Erick
The car screeched to a halt on the uneven path, the dust rising in clouds that stung my nostrils.
I stepped out, my boots sinking slightly into the earth, and for a moment I just stood there, staring at the cluster of houses that made up the so-called village.
It was small, unremarkable, and quiet.
This was supposed to be it. The place where Sophia had been seen.
The closest lead I had gotten in months. My heart had beat faster with every mile we covered, a painful rhythm of anticipation and fear.
I had imagined her here, maybe walking down one of those narrow dirt lanes, maybe sitting outside one of those homes, her hair falling in waves, her hand brushing her belly.
But as my eyes roved over the scene before me, all I felt was a hollowness spreading through my chest. So
