命 格 孤 煞

She breathed out, her ears relaxing.

Beside the birdsong fluttering through the treetops and the gentle breezes stirring the greenery, the forest was quiet.

A shy yet sanguine voice rose amidst the birdsong, singing an unknown song.

Of course, this new sound stirred the sleeping dragon, an eye opening lazily to look at the singing girl.

The dragon sighed and closed her eyes, no longer provoked.

At the end of her little aria, the girl fell silent and, curiously, simply watched the dragon with a blush.

A draconian eye opened a few minutes later, watching the girl back. A yawn ensued, revealing long, carnivorous teeth.

The large creature got to its feet, sharp, sizeable claws extending into the earth and long, sweeping tail swinging behind.

The little vulpine girl instinctively stepped back, holding her breath as she gazed at the approaching dragon.

The dragon did not strike out, however, instead merely sitting in front of the girl and looking down at her.

“■■■,” the black dragon said in a remarkably familiar voice.

The girl blinked, wearing her surprise on her complexion.

“You have the voice of an angel,” the dragon said in a tongue the girl could comprehend.

The little girl blushed, hesitated, then stuttered back a “t-thank you,” bowing her black-haired head.

The girl then stood up a little straighter, looking back up into the dragon’s striking snow white eyes.

The next thing that happened the girl could not remember.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Everything was white in the eyes of ■■■■■■.

Until it wasn’t.

She was awakening, and she could feel again. She could feel the homely warmth of a fireplace, and the soft caress of a quilt enveloping her.

She realized she was turned onto her side and her small, dark-skinned hands peeked out from under the blanket.

She turned over to lay on her back, as her right ear was getting smooshed into the cotton-covered pillow. She gazed up at the ceiling, which was a blend of ruddy brick and timber joists. She shifted her gaze to the door across from the bed, which was propped open slightly. Yellowish light leaked out into the room from the open door. She could hear the muted clinking of glass from beyond the bedroom. Then, after a few minutes, it was quiet again.

The lady with dark skin and pointy black fox ears pulled off the quilt covers, moving out of the comfortable bed. Curiously, she didn’t feel so groggy. She did, however, feel… “hazy?” It was like there was fog in her head, and she wasn’t fully aware of the situation she was in. Yes, she knew she had just woken up from sleeping, presumably, and it was probably morning based on the yellowy sunlight coming from the other room, but she couldn’t figure out why she was here, in this quaint little place. Where had she been last? She couldn’t even recall. It really was worse, and more mysterious, than a hangover.

She opened the bedroom door slowly, carefully not to make a lot of noise. She adjusted her long black braids, expecting to come across someone else based on the noises she heard earlier.

There was a very little someone else that she saw lounging on the sofa in this other room, which seemed like a living room. It was a little, fair-skinned girl with golden locks, in a pair of pink pajamas, reading a book. She glanced up with bright hazel eyes from her reading as the fox-eared lady stepped into the room.

“Mom, you slept a long time,” she commented nonchalantly, eyes moving back to the book to resume her reading before she even finished her remark. She crossed her petite ankles on the couch cushions, shifting her lounging position a bit.

■■■■■■ felt a chill as she heard the word ‘Mom.’ Almost like a stab of shame washing over her. She should know this, right? Of course she was the girl’s mother… Wasn’t she?

So, she concluded she was in… her own home? With this daughter that seemed vaguely familiar but somehow stranger?

Her eyes fell to look at the wooden coffee table next to the sofa, where a plate of half-eaten shortbread cookies was placed. She realized she felt a bit hungry as well.

Without responding, ■■■■■■ walked across the living room, exploring the house gingerly. She stepped under a brick-lined moon gate that led to the next room, which ended up being the kitchen.

Sure enough, she quickly discovered the source of the shortbread cookies the little girl–her daughter–had raided for a morning snack. It was a ceramic jar that was cracked open, revealing the powdery cookies stashed inside. She took a few herself and munched on them, feeling her hunger subside. Without a second thought, she made sure to completely close the jar’s lid before leaving the kitchen.

Licking the cookie crumbs off her hand, she passed into the adjoining hallway, which led to a windowed wooden door that showed a peek outside. She opened the door to reveal a green garden accented with many colors of flowers and a whitewashed bistro set. There were two sets of slippers that looked like they were just about her size by the door, along with another smaller set lined up next to them, so she put on the slippers that seemed proper before venturing outside to see the garden.

A chilled morning breeze tickled her cheeks and dawning sun warmed her, and after looking around briefly she decided to settle on one of the whitewashed chairs. She sat there, in her linen robe, without hardly a thought passing through her mind.

What she did think to herself was: Why do I feel like this? So… empty?

Nothing really occurred to her. She was mildly confused by her surroundings, yet everything just was what it was, and she could hardly bother to care.

The door to the brick house creaked open, and little feet in little slippers pranced outside hurriedly.

“Hey, Mom, when are we going to the ■■■■■?” The book was no longer in the little golden-haired girl’s hands, and she was still in her pajamas. Her wide hazel eyes seemed expectant and had a hint of excitement in them.

Of course, ■■■■■■ didn’t know what plans she was talking of. She hesitated for a moment, considering what to say as to not be jarring to the little girl.

“Hmm, I guess we can take off now?” ■■■■■■ tilted her head, and her black vulpine ears tilted as well, as she thought about what to do next. “... After all, it will take awhile to get there.”

Maybe this was a bad idea, as she didn’t actually know how to get to said place. She was either betting on somehow remembering along the way or furtively following “her daughter,” letting her subconsciously lead the way.

The little girl perked up at this. “Okay!”

She suddenly rushed back inside the house, calling out, “I’m going to get my stuff ready!”

■■■■■■ got up from her seat to return inside as well, thinking to herself lazily as she considered what to do… next.

Did she need to bring anything? She wasn’t entirely sure as she wandered back inside in her robe. Maybe change clothes? But where even did she keep her clothes?

She said that in a mocking tone with a smile that seemed too dramatized to be genuine.

The girl with long tendrils of jet black hair looked so thin it seemed she might blow away with a gust of wind.

The man questioned himself for just a moment.

This is the girl, right?

No, there was no doubt about it, this was her–the same girl.

The girl, who seemed to “have one foot in reality, one foot in another dimension,” so to speak, noticed his hesitation.

”No, that’s not it, is it?” She increased the volume of her voice in an accusatory kind of way.

”You’ve come like in the movies, as the random passerby who opens up the cage of some unknown monster…”

She seemed satisfied with herself at that sentence, grinning a little.

All the while, she maintained eye contact with him, not once blinking.

He blinked, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.

He cleared his throat as he spoke in a firm voice.

”You’re ▇▇▇▇.”

The girl tilted her fragile-looking head a bit, finally letting herself blink, her eyes filled with a mysterious kind of black aura.

It took a few heartbeats for her to respond with a lazy kind of sigh.

”And you’re going to bail me out, no?”

She rolled her eyes just a bit, then re-fixated her catlike gaze on the man who was half hidden by the shadowy bars that were in front of her.

The man gulped, a little bit of his nervousness inevitably showing.

But no, he was very sure of himself.

So sure of himself, in fact, that he would let a lion out of its cage.

”I am. My name is ▇▇▇▇▇▇. I’ve already made the preparations, I just wanted to see you beforehand, so that you understand the circumstances. After all–”

”--I already understand that,” She said in a slightly annoyed, no, definitely annoyed, tone of voice.

Her eyes narrowed, really seeming like a cat sizing up its prey.

”I think you’re the one who needs to understand something,” the girl snapped as if she were correcting him.

Then, she smiled.

It was the kind of smile that would make anyone a little uncomfortable, the kind of capricious smile that makes one wonder what entertained it.

”Don’t you know you’re going to end up like the rest of them?”

A vile remark made in a playful kind of way.

Empty words.

The correctional officer standing nearby looked unamused by the small girl’s banter.

Yes, he was there before, but the man had been too focused on the girl.

He exchanged a glance with the officer, who sighed, seeming exhausted.

”You know you’re not just going to be off the hook, young miss,” said the wizened officer with another sigh. “That’s what they all think, y’see, that they’re just going ‘free,’ and that history will repeat itself.”

The man considered his words.

”That’s what being in here will do to you. It will make you brand yourself a criminal, since society already has branded you as just that. And then you have ones like these, who think this is their destiny, that their fate can’t be changed.”

The officer glanced at the girl, who lowered her gaze a bit, almost as if she were actually listening to his words.

”But, that’s not the way our society really works. You get out of here, you’re weaned off of the system, and then you move on with your life. Almost like you forget what happened in the first place…

”Except you don’t really forget. You just kind of overwrite the past in a way, compartmentalize, maybe is what you’d call that?”

The officer folded his arms, eyeing the girl as if she were his daughter and he were giving her a “tough love” kind of lecture.

”Anyway,” he said. “Don’t worry that you’re getting off easy, missy. We’ll be watching you along the way.”

It seemed like the girl really was lost in her thoughts.

Was she even listening?

▇▇▇▇▇▇ spoke to break the silence.

”I don’t care about what you did before–”

Hasty words.

”--No,” he corrected himself firmly, composing himself again.

”You’re mistaken if you think I fear you like a child would fear a monster under their bed.”

He cocked an eyebrow meaningfully.

”You’re merely a girl, after all.”

She was–she was merely a girl with a little experience that he happened to need.

”And also…

It’s exactly because of what you’ve done.”

He added nothing more than that.

The girl broke out of her trance and actually looked up to him in a slow, foggy kind of way.

She held her gaze there for awhile, meeting eyes with the man who stood directly before her.

Finally, she laughed a tired kind of laugh.

”Well, this should be interesting,” she sighed with a dramatic flair.

”I agree,” the man replied almost immediately.

”So last night, I did some looking online about the most popular places to visit there. There was one place I thought we should visit–it’s an indoor ice skating rink. I thought it might be good for you since it’s indoors… Yes, it will still be a little chilly since it’s ice skating, but at least when you get tired of the skating you could go to the cafe attached and get a cup of hot chocolate or something warm.” The black-haired, middle-aged man, smiled a toothy grin, looking proud of himself. He moved his right hand slightly to the right as the car turned, the silver ring on his ring finger glistening white as the afternoon sun speckled it.

Hmm, sounds a little cold.

The girl honestly wasn’t very sporty either. She tended to prefer activities that didn’t involve possible clumsiness.

She thought that Mr. Cheng knew that… No, he definitely did know that.

However, he enjoyed sporty activities like this, so of course she would have to compromise.

”I like hot chocolate.”

She smiled quickly, sheepishly, then turned back to look through the window after nothing else was said.

A few minutes of silence later, Mr. Cheng said something else to her, looking briefly in her direction.

”You know, you can tell me if you don’t like ice skating.”

She blinked, trying to think of what to say in response to that.

He almost seemed to be expecting some particular kind of answer. What was it?

”Honestly, I’ve never done ice skating before.”

It was true, she had never had the chance to do ice skating before.

The man’s slightly tanned expression brightened, his eyes seeming to smile at some mysterious idea.

”Ah, what if I gave you a lesson? That might be fun.”

He seemed thoughtful, smiling as he steered the Porsche.

”Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall and hurt yourself. I guarantee it.”

He said that with an air of genuine sincerity, and the girl thought that was even possibly considered cute, as it seemed like things said like that on TV were supposed to be endearing.

For some reason it didn’t really leave an impression on her, though.

Perhaps this was because there had been numerous instances in the past when he had said something like this, some kind of wordy “promise,” then had later apologized about the same said thing in the same day.

What she half expected was to see herself sooner or later fall to the same icy, slippery ground he swore to not let her scrape her knees on.

But also, she was probably being “cynical,” as they would say.

”Negative,” “with a bad attitude,” and needing to “smile more.”

As they would say.

Well, whatever they would say she was, she still knew the right answers.

That’s what was important.

Right?

The girl with dainty features and long, smooth locks blushed a little, looking down.

”I know you won’t.”

Her voice was quiet, hushed, as if you had to lean a little closer to hear.

She looked up briefly, gauging his reaction.

He didn’t look back, but instead he simply laughed incredulously.

”Of course not! How could I let my little Jingxue fall and hurt herself? That would make me a bad husband.”

He smiled a little as he finished, looking into the distance.

Jingxue blushed, looking away to the window, resting her cheek on her right hand.

She used her left hand, ornamented with a glittering, simple silver ring on the ring finger, to sweep her hair to the left, hiding her expression.

Nothing was said after that, the only sound filling the silence being the quiet hum of the radio playing some unknown piano melody and the soft battering of snow against the windows.

She looked out the window again, watching the snow tumble down from the blueish white sky and onto the car windows, leaving streaks of icy snowflakes on the glass.

It was almost like the snow was trying to knock its way into the warm car cabin, trying with all its might in futile strength.

Maybe it would grow stronger though, as weather changed all the time.