20
I didn’t enroll in school.
I just found a small, sparsely populated town and settled down.
The landlady was a kind, elderly Chinese woman, a devout Christian.
She lived in the city center and occasionally came to check on her properties in the town.
This time, she brought me two bags of fresh fruit.
I had just returned from a long walk, dusting myself off.
I took the fruit, a happy smile on my face.
She looked at me with a hint of pity.
“Did you go looking again today?”
09.24
09.24
Chapter 2
“Did you find a suitable…”
I knew she was hesitant to say the word.
I smiled at her.
“Not yet. None of the places feel right.”
“This illness of yours,” she asked, “won’t you get a second opinion? As long as you’re alive, there’s always a way.”
I just smiled.
“There’s no cure.”
“The doctor said it’s terminal.”
The landlady shook her head, her face full of sorrow, and left.
I looked at the map in my hand and continued my search.
I was looking for a burial plot.
Sun in the summer, snow in the winter.
Autumn leaves returning to the earth, nourishing the swaying flowers in the spring.
I looked up at the blinding sun.
If I had one last chance to defy this world, it would be death.
I didn’t want to hurt Daniel. I didn’t want to hurt innocent people.
I didn’t want my parents, in their old age, to have a murderer for a daughter.
I didn’t want to live a life that caused me so much pain.
