Chapter 453: Eternity 14.

you eaten? Are you alone? Why didn’t you find a way to call me sooner?"

"One question at a time," Aunt Lan said, still trying to sound light.

"I’m alive. That’s the most important answer. I have some bruises, and

I’m tired, but I’m alive. I’ve been having a difficult time keeping a

phone charged, and the network here is not as reliable as they keep

saying it is. I’ve only managed to get this call through because someone

let me use a working line for a few minutes."

"Where are you?"

There was a pause. "Shanghai. I’m in the Shanghai City Military Safe

Zone."

Mother Yan’s grip tightened again. Yan Cijin lowered her gaze, though

her attention had sharpened so suddenly that the room seemed to change

around her. She knew that name. She had known it in nine lives, in

different circumstances, with different warnings arriving too late or

not at all. In some lives Aunt Lan had never reached the camp. In

others, Yan had learned much later what had happened to her mother’s

closest friend. There had been no chance to change those outcomes, not

once she understood them. Now the call had come, and the sound of Aunt

Lan’s voice was alive in the room.

Yan did not let any of that show on her face. She kept one hand near her

mother’s chair and listened.

"Shanghai," Mother Yan repeated. "You’re in Shanghai? Are you safe

there? Do you have enough food? Are they treating you well?"

Aunt Lan let out a breath that might have been a laugh. "You’ve asked

about food before you’ve asked whether I’ve become a proper person.

That’s very like you."

"Don’t joke. I’m serious."

"I know. I’m sorry. I’m trying to make you feel better, but I’m not very

good at that over a bad phone line."

Mother Yan’s eyes glistened. "You could make me feel better by telling

me the truth."

For a moment, Aunt Lan said nothing. On the other end of the line, there

was a faint rustle, followed by a distant sound that might have been a

door opening. When she spoke again, her voice was softer.

"I’m staying in the safe zone. They have a registration system, some

food, and a place where people can sleep. There are medical staff. I’ve

managed to keep myself useful, so I haven’t been pushed around too much.

I’m working with some records and supply lists. It isn’t what I would

have chosen, but it’s work, and work is better than waiting around."

Mother Yan heard what Aunt Lan was not saying. She had known her for

years. She knew the difference between the cheerful complaints Aunt Lan

made when work became difficult and the careful words she used when she

did not want someone to worry. The old familiarity made the spaces

between the sentences as important as the sentences themselves.

"You haven’t answered me," Mother Yan said. "Are you safe?"

Aunt Lan inhaled slowly. "I’m safer than I would be outside. That’s what

I can tell you."

The answer was not enough, but it was honest in its own guarded way.

Mother Yan wanted to ask more, yet she was afraid that too many

questions would cause Aunt Lan to end the call before she had time to

explain anything else. She forced herself to breathe and tell her about

the apartment. She told her that she and Yan Cijin had found a place to

stay, that Bai Li had helped them secure it, and that they had managed

to build a routine even with the city full of zombies. She mentioned

Lili, the self-sustaining systems, the residents who were trying to help

one another, and the fact that she had not been alone since the day

everything fell apart.

Aunt Lan became noticeably quieter as she listened. When Mother Yan told

her how Bai had cleared the zombies from Building 9 and repaired the

entrances so the residents could move around more safely, Aunt Lan made

a faint sound of disbelief.

"You really found someone like that?"

Mother Yan looked at Bai. Bai had moved to the far side of the table to

give her space, but she was still listening carefully enough to

understand the question.

"Yes," Mother Yan said. "Bai Li is... well, I don’t know what word would

do her justice. She is strong, and she works harder than anyone I’ve

ever met. She treats Lili like family. She helps Yan with everything,

and she somehow manages to make the apartment feel like a home. I don’t

know how we would have managed without her."

"And Yan?" Aunt Lan asked. "How is my little Cijin doing?"

Yan looked up at once at the familiar way Aunt Lan said her name. For a

brief moment, the sound seemed to reach a place in her that belonged to

another life. She remembered an older version of herself standing in a

ruined room after learning that Aunt Lan had died. She remembered the

late discovery that the woman who had been her mother’s closest friend

had carried a love she never confessed. In those memories, Mother Yan

had been left with words she never knew were waiting for her. The

recollection passed through Yan like cold water, and she steadied

herself by looking at Bai’s hand resting on the table.

"She’s here," Mother Yan said. "You can hear her if you want."

Yan moved closer to the phone. "Aunt Lan?"

There was another pause, then Aunt Lan’s voice brightened slightly.

"Cijin. You sound grown-up."

Yan smiled faintly. "It’s been a difficult couple of weeks."

"I imagine so. Are you taking care of your mother?"

"I’m trying. She’s taking care of me too, even when I tell her not to."

"Good. Keep doing that. She has always been stubborn about looking after

everyone else, and somebody needs to make sure she doesn’t forget

herself."

Mother Yan made a small, offended sound. "I’m right here."

Aunt Lan laughed. The laugh was tired, but for a moment it sounded like

.

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TO BE CONTINUED.