Chapter 454: Eternity 15.

the woman they knew. "I know. That’s why I’m saying it while I still

have the chance."

The sentence hung in the air for a heartbeat longer than it should have.

Aunt Lan seemed to notice it too, because she immediately changed the

subject and asked whether Lili was still with them. Mother Yan told her

that the child was safe, that she was learning to help around the

apartment, and that she had started treating Bai as the person

responsible for every repair in the world. Aunt Lan made a quiet,

affectionate remark about how children always knew who would take them

seriously.

Bai found herself smiling at the floor. The call belonged to Mother Yan

and Aunt Lan, and she did not want to intrude on it. Yet she could hear

the affection between them, the way Aunt Lan softened whenever Mother

Yan mentioned a small detail, and the way Mother Yan’s voice became

warmer whenever she remembered an old joke. It was not merely the

closeness of people who had known each other for years. There was

something deeper, carefully held beneath the ordinary words. Bai noticed

it without having enough information to name it.

Mother Yan seemed to be trying to catch up on all the days they had

lost. She asked about Aunt Lan’s health, whether she had found anyone

she could trust, whether she had managed to keep the belongings she

carried when the outbreak began, and whether she had heard anything from

other people they knew. Aunt Lan answered what she could. Some old

friends were unaccounted for. Some had reached other settlements. A few

had died. She did not linger on the worst news. Mother Yan did not ask

her to, though she could hear the strain in Aunt Lan’s voice whenever

the conversation neared the subject of the dead.

For a little while, the call became almost normal. They argued about

whether Mother Yan had been taking enough rest. Aunt Lan accused her of

pretending she could manage everything herself. Mother Yan accused Aunt

Lan of always working through meals. Aunt Lan said she was not working

through meals now because she had hardly any meals to work through.

Mother Yan made a broken laugh at that, and for several seconds both

women sounded like the friends they had been before the world ended.

Then Mother Yan asked the question she had been holding back.

"Lan, are they really taking care of you there?"

The silence that followed was different from the earlier pauses. It

lasted long enough that Bai stopped moving entirely. Yan lifted her gaze

from the table, her expression becoming still in a way that would have

been difficult to notice if Bai had not spent so much time watching her.

Aunt Lan finally answered. "It’s a military safe zone. They say they

have rules to keep people safe. There are people who are doing their

best. There are also things that I don’t understand yet."

"What kind of things?"

"Nothing I can explain properly over this line. I may be wrong about

some of it. I don’t want you to worry about something when I can’t give

you the whole picture."

Mother Yan pressed a hand against the table. "You’ve already made me

worry. You know that."

"I know. I’m sorry."

"Then tell me what you can."

Another pause. This time Aunt Lan spoke quickly, as though she had

decided she could not afford to waste the chance. "Listen to me, Yan.

Don’t assume a place is safe just because it has a gate and uniforms.

Don’t trust a military safe zone without looking at what happens inside

If you reach one, be careful who you believe. Keep the people you

love close, and don’t hand over everything you have just because someone

tells you it’s the rule."

Mother Yan’s expression changed. The warmth from the earlier

conversation faded, replaced by a sharp, troubled focus. "Lan, what

happened?"

"I can’t talk about it now."

"Are you in danger?"

Aunt Lan did not answer immediately. There was a faint noise from the

background, a movement or a door closing somewhere near her. When she

spoke again, she sounded as though she were forcing herself to remain

calm.

"You and Cijin have somewhere to live? You have food? The child is

safe?"

"Yes," Mother Yan said, though her voice had begun to shake. "We’re

doing well. Bai Li has helped us so much. We’re not in need of supplies

right now. We have a safe apartment, and we have people around us. But

I’m asking about you. Are you safe?"

Aunt Lan’s breath came through the speaker as a thin, uneven sound. "I’m

glad. I’m glad you’re doing well. That’s all I wanted to know. I wanted

to hear your voice and know you were alive."

"Lan, don’t talk like that."

"I’m serious. You have to take care of yourself. You have to live well,

no matter what happens. Promise me you’ll keep going."

Mother Yan shook her head, although Aunt Lan could not see her. "I’m not

making that promise unless you tell me what is happening."

For one brief moment, Aunt Lan sounded as though she might say something

more. Her voice dropped low enough that Mother Yan had to press the

phone closer. Then a sharp noise rang through the line, followed by a

man’s voice, angry and close to the microphone.

"What the hell are you doing with that phone? Who told you that you

could make calls?"

Aunt Lan said something too faint to understand. The man cursed her

again, this time more clearly. There was a scuffle, a hard impact, and

the line crackled. Mother Yan called her name once, then again, but the

connection cut before she could hear a reply.

The screen returned to the call log.

Nobody spoke.

After the Call

Mother Yan kept staring at the phone long after the screen had gone

dark. She did not move when the others shifted around the table, and she

.

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TO BE CONTINUED.