HLM -Chapter 1291 Lost for Thirty Years

“This happened thirty years ago—exactly thirty years ago. I was twenty-eight at the time, a middle school teacher. My child, Chombert, was two years old, a cute little fellow who loved cats.”

“On Easter that year, I took him to watch the Easter parade, and then the unfortunate thing happened. The crowd was so dense, and somehow, I lost him.”

The old man recalled the past, his gaze deep and distant, tears slowly falling.

“My wife divorced me because of this. My life was over. So I resigned from my job and set out to look for him, taking along the cats he loved.”

Wang Bo said, “So now you still bring cats with you, hoping that one day when you meet him, he’ll be drawn to the cats, and then you’ll recognize each other, right?”

The old man wiped his tears and said, “Yes, that would be the most beautiful scenario. But the more real reason is that for thirty years, only the cats have been with me. They’ve become an indispensable part of my life, so I just kept raising them continuously.”

Wang Bo silently nodded. “I’m sorry for your pain.”

The old man smiled faintly. “I’ve told this story thousands of times already, so it doesn’t make me that sad. It’s just that you are a father too, and it reminds me of the days with my child—the chaos he put me through day after day.”

He raised his glass to Wang Bo: “I wish your child health and happiness, and I hope you cherish this life. It’s truly wonderful.”

Wang Bo drank the glass of wine and said, “I hope you find your child soon.”

The old man patted the cat in his arms. “I’ve come to terms with reality. Over the years, I’ve traveled across so much land, seen so many sights, and met so many people.”

“I want to say, losing a child is indeed unfortunate, but because of it, I’ve witnessed the strange and magnificent wonders of nature, experienced the mysterious and touching beauty of life. Even if I were to die tomorrow, I would have no regrets.”

He tapped his chest. “I have a clear conscience, child, and I’ve honored the life God gave me.”

Wang Bo said, “I really wish there were more people in the world as open-minded as you.”

The old man took another sip of liquor. “I actually wish there were fewer people like me in the world. I’m not sure everyone could survive the beginning of such misfortune.”

Wang Bo asked, “Then how did you get through it?”

The old man smiled at the sky. “I went through a rough period first—wandering, drinking, going mad. Then a storm came—a whirlwind passed by me. I watched everything the storm swept up, and I began to gain some insight.”

“I remember clearly, there were rabbits, eagles, mice, and other insects, beasts, and birds in the storm. They tried so hard to escape and survive.”

“But they didn’t make it. I thought the whirlwind would take me too. But I was lucky—it passed by me, took my backpack, yet I still stood there.”

Wang Bo exclaimed, “That’s truly legendary.”

The old man nodded. “Who says it’s not? I’ve told many people, but no one believed me—I saw God at the edge of the storm. God said to me: ‘Rex, my lost lamb, will you come to me so lost and aimless?’”

“I awakened, young man. I got through it. Since then, I’ve drunk a lot, but I’ve never been drunk. I’ve fallen many times, but never despaired. I’ve been searching for my child and also searching for God!”

Wang Bo couldn’t fully understand the latter part.

He wasn’t a Christian; he didn’t believe in God. But he believed that there must be forces in this world beyond human understanding—perhaps that was God.

For example, to him, the creator of The Heart of the Lord was God, and the one who entrusted it to him was also God.

These things are a bit mystical, so he decided to be practical. “You’ve been walking all this way to find your child—that’s impossible. How about this: let’s try the power of the internet. Maybe we can make some new discoveries.”

The old man asked in surprise, “What do you mean—you want to help me find my child?”

Wang Bo nodded. “Yes. Do you have photos of your child? Give me all the details from when he was lost, and I’ll try to mobilize our network.”

He could see that the old man had long given up hope of finding his child, but he wasn’t numb.

As a police officer, this matter was related to him, and he was willing to try.

In the old man’s tattered suitcase was a fairly well-preserved laptop bag, containing some photos, newspaper clippings from the time, and information provided by the police.

Wang Bo copied all the materials, then called over Kid and Elizabeth. “This gentleman lost his child. Let’s help him find him.”

Kid asked, “Is it his grandson or granddaughter?”

“No, it’s his son. Here’s the relevant information—materials from thirty years ago. You post them on our forum, on our official Twitter and Facebook, and mobilize our network to get this done.”

The two were stunned. “Boss, are you serious?”

“I’ve decided, as a father, to help another father. For you two, posting some information online is a trivial effort. For this father, it could determine whether he can live the rest of his life in peace,” Wang Bo said.

That afternoon, Elizabeth organized the materials and created a special section online.

Kidd contacted media outlets with connections to Sunset Town, asking them to follow and share the topic, to search for a child lost for thirty years.

Sunset Town had many followers, so the topic first exploded locally, with everyone in the town sharing the news on Twitter and social platforms.

Sharing missing person news on social media is common worldwide, including in New Zealand, but this case was different.

Rex had been searching for his son for thirty years, from a vigorous middle school teacher to a wandering man, enduring thirty years of storms without changing his heart, persevering all the way.

This story was compelling. Once the media learned of it, they immediately shared the story. Several newspapers even invited Rex for interviews.

Boxing champion Oakley, the Sunset Band that was popular across New Zealand, Oceania’s most famous young writer Hill, and the star Craig Parker, who became famous through Deadly Notes, all joined in.

With the town’s population as a base and the stars’ guidance, the entire country of New Zealand became captivated overnight by this child lost for thirty years.

Wang Bo never expected that a spontaneous idea of his would have such a massive impact.