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The rescue operation is still ongoing. This is the third day of the search for a family missing in the mountains, and the second since there has been no contact with one of the rescuers. On top of all this, a storm is approaching which is extremely risky in the mountains and the search operation will have to be stopped.
The reporter's voice echoed in the dark room of the small mountain house. It was all decorated with lights, as they both liked the atmosphere they gave off, even though they might seem kitschy. It was enough to look out the half-frozen window to see the mountain range. The woman felt like she could see the lights of a helicopter trying to find her missing family. Somewhere out there, among the rescuers, was her fiancé.
Once again, Wen Qing walked to the kitchen, turning on the lights by the porch exit. She wanted the house to be clearly visible, though she knew it would be hard to miss the colorful lights hanging from the roof. She was worried. They hadn't given details of the rescuer who had gone missing, which could indicate that the rescue group hadn't yet crossed him off. However, somewhere out there was Nie Mingjue.
'Don't worry, I should make it in time for dinner. I love you, QingQing'
His words still echoed in her head, taking on a farewell tone with each passing moment. She wasn't going to cry when she was still unsure. Until it was clear which rescuer was missing, she shouldn't think of him that way. However, the pain in her chest was growing, as was the bad feeling. Wen Qing felt sorry for the relatives of the missing family. She didn't know why they had gone to the mountains at this time of year, whether they hadn't checked the weather or had been caught off guard by it, but it didn't change the fact that somewhere their loved ones were convinced they would never see each other again.
She rose from the rug she was sitting on by the fireplace to approach the window. Christmas... Many people were certainly rejoicing at the moment, giving gifts, some perhaps eating apples prepared in various ways. She herself had caramel apples and bunnies made from them ready. She knew how childish it might have seemed, but she associated such sliced fruit with Nie Mingjue.
Wen Qing shuddered when the phone rang. Her heart, so far beating in terror, froze as soon as she realized that the commander of the unit to which her partner belonged was calling her. For a long moment, the cabin was silent as she received words of support right after the relayed information that it was Nie Mingjue who was missing. The pain in her chest only grew and she herself didn't know when, she settled to her knees on the floor as she turned off the news.
This is my winter song. December never felt so wrong, cause you're not where you belong; inside my arms.
A quiet melody came from the kitchen radio, and though she wanted to turn it off, to sink into the silence, the sound of the song lulled her. She let the tears roll down her cheeks, biting her lip with all her might. This couldn't be true. It couldn't... It wasn't.
The commander of the rescue group, not much after making a phone call to Nie Mingjue's partner, ordered the men out once again to search. He ordered a change of helicopter, which needed to refuel. The man was not going to let the loved ones of the missing go without seeing them. He wasn't naïve; he knew that after three days of searching, people could be in severe hypothermia, if they found any place to take shelter, or already be dead. But he believed that perhaps Nie Mingjue had managed to find them, that perhaps they were still salvageable and transportable to the hospital.
The man unfolded a map on which they had marked the area that the rescuer had searched before they broke off contact. This part of the mountain was known for its many caves that were now covered in snow. There was a chance that he had hidden in one of them, but they were slowly running out of time. Another group set off, hoping to find their man. They combed the marked area piece by piece, soon supported by a helicopter that illuminated the mountainside.
"I think I see the cave entrance" Nie Zonghui's voice rang out in the walkie-talkie held by the commander. Nothing could be heard for a moment as the rescuer climbed cautiously towards the entrance he had spotted earlier. It wasn't huge, in fact, it looked like someone had tried to dig a hole in the snow from the inside. No one tried to overjoy at the discovery, though reporters who heard the walkie-talkie began to cover more events, coloring the story.
"I found them. I found them! Have the helicopter come as close as possible, the woman and child are in serious condition, hypothermia. The father probably has frostbite, but I don't want to undress them here, he's complaining of a lack of feeling in a few fingers though" the next words came from the walkie-talkie and although everyone was happy to find the family, although the next steps were taken, one could sense the tense atmosphere. There was still no news about the missing rescuer. Suddenly, the walkie-talkie crackled again.
"If any of you have called Wen Qing, you'd better figure out how to undo this," a weak voice reached everyone, drowned out after a moment by applause and sighs of relief. The reporters were reporting that the operation had been successful, that everyone had been found, but that Wen Qing had not heard.
She lay on the couch, covered with a blanket, staring into the void. The words of a song were still ringing in her ears, though it had long since finished playing. She held the phone in her hand, again and again trying to call Nie Mingjue, staring at his picture. A slight smile formed at the corner of his mouth, despite his brows furrowed angrily. She twitched when she heard the doorbell - loud, unbearable, pressed by someone impatiently. She walked to the door, only to become immobile when it opened.
The woman saw Nie Zonghui who was clearly worried, she saw the squad leader who started to say something, but they were not the ones her dark gaze focused on. She clenched her fingers tighter on the phone she was still holding, from which came the voice of the answering machine, informing her that the subscriber is out of range.
"I lost my phone during the search," he said quietly, breaking into a brief coughing fit. Nie Zonghui immediately began to explain what had happened and what they should do next to raise his temperature, as well as when to go to the hospital for a check-up since his cousin insisted on going home first, but no one was listening. Wen Qing hugged Nie Mingjue tightly, who cuddled his face into her hair, apologizing quietly. Tears from her cheeks soaked into the blanket the man was wrapped in. They celebrated this evening among the blankets, warming themselves with hot tea with ginger and lemon, enjoying their presence.