All Chapters of Never Meant to Leave: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

When Mommy stood in the residential playground shouting insults at me, many elderly men and women gathered around to watch the spectacle.One older woman pointed at Mommy and began lecturing the child she was holding.“You have to be obedient. You mustn’t learn from that kid who’s hiding and refusing to go home.”The child in her arms sucked on her fingers and garbled, “Hungry tummy.”“That’s right, so that woman wants to call her daughter home— ”“Bullshit! Ask her to come home? That damn girl! I wish she’d just die!”Mommy reacted violently, snapping back as she turned on the old woman.The woman covered the child’s ears and replied awkwardly, “Watch your language. There are so many children here.“With a Mommy like you, no wonder your daughter won’t come home!”I crouched on a rusted swing as the wind nudged it gently, causing it to creak and sway.Mommy’s face flushed bright red.“You damn old hag, what nonsense are you spouting?”Her shouting forced the older woman to

The next day, my parents discharged Bella from the hospital. She looked drained and vacant.As Daddy folded the princess dress, his fingertips brushed against a patch of stiff, dark red fabric at the cuff.After a long moment, he called out to Mommy.“Come take a look at this… is this… is this blood?”Mommy leaned in. After a while, her face turned deathly pale.She grabbed Bella’s arm and began checking her frantically.“Bella, tell Mommy—where are you hurt? Let Mommy see!”Daddy also panicked and examined Bella’s other arm, even lifting her hair to check her scalp.Bella only stared back with hollow, empty eyes, letting them move her as they pleased. She didn’t cry, didn’t protest, and didn’t speak.They found no wounds at all.That blood did not belong to Bella.I drifted over and looked at it as well.That bloodstain must have been mine, from when that monster grabbed both Bella and me.He had seized my hair and yanked it back violently.In the burst of pain, I

By the fifth ring of the doorbell, Daddy’s voice came from the entrance.“You’re quick to respond. I just called the police.“My daughter is missing.“It’s been more than twenty-four hours. You can file a case, right?”He spoke as he fumbled with his keys to open the door, his expression exhausted.The moment the door swung open, people poured in.Daddy immediately saw Mommy. He hesitated for a moment and said, “I’ve called the police.”Mommy didn’t respond.Then an officer approached, his expression serious.“Are you Cassie Tesla’s parents?” he asked.Daddy rubbed his hands together and nodded.“Yes. She had a fight at home and ran off last night.“Children don’t understand. They always scare adults by running away…”He rambled on, completely unaware of the sympathetic looks on the faces of the officers standing in the hallway.Then Mommy’s hoarse voice cut through sharply.“What happened to my daughter?”The officers exchanged glances and pulled an evidence bag from

Mommy slowly released her grip on Bella’s shoulders.“I could have… saved Cassie…”Bella stared at her hands, then suddenly began scratching at her arms with her fingernails until long bloody welts appeared.Daddy watched her for a long time, then slowly crouched down and wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling body.He lowered his head and cried in silence.“We’ll atone for this sin together.”The ones who killed me were three minors from the residential compound.Because they were under fourteen, they did not have to bear any legal responsibility.Mommy could not accept that outcome.Disheveled and hollow-eyed, she blocked the entrance of the compound, holding a banner and chanting that murder must be paid for with a life.On that strip of white cloth, my photograph had been soaked by rain, my smile blurred beyond recognition.She grabbed passersby by the sleeves and pointed at the windows of those three boys’ homes.“They can still eat and sleep. What about Cassie?