Chapter 52: Has Always Been Ii (1/2)

Xiaomei smiled. ”You actually came! I thought I was going to have to wait a long time for you.”

Not understanding, I shook my head and asked again, ”Where is this place, exactly?”

She pointed at the bridge. ”This might really be the netherworld.”

”Right, I remember now. We're both dead,” I mumbled, touching my head.

”Everyone here is going to cross the bridge to reincarnate,” she explained.

”Why are you still here then? To wait for me?” I asked doubtfully.

”Why else? I want to be with you in the next life so I was planning to wait here. There have been people who crossed over by themselves because they couldn't wait any longer. Luckily, you came just after a day,” she answered.

I recalled that I had jumped soon after waking up.

I turned around and observed those waiting. They were all expressionless.

I walked over to a young fellow. ”How long have you been waiting, Brother?”

He glanced over and shook his head. ”Can't remember. A few years now, perhaps? Someone's been keeping track of time and she's been waiting for an even longer time.”

I looked at the direction he was pointing at where a grey-haired woman was squatting down.

I approached her slowly and patted her shoulder. ”Excuse me, madam. How long have you been waiting?”

She looked up and replied, ”46 years.”

Stunned, I questioned, ”How do you keep track of the time?”

She s.h.i.+fted aside, revealing the back of a tree where she had made scratches on with the help of her bracelet.

There were two sections, top, and bottom. The top consisted of circles whereas the bottom was filled with stripes.

The scratches covered the whole surface of the tree. The tree behind her was filled with scratches as well.

”A line a day, a circle a year. 46 circles, 46 whole years,” she explained faintly.

Looking at the scratches, I added, ”Do you remember when you died?”

She sighed, ”When I was 63, from leukemia. He should've been 66 at that time.”

”66 + 46 = 112. You must've missed him when he crossed over?” I suggested apprehensively.

She stared at me. ”Perhaps.”

I was shocked.

”How are you so calm if you think that, too?” I questioned in astonishment.

”A pa.s.serby said the same thing 20 years back. I know it very well but I chose to continue waiting. What else can I do?”

”Pardon me for saying, but if he's dead and might have already been here a few times, is there any point in waiting? He's supposed to turn 113 next year. Is it even possible for humans to live that long?”

”Even if that's the case, I can wait for his second reincarnation. I'll just keep waiting. It'll be okay as long as I can recognize him,” she answered.

”You do know that it's possible that you won't recognize him anymore, right?”

She looked into my eyes. ”Will you forget your lover?”

I shook my head helplessly. ”What if, just what if, he's been here already and you wait another hundred years but he doesn't recognize you at all?”

”I've not been here the longest. The horse face over there mentioned that someone had waited through 46 rounds of reincarnations - that's 197 years - before she reunited with her lover,” she shared, breaking into a small smile.

Xiaomei came over and grabbed my arm. ”Continue waiting, Sister Xiaoyu. We wish for your success. We'll get going now.”

I saw the lady diverting her soulless gaze back to the crowd.