She waited for 20 years

Chapter One: The Promise

Victoria was a bright, playful five-year-old girl with beautiful ocean-blue eyes and short, thick black hair. She was clever, energetic, and always seemed to have a smile waiting on her lips.

That afternoon, she and her best friend, David, were running around the park, playing their favorite game-tag.

"You can't catch me, David!" Victoria shouted between fits of laughter as she sprinted across the grass.

David chased after her, already exhausted.

"Wait up, Victoria!" he called breathlessly.

But Victoria only laughed harder and ran faster.

She was more energetic than David, and her long legs gave her an advantage.

"Slow down, Victoria!" David complained, trying desperately to catch up. Why does she have to be so fast? I'm exhausted.

Victoria glanced over her shoulder to see how far behind he was.

She laughed.

But she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

Suddenly, she bumped into something hard.

"Ouch!"

She lost her balance and fell onto the grass.

Victoria winced before looking up.

Standing over her was Mr. Zion, David's caretaker.

He was dressed in an expensive-looking suit, his neatly combed hair perfectly in place. He looked down at Victoria with concern before extending his hand.

"Are you all right, Miss Victoria?"

Victoria nodded and took his hand.

"I'm okay."

Before she could say anything else, David finally caught up.

"Tag! You're it!" he announced proudly, tapping her shoulder.

He immediately collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily.

"I finally caught you," he mumbled.

"Master David, you can't sit on the ground. You'll get your clothes dirty," Mr. Zion warned.

He gently pulled David to his feet.

"But I need to rest. I'm tired," David complained, attempting to sit down again.

Mr. Zion sighed and lifted him onto his back.

Victoria stared at them.

"Why are you carrying him? He's not a little baby," she complained, clearly annoyed that David had managed to tag her-and that Mr. Zion had interrupted their game.

"Miss Victoria, you know Master David isn't strong enough for this much running. I thought I told you before."

"But... he was the one who suggested playing!" Victoria lied.

She immediately gave David a warning look, silently telling him not to say anything.

Mr. Zion noticed.

"Oh, really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

He clearly knew Victoria wasn't telling the truth, but he decided not to argue.

"I'm taking Master David home. He has lessons to attend."

"What? Lessons?" Victoria frowned. "Why now? We haven't even played that much! We only ran around!"

"Master David has a busy schedule."

Victoria kicked at the sand.

"You know he's not allowed to play here without permission. His father isn't even aware that he's been coming here."