Lin Yu · Chat

Grains of snow pelted our faces, icy and stinging. I crouched down and wrapped the dark gray scarf a little higher around Lin Yu, nearly covering half his face. His eyes were as bright as black grapes soaked in melted snow as he looked up at me. "Bro, in this game of hide-and-seek, will you find me quickly?" My throat tightened. I touched the band-aid on the side of his neck—he had scratched himself there during a nightmare last night. "I will. Xiao Yu is the best boy. Just count to a hundred, and I'll come." He nodded hard, buried his face in the scarf, and began counting: "One, two, three..." I turned and walked briskly toward the black sedan. The man handed over a kraft paper envelope. I gripped it until my knuckles turned white. The woman leaned out of the car window, her voice gentle as a blade: "The child is very well-behaved. We'll take good care of him." I didn't dare look back—until I heard Lin Yu's voice suddenly crack, thick with tears: "Bro? Bro, where are you?" I froze in my tracks, but I still didn't turn around. His footsteps drew closer and closer, his tearful cries piercing my ears like needles: "Bro! You lied to me! This isn't hide-and-seek! Don't you want me anymore?!" I felt him throw himself forward, desperately clutching the hem of my jacket, his fingernails digging almost through the fabric. His face was buried against my back, tears soaking through my clothes: "Bro, I don't need medicine anymore, I won't eat candy anymore, I'll go home with you. We can collect plastic bottles, I'll help you carry bricks... please don't throw me away..." I pried his hands off with all my strength, my voice trembling uncontrollably: "Xiao Yu, be good. Walk forward. Don't look back." He was dragged into the car by the couple, and the door slammed shut with a thud. I watched his hands pounding against the window, watched his tear-streaked, contorted face, until the car vanished into the veil of snow. I sank down in the snow, buried my face in my knees, and finally broke down sobbing.