She’s Everywhere

Mrs. Yang heard Xiaoguo’s voice from inside the house, so she stretched her head to look outside. When she saw that Yang Jia had gone out to open the door, she did not move. She remained seated and waited for Xiaoguo to come in.

But after a while, Xiaoguo still did not come in. Yang Jia even left the house and only returned after a long time.

“Why didn’t Xiaoguo come in?”

“She went out and asked me to look after the house for a few days.”

Yang Jia gestured at the key in his hand.

“She went out again?” Mrs. Yang stood up when she heard this and asked hurriedly, “Why did she go out again?”

“I don’t know.” Yang Jia shook his head and said, “It seems quite urgent. Something must have cropped up. It was decided at the last minute.”

Mrs. Yang nodded in acknowledgment and sat back down in disappointment.

“When will she come back from this trip? Don’t tell me she won’t come back until I give birth…”

—-

Xiaoguo didn’t reach the fishing village until it was dark.

Without daring to make any stops, she bade farewell to the villager who had sent her here and jogged towards Xiao Zhu’s house alone.

The villager behind her swallowed his words hesitantly and shook his head helplessly. At this time, the person might have already…

At this moment, the fishing village had fallen into darkness. Only the smell of smoke and fragrance of food could be detected in the air.

When Xiaoguo arrived at Xiao Zhu’s house, the front door was wide open. Looking in from the outside, it was pitch-black. There was only a weak candlelight flickering.

Xiaoguo’s heart was beating wildly. She wondered if they were asleep or if something had happened. Why was it so quiet inside with the door left open? It was very strange.

“Xiao Zhu? Yu Ling?”

Xiaoguo stopped at the door and called out as she looked around.

“Xiao Zhu? Yu Ling?”

Xiaoguo called out again. When she didn’t hear anything, she carefully walked in.

The surroundings were pitch-black—it was hard to see the ground clearly. Afraid of falling, Xiaoguo could only walk slowly.

Relying on her memory, she planned to go to Zhao Yuyan’s bedroom first. When she passed by the table at the door, she picked up a half-burned candle.

As it had been burning for too long and the wick had not been cut, the candle flame was a little weak at this moment.

Xiaoguo casually picked up something and flicked the wick. After removing the useless wick from the candle, the flickering flame returned to normal.

With the candlelight, she felt more at ease. At least she could see clearly and didn’t have to grope around in the dark.

Zhao Yuyan’s room was clean and tidy. There was no sign of anyone living there.

At this point, Xiaoguo could pretty much guess the situation. She was not in time to see her for the last time…

Inside the house, Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling were sitting in the attic and looking out at the dark sky through the open window.

“Xiao Zhu, why is the sky so dark?”

Yu Ling’s voice sounded indifferent. Xiao Zhu turned around and looked at her. She said carefully, “It will brighten up soon.”

“Will it?”

“Of course, it will.”

Xiao Zhu was very sure that the sky would not remain dark forever. The stars were just hiding tonight. They will appear again tomorrow.

“What’s that?”

There was a sudden flash of light in the dark sky. When she looked more closely, it was gone.

Xiao Zhu looked in the direction she was pointing and saw nothing.

Yu Ling retracted her finger and looked at Xiao Zhu gloomily. “Where do people go after death?”

“Well… the old village chief said that after death, people will turn into stars to accompany their loved ones who are still alive.”

As Xiao Zhu spoke, she pointed at the two very faint stars and said, “Look, they’re my family.”

When Yu Ling heard this, she looked up at the sky and squinted hard before she saw the two dim-looking stars.

“Then where is my mother?”

There were no other stars in the sky. Yu Ling was feeling puzzled and her question left Xiao Zhu confused as well.

Afraid that she would be sad, Xiao Zhu tried her best to think of an answer. Her eyes did not stay idle as she searched for the sign of other stars in the sky.

Yu Ling was getting more and more disappointed. She lowered her head in silence.

Just as Xiao Zhu was scratching her ears and cheeks anxiously, Xiaoguo suddenly leaned out and said, “The meteor you saw just now was your mother…”

Her voice startled the two girls. They subconsciously hugged each other and looked at the source of the voice in horror.

“Who’s talking?”

“Who are you! Why can’t we see you!”

Yu Ling and Xiao Zhu hugged each other tightly, shaking as they looked into the darkness. Their bodies started moving back uneasily.

Seeing that they had reached the wall with no space to retreat further, they started sobbing uncontrollably.

“Stop crying.” Xiaoguo looked at the two of them helplessly. “How can you see me if you don’t light up the candles?”

The two of them stopped crying. Xiaoguo sighed and walked down the stairs.

Yu Ling and Xiao Zhu heard the sound of someone going down the ladder. Not long after, there was the sound of someone coming up. The two of them swallowed nervously and stared at the door.

A warm candlelight entered the room first. Then, Xiaoguo’s face became visible in the candlelight.

“Sister Xiaoguo!”

“Sister Xiaoguo!”

The fear in Yu Ling and Xiao Zhu’s hearts was washed away in that instant. They ran over excitedly towards her.

Xiaoguo was dragged by the two of them into the attic, while sandwiched between them.

Before she could speak, the two of them fired at her like little steel cannons.

“Sister Xiaoguo, when did you arrive?”

“Sister Xiaoguo, did you come alone? Where’s Zhuang Zhuang?”

“Sister Xiaoguo…”

“Sister Xiaoguo, you…”

Xiaoguo covered their mouths with her hands and said with a smile, “I came by myself and I just arrived. Since the door was open, I came in.”

Xiao Zhu looked at Yu Ling and asked curiously, “Is the door open?”

“… I think I forgot to close it.”

Yu Ling thought for a moment and said softly.

Xiaoguo looked at the two of them helplessly. So they had forgotten to close the door. “These two children are really worrying.”

“…Sister Xiaoguo, my mother passed away this morning.”

“…Yes.” Xiaoguo put down the candle and asked sadly, “How has she been?”

“Mother said that the past few months were the happiest time she ever had. She said that she had never felt so relaxed and happy in her entire life.”

Yu Ling’s mind was filled with the thoughts of her mother on her deathbed. The smile on the corner of her lips was tinged with sadness, but at the same time, there was an indescribable sense of relief.

Xiaoguo thought of Zhao Yuyan’s face and couldn’t help but feel sad. This poor woman had left just like that. At least she was happy before she left. It was good that she was happy.

“By the way, Sister Xiaoguo.” Yu Ling looked at Xiaoguo seriously. She remembered her earlier words, and she asked eagerly, “My mother has also turned into a star to accompany me, right?”

“That’s right.” Xiaoguo put away her sadness and nodded with a smile. She said seriously, “That shooting star just now was your mother. She has chosen a bright and big star to accompany you in the sky.”

“Didn’t she go to her next life to set up a new home for me?”

Yu Ling asked anxiously. She wanted to be her mother’s child in her next life. How could her mother become a star?

“After a person dies, their soul will be disintegrated into countless clones and be scattered everywhere. They will either sink into the ground, float into the air, or be absorbed by other animals and plants. They will become a part of their surroundings or be reincarnated.”

Xiaoguo sighed and hugged Yu Ling tenderly. She continued softly, “She will become part of the universe. She will be everywhere. Every breath you take, every step you take, every tree you walk through, every blade of grass, and even every flower. They are all your mother’s avatars. She will be by your side at all times, protecting you and accompanying you. A hundred years later, she will return to this world and become your mother again.”

“So, Mother is everywhere, yes? She didn’t leave me, yes? We’ll meet again in the next life, won’t we?”

Yu Ling was anxious to hear a firm promise to relieve the pain she was feeling.

Without hesitation, Xiaoguo said, “Yes!”