Yanyin didn't wait for the doors to fully open. She squeezed through the gap and sprinted frantically toward the cell, the rest of us following closely.
"Uncle?!" she called out, her voice pitching up into an almost musical tone. "Uncle Zhenhao! I'm here! I came for you!"
We all held our breath, waiting for the joyous reply.
No voice answered.
Yanyin didn't seem to notice the silence. She reached the thick iron bars of the cell and immediately pushed up onto the tips of her toes, her small fingers curling tightly around the freezing cold iron as she eagerly peered inside the gloomy space. "Uncle, I-"
She stopped. The words died in her throat.
From where I stood behind her, it initially looked like mere hesitation. I assumed she simply hadn't spotted him in the heavy dimness of the cell.
She leaned further forward, pressing her soft cheek briefly against the rough bars, trying to change her angle to see deeper into the shadows of the enclosure.
