Twenty-seven

A ray of sunlight fell across Xian Xiaoya’s face, warming her eyelids until she finally opened her eyes. She realized that her cheek was pressed against a pane of transparent glass, and the light was shining directly onto her skin. She felt herself swaying, in motion—the light was sometimes blocked by passing obstacles. She was in a car, traveling along a road, and from her seat inside, she watched as tall trees and buildings slid past, making the sunlight flicker and fade. She must have dozed off on the back seat.

Where was she? Where were they headed? Why was she in the car? What had happened before this? She couldn’t remember. Beside her, a voice was calling...

“Jie, wake up. We’re here.”

She rubbed her eyes and saw Xiao Hao sitting next to her.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“We’re going to the suburbs to look at an apartment,” her younger brother replied.

Suddenly, a voice from the front seat chimed in, “Did you get muddled from sleeping? I told you when you got in to pay attention. You’ll have to find your own way home later—if you can’t remember the route, it’ll be a problem.” The voice was familiar; she could see in the rearview mirror that it was Xian Shiqiang. Of course—her father was worried she’d sleep through the ride and not know the way back.

A sudden, needle-sharp pain shot through Xiaoya’s head, but it quickly faded.

“It’s no trouble. I’ll have time later—I can drive you both home,” another voice said.

Xiaoya glanced at the front mirror. It was Mrs. Lin driving—not Miss Lin, as she had almost thought. Why had she confused her identity?

“Oh, is that so? That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Lin,” Xian Shiqiang replied, relieved.

“It’s nothing, really. We’re neighbors, after all. I need to head back soon anyway,” Mrs. Lin answered with a cheerful smile as she drove.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lin,” Xiao Hao replied politely. He seemed more quick-witted and aware than usual, even courteous in a way that surprised Xiaoya.

“Don’t mention it.” Mrs. Lin’s tone was unusually warm. Xiaoya didn’t recall her ever being so friendly.

Xiaoya felt bewildered. She couldn’t remember what had happened before. What was wrong with her? It seemed she’d forgotten something very important, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall. She shook her head, feeling slightly dizzy without knowing why.

“What apartment are we looking at?” she whispered to Xiao Hao, not wanting their father to overhear—she couldn’t even remember what they were supposed to be doing.

Xiao Hao stared at her, surprised. “We’re here to look at the government-subsidized apartment Dad applied for! We can finally collect the keys. Not everyone qualifies for this—our family does. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten even that?”

“I remember. I was just half-asleep, that’s all,” she replied, covering her confusion.

“Oh, I see.”

“Keep your voice down, please. I heard you,” she added, still worried her father would scold her for forgetting something so important.

“They called us to view the apartment so quickly! The rent’s really cheap, too. Isn’t that great, Jie?”

Was it true? She had absolutely no memory of it. Had their family applied for this? She couldn’t recall a thing. “Yes, it’s wonderful,” she managed.

“Jie, what’s wrong with you today? You’re acting like you’ve lost your memory,” Xiao Hao observed, surprisingly sharp. His logic was clear, his gaze lucid. He hadn’t seemed like this before—had he? Xiaoya doubted herself but couldn’t pinpoint what felt different.

After a while, the car turned into a pretty nice residential complex. The landscaping was beautiful, the buildings all new and spacious—at least a dozen towers clustered together. Mrs. Lin dropped them off and went to park the car.

Both Xian Shiqiang and Xiao Hao looked happy, thrilled with the prospect of a new home.

“Come on, Jie, let’s go see which unit we got!”

“Alright,” she replied, still dazed.

The three of them headed into the property management lobby, where there was a department dedicated to distributing keys. They were told they could choose from three different units with varying orientations. A staff member led them to view the apartments—a man who seemed strangely familiar to Xiaoya, though she couldn’t quite place him. He walked quickly, and she struggled to keep up, always a step behind, while her father and brother had no trouble.

Her head spun again; she couldn’t seem to see the path ahead clearly. Oddly, the guide didn’t take them to the elevator—why were they climbing stairs when there should have been an elevator? They quickly ascended the first floor, then the second, then the third—higher and higher. The guide moved especially fast, her father close behind, followed by Xiao Hao.

“Don’t be so quick, slow down,” Xiaoya called to Xiao Hao.

“Hurry up, or the good units will be gone!” he replied, and she had to admit he made sense. But since when was he so logical?

And her father—was he always this energetic? She couldn’t remember... what had he been like before? She simply couldn’t recall, the dizziness clouding her mind.

She shook her head to clear it, but the confusion persisted. How many floors had they climbed? Why hadn’t they arrived yet? She glanced down and saw the spiraling staircase below, level after level—she couldn’t tell how high she was. Looking up, she realized the three ahead had vanished. How could they have moved so fast? She had to find them.

She climbed one more flight, but still saw no sign of them. Exhausted, she didn’t want to go any further. She opened the door to the fire escape and entered the hallway.

There were eight apartments on this floor. At each door, she tried to open it, curious to see inside, but she didn’t have a key. Her family was nowhere to be found.

Undeterred, she tried several doors, all locked. When she reached the seventh, it opened—unexpectedly.

Peering inside, she found a modest apartment with two or three rooms. She walked to the innermost room, its door closed. Suddenly, she heard a faint, indistinct voice echoing in her ear—

“This way, open it, quickly, open it! Come back!”

The voice was barely audible, yet persistent, winding around her mind. It didn’t seem directed at her, and yet it was always there...

Compelled by curiosity, Xiaoya reached for the door handle of the inner room, wanting desperately to see what lay within. As her hand was about to touch it—

A hand landed on her shoulder, startling her. She turned around to see the guide.

“What are you doing here? This isn’t the right floor. Come with me,” he said, his tone stern, as if she’d offended him somehow. Xiaoya had no choice but to follow. The man looked exactly like Jason, although Xiaoya couldn’t remember who that was—only that she’d seen him somewhere.

“Stop wandering off. Keep up—I have plenty of other families to show around. You’re taking up all my time,” he muttered, and Xiaoya trailed after him.

This time, they didn’t take the stairs but headed for the elevator. Xiaoya felt annoyed—why hadn’t they used it before?

“So there’s an elevator after all.”

“The elevator doesn’t stop between the first and thirteenth floors. You have to reach the thirteenth by stairs before you can use it.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s out of order today—just for the lower floors. We can only use it from the thirteenth up.”

“Will it always be like this?”

“Of course not, just today.”

Relieved, Xiaoya followed him. After so many stairs, her dizziness worsened; everything became a blur, even the elevator’s buttons. Soon the elevator stopped.

The doors opened and they stepped out. Xiaoya had no idea what floor they were on, only that she had to follow him, her mind foggy.

The man led her to one of the units. “You have three different options. Your family is viewing the other two. Take a look at this one,” he said.

“Alright.” Xiaoya nodded and stepped inside.

“There’s a balcony—you should see it,” he suggested. She walked over and looked down from the balcony. It was dizzyingly high—what floor was this?

“What floor is this?” she asked, turning to him.

“You have to look down to see for yourself,” he replied.

Suddenly, she felt a powerful shove from behind. She was pitched forward over the balcony railing, then someone lifted her legs, and she screamed in terror, unable to grasp the rail. She was falling.

A scream tore from her throat—then everything went black.

The sensation of sunlight returned, warm against her face. She felt herself swaying in a moving space, as if traveling endlessly. She was so tired—however long she’d slept, it wasn’t enough. Groggy, she opened her eyes, the light so searing she could hardly see. She tried to focus, but the glare was blinding, burning hot. She realized she was in the car again—again? Why did it feel like again?

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside her—

“Jie, wake up. We’re here.”