Hernia in itself was a bitch, but at least it was over and done. It had come back, his old nemesis, and Roman had had surgery. He missed the ring badly, but it hadn't been all too bad getting a well deserved break from wrestling. He was about to start training again, and he would be back inside the ring in no time.

He had grown quite fond of this spot on the beach. No one came here. The old, big sewer pipe that led out in the ocean was enough to keep people away. Most people found it ugly, or was scared it might smell. To Roman it had become his own little slice of heaven where he went to be alone, enjoy the beauty of the ocean, and just take a mental step back.

He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. The ocean waves and the occasional seagull making its presence known was all he could hear. And then he felt eyes on him. He swallowed down the bite and slowly turned around. There by the edge of the sewer pipe, still standing inside of it, was a woman. And not just any woman. He knew exactly who she was.

She had been all over the news the last three days. She had been on the news here and there the last 15 years whenever they tried poking into that old case again, but it had blown up again the last three days, just like it had blown up 15 years ago when she disappeared.

Meadow Branch, 13 years old, disappeared from home.

The lead suspect had been a neighbor. Harvey Olson. He was a weird man whose eyes always lingered on the young girl. Every neighbor on the street told the police how they would see him watching her. He wasn't even discrete about it.

Of course he had denied everything. His lawyer was there every time. Harvey wasn't stupid. And then the police finally got the search warrant. It didn't take long for them to find a pair of panties that Meadow's mother swore belonged to Meadow. They had to run tests on them first to look for DNA. That night Harvey disappeared too and was never seen since.

The panties had of course been Meadow's. Her DNA was inside. Searching his house again, they found some of her belongings hidden under a loose ceiling board. Jewelry, a teddybear, her diary. But Meadow was gone, and so was Harvey.

Her parents couldn't cope with the loss of their only child. They both started drinking heavily. Around a year later they were informed that the police had found a body that could be Meadow, and they were asked to come in and identify her. They never showed up. They were convinced it was their daughter, and it brought her father to insanity. He shot and killed her mother before pointing the gun at himself and committed suicide. They never learned the body was another poor girl. Someone who wasn't even from Florida. Her body had been transferred far and dumped there. Meadow was still lost.

It was around this time of year that the case would pop up on tv again. The anniversary of her disappearance. No one knew if she was dead or alive. Most people assumed she was dead, and that Harvey had fled the state. And then the bastard showed up three days ago, on the anniversary of all days. His appendix had been hours away from killing him, and the excruciating pain had made him seek help at the hospital. He had been in surgery, and was now chained to the hospital bed while he healed. He was officially under arrest.

Roman wasn't sure if he wanted the man dead or alive. It would have been karma if he had died on the anniversary, but he was still the only man who truly knew what happened to Meadow. Like everyone else, Roman wanted to know. He had only been 18 when she disappeared, but he remembered seeing her face all over the news. A beautiful, young teen. Her eyes were grass green which was why her parents named her Meadow. Her hair was strawberry blonde and long.

Her picture had been in the news again. Sort of. They had used a program to age her 15 years to show how she probably would look like. Since Harvey had been found after all these years, there was a renewed hope that she would be found too. And now Roman was looking right at her. Her hair was way too long and one big, felted mess. It probably hadn't seen a hairbrush in 15 years. She wore a dirty, knee long, blue and white floral dress, and she was bare footed.

She just stood there, looking at him. The moment was absurd. So many people had looked for her for 15 years, and there she was. She had found him. Not the other way around. He slowly made his way towards her. She seemed nervous and took a step backwards when he came close, and he stopped and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Roman," he said.
"I'm hungry," she eyed his sandwich.
"You can have it," he said.

He held the sandwich towards her while taking a few steps again until he was close enough for her to take it. Dirty fingers wrapped around the sandwich, and she brought it to her mouth to take a bite. She looked up in his eyes again while chewing.

"A lot of people are looking for you, Meadow," he said.

Her eyes widened in horror. She dropped the sandwich, spun around, and ran into the sewer pipe. He couldn't let her get away. That pipe led to too many places, and no one would be able to find her in there. He sprinted after her, following the sound of her breathing and running, turning corner after corner, getting deeper into a world he had never stepped foot in. If she got away now, he would be lost.

Suddenly everything lit up, and he was looking at what looked like some sort of homemade bedroom. There was a bed and a couple of small dressers. Thick candles burning all around to bring light to the place. Old teddybears and kids' toys were around as if she was still a young girl and not the woman she had grown into. Time stood still in this room. 13 year old Meadow Branch was living here.

"You live here?" He asked.
"Please," she whispered.

He hadn't noticed her pressing her back against the wall in fear. He was clearly scaring her. He put on his best smile and slowly walked towards her.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said.
"No one can know I'm here. He'll get so mad," she said.
"Who? Harvey?" He asked.
"He said he would be back soon. It's been three days. I'm so hungry," she said.
"You haven't eaten in three days?" He looked at her shocked. "Shit, Meadow! He's not coming back. They arrested his sorry ass. They're trying to make him tell them where you are. So many people think you're dead."

She shook her head no. He couldn't help but chuckle. Of course she wasn't dead. She was right in front of him.

"How did he manage to keep you here?" He asked

She turned her head to look at something, and his eyes followed in the direction. There was a chain in the wall connected with some sort of chain collar. He wondered if she had been wearing that collar for 15 years. She wasn't wearing it now though. If she had gotten out on her own, or if at some point during those 15 years she had been broken and brainwashed enough for her to start doing whatever Harvey wanted, he had no idea.

"Meadow, look at me," he said. "You need to get out of here. You need to come with me."
"Where?" She asked.
"The police," he answered.
"He'll kill me!" She looked scared.
"You're not listening, sweetheart. They got him. He's going away. I need you to come with me, so that everyone can know you're still alive. You coming forward will make sure he'll never get out of jail," he said.
"I don't understand," she said.
"You don't have to. You just have to trust me," he said.

She looked in his eyes again, taking a few seconds to think about it. He didn't wanna force her with him. He wanted her to trust him and take the step on her own.

"You have kind eyes," she finally said.

He smiled and held out his hand. She slowly took it and managed to smile back. The smile didn't reach her eyes, nor had he expected it to. 15 long years with her kidnapper in this place. No wonder her eyes looked so sad.

"You gotta lead the way back out. I'm lost," he said.

She nodded and started walking. He held on to her hand, feeling how well it fit in his. It really wasn't the right time or place to start getting weird feelings towards her. She was a stranger who had been forced into a cruel life. She did not need someone like him to start feeling stuff.

He sighed lowly and sent his mother a thought. She had warned him as a kid about love at first sight. He never thought it actually existed. Now that he started feeling like this, it really wasn't ideal. And it wasn't love. It couldn't be. She was beautiful, sexy and lost. That had to be it. She was lost, and he could be her hero, even though it was her escorting him out of the place.

Once out in broad daylight, she tightened her grip on his hand. She probably wasn't used to walking around like that in the daytime. He escorted her to his car and got her inside. He found some chocolate in his gloves compartment and gave it to her. She had dropped the sandwich, so this was all he could do to get something inside her. Three days without food. She had to be starving. She was through the chocolate before they reached the police station. She took his hand again as he walked her inside.

"Don't leave me," she pleaded.
"I won't," he promised.

Not even a minute later, everything went crazy. He hardly had the time to tell the woman at the counter that he was standing with Meadow Branch before they were being pulled apart. Meadow was escorted somewhere out in the back. He heard her cry his name when she lost sight of him. His heart broke in that moment. He wanted to run after her. Someone escorted him to another room where he gave his information and told the story about how he had found her. And then he was sent home. He wasn't allowed to see her or tell her goodbye.

It wasn't until that evening he heard her name again. She was all over the news, but this time it was the story about her being found. Reporters camped outside the police station and the hospital, dying to get the scoop or a photo of her. The police had been clever enough not to put the story forward until just before the early evening news, so no one actually knew where she was at that point. Only that she had been found.

Roman wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. His entire day had been turned upside down, and so many feelings were rushing through him. There had been something there, a connection he couldn't explain, and he suddenly felt so damn lost. Ironic. She had been lost for 15 years, and now it felt like she was the only one who could find him, and she didn't even know. She probably would never know. He probably would never see her again. And all he had left was her plea, and he was angry about the broken promise he had left her with. Because he had left her.