I've Been There Before

It was late at night. Memory Inn had already gone to sleep.

The night of the Erhai Lake was very quiet.

Daytime was still fuming hot. But at night, the wind arrived.

A vague black shadow headed towards one of the doors of Memory Inn. There was a wooden door that was hardly ever opened. Even workers who had worked at Memory Inn for ages had not seen this door open.

There was a rustling noise, as a key was inserted into the hole, "click". The wooden door opened and the person at the door stood motionlessly for a while, before lifting her foot to go in.

She was the owner of Memory Inn.

She was good-tempered, easy-going and kind-hearted manager in the eyes of everyone around.

But at this moment, people who were familiar with her would certainly find it unbelievable. The mild-tempered boss in everyone’s eyes had an indifferent look; her eyes hid grief that cannot be concealed.

Desperate looks, grieving eyes, and heavy feet... "I came to see you." A coarse voice slowly sounded.

But there was no one else in the house but her.

Lifting her foot, she walked inside Memory Inn. This might be the place she was most familiar with. Not her own room, but here.

With no lights on, she groped forward into the darkness. She felt assured that every single thing here was too familiar to her.

Moving forward, she unexpectedly touched the edge of a table. After fumbling for a while longer, she felt an object, 'snap'. At that moment, the fire lit up; her hand was holding up a lit matchstick. After her hands trembled inscrutably, she decided to light up two scented candles instead.

"Do you remember that day, the fire? So many people were all outside watching. Maybe the fire is too big. Maybe I'm not good with people. You were the only one who charged in… why are you such a fool…"

The candle was lit as the match went out. She took the incense from the offering table and gathered it to light them up from the candle. She then inserted it slowly into the incense burner. Everything was done slowly. Looking up, she stared at the picture before her.

"It's that time of year again when the Ghost Festival arrives and the Fengdu City Gate (the ghost gate, rumoured to be the only way for deceased people to pass down to Earth) opens, will you come and visit me, Leona?"

In the photo on the table, Leona smiled brightly. The woman sat silently in front of the table, looking at the photo in front of her. She certainly did not have a photo of Leona, nor her ashes. The photo was painted based on her own memories, by a stray painter who passed by Erhai Lake on a trip.

was

woman squeezed the palm of

death … Leona, would you come to see me?" The woman's nose was sore, "Before I came to Erhai Lake, I was able to dream of you from time to time. How come I've fulfilled your dream of Erhai Lake, but you won't come back

moist, "Leona, if you don't appear in my dreams again, I'm about to

say that she was lonely, but she was

missed Leona, but Leona never appeared in

good, but she couldn’t enter

and Leona said when she was in that cage. Leona wanted to

and every day lying on the recliner, tasting tea while looking at the sky to enjoy

the paper money she prepared earlier. Twisting it one by one and dropping it into the fireplace while talking to Leona as if Leona had

be so

paper money burned out, the woman stood up slowly. Standing after squatting for long hours, her legs were so

her heart that this was definitely a hard

to tilt and fall to the ground when a

"Be careful."

and saw the person, her face changed: "When did you come?" She looked to the doorway out of the corner of her eye, clearly remembering that she closed the door

behind him, how

walk. Just walked over here when I saw a bright light coming

looked again at the firepit on the floor that was

woman pursed her lips and

it a family member?" He quirked an eyebrow... Who is

the table. He could not see the person in the photo

but it was helpless as she was obviously

though it was mostly covered, he

A woman?

her Leona ...is she

He asked tentatively.

like

the one linking to her past and present. Even though she

hands and held it up, "Ok, it's my bad. Boss,