Amanda, Kaylee’s daughter, had vanished from sight two weeks before. Amanda was nowhere to be found, despite Kaylee and the police’s extensive search. When Kaylee went to her neighbor’s garage sale one day after hanging more posters, she was surprised to see Amanda’s jacket—the same one she had worn the night she vanished.
Kaylee carefully covered every lamppost and bulletin board in the city with posters. Each brochure featured a picture of Amanda as well as a strong call for information.
Amanda had fled her home two weeks before. She had no idea where she was and had turned off her phone. Kaylee ignored it at first as usual adolescent defiance, but as the days passed and Amanda did not appear, her concerns evolved to terror. She immediately alerted the police, who commenced a search.
Kaylee has been distributing flyers nonstop since Amanda disappeared in the hopes of discovering any leads. Her efforts had been ruined by the heavy rain the day before, so she had to start over. She fought back tears as she securely affixed the final flyer to a phone pole, fatigued yet unflappable.
Kaylee noticed her neighbor Angela prepping for a garage sale as she drove home. The yard was decorated with brightly colored signs and other things. Kaylee heard Angela call out to her, inviting her to approach. Kaylee hesitantly agreed at first, believing that the diversion would be beneficial.
Kaylee felt remote and empty as she walked around Angela’s yard. She was aimlessly glancing through the items when she spotted a jacket. Amanda’s jacket was on it. Her heart raced as she clutched the jacket and begged Angela to divulge its source. Surprised, Angela admitted that she had purchased it from a secondhand store near the bus stop. Kaylee dashed to the store, desperate for answers.
When Kaylee showed the vendor Amanda’s jacket in the store, she was able to recall a girl who resembled Amanda. He said that she needed the money for a bus ticket, which is why they had disagreed on the price. Kaylee proceeded to the bus station without any other information and presented the personnel Amanda’s photo, but no one remembered seeing her.
Kaylee sat on a seat, holding Amanda’s jacket and feeling disappointed. In one of her pockets, she found a slip of paper with an address on it. Amanda’s biological mother lived in a nearby town, as indicated by her address. Kaylee was determined and drove to the place.
When she arrived, a messy-looking woman answered the door. Despite Amanda’s visit, the woman confirmed that she had already left. Kaylee, heartbroken, headed to the neighborhood police station in the hopes of finding more. She noticed a girl sitting on the porch of an abandoned house while traveling. Amanda was there.
Amanda jumped into Kaylee’s arms as she rushed towards her. Amanda clarified that she had been living at the abandoned house because she was unable to reach her mother. She was scared Kaylee might not want to pay her a visit because her phone had been taken. Kaylee reassured Amanda of her unwavering love, and they both apologized for their errors.
They walked back to the car together, clutching one other tightly. They were relieved and hopeful that they had found one another and were on their way home, despite the fact that it was pouring outside.
