Beyond The Echoes Of You

Anthony's hands stilled on the mop handle as an urgent knock echoed through his home. He hastily set aside his cleaning equipment and took a moment to survey the tidy room, nodding in satisfaction. With a deep breath, he hurried to the door and flung it open.

"May." Relief washed over him as he enveloped her in a warm hug, holding her close as if his life depended on it.

May's composure crumbled, and she sobbed uncontrollably into Anthony's chest. He held her tight, his voice a soothing balm. "You're safe now, May. I've got you." He lovingly pats her hair, while constantly reassuring her that she was safe and no harm will come to her anymore.

When May finally managed to calm down, he guided her inside, settling her onto the couch with a gentle nudge. "I'll get you some food and water. You're safe here."

As he busied himself in the kitchen, May's whispered mantra drifted through the air: "I'm safe... no one can hurt me..." But her trembling belied her words.

No matter what she says to herself, she can't shake off that feeling that she might be caught soon, and the thought of that alone filled her with so much fear because she knows that if they find her, then that'll be the end of her existence.

When Anthony returned, he saw May trembling. He heaved a deep breath, walked to where she was seated and placed the tray of food on the table. He sat beside her and hugged her once more.

"No one will find you here, May. You don't have to be scared anymore. You're safe now. I'll keep you safe, and I won't let anyone ever hurt you again.'' He pulled away from the hug to stare into her eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen from all the crying.

Anthony used both his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "You know you can trust me right?" He asked.

May stared deeply into his eyes. She and Anthony has been friends for as long as she can remember, that's why when she badly needed help, he was the only one she could think of reaching out to for help, and he didn't disappoint her. Anthony wasn't just her best friend, he was more like an older brother to her as well.

She nods her head in response to his question. "I trust you." She replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good, now try to relax while I go get you something to eat. I'm pretty sure you're hungry." Anthony replied with a soft smile.

The moment he stood up and was about going to the kitchen, his doorbell rang, causing May to panic, she hurriedly stood up from the chair and fearfully looked at Anthony.

"They've found me." She cried out, and her whole body began to tremble with fear. "They've found me, Anthony. They've found me." She made to run away but Anthony was quick to hold her back.

"Hold on, May. Don't run away, I'm pretty sure that's someone else. Please try to calm down." Anthony struggled to hold her still.

"No, no, no." May cried even harder as she struggled to break free from Anthony's hold.

"Please calm down, May. I already told you that you're safe here, and no one will ever find you." Anthony tried to reassure her. It broke his heart to see his once cheerful friend this way. May was completely broken now, always living in fear.

"Please calm down, May. Please." He said calmly, trying to hold back his own tears.

After a while, May was finally able to relax. She leaned into Anthony's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's okay, you're okay." Anthony whispered in her ear, while lovingly patting her head to make her calm down. When he was sure that she's calm, he helped her seat.

"I'm sure that's one of the neighbors, I'll go see what they want, okay?"

May looked at him for sometime, her eyes filled with nothing but worry and fear, she then nods in reply.

Anthony heaved a deep breath before slowly walking to his door, but before opening the door, he turned to look at May, and gave her a reassuring smile, then he slowly opened the door, but the person he saw didn't look familiar to him at all.

"Who are you?" Anthony questioned with a frown.

"I...I'm Mike Finn." Mike introduced. He looked at the address on the paper he was holding to confirm if he was at the right place, and indeed he was. "I'm sorry I'm looking for a lady, and I don't know if she's here right now."

"What lady? I don't know what you're talking about." Anthony denied. "I think you better leave now because I don't even know who you are, and this is you intruding into my private space.''

"I really mean no harm, I'm just looking for the lady that bumped into me at the airport because she left something, and also a paper with your address on it." Mike brought out the necklace the lady dropped from his pocket, and showed it to the man in front of him, he also showed him the paper with his address on it.

When Anthony saw the necklace, he immediately recognized it to be May's necklace, and he knew how important it was to her.

Mike was studying his facial expression, and he could instantly tell the man knew something. "So, do you still not know what I'm talking about?" He asked.

Anthony clenched his teeth, he doesn't even know if he could trust this man, at the same time, he also wants to get back May's necklace.

"I'll leave if you don't." Mike turned to leave.

"Wait!" Anthony stopped him before he could get too far.

A small smile appeared on Mike's lips, but he put on a straight face when he turned to face the man.

Anthony looked at him for a while, then he heaved a deep breath. "Give it." He opened his hand, expecting Mike to give him to necklace.

"Not so fast now my friend. How do I know it's the real owner you're going to give it to? After all you did say you didn't know any lady."

"Just give it to me." Anthony said through gritted teeth.

"I would prefer to give it to the lady herself, just to confirm if she's the real owner of the necklace."

"You-"

"The necklace is mine." May suddenly came out from where she was hiding behind the door. She's been listening to everything, and when she saw Mike's face, she instantly recognised him to be the man she bumped into at the airport. She was in such a rush that she didn't even realize that she dropped her necklace, and the address with Anthony's paper on it, no wonder she couldn't find the paper in her pocket, it's a good thing she memorized it, otherwise she would have been lost in a strange city.

When May came face to face with Mike, she couldn't help but notice that he was staring at her the same way he did when she ran into him at the airport. He had this look of when you see something and you can't believe that you're actually seeing it. He also had this look of pain and a longing she couldn't explain in his eyes.

"M...May."