My Life For You [On hold]

Eight - Memories

A touch of faint red slowly appeared in our sight, clearer and wider as we moved forward. Steps stopped at the edge of that red, I crouched down and waved away the fog. A dark red bloom filled my sight. Pupils constricted, I looked at it with disbelief.

In the legend, that said to be only be seen at the junction of life and death, feeds on thoughts of people after death...

Red spider lily.

......

As if it sensed my presence, the colour of the bloom slowly coated with a layer of bright red, like it just been immersed in fresh blood. It's beautiful...... I've never seen such gorgeous flower, my mind just went blank, never realised my hand reached out for the flower.

"Don't!" A deep yet panicked voice rang behind me, but it was too late, the moment my hand touched the petal, I just could sensed his warm hand grabbed on mine, and was then immersed into the dark.

------

Directionless, walked in the dark......

Noisy, voices mumbling everywhere, couldn't get a word from neither of them......

Pace became slow, palms held on my ears, trying to cover them from the piercing sounds around. 

"When will these end!?" I groaned, as the pounding pain in my head getting stronger. If still so, I'm pretty sure I will be torture into death because of these irritating voices.

A rang of bell drove them away in a split seconds just after my cursing thought.

"There......" An old man's low voice sounded, it's not coming from anywhere, but in my head, like he had passed his words with our brain connection. This is weird, but at that time I was not able to think thoroughly, just simply followed the sound and headed to where I think it could be.

------

"Take care of him...... Please......"

With a bright white light, a scene appeared. A hut, old hut I guess. Cracking woods everywhere, the floor, the wall...... Icy wind gushing in through the crack holes on the wall, even the fireplace couldn't hold the cold attack, fire getting smaller and smaller.

A women laying on a small bed, no mattress, but just a thin layer of bamboo straw mat under her skinny shape. And a comforter on her, which is an essential thing to keep warm in a cold day, but not for her because she trembled visibly before my eyes. 

Her hand raised feebly towards the man who was standing beside. He quickly held onto the women's hand as a respond, slightly bend down his waist. 

"I will." He said, with a low voice. She nodded gratefully, cloudy eyes moved to a corner, called, "Xiao guan......"

Just then I realised at the room corner on my left side, standing a boy, in an age around five or six.

The boy slowly walked to her, hands held onto her when the man stepped back. 

"I'm sorry, my boy......" She whispered, tears started to form in her emotional eyes filled with unwilling and guilt. She kept repeating the same words, until her breath became weaker and weaker. 

"Live on, don't let the suffer bring you down...... " That was her last words, before the man injected a red liquid into her body. Slowly, her eyes closed, stopped breathing.

"Let's go." Shortly, the man said to the boy, but he hasn't respond to him. Hands still holding onto her, his hands were clenched so tight that the man couldn't separate them. 

"What did you gave her?" The boy finally responded, in cold tone. The man tensed, he replied in hesitation, "...... A drug, made from tibetan sea flower. That will let her die in peace." 

"No, you're lying. " The boy added up, "She's not dead. I can't leave her."

"How did you...... Nevermind, we must leave now, before they come," The man said, dragging the boy with him towards the door, "Someone will take care of her, I promised she will be fine."

The moment the door opened, bright light shone upon my eyes, scene changed.

Old hut, again, but different from the earlier one. Instead of tibetan, this one filled with ancient chinese atmosphere. Not much things in here, simple and crude will be the description of the hut. 

It was dim, and cold. 

With a light moan, I realised there was a boy laying in the bed. It's the same boy i met just now!

I rushed to him, reached out my hand to touch him and remembered that I couldn't touch him, nor talked to him. But then I saw his palm and wrist covered with bandage, with blood stain on it. 

My anger rose, as I recalled the man I met just now, his index and middle finger were longer, that was Zhang family's iconic characteristic. They must have took him to bloodletting!

"Wake up."

Don't know when, he sat up, staring at me with his emotionless eyes. 

"Wake up, before it's too late." He commended, seriously. I looked into his eyes, like a swirl landed on me, the sudden dizziness took away my perception.

Darkness has soon surrounded me......

...... [tbc.]