My Missing Daughter

For fifty dollars of overtime pay, I didn't pick up Gabrielle, Gabrielle Fowler, from school.

I couldn't see her for three days and nights, and I only saw a frozen corpse on the ice.

My husband blamed me and divorced me, and I died of guilt and sorrow.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself back on the day Gabrielle went missing.

I rushed to the school to find her, but her homeroom teacher, Hazel Burns, told me that Gabrielle hadn't been to school that day.

Yet in my previous life, she had attended school as usual.

1

I ran from the garment factory all the way to the high school, heading straight for the classroom of Senior Year Class 1.

But I was still too late. There were only a few students on duty in the classroom.

As I went downstairs, Hazel called out from behind. "Are you Gabrielle's mother? Why didn't she attend school today? You are really irresponsible as her parents. We've been trying to reach you and her father, but no one answers. Even if she's a top student, she can't play truant. The college entrance exam is a fierce competition..."

My mind exploded with a buzzing sound, and cold sweat ran down my back.

In my previous life, Gabrielle had attended school normally, and the surveillance camera at the school gate had captured her entering and leaving.

I had just been reborn and hadn't had a chance to check my phone. Clayton Fowler, my husband, was a carpenter, and he had been home without work recently. Why couldn't he answer the phone either?

"Mrs. Fowler? You don't look well. Is Gabrielle okay?" Hazel asked.

"Shut up!" I snapped, leaving Hazel stunned.

Then I ran out of the school.

I would not let anything happen to Gabrielle this time.

2

In my previous life, the autopsy report showed that Gabrielle had multiple fractures and ultimately froze to death on the ice.

When her body was found, it was as hard as a stone, with deep purple skin covered in frost.

The only suspect in the case was a mute.

The day before that incident, a classmate saw the mute pestering Gabrielle outside the school gate, and she looked very impatient.

The police investigated the mute for three months but had to release him as they didn't find any evidence.

Gabrielle's case was eventually closed as an accidental death.

The river was on the outskirts of the city and was rarely visited, especially in winter.

The mute lived nearby.

Later, on New Year's Day, some kids accidentally set off fireworks and accidentally burned down the mute's house.

The kids ran away, and the mute couldn't hear anything. By the time the firefighters arrived, the house was just a shell.

The mute didn't even leave a body behind.

Although the police declared the mute innocent, his tragic death made me feel it was karma.

If he was innocent, then I was the only guilty one.

3

I arrived at the simple brick house on the outskirts. And sure enough, Gabrielle was in it.

She and the mute were sitting face to face at a table. When they saw me at the door, their expressions froze.

My heart was a mix of emotions, and tears welled up as I rushed forward to embrace Gabrielle. "I'm sorry, Gabrielle. I am late."

On that day in my previous life, Gabrielle always took the bus to and from school alone. She suddenly asked me to pick her up after school.

Clayton said, "Your mom has to work. You're seventeen years old, and you still want your mom to pick you up. How can you do that?"

I had to work overtime every day in the factory, as it was near New Year's Day. So I refused Gabrielle in order to get fifty dollars of overtime pay.

I never imagined that I couldn't make up for it in my lifetime due to my absence once.

"Mom, how did you know I was here?" Gabrielle released me and asked.

I remembered her death in my previous life, which couldn't be explained. I wiped away my tears and asked in a sharp tone, "Why didn't you go to school today? What are you doing here with a mute?"

"The pressure from academic learning is too much," Gabrielle said, as her eyes avoided mine. "Besides, he's my friend. He has a name, Jerred Douglas."

Her tone was somewhat displeased. But she didn't know that she would die in a few hours in my previous life.

I looked past her at Jerred, who seemed about her age and was seemingly good-looking.

On the notebook in front of him was a portrait of Gabrielle, where she was smiling happily.

Since Gabrielle went to high school, I hadn't seen such a relaxed smile on her face.

The year she got into high school, I wanted to buy her the latest iPhone, but she said she could use my old phone because her main task was academic learning.

Her grades never worried me. Even without any tutoring, she was always the best throughout the whole school.

I had always wanted to open my own clothing store. She knew I was saving money. I gave her five hundred dollars for her living allowance every month, and she would save half and give it back to me.

Gabrielle was so considerate, so why would she skip school without a word?

Could she fall in love?

I glared at Jerred and pulled Gabrielle away. "From now on, I will pick you up and drop you off every day."

In this life, I would protect Gabrielle with everything I had.

4

Because I was late to work and left early from the factory every day, the factory cut my salary in half.

But I didn't care. As long as Gabrielle was healthy and alive, I could give up everything.

Clayton couldn't stand it anymore. "She's not a kid. What's the point for you to do so? If your salary is cut to nothing, we'll be scraping by."

My daughter also advised me that my work was more important and I didn't have to pick her up every day.

But how could I not worry? In my previous life, I knocked on doors one by one and searched for Gabrielle without eating or drinking for three days and nights.

The alleys of the town echoed with my hoarse and mournful cries as I called Gabrielle's name.

I feared the tragedy would repeat, and I couldn't lose Gabrielle again.

Only after I watched her walk into the school gate and return home could I sleep peacefully.

But it wasn't just me following Gabrielle. Every day, I saw the same figure behind us.

I asked Gabrielle about Jerred.

He was congenitally deaf and mute, and his mother died of massive bleeding when giving birth to him.

His father was a gambler and often disappeared to avoid debt collectors.

His father even gave Jerred the name casually.

If he really wanted to harm Gabrielle, would he follow us so openly?

5

Perhaps because the college entrance exam was approaching, Gabrielle became more silent day by day.

On Sunday, I wanted to take her to a movie to relax, but she said she needed to learn more academically and locked herself in her room all day.

Although Gabrielle escaped the disaster in this life, I noticed she was drifting further away from me.

I knew with her grades, it was not difficult to get into one of the top-tier universities.

So I planned to buy a phone in advance to surprise her on the day she finished the exam.

I opened the locked cabinet by my bedside, where I saved half of my monthly salary.

I checked multiple times, and three thousand dollars were missing.

I recalled a video I had watched about school bullying, which said, "If your child shows any of the following signs, please pay attention." He or she didn't want to go to school, was depressed, or suddenly asked for money...

How could I not have thought of that?

I learned from the Internet that students who performed well academically were less likely to be bullied. I naively believed it wouldn't happen to Gabrielle.

I rushed to Gabrielle's room and pulled up her sleeves. Her arms were covered in bruises. It looked so distressing.

I felt like I'd failed as a mother both of my lives.

6

I took Gabrielle to the high school and showed Hazel the bruises on Gabrielle's body.

Hazel asked Gabrielle who had bullied her.

Gabrielle said she got the injuries by herself by accident.

I asked her who she gave the three thousand dollars to, and she told me that she spent it herself.

I was anxious, but I tried to remain patient. I said while holding Gabrielle's hand tightly, "Gabrielle, don't be afraid. No matter who they are, I will stand by your side and make sure they will be punished."

Yet Gabrielle still bit her lip and remained silent.

Hazel frowned and glanced at her watch. "If everyone claims to be bullying with some bruises, the school might be shut down. I am supposed to give a class to the senior students, but you have interrupted it. It is unforgivable to waste the students' time."

I shouted at her, "It is unforgivable to turn a blind eye to bullying! I want to see the principal!"

"Mom, I'm really fine. You'd better go back. I have to attend class," Gabrielle pleaded while breaking free from my grip.

7

I didn't want to embarrass Gabrielle, so I left the office.

But I didn't leave. Instead, I went to the school restroom.

During the break, I recognized Gabrielle's classmates.

As they washed their hands, I inquired about Gabrielle's situation at school.

"Gabrielle? She's the top student in the grade. Her academic performance is excellent."

"She's the best student and always focused on her academic learning. We're not really close to her."

Although they praised Gabrielle's academic performance, their expressions were unnatural.

They were eager to leave, and I directly asked, "Is anyone bullying her at school?"

They shook their heads repeatedly and told me that they knew nothing. And then they quickly left.

I stood at the window of Gabrielle's classroom. She sat in the front row, with her chin in her hand. She was staring at the sky blankly.

Behind her was a note with a derogatory term written on it. "Bitch."

I was furious. I rushed into the classroom, tore the note from her back, and shouted to the class, "Who did it?"

The teacher said, "Madam, we're having a class. If you have any issues, please discuss them with Hazel after class."

The students whispered among themselves. "She's Gabrielle's mom, right? I saw her hiding in the restroom during the break and pestering others about Gabrielle." "Her mom seems off. No wonder Gabrielle..."

Gabrielle lowered her head, and I felt a tightness in my chest. My body grew weak.

"Sorry for interrupting your class," I said.

8

I knew Gabrielle must have a reason that she couldn't tell me. So I had to find out from her friend, Jerred.

Initially, I had thought he was involved in Gabrielle's death. But now it seemed that he might be one of the few standing behind her.

When he saw me, he wasn't very surprised. He seemed to have anticipated that I would go and meet him.

While I was still thinking about how to communicate with him, he had found a pen and paper.

Jerred drew a frozen river on the paper, with a girl curled up on it. The girl was Gabrielle.

It turned out that Jerred had also been reborn.

He and Gabrielle had been online friends for several years, and they shared everything with each other.

The trouble began when a boy named Louis Blake wanted to take Gabrielle out, but she refused him.

Louis's family was wealthy, and his uncle worked at the county education bureau. Many people flattered him, and even the principal dared not treat him as an ordinary student.

After Gabrielle rejected Louis, his followers began going against her. They first verbally provoked her. "Are you pretending to be superior, as you always have books with you?" "It's nothing to be the first place in the grade in the exams. You'll end up like your mom, working like a dog for a big boss." "You only buy meals for five bucks each. Your meals are worse than my dog's. Louis has sympathy for you, but you really think you're something."

Later, their actions escalated. They tore up Gabrielle's homework, spilled ink on her desk, pulled her hair, slapped her, spat on her, and forced her to drink toilet water.

She had told Hazel about it, but Hazel said, "I can't handle this. It's just minor squabbles among students. You'd better resolve it privately. Why are they only bullying you? Don't you have any issues yourself?"

Gabrielle didn't tell me what was going on just because she feared it would affect my job, as one of those who bullied her was the son of my factory's boss.

I never imagined Gabrielle would think my work was more important than herself.

Jerred was worried about Gabrielle, so he waited for her at the school gate after school. But Louis and his followers saw Jerred.

They dragged Jerred and Gabrielle into an alley. Louis stepped on Jerred's head and shouted through gritted teeth, "Did you reject me but hang out with a mute? Gabrielle, you're really cheap! Well, let me do a good deed and fulfill your wish. Strip them both."

...

When Gabrielle was missing, those guys blackmailed her with the video. They asked for money.

After Jerred was reborn, he stopped Gabrielle from going to school that morning.

I thought I had saved Gabrielle from disaster, but Jerred had already started protecting her before I did it.

On the day Jerred's house caught fire, he had a chance to escape. But the doors and windows were all locked.

Jerred put down the pen. His hand was still trembling slightly. There was a burning house on the paper.

Each drawing seemed to be piercing my heart.

I tried to stop his hand several times, tear those painful drawings apart, and swallow them whole.

But even without records, it didn't mean it didn't happen.

I could tear the paper, but I couldn't erase the pain Gabrielle suffered.

The air in the room was still for a long time. The wind howled in from outside and made the wooden door creak.

"Do you have a knife at home?" I asked Jerred.