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Chapter 2

Annika...

I woke up to the sound of my alarm at 5 a.m. I had been waking up early these past two weeks, so I could make it to work on time. I've been here in Milan, Italy, for two weeks now, and so far I'm loving it. My parents and Anthea have called me every day so far, like they promised. I could tell that they all miss me very much, just as I miss them, but I need to think about the future. As I got dressed, I tried not to make too much noise, so I wouldn't wake up my roommates. We are three girls sharing this condo and so far they both have been nice to me even though we don’t work the same shifts today. They are both nurses at the hospital at the children's ward where I work as a Child Psychologist. I had to walk to work since I couldn't afford transportation at this time. I put my hands in my pocket and started walking to my job.

After my shift ended, I was exhausted. I checked my watch and saw it was only 4 p.m. I decided to walk to the park since I have nothing else to do. I was thinking about my childhood when I heard noises behind a bush. Something told me to walk away, but being me, I decided to check what was behind the bushes. I walked around the bushes and saw a little boy around four years old who looked extremely scared.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay? Did something happen to you?" I asked him concerned, but he only shook his head. "Are you here on your own?" I asked him, but he didn't respond. I took a step towards him, making him jump. I put my hands up, "I promise I won’t hurt you. I only want to help. Will it be okay if I walk towards you? But if you don't want me to I will stay right here," I said softly. He looked at me with a frown as if he was thinking, then he looked me in the eyes and nodded his head. I smiled and walked towards him and kneeled down, "Can you tell me your name?" I asked him.

He looks down at his feet, “Enzo,” he whispered. I looked into his green eyes and could tell he was scared.

“My name is Annika,” I smiled at him, and he looks up at me shyly. “Enzo, are you hurt anywhere?” he shook his head again. “Do you know where your mommy or daddy is?” I asked him.

“I don’t have a mommy,” he whispered.

My heart broke for him. “Do you have a father?” I asked him, and he nodded. “Do you by any chance know his phone number, so I can call him?” I asked him.

“I only have my father, but I don’t know where he is, and I don’t know his number,” he said looking down again.

“It’s okay, Enzo. I will help you find your father. Is that okay with you?” I asked him. He looked up at me and nodded. I stood up and held out my hand, and he grabbed it. “Are you hungry?” I asked him, and he nodded.

“How about we go to Jollibee?” and he nodded again. “Okay, let’s go.”

As we walked, I asked him some more questions. “Enzo, how did you end up in the ark all by yourself?” I asked him. He shook his head. "That's okay; we will figure it out,” I assured him. “What does your father look like?”

“He has black hair and grey eyes,” he said as we walked to Jollibee.

I took Enzo to Jollibee and asked him what he wanted. He looked up at me and pulled my arms, so I crouched down, and he said he wanted a burger. I opened my wallet to pay, and to my relief, I had enough money to buy him the burger. As we waited for Enzo’s food, I asked him, “Enzo, can you tell me more about your father?”

He pulled my arm again and whispered, “I don't like speaking in front of other people.”

I smiled at him and said, “It’s okay, Enzo. You don’t have to tell me anything if you are not comfortable.”

Once we got his food, we sat down, and he ate his burger. He got up and asked me if I was going to eat, but I shook my head and told him I wasn't hungry. I didn't want to tell him that I didn't have enough money to buy both of us food.

“I think we should go back to the park and see if we can find your father, or maybe we should go to the police; maybe they can help us,” I told him.

“What if we don’t find him?” he asked, looking at me with his big green eyes.

“Don’t worry, Enzo, we will find him, I promise,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Once he finished eating, I asked him if it was okay if we left, and he nodded. He took me by surprise when he grabbed my hand before I even reached out. As we walked outside Jollibee, I asked him, “Enzo, can you remember which way we came from the park?”

He looked around, and I could tell he was trying to remember. “I am sorry,” he said sadly.

“It's okay, we will find the park.” As we made our way back to the park, unfortunately, we couldn't find his father anywhere. Just as we were about to walk out of the park again, a black car pulled up in front of us, and two men walked out. They were both dressed in black suits, almost looking like spies.

“Enzo!” one of them said. He looked a bit nicer.

I looked at the men in front of me, and even though something told me they were dangerous, I still opened my mouth. “Excuse me, but who are you?”

“I could ask you the same question, little girl! What are you doing with Enzo?” The other one asked me rudely as they stepped forward. I turned to Enzo and asked, “Are one of these men your father?” I asked him, and he shook his head. I placed Eenzo behind me and looked at the men again.

“Listen here, woman. If you know what is good for you, you will hand Enzo over to us,” the man who was rude earlier said in a dangerous tone, sending shivers down my spine.

“Not a chance, buddy! I won't hand him over to you. You are not his father,” I spit out, not going to back down and just handing Enzo over to these mean men.

Suddenly, the rude one pulled out a gun and aimed it at my head. I glared at him for doing such a thing in front of a little child. I was not afraid of dying if it meant I protected a child from being kidnapped. “I give you one more chance to hand Enzo over, or this will be the last time you ever see the day of light!”

“Do what you have to do, but over my dead body am I handing Enzo over to you?" I replied, now mad.

“Enough Marco, the boss would want to handle her personally,” the other man said, taking the gun from the Marco guy, and before I could register what was happening, he hit me on the head with the gun, and everything went black.

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