LIKE the father who waited for his prodigal son, Aimun Nisha sits on her veranda every day keeping a lookout —hoping to see her 18-year-old daughter, who has been missing for the past six weeks, walk up the driveway of their Valebasoga home, outside Labasa Town.
Ms Nisha said since the disappearance of her daughter Azimun Nisha Khan, living without her had only brought anxiety and fear for her safety.
The family has pleaded with the public to assist in finding their daughter.
"My girl has been missing since the 30th of August — she was last seen leaving for town wearing a brown skirt and a multi-coloured top," said Ms Nisha.
"We then received a call from a man in Savusavu saying he was with my daughter and that we shouldn't worry about her since she was 18 years old.
"We had all the information received that day, we lodged with police but there has been no response from the police to update us on investigations or confirm that my daughter is safe and out of harm's way."
Ms Nisha said on numerous occasions they were told by police that Azimun was 18 and was of legal age to marry.
"It is their job to at least give me a feed back with the outcome of their investigation and tell me that my daughter's fine.
"This week we contacted the police station after receiving information that my daughter was found in Vunivau but we were told that they had no vehicle."
Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro denied the claims by the mother of the missing girl, saying: "Police have conducted checks at all places mentioned but all had negative results. Until today there still hasn't been any word of where she could be.
"All we can do is plead with the missing person to contact her parents as they are concerned about her safety. However, we are pursuing all leads that we get to locate the missing person," Ms Naisoro said.