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Lost In The Desert
Lost In The Desert
Author: Twenty-Three

Chapter 1

Author: Twenty-Three
Cyra Stern’s car was following the cab I was in and flashed its lights twice.

The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“Young man, that car behind us has been following us the whole time. Is that a friend of yours?”

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

“No.”

“Would you like me to shake them off?”

“No need. She knows where I’m going.”

The apartment building looked the same as always, though there were new advertisements posted in the elevator.

I dragged my suitcase to the door and pulled out my key.

The sound of the lock turning did not sound right.

Then, the door opened from the inside.

Devin Lawrence was wearing loungewear and holding a girl of about three or four years old in his arms.

He saw me and paused for a moment before he smiled.

“You’re back.”

The child wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at me curiously.

“Daddy, who’s this man?”

“He’s the man who used to live here.”

Devin ruffled the girl’s hair and looked at me.

“Would you like to come in for a while? Cyra said you’d be back today, but I didn’t expect you so soon.”

I looked at the living room behind him.

A photo of the two of them hung on the wall. The couch had been replaced, and the little girl’s clothes were drying on the balcony.

“This place—”

“It’s my home.” Devin interrupted me, his tone gentle.

“It’s been my home for five years now. As soon as Cyra got the apartment, she had me move in right away.”

The wheels of my suitcase got stuck in the doorframe.

“She said that once you had gone to the Northwest, we would start a new life.”

The little girl began to become restless. She was squirming to get down and play.

Devin set her down on the floor, and she immediately ran toward the pile of toys in the living room.

He leaned against the doorframe and studied me.

“You’ve lost a lot of weight. Life in the Northwest must’ve been tough, huh?”

I gripped the handle of my suitcase tightly.

“Will Cyra be back soon?”

“I don’t know.”

He raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“What do you want from her? Money or an explanation?”

“I don’t want anything.”

“Then, why are you back?”

I looked at his clean-cut, handsome face and suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

“I’m back,” I said while trying to sound as calm as possible, “to get my things back.”

Devin laughed.

“What do you still have here? I threw out your clothes a long time ago. Cyra said your books were taking up space, so she sold them too. Oh, right, those figures you bought? They’re all broken.”

He paused, then added, “I broke them by accident.”

I turned and pressed the elevator button.

His voice rang out behind me.

“Neil, don’t make a scene. You’ve got nothing left now. You’re no match for us.”

The elevator doors closed.

I leaned against the cold metal wall and closed my eyes.

I thought those five years were a stepping stone to my career, but it was to build a cozy little nest for them.

The next day, I went to the company to process my return.

Ms. Linney from human resources saw me and wore a complex expression.

“Neil, your position…”

“I know. Devin has taken it.”

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  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 9

    “Give me a chance to make it up to you.”I crouched down, looked Cyra in the eye, and told her, “Do you know what regret is? Regret is when you’ve lost the chance to make things right forever. My mother is dead, my youth is gone, and my body is ruined. “How are you going to make up for that?”She broke down and wailed hysterically.I turned and walked toward the boarding gate without looking back.As the plane took off, I received a message from her.[I’m sorry. I love you.]I looked at the message and recalled the indifferent expression on her face when she said, “I purposely had you transferred.” Then, I deleted her contact information.Love?Did she even deserve to utter that word?After returning to the Northwest, I threw myself into my work.The new project progressed smoothly, and the team I led won an international award.At the awards ceremony, the host introduced me while announcing, “This young scientist spent five years persevering in harsh conditions to fill a

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 8

    A week later, the Stern Group board of directors issued an announcement. They had suspended Cyra from all her duties pending an internal investigation.Someone dug up the truth behind my transfer five years ago. Discussions then began within the company about whether she was settling personal scores or abusing her authority.Her father rushed home from abroad overnight. At the board meeting, he slammed his fist on the table and called her a good-for-nothing.“You’ve ruined the company all for a man! How could I have given birth to such an idiot?!”Mr. Smith told me everything, as he still worked at Stern Group.“Neil, you’re really something,” he said over the phone.“Everyone at the company is talking now. They’re saying you’re the real tech genius, and Devin is just a fraud.”I did not say anything.Meanwhile, Devin had vanished completely.Cyra could not find him. He had taken all the money she had given him and disappeared without a trace.Cyra’s mother tracked down my pl

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 7

    I dialed the number.The woman on the other end sounded exhausted. But after hearing why I was calling, she fell silent for a long time.“Why should I help you?” she asked.“It’s not for my sake, but for your own,” I said. “This is for your child. The one he abandoned.”Eventually, she agreed.She sent me the medical report documenting Devin’s domestic violence from back then, along with evidence of his infidelity.I also began investigating that transfer order from five years ago.I tracked down the colleague who had been in charge of personnel assignments back then. She had since been promoted to supervisor.“Neil, what are you doing here?”She appeared awkward.“I’d like to see the transfer order from five years ago.”“Well…”“Ms. Linney, do me a favor.”She hesitated for a long time but eventually took me to the archives.The folder was very thin, as it only contained a few pages.It was a transfer request that was signed and approved by Cyra. A note in the remarks s

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 6

    He folded his newspaper and set it aside.“My name is William Lowell,” he said.“I used to be a driver.”I looked at his empty left pant leg and did not dare ask any more questions.He did not seem to mind and continued, “Two years ago, I was in a car accident. I lost my leg, my wife ran off with someone else, and I lost my job.”He spoke matter-of-factly as if he were telling someone else’s story.“At my lowest point, I wanted to die too.”He pointed to the high-rise buildings outside the window.“But then, I saw those people sweeping the streets from dawn till dusk, and I thought, ‘Why shouldn’t I be able to live?’”He shifted over a little.“Want to sit for a while?”So, I sat down.Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on the blanket draped over his knees.“What about you?” he asked.“What happened to you?”I remained silent for a long time.It was so long that he thought I would not speak.“I was deceived for five years,” I said.“My job, my love life,

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 5

    Three months later, I had lost so much weight that I was unrecognizable.The humid air of this small southern town clung to my skin. The single room I rented was on the sixth floor, and there was no elevator.Every day as I climbed the stairs, I had to hold on to the wall to catch my breath.A mirror hung behind the door, and I looked at the person in it. I saw short and messy hair, prominent cheekbones, and two dark circles under my eyes.I did not recognize myself.The landlord, Mr. Maison, was a nice guy. Seeing me take on translation jobs every day, he often had his wife bring me a bowl of soup.“Young man, don’t push yourself too hard,” he would say.I would thank him and go back to typing on my computer.My sleeping pills went from one a night to two. Eventually, I needed three just to scrape together a few hours of sleep.My dreams were filled with the winds of the Fopi Desert. They blew so hard that they stung my face.Whenever I woke up, my pillow would be wet.That

  • Lost In The Desert   Chapter 4

    “Who else would do it besides you?”She grabbed my wrist.“Neil, calm down!”“How am I supposed to calm down?!” I yelled.“If anything happens to my mom, I’ll kill you!”The hospital room door opened.The doctor stepped out and took off his mask.“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”My world collapsed at that moment.The funeral was held three days later, and my father would not let me inside.“Go away,” he said through the door. “Your mother won’t want to see you.”I waited outside the door from morning till night.In the afternoon, Cyra and Devin arrived.They laid down a bouquet and paid their respects.The condolence note read, [In memory of Mrs. Spencer, with respect from Cyra and Devin.]Devin saw me and softly said, “Please take care.”I looked at Cyra with a gaze that could kill, and her face was deathly pale.Devin tugged at her sleeve.“Let’s go.”Then, they turned and walked away.My father finally opened the door.He looked at me, and his eyes fille

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