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Ethereal Goddess Benefactor Unrequited Love Cure
墨書 Inktalez
She had no name, no birthday, and she didn't even know what she looked like.
It was the Mute Mother who picked her out of the garbage heap. Mute Mother was a fool; she only knew how to collect the leftovers that people discarded, living a life with meals that were often scarce. She had no name, and no one ever called her anything. She was clever; she could see beggars squatting on the ground and knew they could get food and money from people's charity. She had been begging since she was two years old. At that time, the beggars nearby saw her as too young and pitiful, allowing her to crouch with her eyes downcast in front of a broken Porcelain Bowl. As she grew older, by the time she was five, the money she begged for was often taken by other beggars. She was smart; she smiled at them friendly and willingly handed over her money each day. Of course, they would leave her some for living expenses, along with what she carefully hid in her pockets.
Thus, she and her Mute Mother lived year after year.
However, this winter was long and cold. They lived under the stairs next to a basement in a building, without blankets, only thin old clothes salvaged from the garbage. That night, the wind was strong; Mute Mother held her close. She could feel her warmth, still carrying the familiar smell of leftover food. She took a deep breath to smell it because she felt a bit hungry.
When she woke up in the middle of the night, she was really hungry and thirsty. She wanted to go outside into the snow to eat some snow. She stepped outside barefoot onto a thick layer of ice. The ground had been dry when she went to sleep; how could there be ice now? She wanted to wake up Mute Mother to let her know there was ice outside, but the tattered clothes under Mute Mother were already frozen, with tiny shards of ice on top. She walked ahead to take a look and found that a water pipe had burst, causing water to flow out and freeze on the ground.
She stuck out her tongue and licked the unfrozen water; it didn't taste good; water from this pipe always tasted a bit strange. She took their broken Porcelain Bowl, which was also what she usually used to collect money, and filled it with some water. She wanted to give it to Mute Mother, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wake her.
Mute Mother felt cold; she carefully set the Porcelain Bowl aside and wrapped her warm little body around Mute Mother. But Mute Mother still had no warmth at all.
She didn't understand what was happening; she should only be seven years old. This was what Grandpa Zhang who lived under the bridge told her because he had seen her begging for five years. At first, she had been so small, just like his little granddaughter when he got kicked out. She thought of Grandpa Zhang, who would never take money from her Porcelain Bowl. He would occasionally bring her some steamed buns that were white and fragrant. Grandpa Zhang always said he was clever; he claimed his son was just as clever and had become an important official now. She had never seen Grandpa Zhang's son, but she felt that he must not be like him. Each time, she would save one bun for Grandpa Zhang, one for Mute Mother, and keep one for herself.
When she found Grandpa Zhang, he was curled up under the bridge. He was very clever; that spot was the only place in the entire bridge where the cold wind couldn't reach. Grandpa Zhang often said he was smart and that his son was just as smart as him and had become a big official now. She had never met Grandpa Zhang's son but thought he must not be like him. She brought Grandpa Zhang over to where Mute Mother lay; after looking at her, he said that Mute Mother was dead. Then he dragged Mute Mother away.
She didn't understand what death meant; Grandpa Zhang didn't tell her anything. She just chased after him barefoot because wherever Mute Mother went, she wanted to be there too.
But as she walked along, everything around her turned white and bright after a flash of light. There was nothing—endless white. There were no footprints from Grandpa Zhang, nor any path back from where she came.
She looked carefully around, confirming that she had arrived in a place she had never been before.
She started walking forward, as Grandpa Zhang and Mute Mother were just ahead of her. She would surely find them as she walked along.
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