Alkimia ~the Craft of Love~

28. you are... (Meng Xiang + Cheng Zhen)

You are You Meng Xiang, an old granny who finds herself standing on a busy street. Turning your head to left and right, you see a lot of stores and pedestrians you don't recognise.

The last thing you remember...

Dipping your head slightly, you stare at your wrinkled body. Your attire does not blend with the crowd. Taking a step forward, you aimlessly walk along. Privately, you wonder if this is the...afterlife...

You do not expect to pass away so quietly, in your sleep, perhaps, because you feel no pain.

You feel thirsty after walking a few steps. You see a sign ahead, of a place serving drinks. It's a bar, but surely, they serve water too?

You enter the bar and take in the sight. The atmosphere it gives differs a lot of the bars you saw when you were alive.

You take a seat at an empty table. You wait for someone to come to serve you. You are an old granny, you recall. You are uncomfortable with the look the bar's patrons give you. All of them are so young and youthful, yet here you are. An old woman among the youths.

Nobody comes to serve you, and you feel disappointed. You do not sigh, but you do think, 'Youngsters these days...'

There is a clanking sound behind you. You turn around slowly, to see the sight of a youth...approaching you. Seeing that there is someone who walks to your table, other patrons turn their gazes away, losing interest quickly.

You feel apprehensive. Is this trouble?

"When did you arrive?" the male young adult who approaches you has a helmet covering his face. The helmet is not the kind you see on people who ride the motorcycle. It is a kind of helmet seen in fantasy-adventure stories.

The visor covers his eyes. You don't know who he is, you can't see his face, but his voice evokes a feeling of nostalgia in you.

You have heard that voice before.

"Come, I will help you," he says, offering you a gloved hand

His attire is the same as what people around you wear. A simple shirt and pants. The more you see, the more you feel like this place is similar to what you would see in fantasy-adventure stories.

It has been a while since you picked a book to pass your time. You remember fondly of every fantasy-adventure stories you have read. Unlike your family who chooses to read from their smartphones, you still collect a lot of books as your source of entertainment.

Ah. Now is not the time to think of such things. This youth is still waiting for you to take his hand.

This is either a dream or an afterlife. For the afterlife to be a world of fantasy-adventure setting, you feel like telling this story to your Great-grandchildren. They surely will like to hear more about this place.

Will you be able to tell them? Have you said your farewell to them?

The youth is waiting patiently for you to take his hand. You feel reluctant to put your wrinkled hand on top of his. You feel embarrassed, as you feel the youth is watching you from behind the visor.

'You are already an old granny with Great-grandchildren! What are you feeling embarrassed for, under this youth's gaze?!'

After waking yourself up from a daydream, you carefully put your hand on his. You follow his lead as he lifts you and out of the bar. You find yourself walking behind him, steadily.

It is weird. You know you haven't been able to walk without leaning on the wall recently. Is it because you no longer have a weary body that you are able to step so lightly?