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墨書 Inktalez
Qiluo Ling She felt her body falling, as if she were descending into an unfathomable tubular space. Her body was constantly colliding and being compressed against the walls of the tube, and the speed of her descent was increasing, as if there were no end...
The fall finally stopped. She opened her eyes and found herself lying under a bright surgical light. Light was too dazzling. She felt a bit uncomfortable and turned to sit up.
Rubbing her eyes, she was astonished to see many people bustling around her. They were dressed in green sterilization gowns, wearing blue surgical caps, and their faces were covered by protective masks.
They were cutting skin, tying blood vessels, excising, repairing, cleaning wounds, and suturing... Every step was focused and meticulous, everything was orderly and precise.
Next to her, a tray filled with scalpels, hemostatic forceps, hammers, scissors, surgical blades, suction devices, gauze, bandages, and disinfectant saline was present.
Was this a surgery? How did she end up in a hospital?
Suddenly, she recalled fragments of her car accident. But she wasn't injured! She could still sit up.
She shouted loudly with all her might, but no one paid attention to her. Everyone seemed unable to hear her voice; they were all absorbed in the rescue efforts.
But who was the woman lying down? Who was the woman that the doctors were trying to save?
She turned to look and saw that the person on the operating table was also herself—her own pale face devoid of any color.
She suddenly realized that her body and soul felt as if they had been violently torn apart like tectonic plates during an earthquake. One part of her consciousness was suspended while the other part lay still.
Thinking of this made her feel immense fear. She tried to pull the two parts together, but it was incredibly difficult. No matter how hard she Pull Together, one part always floated while the other sank.
During this struggle, she felt excruciating pain; when separating the two parts brought her some pleasure, that pleasure was mixed with fear.
Then it dawned on her: if she allowed the two parts to completely separate, it would mean she would truly leave this world. In this process of her body and consciousness separating and reuniting, she felt utterly powerless.
In the end, she exerted all her willpower to tightly pull the two parts together one last time before finally giving up. No longer would she engage in futile efforts; separation would be separation—she could do nothing about it.
She paused for a moment, then groped her way off the bed. She felt unusually light as if her soul had shed its heavy shell and was drifting like a shadow without boundaries.
She was amazed to discover that she could see everything; as long as she wanted to see, she could see anything. No object could obstruct her line of sight. Even in the operating room, she could see the anxious faces of those waiting for news outside, and she could also see the gurney being wheeled down the hallway with a hissing sound.
But sadly, no one could see her. She felt like a feather drifting aimlessly, able to pass through the bodies of many people.
She slowly walked out of the emergency room and sat on the cold plastic chair in the hallway, sorrowfully watching the bustling world in front of her.
She looked at them as if two worlds were gazing at each other from afar. Which world did she belong to now? Somewhere between heaven and earth?
Am I dead? Am I about to leave this world? Am I supposed to wait for the guide at this moment?
The thought of leaving this world, of departing from her parents and loved ones, made her feel particularly distressed. At that moment, she could see her parents cleaning their home, with colorful gift boxes wrapped in decorative paper on the coffee table in the living room. She also saw Gu Tianye in a white coat, answering a phone call in the hospital corridor.
Just as she was engulfed in infinite sadness, suddenly she heard a beautiful and melodious piano sound that unconsciously drew her in. She had never heard such enchanting music before.
The piano music came from a distance; it was as if she were enchanted, leading her out of the hospital and toward the sound, which originated from an old building.
The sign outside the building read "62 Changyang Road, Hongkou District." It was a tall three-story structure with a red-topped archway.
The building was designed in the Baroque style, with azure brick walls. Each floor was separated by red brick bands, and the ground floor featured white arches adorned with a black hexagram. This hexagram seemed familiar to her; she felt like she had seen it somewhere but couldn't recall where.
She slowly tilted her head back and noticed prominent white crosses atop each spire.
It turned out to be a church. The beautiful piano music was coming from the second floor.
The intricately designed iron doors of the church were wide open, and she walked inside.
The first floor was a chapel, with long benches arranged neatly. Strangely, there were no religious idols or portraits anywhere in the hall.
On the left side of the chapel was a coffee-colored wooden door. Following the wooden staircase, she ascended to the second floor.
The second floor was a spacious corridor. In one corner of the corridor stood a black grand piano, where a man was deeply engrossed in playing music.
He wore a black suit, with a white shirt underneath, as if he were an inseparable part of a black-and-white piano.
He closed his eyes and played as if no one else were around. The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the open window, casting a golden hue over the man.
The piece was hauntingly beautiful, the piano's melody telling a story. In a daze, she recalled all her best times, the brightest moments, and the initial appearances, all flowing back to her slowly.
The music also conveyed a sense of melancholy; after countless experiences, it reflected on how time clarified the heart's traces, or how, when separated by vast seas, it settled all tumultuous waves.
She should be familiar with this piece since the corridor was empty, and it seemed to be played for her. But why had she never heard this piece before? Not even in her dreams. Yet she was certain that this piece was too beautiful, as if it were like… like the Devil's Piano Melody.
She suddenly startled, her consciousness as transparent as air. Why was she here? Why was he playing the piano here?
The Man in Black pressed the final note, and the last vibrations of the piano slowly spread through the air, gradually fading from her awareness.
He waited for a long time before opening his eyes.
He seemed to sense someone behind him and slightly turned his face to quietly look at her.
His eyes and hair were black, his skin as white as paper, but he had a pair of melancholic eyes that were sorrowful like lost time.
She wanted to speak but found that her vocal cords could not produce any sound, as if language had lost its function under his music.
"You must be wondering where this place is and why you are here. Actually, I am playing the piano here while waiting for someone. Waiting for a lover who appreciates my music," he said softly, his voice clear and pleasant.
"This piece is called Devil's Sorrow," he continued.
"You came here following the music, didn't you? But the person I am waiting for is not you; it is another woman. Although you resemble her on the outside. But since you are here, I will pass my music to you, even though you are not the one I am waiting for."
"You must be curious about who I am? My name is Ebenezer, Jew, twenty-five years old. I started playing the piano at a young age and was born into a family of pianists. My father was a piano musician, and my mother excelled at the violin. We lived in Poland until 1939 when Poland fell into the hands of Germany. During the Holocaust implemented by the German Army, only a few Jew from Poland managed to escape. Our family was fortunate; we tried to flee to America or Canada with fellow refugees but were forced to travel through Siberia and ended up in Kobe, Japan. When rejected by the Japanese government, we arrived here in Shanghai, China. At that time, Shanghai was the only city in the world that did not require an entry visa or property guarantee, thus becoming our place of settlement."
Qi Luoling suddenly realized why the hexagram on the arch looked so familiar; it was the Star of David, which is also the symbol on the National Flag of Israel. This church must be a Synagogue, and the sacred text of Judaism is the Old Testament. They do not worship idols, which is why there are no idol portraits or sculptures inside the church.
"By the way, I told you earlier that the person I'm waiting for is not you; I am waiting for my lover. Do you live in China?"
She nodded.
"My lover, like you, also lives in China, but she is of Korean descent. After Japan invaded the Korean Peninsula and implemented colonial rule, she and her family escaped here. That’s how we met and fell in love in Shanghai."
She was stunned.
He stood up from the stool, walked in front of her, gazed at her for a long time, and then smiled as he said, "No matter what, I am now handing this piece of Devil's Music to you, so you must go back! Your life has just begun. You have a new mission, just like me; you have been chosen by the demon to pass this piece on."
She shook her head.
"The bell of fate has already tolled; there is no turning back for you."
With that, the Man in Black and the black piano disappeared.
But the beautiful melody echoed once more in the empty corridor. The dusk grew thicker, and the sunset gradually faded. For a long time, the sound of the piano slowly dissipated. The surroundings finally fell silent.
In the end, a bright white light appeared and enveloped her...
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