The car ride was quit
Luna sat in the back seat, swinging her little legs and pressing her tiny hands to the window. Her wide, curious eyes scanned the unfamiliar roads, but the silence in the car made her uneasy. Her mother's face, reflected in the rearview mirror, was pale and distant.Where are we going, Mama?" luna asked, her voice gentle and hopeful.
Her mother didn't answer at first. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, as if it could stop her heart from breaking.
"Just... to visit someone," she finally said,
barely above a whisper.Outside, the scenery changed. The crowded city gave way to quieter roads, lined with trees and older houses. Luna clutched her little teddy bear — worn, with one button eye — and watched as the buildings passed by like strangers she'd never meet again.
The car stopped in front of a small, weathered home at the end of a quiet lane. A single tree stood in the yard, its branches swaying gently.
Luna's mother got out first, then opened the back door and helped luna step onto the gravel driveway. The child looked up at the unfamiliar house.
"Who lives here?"
"Someone kind," her mother replied, her voice cracking.
Luna followed her mother into the house, holding tightly onto her teddy bear. The home smelled like old wood and warm tea. It was quiet but comforting in a way Luna couldn't understand yet.
Inside, an elderly woman stood waiting — her hair silver and neatly tied, her eyes soft with age and sorrow. She wore a faded apron and smiled gently at Luna.
"You must be Luna," the woman said kindly, crouching down to Luna's level. "I'm Grandma Lin."
Luna gave a small nod and sat quietly on the old sofa, hugging her teddy bear to her chest. Her feet didn't touch the floor. She watched silently as her mother sat across from Grandma Lin, speaking in low voices that Luna couldn't quite hear.
They talked for a while — words heavy with sadness, some whispered, some broken by long pauses. Luna could feel something was wrong, even if no one said it out loud.
Then, her mother stood up.
Luna's heart skipped.
She watched as her mother walked slowly toward the door.
"Mama?" she called softly.
But her mother didn't stop.
Luna jumped off the sofa, her teddy bear falling to the floor. She ran after her mother, confused and scared.
"Mama, wait!"
Her mother stepped outside. Luna followed, barefoot on the cold ground. The woman walked quickly toward the waiting car and got into the passenger seat without looking back.
"Mama!" Luna screamed.
She reached the car just as the door shut. She banged her small fists against the glass, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Mama, don't go! Please! Open the door! Don't leave me!"
Inside, her mother sat stiff and silent, eyes forward. She didn't turn. She didn't wave. The car began to pull away.
Luna tried to run after it, but strong arms wrapped around her from behind — Grandma Lin.
"No, sweetheart," she whispered, holding the sobbing child tight against her chest. "She's gone."
Luna screamed, twisted, kicked, but Grandma Lin didn't let go.
The little girl cried and cried, her voice cracking in the cold air as the car disappeared down the lane — taking her mother, and a part of her heart, with it