Aftermath

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a hazy, severely contorted image of the plain white ceiling above him. The world around him was spinning in circles, and he had no comprehension of what was happening there. A few minutes ticked by unknowingly as his mind wandered in and out of consciousness. When he partly became able to get a grip on his current state, he found himself in an unfamiliar room, lying on an unfamiliar bed, an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. He could also hear the continuous beeping sound of the heart rate monitor that was installed beside his bed.

"Leyon, is that right?" came a voice. Who was calling his name? He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"You're going to be fine. The hospital will take good care of you. Rest now."

Leyon shifted his gaze to the voice above him and saw a man wearing a white coat by his bed. The man smiled warmly at him. But to Leyon, everything felt like a dream.

There were a lot of questions he needed answers to, but they were left unspoken: Why was he all alone there? Where was his mama? Where was his papa? Why weren't they here with him? The accident: it suddenly occurred to him. Were they safe? Would they come for him soon? He didn't like it one bit. He wanted to see his parents. He didn't like this cold atmosphere; he didn't like to be alone. 'Mama, Papa, come find me.' Leyon blinked and felt hot tears roll down the sides of his cheeks. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again, imagining his parents' footsteps entering the room and hearing the cry of his beloved mother's voice once more.

Two days passed since the horrible incident. Soon after Leyon was discharged from the hospital, the police station in Riverfield Hills quickly took him into custody for his safety.

"Hey, kid. Do you have anyone we can contact for you?" A police officer asked Leyon, but he was met with silence. Leyon remained seated on the small work chair, staring off into space, his dark, hollow eyes devoid of emotion.

Crouching on the floor to match Leyon's height, the police officer continued, "Look, kid... I know it's been hard on you, but you need to cooperate, okay? We're trying to help you here. So let me ask you again... Do you have anyone you know? Any relatives or friends?"

"Boss Brad, I think you should stop asking the boy. You won't get anything out of him," yelled another officer from the back. "Look at him, the poor kid's been traumatised."

"Can you be any more direct, Steve?" Brad glared at Steve. Brad was the officer in charge of that police station, and Steve was his underling. "At least, we have to get something out of him," Brad continued. "How are the investigations going? Did you do a full background check on him yet? Does he have any more living relatives or not?" Brad bombarded Steve with a series of questions.

"Uh, I'm still working on it," replied Steve.

"If you can't do a simple background check on a small kid, how will you handle more serious cases, huh? Do you think the police station is a playground? Do your job properly or submit your resignation letter tomorrow!" Brad shouted at the top of his lungs, snapping back all the officers who were slacking off in the station room. Some even jolted wide awake from their short nap and began to dive into their work.

"Sorry Boss," Steve muttered, cowering under Brad's death glare. Steve quickly stared away and sat before his computer. And right when he was about to hit his keyboards, the door to the station room burst open and an old woman who looked to be in her seventies barged inside, her moist, silvery eyes wildly scanning the room.

"Leyon!" she shouted after finally spotting the person she was looking for. "My grandson, I'm here."

Overcome with grief and in tears, the old woman rushed to her grandson and enveloped him in a tight hug. "Granny...," Leyon mumbled.

"I'm sorry I took so long to find you." Her heart sank as she looked at her grandson's poor, dishevelled appearance. His once shiny black hair was all rumpled and untidy; his bright blue eyes looked dull and lifeless, and his body was severely malnourished. Seeing the state her grandson was in made her want to kill herself for not arriving there sooner. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she apologised over and over again, even though she received no reply from her grandson.

Leyon did not cry, not even after seeing the grief and sorrow on his grandmother's crying face. Why should he cry? His mind stopped him. It wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't bring his dead parents back to life.

"It's okay now. Granny's here. I'm so glad you're okay," cried the old woman, kissing him repeatedly on his forehead and hugging him close to her chest. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked, hastily moving her hands up and down his body, checking for injuries. Apart from the small band-aid that was plastered on the left side of his forehead, there was nothing else to be concerned about. Her grandson seemed to be fine.

"Granny... Papa, mama..."

"It's okay, baby. Granny knows. It's okay. It's going to be alright," the old woman assured him. "Let's go. Let's go to granny's home. Granny will take care of you from now on."

"Ahem. You are the child's grandmother?" Brad interrupted their short reunion.

"Ah yes," Leyon's grandmother replied, wiping the tears off her face as she got up to look at Brad.

"I was beginning to think he had nobody left in his family to take care of him."

"I'm sorry. You must have had a hard time trying to find me. I live in a small village, you see. The communication resources we have there are very limited. That's why you weren't able to reach me," she explained. "I heard the news about the accident on the radio. I went to the hospital to check, but they told me my grandson had been taken to the police station, so I got here as fast as I could."

"I see. Our sincerest apologies for the ignorance, madam. Come this way." Brad motioned for her to take a seat in front of his desk, pulling the chair out for her. "I'm going to ask you a few questions and please answer them honestly. You'll be allowed to take your grandson home with you after that," Brad finished.