outside, the town kept moving. People posted about it online. People shared the flyer. And 40 kilometers away, in a house with rusted windows, An was eating rice and beef, wondering if being quiet would keep her alive.The next morning Cade made bread and tea for An ,he gave her and didn't get anything for himself.He sat down and looked at her . One week later, Cade made bread and tea for An. He set the plate in front of her and didn’t get anything for himself. He sat down across from her. The table felt even smaller now. An was quiet. Obedient. She tore the bread in small pieces like she’d been taught to make food last. “You're going home today,” Cade said. An didn’t look up. She kept chewing. Then a question struck out of her mouth. “Kidnappers on the tv don’t do that. Why are you setting me free after your hard work of kidnapping me?” Cade didn’t say anything at first. He rubbed his thumb over the scar on his hand. “I didn’t kidnap you,” he said quietly. “I saved you from kidnappers.” An smirked. She never smiled. But today she smirked. “And you want me to believe that?” Cade couldn’t believe his eyes. In seven days she hadn’t made a sound. Now this. “I was asked to sell you,” he said. His voice was rough. “To human traffickers. But I somehow ended up saving you instead.” He looked toward the door. “Police officers are coming here to get you.” An looked up. For the first time, real fear in her eyes. “Are they going to arrest you?” Cade didn’t answer. He stood up and walked to the window. Outside, dust was rising from the dirt road. Police cars. Three of them. Surrounding the abandoned house. He let out a huge sigh. “Finish your bread.” When An was done, he took her hand. It was the first time he’d touched her. His palm was calloused. He didn’t squeeze. He walked her out, through the broken door, into the sunlight. Two officers were already running toward them. “Hands up! Step away from the girl!” Cade raised his hands. He pushed An gently toward them. “Take her,” he said. “She didn’t do anything.” One officer grabbed An. Another pointed a gun at Cade. “You’re under arrest for kidnapping a minor.” Cade nodded. There was a promise. We won’t shoot if you cooperate. But one of the younger officers broke it. Nervous. Too loud. The shot cracked through the quiet fields. Cade staggered. He didn’t look at the officers. He looked at An. An opened her mouth. No sound came out. 6 YEARS LATER....