Missing: A Short Story
“I’m sorry,” Lee’s father scooped her up into his arms and held her gently. The little girl felt like crying but stifled the sobs. Lee was 6 now, she was more mature than salty tears. “Why don’t we get ice cream?” her father suggested. Lee considered this proposal. Her innocent brown eyes stared off into wonderment. “No,” she said finally. She pulled out of her father’s reach. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t a baby anymore and did not need ice cream to band-aid her emotional wounds. The little one wandered into the kitchen to see what her mother was doing. “Ni-hao mama,” Lee said. “Ni-hao,” her mother responded. “Did they find it?” Mother asked, dumping celery into the boiling pot on the stove. “No,” Lee said. “I’m sorry, darling.” Lee shrugged. Absentmindedly, she watched her mother chop up the carrots, onions, and the broccoli. “Do you really have to add broccoli to the dim sum?” Lee asked, making a face at her mother. “Yes, it’s good for you. And don’t give me that look.” Lee rolled her eyes. She enjoyed watching her mother cook but without Mr. Sprinkles it wasn’t quite as fun. Dinner came and passed. The dim sum was delicious. But something was still missing.
The sun was setting, and Lee jumped into her bunk bed. She may have been an only child, though the bunk bed was perfect for slumber parties. “Are you going to bed?” Lee’s father stood in doorway. She nodded. “A little early for you, huh?” She didn’t say anything. “Well, goodnight then sweetheart.” “Baba?” Lee called. “Yes?” Her father answered, appearing in the doorway. “Baba, do you think Mr. Sprinkles could be found?” Dad looked at her with a new sense of understanding. “I don’t know, ai. I sure hope so.”
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
And from all the emotional exhaustion of the day, Lee fell fast asleep.
It was raining on Saturday morning. Upon waking up, Lee trudged downstairs in the search of breakfast. “Good morning,” Mom said. “Morning,” Lee opened the pantry and grabbed a box of rainbow, circle shaped cereal. “Do you want to go jump in the puddles, Lee?” “Eh, no,” she said. Lee wanted to stay in her pajama’s all day and watch cartoons.
Around 2:00 in the afternoon, Lee was napping on the sofa. She had been doing a combination of filling in her coloring book, watching her favorite television shows, and snacking on rice candy. A knock on the door awaken her. She got off the sofa and trailed behind her father as he opened the door. “Oh my!” Lee squealed in frequencies that are only possible for little girls to achieve. On the Wang family’s porch step lied the white teddy bear with a pink bow known as Mr. Sprinkles. She lifted Mr. Sprinkles and held him close to her chest. Lee’s dad picked up a note also laying on the porch<span>. “</span>Hope you haven’t missed him too dearly.” The note read. Father looked on the back of the note. There was no return address.