Chapter 17
Edward Quan ·
“Chen, I worried too much this time and put you to all this trouble. I'll buy you a drink another day to apologize.”
Mr. Zhang patted the officer beside us on the shoulder.
“It's all right, Mr. Zhang. Everyone being safe is the best possible outcome. Thanks for coming along tonight, you two.”
The young officer called Chen scratched his head and smiled honestly.
“Not at all. Safety comes first. Let's get back.”
The officer at the door removed the man's handcuffs as he spoke.
Freed, the man rubbed his wrists and gave me a smug look.
Mr. Zhang took Chen's hand.
“Chen, I need one more favor.”
“Take Yiyi and me home.”
“Sir, Yiyi's mother is right here. Why take her away?”
The man came into the room and stood beside “Mom.”
“Exactly.”
“Yiyi can stay with me.”
“You go on home.”
“Mom” chimed in.
“Today...”
“Whatever happens, I'm taking Yiyi.”
“If you insist on stopping me...”
“Go ahead and try.”
Until now, Mr. Zhang hadn't looked either of them in the face.
Now he fixed them with a hard stare.
His voice sounded calm, but it carried an authority no one wanted to defy.
Perhaps this was what people meant by someone commanding fear without showing anger.
“Mom” and the man exchanged a glance.
She turned back as if to speak.
But the moment she met Mr. Zhang's eyes, she lowered her head.
Not another word.
“Yes.”
“I want to go with Mr. Zhang and see Grandma.”
“Please take me, Officer.”
I hurried to support him.
“Well...”
“Mr. Zhang...”
“I don't have the authority to take a girl away from her own mother.”
Chen looked awkwardly at him.
“Officer Chen.”
“I want to see my grandma.”
“She was so worried about me that she's still unconscious in bed.”
“I have to go back.”
I took his hand and used Grandma as my reason.
Besides, I really was terribly worried about her.
“Well...”
He was deeply uncomfortable.
He looked at me.
Then at “Mom.”
“If Yiyi's mother agrees, we can take you.”
The officer by the door spoke.
“She won't object.”
Mr. Zhang ignored everyone else and went to the corner.
He took out a black cloth bag and laid it over the little ghost on the floor.
A moment later, the boy vanished.
Mr. Zhang slung the bag over his arm and came back.
“Let's go, Yiyi.”
He took my hand and led me outside.
The three officers stood there, at a loss.
As we passed the man and “Mom,” the man leaned toward me and whispered, “We'll see each other again soon.”
Neither of us answered.
We simply walked out.
When “Mom” made no attempt to stop us, the police followed.
Chen drove Mr. Zhang and me home.
The other two officers returned to the station.
Neither of us spoke on the way.
Mr. Zhang quietly watched the view beyond the car window.
I couldn't see his expression.
But I knew how much he was hurting.
“Mr. Zhang...”
“I'm sorry.”
“I acted without thinking...”
“And the little ghost...”
My apology was barely audible.
“Wenwen...”
“He's a very unfortunate child...”
Mr. Zhang sighed.
He said nothing more.
So Wenwen was the little ghost's name.
As sweet as he was.
A name that made you want to love him.
When we reached Mr. Zhang's house, Chen left.
I followed him into the courtyard.
There were so many things I wanted to ask.
So much I wanted to tell him.
And far more apologies I wanted to make.
But looking at his slightly stooped back, I didn't know how to begin.
He went straight to the little ghost's room.
He turned on the light and set the black bag on the bed.
After a moment, the boy appeared there.
His eyes were closed.
He lay quietly.
His right arm was completely transparent.
A large piece was missing from his neck.
There wasn't an intact place left on him.
What frightened me most was that before, though his body had been a little hazy, he'd still clearly looked human.
Now he didn't.
His whole body was becoming more and more transparent.
As if he were about to disappear.
“Mr. Zhang...”
“Little Ghost...”
“He was trying to save me...”
“Mr. Zhang...”
“I'm sorry...”
“Please save him...”
“Please...”
Sobs broke through every word.
Seeing Wenwen like that, I fell apart.
I cried so hard I could barely make sense.
“Ah...”
“You foolish little boy...”
Mr. Zhang's voice caught too.
“Sis...”
“Grandpa...”
The boy slowly opened his eyes.
He looked at us and smiled brightly.
“Little Ghost!”
“You're awake!”
I immediately crouched beside the bed and reached to take his hand.
But my fingers met empty air.
Only then did I remember.
His arm was gone.
I started crying again.
“I'm sorry...”
“I'm sorry...”
“Little Ghost...”
“I'm so sorry.”
“It's okay, Sis.”
“It doesn't hurt.”
“Seeing you safe...”
“Makes me happy.”
Wenwen grinned.
His two adorable dimples appeared again.
“Grandpa.”
“Don't blame her.”
“In eight years...”
“She was the first person who made me feel...”
“That I really existed in this world.”
“Even though you're with me every day.”
“I'm always shut in this dark room.”
“I'd never talked to anyone...”
“Except you.”
“I knew I was different.”
“But I never understood...”
“What I was.”
“Every day, I only had this dark room.”
“Sometimes I had you.”
“But I'd never seen the world outside.”
“I didn't have friends.”
“I always thought...”
“Maybe I was only something you imagined.”
“Until she came.”
“Then I felt...”
“So...”
“I really do exist.”
“That feeling...”
“Was wonderful.”
Mr. Zhang gave a heavy sigh.
“Little Ghost...”
“No...”
“Wenwen.”
“You have to hang on.”
“I'll come and play with you every day.”
“Be good and get better.”
I wiped my tears and forced a smile to encourage him.
“Okay...”
“Sis...”
“You have to keep your promise...”
“Tell me...”
“Lots and lots about the world outside...”
His voice grew quieter.
His smile faded.
Before he could finish, his eyes closed again.
“Wenwen!”
22. Playing Games
“Wenwen... I met him eight years ago.”
“I was walking by the river that day. It was already dark, and there weren't many people left.”
“I saw him sitting alone on the bank from a distance.”
“When I got closer, I realized he was only a remnant of a soul.”
“I asked him a few things.”
“He was waiting for his mother to come and get him.”
“I felt sorry for him, so I brought him home.”
“If I hadn't taken him that day...”
“He would've disappeared completely when the sun came up.”
“Over the next few days, I kept going back there and asking around.”
“I heard a child had drowned.”
“But no one ever came to claim the body.”
“His family...”
“How could they be so heartless?”
“Since then, I've kept him here.”
Sitting by the bed, Mr. Zhang recalled the past and reached to stroke the boy's head.
But his hand couldn't touch it.
It passed straight through.
Wenwen's whole body was transparent now.
Lying on the bed, he looked like an image cast by a projector.
“...Didn't you try to find his family afterward?”
“He must have missed them.”
“The day after he came home with me, I asked him.”
“But he wouldn't say anything.”
“Perhaps...”
“They'd hurt him so much that he couldn't face it anymore.”
“All right.”
“Go to bed.”
“These past few days have worn you out too.”
Mr. Zhang rose from the chair and went out.
I looked back at Wenwen lying on the bed.
My nose stung.
My eyes reddened again.
It felt as if someone were crushing my heart.
“Mr. Zhang...”
“I'm sorry.”
“It's my fault he's hurt.”
I followed him, speaking in a tiny voice.
Since we'd returned, I'd said “I'm sorry” more times than I could count.
I knew apologies couldn't change anything.
But if I didn't say it, I felt I couldn't breathe.
The guilt would drive me mad.