Chapter 3 The Locked Door
The Train Police examined the bathroom carefully.
Nothing.
“Are you absolutely sure your sister went in? You’re sure she boarded?”
After questioning the dark-faced man and finding no issues, he turned back to me.
My heart raced. When I spoke again, my voice shook uncontrollably.
“She did. I watched her.”
I opened my phone and showed him our two tickets.
I knew kids under six didn’t need one, but I’d bought one anyway so she’d have a proper seat next to mine.
“Yes, definitely today’s train.”
The officer’s expression grew grave.
“How long since she disappeared from your sight?”
My mind was chaos. I took deep breaths before answering.
“Twenty minutes. Since she went into the bathroom.”
“Did she lock the door after going in?”
I’d completely overlooked that!
Train bathrooms only lock from the inside.
I was certain Miaomiao had locked it. She’d ridden trains before and knew how.
Yet the dark-faced man had opened it easily.
The door had been unlocked at some point.
“She did! She knows how to lock it.”
“I was standing right outside the whole time. If she’d opened the door to come out, I would’ve noticed immediately!”
“Were you watching the door the entire time? Did you step away or get distracted at any point?”
“I…”
The words stuck in my throat.
I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles went white.
I felt like the worst criminal.
Of all times to look at my phone.
The officer saw I was about to cry and stopped pressing.
“Don’t panic. Your sister is definitely still on this train. Think—is there anything distinctive about her?”
“I’ll alert my colleagues. She might have wandered to another Carriage.”
“She’s wearing a blue dress today, ponytail, and two strawberry hair clips!”
I racked my brain, describing every detail perfectly.
“Got it.”
Just as he was about to say more, his walkie-talkie crackled urgently.
“Fight in Carriage 16 over seating. Train Police needed!”
“Copy, on my way!”
“I’ll inform the crew. Don’t worry—someone will come help you keep looking.”
He patted my shoulder, relayed Miaomiao’s description to his colleagues, and hurried off.
I dragged myself back to my seat, a heavy stone crushing my chest.
Looking at Miaomiao’s little pink bag, guilt and regret swallowed me whole.
My mind spiraled.
Where did she go??
The Carriage wasn’t that big.
Could she really be lost?
Just as I sat there numb, the train broadcast came on.