Dark clouds tumbled in the sky. It was only 2 PM, but the light was as dim as dusk. In the distance, cars had already turned on their headlights.
Yang Ruoning gently placed the two white roses in her hand on a coffin before her. She kissed the photo on the lid, then stepped aside, watching as the workers slowly lowered the coffin into the freshly dug grave. She scooped up a handful of earth and sprinkled it onto the coffin.
This was a family cemetery on the outskirts of Santa Ana, California, where her family rested. Eight years ago, she had buried her parents here, and now she had personally buried her younger brother. Everyone she loved had reunited in heaven, leaving her to live alone in this world.
Rumble, with a clap of thunder, the heavy rain finally poured down. The rain blurred her vision, but she simply stood before the newly erected tombstone, unable to distinguish whether the moisture on her face was rain or tears.
She truly detested rainy days.
Jason had passed away after being in a coma for five days. Kinsey said the autopsy report wouldn't be ready for a few more days.
These days, she had been buried in the tedious funeral arrangements, busy dealing with all the mourners. The busyness had numbed her temporarily. But when the crowd dispersed, the immense grief, like the pouring rain, almost engulfed her.
Before going home, she bought a whole case of alcohol from the convenience store on the corner, then locked herself in, spending days numbing herself with alcohol. The rotation of day and night held no meaning for her; she couldn't bear the flood-like sorrow and heartache that came with being sober. The pain was so intense she couldn't breathe, so intense she wanted to leave this world, but she couldn't. Dad and Mom were Christians, and suicide meant not going to heaven. Not going to heaven meant not being able to see them again. Although Yang Ruoning had no faith, even so, she didn't want to take the risk.
Ding dong, someone was ringing the doorbell. Muzzy, Yang Ruoning rolled over and ignored it. But the person seemed determined to get her to open the door, the doorbell ringing incessantly.
Annoyed, she got up and opened the door.
Kinsey stood outside.
"What are you doing here?"
"Yang, you need to see this," he said, handing her a tablet. The tablet displayed a photograph. "This was found in the camera you brought back. The memory card was severely damaged, this is the only photo we managed to recover."
The background was a blooming pink peach orchard, the sunlight so dazzling it cast a slight shadow on the people in front. But even so, she could tell the people in the photo were so happy and blissful. In the picture, a girl in a goose-yellow dress smiled, her face turned to the side as she looked up at Jason, and Jason looked back at her, his eyes filled with endless tenderness. Anyone could tell they were a loving couple.
Yang Ruoning instantly sobered up halfway. "So he wanted to find this girl in the photo?"
"It appears so."
"I'm going back!"
Compared to her hasty trip last time, Yang Ruoning made thorough preparations before setting out. Although so many things had happened since her return, delaying her for so long, she hadn't forgotten the little boy. She felt very sorry for the little fellow. Before leaving, she prepared all the kinds of candy she could buy for him. Then she took a Tiffany vase worth thousands of dollars from Kinsey, thinking it might fetch some money.
She found a chain and threaded the small wooden carving the little boy had given her, wearing it around her neck.
As she was about to finish packing her backpack, Kinsey shoved a box into her hands. Opening it, she found a handgun and a box of bullets. Yang Ruoning froze and looked at Kinsey.
Kinsey explained, "Just for self-defense. Of course, I hope you'll never have to use it."
Yang Ruoning thought about it and felt it made sense, so she stuffed the box into her backpack as well.
While traversing the wormhole, Yang Ruoning stood before those images for quite some time. She noticed that the largest display showing the emperor was completely different. In the image, the magnificent and resplendent palace seemed to be undergoing a solemn ceremony. A middle-aged man placed a crown embedded with pearls and jewels onto the head of a young man. The young man wore a magnificent black silk robe embroidered with golden dragons. He turned around and ascended the high dragon throne. Below the white jade steps, everyone prostrated themselves and cried out "Long live." Then, a woman in splendid attire slowly ascended the stone steps. She reached the man's feet, knelt, and the man placed a phoenix coronet on her head.
This was the coronation ceremony of the new emperor. Was there a new emperor? Yang Ruoning mused. Suddenly, the scene shifted to another room. The man in the black dragon robe placed a pot of wine on the table. Sitting beside the table was a young man in white. His clothes also seemed to be embroidered with golden dragons. The man took the pot of wine and drank it down in one gulp. Then the scene seemed to freeze, the two of them looking at each other in silence. Soon, a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of the white-clothed man's mouth, and he collapsed and died moments later.
"Is this what's happening there?" Yang Ruoning murmured upon seeing this. In any case, the affairs of the Chinese emperor seemed unrelated to her.
She wasted no more time and walked straight towards the door.
Behind the door was still the green, flat ground between the cliffs. The nameless white wildflowers were still blooming profusely. Stepping out of the mountain pass, she saw the small temple with its dark tiles and white walls at a glance. Yang Ruoning immediately walked towards the temple.
"Is anyone here?" she asked, pushing open the slightly ajar temple door.
The door to the left wing room opened, and a young monk she had never seen before emerged.
Seeing Yang Ruoning, he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, "May I ask the benefactor's business?"
"Ah, I've come to pick up a little boy who was staying here."
"This benefactor, our temple has not housed any little boys."
Hmm? Perhaps he was a new monk and didn't know? Yang Ruoning explained as she gestured, "Just a little boy, this tall, about six or seven years old. I asked an old monk at the temple to look after him for me more than ten days ago."
"Are you referring to Master Jingyan? He left on a pilgrimage three years ago. I have been living here for over ten years and have never seen any little boy."
"Ah? That's not right, I saw that old monk just two weeks ago." The conversation was baffling. She walked into the courtyard and shouted, "Little fellow—"
The monk suddenly remembered something and said, "I recall the Master mentioning before that a long time ago, this place had taken in a little boy. But that boy has long since passed away."
"No, you must be mistaken. I entrusted the little boy to that old monk just over ten days ago."
The monk was also somewhat confused. He continued, "Benefactor, the Master said that fifteen years ago, a female benefactor had asked him to take in a little boy, saying she would return in a few days. However, after waiting for several months, she never reappeared. One day, the little boy happened to go to the village to play, but the village suddenly caught fire, and the boy tragically perished."
Yang Ruoning shook her head, refusing to believe the monk. She had clearly left just over ten days ago, how could it be fifteen years? Unless… unless the passage of time in these two worlds was different. She suddenly realized something. Her body trembled violently, "Master, how much time has passed here since Yuanfeng Sixteenth Year?"
"It is now Yuanfeng Thirty-first Year, exactly fifteen years have passed."
I'm fifteen years late? Her stomach churned again. She thought of that thin little body and bright eyes, of the little boy who clutched her clothes tightly, refusing to let her leave. Her hands trembled involuntarily, her temples throbbed, her head felt like it was about to explode, and a wave of nausea surged from her stomach. She finally couldn't hold it in any longer and vomited with a whoosh.